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YOUATT
ON
THE STRUCTURE
AND TUB
DISEASES OF THE HORSE,
WITH THEIR REMEDIES.
ALSO,
PlIACTICAL RULES TO BTJTERS, BREEDERS, BREAKERS, SMITHS, ETC.
BEING
THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE ENGLISH EDITION OF " YOUATT
ON THE HORSE," SOMEWHAT SIMPLIFIED.
BROUGHT DOWN
BY W. C. SPOONER,M. K. C. V. S.,
AOrnOR OF SEVERAL VETERINARIAN WORKS,
TO WHICH IS PREFIXED,
AN ACCOUNT OF THE BREEDS IN THE UNITED STATES,
CX)MPILED BY
HENRY S. RANDALL.
W!TH NUMEROUS ILLUSTliATIONS.
NEW TOEK:
C. M. SAXTON, BAEKER <fe CO.,
25 PABK ROW.
1860.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by
DEE BY & MILLEE,
la the Clerk's Office for the Northern District of New York.
INTRODUCTORY.
The universal popularity and pre-eminence in the pub-
lic favor, both in this country and England, of Mr
Youatt's work on the Horse, is well known. It has had a
far wider circulation in the United States than any other
veterinary work, and but for one or two circumstances,
it is believed, had prevented it from attaining a still
vastly wider circulation, — from becoming the common
hand-book of nearly every farmer in the land w^ho breeds
or owns horses, who is willing to read anything on a sub-
ject in which he is so much interested.
The first of these circumstances is the size of Mr.
Youatt's entire work. This renders it too expensive for
general circulation. And it is too minute and voluminous
in its details for ordinary readers. This elaborateness, so
far from aiding, confuses the common reader ; the precise
facts which he seeks — the symptoms and remedies of dis-
eases, &c., — are too often so scattered through the glow-
ing amplifications of the accomplished author, that it is
difficult to clearly distinguish, collect, and apply them.
And many are repelled not only from the work itself, but
from reading the author's discussion of a disease, a point
in breeding, or the like, from impatience of its mere
», ^47, ij^ ^ work of this kind, more perhaps than any-
where else, applies the often quoted remark of Dr.
Johnson : " Books that you may carry to the fire, and
hold reading in your hand, are most useful after all
A man will often look at them, and be tempted to go on,
when he v^ould have been frightened at books of a larger
stzc, an-d of a more erudite appear anr p. "
JV rNTRODUCTORY.
The followino: abridsfment is intended to obviate the
above objections. While it is believed, that every thought
or fact in the original, of any importance to the general
reader, is preserved entire^ much that tended to sw^ell un-
necessarily the limits of the work for such a reader, has
been omitted. The omissions have been merely anec-
dotes, historical narrations, accounts of particular cases,
and, in some instances, the less necessary parts of those
long anatomical descriptions which could be understood
only by the surgeon. The symptoms and remedies of dis-
eases— all that tends to the full understanding of the
horse and his ailments, is given entire, and almost invari-
ably in the precise language of Mr. Yoiiatt. The aim
of this work has not been to re-write Youatt, — but simply
to strike out what is superfluous in him.
The second circumstance prejudicial to a wide, popular
circulation of Mr. Youatt's work, has been, according to
the common phrase, the "learnedness of its language."
The work, as again and again avowed in it, was not so
much written to instruct the horse-owner or breeder, as
the veterinary surgeon — at least in relation to important
diseases, operations, &c. Mr. Youatt is therefore often
at little pains to make himself intelligible to uninstructed
readers. His language is always learned — frequently
highly technical. So far as it could be conveniently and
properly done, an attempt has been made in the following
pages, to translate his language into that better adapted
to ordinary comprehension. A common word is often
substituted for the more learned one of Mr. Youatt, or an
explanatory one put after it in brackets. The former is
all the liberty taken in this way with the text, — and
this is only done where the meaning could be accurately
preserved.
But every thinking man will readily see from the very
nature of the subject, that the improvement to be made
on the text in the above particulars is limited. "When
speaking of anatomical details, diseases, particular pro-
cesses, &c., no language is fixed and definite but that of
science. And it frequently obviates the necessity of verjr
tedious and often repeated circumlocution. Take for ex-
ample the word " auscultation^''^ which signifies dis+i"
INTRODUCTORY.
guishing disease by observing the sounds in the part, by
means of the ear, with or without a tube, appHed to the
surface. Is it necessary to repeat all this^every time this
process is adverted to ? Clearly not. The word " Thorax'''
signifies the cavity of the body above or forward of the
diaphragm or midriff, — the w^ord " Abdomen''' the cavity
of the body below or behind the diaphragm. Can any
common words — any of the terms of vulgar quackery —
be given which will definitely express the above ideas,
and ivhich can be any ivay more easily remembered than
these ? There cannot. In all such cases, therefore, no
change of language is attempted. And Webster's Dic-
tionary will help the reader out of every difiiculty of this
kind.
We have here a remark to submit to all readers, and
especially the young reader, in relation to the propep
MANNER OF READING YouATT — wlicrc the aim is to full\
understand him, or the subject which he treats. Thiu
never can be done by dipping into the book here and
there, in search of information now on one topic, and now
on another, as the occasion seems to demand it. The
work should be read consecutively and carefully from be-
ginning to end. If this is done, and the reader fixes in
his mind anatomical names and details^ as he advances,
he will have no difficulty in fully understanding every
part, and he will be infinitely better prepared to form a
correct judgment in any case where he is called upon to
make a practical application of his knowledge. The
horse-owner who takes this course will find Youatt's
work an invaluable advantage to him — worth a thousand
of the common empirical recipe books on farriery. The
one w4io does not, will find it, or afiy other ivork, of little
avail.
W. C. Spooner, Esq., one of the most distinguished
veterinary writers and practitioners of England, wrote, in
1849, a Supplement to Mr. Youatt's work, designed to
*' advance it to the present state of veterinary science.''
All that is of any importance in this supplement — in fact,
most of Mr. Spooner's additional remarks entire, have
been added to the present work in the convenient form
of notes. Several of them will be found valuable. And
VI INTRODirCTOriY.
we conceive this gives the work a decided advantage
over any previous American edition.
We are enabled to point with much pleasure to the
illustrations in our volume. They are much more com-
plete in execution than those of any other similar Amer-
ican publications, and are decidedly superior to those
,>f the late English editions of Youatt. They are fully
equal to the original English cuts.
The present abridgment has been carefully prepared
by a distinguished and well-known iVmerican agricul-
turist, whose writings have been extensively read
throughout the United States, for years. The peli mi-
nary chapter in relation to the breeds now in the United
States, was complied by Henry S. Eandall, Esq., it be-
ing thought that this would be much more valuable to
the American reader, than Mr. Youatt's first chapter.
We believe that the author has been fortunate in the
execution of his task, and we present the work to the
public in the confident belief that we are rendering a
valuable service to an important department of Ameri-
can Agriculture.
^ The Publisheks.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION BY THE PUBLISHERS.
CHAPTER I.
PaOE
Breeds of Horses in the United States 17
The English Race Horse l7
The Arabiim 25
The Canadian 29
The Norman 29
The Morgan 36
The Cleveland Bay 38
The Dray 39
The Trotting Horse 40
CHAPTER 11.
The Zoological Classification of the House 44
The Sensorial Function 46
CHAPTER III.
lujURiES AND Diseases of the Skull — the Brain — the Ears — and
THE Eyes 68
Fracture 68
Exostosis 68
Caries 68
Compression of the Brain 69
Pressure on the Brain 69
Megrims . . ^ 69
Apoplexy 70
Phrenitis 74
Rabies, or Madness 76
Tetanus, or Locked Jaw 79
Cramp 82
Stringhalt 83
Chorea 83
Fits, or Epilepsy 84
VUl CONTENTS.
Palsy 84
Rheumatism 85
Neurotomy 86
Insanity 90
Diseases of tlie Eye 91
Common Inflammation of the Eye 93
Specific Ophthalmia, or Moon-Blmdness 94
Gutta Serena 97
Diseases of the Ear 98
Deafness 98
CHAPTER IV.
The Anatomy and Diseases of the Nose and Mouth 99
Nasal Polypus 104
Nasal Gleet, or Discharge from the Nose 104
Ozena 105
Glanders 107
Farcy 114
The Lips 117
The Bones of the Mouth 118
The Palate 118
Lampas 119
The Lower Jaw 120
Diseases of the Teeth 130
The Tongue 131
Diseases of the Tongue 132
The Salivary Glands 132
Strangles 133
The Pharynx 135
CHAPTER V.
The Anatomy and Diseases of the Neck and Neighboring Pakts 136
PoU-Eva 136
The Muscles and proper form of the Neck 138
The Blood- Vessels of the Neck 140
The Veins of the Neck , 140
Inflammation of the Vein 141
The Palate 142
The Larynx 142
The Trachea or Windpipe 143
Tracheotomy 143
The Bronchial Tubes 144
CHAPTER VI.
Tht: Chest 146
The Spine and Back 149
The Loins 160
CONTENTS. IX
PAOE
The Withers 1 50
Fistulous Withers 151
Warbles, Sitfasts, and Saddle Galls 151
Chest-Founder 152
CHAPTER, YII.
The Coxtknts of the Chest 153
The Thymus Gland 153
The Diaphragm 153
Rupture of the Diaphragm , 154
The Pleura 154
The Lungs 155
The Heart 155
Diseases of the Heart 156
The Arteries 158
The Pulse 158
Inflammation 160
Fever 163
The Veins 164
Bog and Blood Spavin 164
Bleeding 166
CHAPTEE VIII.
Thj!- MEAfBRANE OF THE N'OSE 169
Catarrh, or Cold 169
Inflammation of the Larynx 170
Inflammation of the Trachea 172
Roaring 172
Bronchocele 174
Epidemic Catarrh 176
The Malignant Epidemic 181
Bronchitis 184
Pneumonia — Inflammation of the Lnngs 186
Chronic Cough 193
Thick Wind 194
Broken Wind 196
Phthisis Pulmonalis, or Consumption 199
Pleurisy 200
CHAPTER IX.
Tas Abdomen and its Contents 206
The Stomach 206
Bots 208
The Intestines 210
Tlie Liver 213
The Pancreas 213
Tlie Spleen 213
The Omentum 213
A
CONTENTS.
CHAPTEU X.
PAGK
The Diseases of the Intestines 215
The Duodenum 216
Spasmodic Colic 215
Flatulent Colic , 218
Inflammation of the Bowels 220
Enteritis 220
Physicking 224
Calculi, or Stones, in the Intestines 226
Introsusception of the Intestines 226
Entanglement of the Bowels 226
Worms 227
Hernia, or Rupture 227
Diseases of the Liver , 228
Jaundice 229
The Kidneys 230
Inflammation of the Kidneys 231
Diabetes, or Profuse Staling 233
Bloody Urine — Haematuria 233
Albuminous Urine 234
The Bladder 234
Inflammation of the Bladder 234
Stone in the Bladder 236
CHAPTER XI.
Breeding, Castration, &c. 237
Castration 244
CHAPTER XII.
The Fore Legs 247
Sprain of the Shoulder 24f
Slanting direction of the Shoulder 247
The Humerus, or Lower Bone of the Shoulder 252
The Arm 252
The Knee 253
Broken Knees 254
The Leg ...256
Splint 256
Sprain of the Back-Sinews 258
Wind-Galls 261
The Pasterns 263
Injuries to the Suspensory Ligament 265
The Fetlock 265
Grogginess 265
Cutting 266
Sprain of the Coffin-Joint 26fJ
Ringbone . , 268
CONTENTK.
CHAPTER XIII.
PAGE
Th£ IIixD Legs 271
The Haunch 271
TheThigh 272
The Stifle 275
Thorough-Pin 277
The Hock 277
Enlargement of the Hock 279
Curb 280
Bog Spavin 281
Bone Spavin 283
Capped Hock 285
Mallenders and Sallenders 286
SweUed Legs 287
Grease 288
CHAPTER XIV.
The foot 293
The Crust or WaU of the Hoof 294
The Coronary Ring 296
The Bars 296
The Horny Laminae 297
The Sole 297
The Frog 29S
The Cofiin-Bone 299
The Sensible Sole 300
The Sensible Frog 300
The Navicular Bone 300
The Cartilages of the Foot 801
CHAPTER XV.
The Diseases of the Foot 302
Inflammation of the Foot, or Acute Founder 802
Chronic Founder 805
Pumiced Feet 305
Contraction 807
The Navicular -Joint Disease 811
Sand-Crack 817
Tread and Over-reach 319
False Quarter 820
Quittor 321
Prick or Wound in the Sole or Crust 824
Corns 826
Thrush 828
Canker 380
Ossification of the Cartilages 331
Weakness of the Foot S31
U\ CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVI.
Paos
PaACTUREs ••••• 388
CHAPTER XVn.
On Shoeing 843
The putting on the Shoe 345
Calkins 346
Clips 346
The hinder Shoe 347
Different kinds of Shoes 347
The Concave-seated Shoe 348
The Unilateral, or one side nailed Shoe 349
The Hunting Shoe 351
The Bar Shoe 352
Tips 352
The Expanding Shoe 353
Felt or Leather Soles 353
Stopping the Feet 355
The Sandal 666
To Manage a Fallen Horse 358
CHAPTER XVm.
DrERATioNS 359
Bleeding 361
Blistering 362
Fu-ing 364
Setons 366
Docking 367
Nickins: 368
CHAPTER XIX.
The Vices and Disagreeable or Dangerous Habits of the Horse 870
Restiveness 370
Backing or Gibbing 370
Biting ,. 372
Getting the Cheek of the Bit into the Mouth 372
Kicking 373
Unsteadiness while being Mounted 374
Rearing 374
Running Away • • 375
Vicious to Clean 375
Vicious to Shoe 376
Swallowing without Grinding 377
Crib-]^iting 378
CONTENTS. JiJll
Paob
Wind-Suckmg . . 379
Cutting 379
Not Lying Down 380
Overreach 380
Pawing 380
Quidding 381
RolUng 381
Shying 381
Slipping the Collar 383
Tripping 384
Weaving «>o'*
CHAPTER XX.
The General Management of the Horse 385
Air 385
Litter 387
Light 388
Grooming 389
Exercise 391
Food 392
CHAPTER XXI.
The Sktn and its Diseases 405
Hide-bound 407
Pores of the Skin 409
Moulting 410
Color 411
Surfeit - 415
Mange 416
Warts 419
Vermin 419
CHAPTER XXII.
Ov Soundness, and the Purchase and Sale of Horses 420
CHAPTER XXIII.
A List of the Medicines used in the Treatment of the Diseases oj-
THE Horse 435
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PORTRAIT OF CCNSTERNAIION, . . • . FRONUSP
PORTRAIT OF FLYING CHILDERS,
PORTRAIT OF LOUIS PHILIPPE (NORMAN), , . .
PORTRAIT OF GENERAL GIFFORD (MORGAN),
PORTRAIT OF LADY SUFFOLK (tROTTER), . . •
FIG. 1. SKELETON OF THE HORSE, . . •
" 2. BONES OF THE HORSE's HEAD, . • .
" 3. SECTION OF THE HORSE's HEAD, .
" 4. DIAGRAM OF THE SKULL, ....
« 6. OCCIPITAL BONE OF THE HORSE, .
« 6. SPINAL CHORD, WITH BRANCHING NERVES, .
" 7. SECTION OF THE EYE, ....
" 8. MUSCLES OF THE EYE, ....
" 9. HORSE WITH LOCKJAW, ....
" 10. ANATOMY OF THE LEG AND FOOT,
•• 11. SECTION OF UPPER JAW BONE,
•* 12. MUSCLES, NERVES, AND BLOOD-VESSELS OF THE
AND UPPER PART OF NECK,
« 13. THE PALATE,
« 14. TEETH OF A FOAL A FEW DAYS AFTER BIRTH,
« 15. TEETH OF A FOAL AT TWO MONTHS, .
" 16. TEETH OF A FOAL AT TWELVE MONTHS, .
" 17. TRANSVERSE SECTION OF A GRINDER, .
" 18. TEETH OF A YEAR AND A HALF,
" 19. TEETH OF THREE YEARS,
*' 20. TEETH AT THREE YEARS AND A HALF, •
" 21. TEETH AT FIVE YEARS,
** 22. TEETH AT SIX YEARS, . . . •
" 23. TEETH AT SEVEN YEARS,
** 24. TEETH AT EIGHT OR NINE YEARS,
•* 25. FINEST SHAPE OF HEAD AND NECK,
HEAD
18
30
35
41
45
47
49
53
54
67
62
66
79
87
101
102
118
121
121
122
123
123
124
126
126
127
128
128
138
CVl LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Paor
FIG. 26. THE RIBS AND VERTEBR-E, ' . . . . 145
" 27. THE STOMACH, 206
" 28. THE BOT FLY IN ITS VARIOUS STAGES, . . . 208
" 29. THE INTESTINES, 210
" 30. SECTION OF THE BLIND GUT, . . . . 212
" 31. ENTANGLEMENT OF THE INTESTINES, .... 226
" 32. CURVED AND STRAIGHT CATHETER, . . . 336
" 33. BONES Oy THE LEGS, .... . . 247
" 34. simple lever, . . 248
" 35. muscles of outside of the shoulder, . . . 250)
" 36. muscles of inside of shoulder and forearm, 251
" 37. section of the pastern, 263
• 38. inside view of bones of pastern, . . . 267
" 39. outside view of bones of pastern, .... 267
*• 40. attachments of the muscles of pastern, . 267
" 41. diseases of the fore leg, 269
" 42. inside muscles of hind leg, 273
" 43. outside muscles of hind leg, 274
" 44. the haunch and hind legs, 276
" 45. the hock joint, 278
" 46. anatomy of the foot, . . ... 293
" 47. anatomy of the base of the foot, . . . 293
" 48. the coronary ring, ..... 296
" 49. percevall's suspensory apparatus, . . . 334
" 50. the concave seated shoe. .... 348
" 51. the unilateral shoe, .... 350
" 52. operation for corns, . . . . . 351
" 63. percevall's sandal, ....... 356
■" 64. percevall's sandal fastened TO THE FOOT, , • 36"
THE HORSE
CHAPTER I
PRINCIPAL BREEDS AND VARIETIES OF HORSES IN THE
UNITED STATES.
The horse was not known on any part of the American Conti-
nent, until introduced by Europeans.
The principal breeds and varieties which now prevail in the
United States, are the common horse, descended from the horses
originally introduced by the English colonists, and mixed, more
or less, Mdth varieties of later introduction : the thorough-bred
or Race-horse ; the Arabian ; the Canadian ; the Norman ; the
Morgan ; the Cleveland Bay ; the Dray ; and the American
Trotting-horse.
The mongrel kno\\Ti as the " common horse," is too various
in blood, and too multiform in his characteristics, to admit of any
particular description.
THE RACE-HORSE.
Mr. Youatt says : " There is much dispute with regard to the
origin of the thorough-bred horse. By some he is traced through
both sire and dam to Eastern parentage ; others believe him to
be the native horse, improved and perfected by judicious crossing
with the Barb, the Turk, or the Arabian. The Stud Book,
which is an authority acknowledged by every Enghsh breeder,
traces all the old racers to some Eastern origin ; or it traces
them until the pedigree is lost in the uncertainty of an early pe-
riod of breeding. If the pedigree of a racer of the present day
be required, it is traced back to a certain extent, and ends with
a well-known racer ; or, if an earlier derivation be required, that
ends with an Eastern horse, or in obscurity.
It must on the whole, be allowed, that the present Enjrlish
FLYING CHILDERS.
thorough-l)red horse is of foreign extraction, improved and per-
fected by the influence of the cHmate, and by diligent cultivation.
There are some exceptions, as in the case of Sampson and Bay-
Malton, in each of whom, although the best horses of their day,
there was a cross of vulgar blood ; but they are only exceptions
to a general rule. In our best racing stables, and, particularly
in the studs of the Earls of Grosvenor and Egremont, this is
an acknowledged principle ; and it is not, when properly con-
sidered, a principle at all derogatory to the credit of the country.
The British climate, and British skill, made the thorough-bred
horse what he is.
The beautiful tales of Eastern countries, and somewhat re-
moter days, may lead us to imagine that the Arabian horse pos-
sesses marvellous powers ; but' it cannot admit of a doubt, ^;hat
the English trained horse is more beautiful, and far swifter and
stouter than the justly-famed coursers of the desert. In the
burning plains of the East, and the frozen climate of Russia, he
has invariably beaten every antagonist on his native ground. A
few years ago Recruit, an English horse of moderate reputation,
easily beat Pyp^amus, the best Arabian on the Bengal side of
India.
It must not be objected, that the numoer of Eastern horses mi-
ported is far too small to produce so numerous a progeny. It
will be recollected, that the thousands of wild horses on the
plains of South America descended from only two stallions and
four mares, which the early Spanish adventurers left there.
FLYING CHILDERS ^^
Whatevei may be thi, truth as to the origin of the race-horse,
the strictest attention has for the last fifty years been paid to
pedigree. In the descent of almost every miodern racer, not the
slightest flaw can be discovered : or when, with the splendid ex-
ception of Sampson and Bay-Malton, one drop of common blood
has mingled with the pure stream, it has been immediately de-
tected in, the inferiority of form, and deficiency of bottom, and
it has required two or three generations to wipe away the stain,
and get rid of its consequences.
The racer is generally distinguished by his beautiful Arabian
head ; his fine and finely-set-on neck ; his oblique, lengthened
shoulders ; well-bent hinder legs ; his ample, muscular quar-
ters ; his flat legs, rather short from the laiee downward, although
not always so deep as they should be ; and his long and elastic
pastern. These are separately considered where the structure of
the horse is treated of.
The racer, however, with the m.ost beautiful form, is occa-
sionally a sorry animal. There is sometimes a want of energy
in an apparently faultless shape, for which there is no account-
ing ; but there are two points among those just enumerated,
which will rarely or never deceive, a well-placed shoulder and
a well-bent hinder leg.
The Darley Arabian was the parent of our best racing stock
He was purchased by Mr. Darley's brother, at Aleppo, and was
bred in the neighboring desert of Palmyra.
The immediate descendants of this invaluable horse, were the
Devonshire or Flying Childers ; the Bleeding or Bartlett's Chil-
ders, who was never trained ; Almanzor, and others.
The two Childers were the means through which the blood
and fame of their sire were widely circulated, and from them
descended another Childers, Blaze, Snap, Sampson, Eclipse, and
a host of excellent horses.
The Devonshire or Flying Childers, so called from the
name of his breeder, Mr. Childers, of Carr-House, and the sale
of him to the Duke of Devonshire, was the fleetest horse of his
day. He was at first trained as a hunter, but the superior speed
and courage which he discovered caused him to be soon trans-
ferred to the turf. Common report affirms, that he could run a
mile in a minute, but there is no authentic record of this. Chil-
ders ran over the round course at Newmarket (three miles six fur-
longs and ninety -three yards) in six minutes and forty seconds;
and the Beacon course (four miles one furlong and one hundred
and thirty- eight yards) in seven minutes and thirty seconds. In
1772 a mile was rim by Firetail, in one minute and four seconds
In October, 174., at the Curragh meeting in Ireland, Mr.
Wilde engaged to ride one hundred and twenty-seven miles id
20 ECLIPSE.
nine hours. He performed it in six hours and tewntyoue min
utes. He employed ten horses, and, allowing for mounting and
dismounting, and a moment for refreshment, he rode for six
hours at the rate of twenty miles an hour.
Mr Thornhill, in 1745, exceeded this, for he lude from Stil-
ton to London and back, and again to Stilton, bcnig two hun-
dred and thirteen miles, in eleven hours and thirty -four minutes,
which is, after allowing the least possible time for changing
horses, twenty miles an hour for eleven hours, and on the turn-
pike road and uneven ground.
Mr. Shaftoe, in 1762, with ten horses, and five of them ridden
twice, accomplished fifty miles and a quarter, in one hour and
forty-nine minutes. In 1763, Mr. Shaftoe won a more extraor-
dinary match. He was to procure a person to ride one hundred
miles a day, on any one horse each day, for twenty-nine days
together, and to have any number of horses not exceeding twenty-
nine. He accomplished it on fourteen horses ; and on one day
he rode one hundred and sixty miles, on account of the tiring of
his first horse.
Mr. Hull's duibbler, however, afforded the most extraordinar}'
mstance on record, of the stoutness as well as speed of the race-
horse. In December, 1786, he ran twenty-three miles round the
flat at Newmarket, in fifty-seven minutes and ten seconds.
Eclipse was got by Marsk, a grandson of Bartlett's Childers.
Of the beauty, yet peculiarity ol' his form, much has been said
The very grent size, obliquity, and lowness of his shoulders were
the objects of general remark — with the shortness of his fore-
quarters, his ample and finely proportioned quarters, and the
swelling muscles of his fore-arm and thigh. Of his speed, no
correct estimate can be formed, for he never met with an op-
ponent sufficiently fleet to put it to the test.
He was bred by the Duke of Cumberland, and sold at his
death to Mr. Wildman, a sheep salesman, for seventy-five guineas.
Col. 0' Kelly purchased a share of him from Wildman. In the
spring of the following year, when the reputation of this wonder-
ful animal was at its height, 0' Kelly wislied to become sole
owner of him, and bought the remaining share for one thousand
pounds.
Eclipse was what is termed a thick-winded horse, and puffed
and roared so as to be heard at a considerable distance. For
this or some other cause, he was not brought on the turf until he
was five years old.
0' Kelly, aware of his horse's powers, had backed him freely
on his first race, in May, 1769. The first heat was easily won,
when 0' Kelly, observing that the rider had been pulling at
Eclipse durmg the whole of the race, ofTered a wager that he
LORD GODOLPIIIN S ARABIAN. •>1
placed the horses in the next heat. This seemed a thino- sc
highly improbable, that he immediately had bets to a large
amount. Being called on to declare, he replied, " Eclipse first,
and the rest nowhere I" The event justified his prediction : all
the others were distanced by Eclipse with the greatest ease ; or.
In the language of the turf, they had no place.
In the spring of the following year, he beat Mr. Wentworth's
Bucephalus, who had never before been conquered. Two days
afterwards he distanced Mr. Strode's Pensioner, a very good
horse ; and, in the August of the same year, he won the great
subscription at York. No horse daring to enter against him, he
closed his short career of seventeen months, by walking over the
Newmarket course for the Idng's plate, on October the 18th,
1770. He was never beaten, nor ever paid forfeit, and won for
his owner more than twenty-five thousand pounds.
Eclipse was afterwards employed as a stallion, and produced
the extraordinary number of three hundred and thirty-four win-
ners, and these netted to their owners more than a hundred and
sixty thousand pounds exclusive of plates and cups. This fine
animal died in 1789, at the age of twenty-five years. ^
More than twenty years after the Davley Arabian, and when
the value of the Arabian blood was fully established. Lord Godol-
phin possessed a beautiful, but singularly-shaped horse, which he
called an Arabian, but which was really a Barb. His crest,
lofty and arched almost to a fault, will distinguish liim from
every other horse.
He had a sinking behind his shoulders, almost as peculiar, and
a corresponding elevation of the spine towards the loins. His
muzzle was uncommonly fine, his head beautifully set on, his
shoulders capacious, and his quarters well spread out. He was
picked up in France, where he was actually employed in draw-
ing a cart ; and when he was afterwards presented to Lord
Godolphin, he was in that nobleman's stud a considerable time
before his value was discovered. It was not until the birth of
Lath, one of the first horses of that period, that his excellence
began to be appreciated. He was then styled an Arabian, and
became, m even a greater degree than the Darley, the founder
of the modern thorough-bred horses. He died hi 1753, at the
age of twenty-nine.
An intimate friendship subsisted between him and a cat, which
either sat on his back when he was in the stable, or nestled as
closely to liim as she could. At liis death, the cat refused her
"*■ The produce of King Herod . a descendant of Flying Childers, -was even
more nuiaerous. He gMt no less than four hundred and ninety-seven win-
ners, who gained for their proprietors upwards of two himdred thousand
pounds. Highflyer was a son of King Herod.
22 HORSES BROUGHT OCT TOO EARLY
food, and pined away, and soon died. — Mr. Holcroft gives a
bimilar relation of the attachment between a race-horse and a
cat, which the courser would take in liis mouth and place in his
manger and upon his back without hurting her. Chillaby, called
from his great ferocity the Mad Arabian, whom one only of the
grooms dared to approach, and who savagely tore to pieces the
mage of a man that was purposely placed in his way, had his
peculiar attachment to a lamb, who used to employ himself for
many an hour, in butting away the flies from him.
It has been imagined that the breed of racing horses has lately
very considerably degenerated. This is not the case. Thorough-
bred horses were formerly fewer in number, and their perform-
ances created greater wonder. The breed has now increased
twenty-fold, and superiority is not so easily obtained among so
many competitors. If one circumstance could, more than any
other, produce this degeneracy, it would be our absurd and cruel
habit of bringing out horses too soon, and the frequent failure
oi tneir legs before they have come to their full power. Childers
and Eclipse did not appear until they were five years old ; but
mctny of our best horses, and those, perhaps, who would have
shown equal excellence with the most celebrated racers, are
foundered and destroyed before that period.
Whether the introduction of sliort races, and so young horses, be
advantageous, and whether stoutness and usefulness may not thus
be somewhat too much sacrificed to speed : whether there may
be danger that an animal designed for service may, in process of
time, be frittered away almost to a shadow of what he was, in
order that at two years old, over the one-mile-course, he may as-
tonish the crowd by his fleetness, — are questions that more con-
cern the sporting man than the agriculturist ; and yet they con-
cern the agriculturist too, for racing is principally valuable as
connected with breeding, and as the test of breeding.
The horse is as susceptible of pleasure and pain as ourselves.
He was committed to us for our protection and our use ; he is a
willing, devoted servant. Whence did we derive the right to
abuse him ? Interest speaks the same language : many a race
has been lost by the infliction of wanton cruelty."
Consternation, whose portrait fronts the title-page, is the prop-
erty of John B. Burnett, Esq., Syracuse, N. Y. He was bred by
Matthew Hornsey, Esq., Sittenham, near York, Yorkshire, England,
in 1841. He was sold by that gentleman to C. T. Albot, Esq.,
who imported him into the United States in 1846, and introduced
him into Stokes, Oneida Co., N. Y. He is a brown horse, dap-
pled with bay — an unusual, but a rich and pleasing color. He
is fiilly fifteen hands and three inches high, without his shoes,
and weighs between eleven and twelve hundred pounds He is
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24 CONSTERNATION.
a compact, and, for a thorough-bred, very bony horse, like his
immediate ancestors, Confederate, Curiosity, Figaro, &c. In-
deed, his sire, Confederate, after being withdrawn from the turf,
was kept by his breeder. Earl Fitzwilliam, to breed hunters and
carriage-horses from, owing to Lis size, bone, and symmetry, — •
properties which eminently marked his progeny. His dam. Cu-
riosity, was a large, strong mare ; and her sire, Figaro, possessed
the same characteristics. The size and bone of Consternation
are not, therefore, accidental, or merely individual traits ; they
belong to his family, and are, consequently, far more likely to
be transmitted to his descendants ; and experience has shown,
that he almost invariably transmits these properties to his de-
scendants. =^
Consternation is beautifully symmetrical in all his proportions,
with a plumpness and roundness of outline unusual in the
thorough-bred ; more like a perfect hunter, or exceedingly stylish
carriage-horse, but without a particle of coarseness, cloddiness, or
deviation from a true blood-like look.
. He is a horse of extri ordinary mettle and activity, rapid in all
his paces, singularly elastic and graceful in his movements. He
walks nearly five miles an hour, and is a beautiful and rapid
trotter. We believe he might be made a fleet, if not a " crack"
trotter, under the training of Woodruff or Wheelan. He ran
but one race in England, beating Phoenician, at York. (See
Johnson's Racing Calendar, 1845.) • He was entered for the St.
Leger, but, owing to an accident, which injured his off fore-leg,
he was disqualified temporarily, and perhaps permanently, from
running. Before this point was decided, Mr. Albot purchased
and imported him to America for a breeding stallion. He was
selected with more especial reference to the improvement of our
common stock of horses.
Consternation arrived in the United States in the latter part
of June, 1345, and was shown in the September following, while
still suffering from the effects of his voyage, at the N. Y. State
Fair at Utica. He received the first premium in the class of
blood horses, beating Mr. Hungerford's Sir Henry, Mr. Crosby's
Florizelle, Mr. Thompson's Sir Charles — the viewing committee
consisting of Col. J. M. Sherwood, Hon. John A. King, and Col.
Edward Long. He was not again shown at a State Fair until
1849, at Syracuse. He here received the certificate of superior-
* Tlie writer of this has seen perhaps fifty colts, from one to three years
old, the get of Consternation, from common dams, and those possessing dif-
ferent proportions of blood. Every one of these has Bhown good size, and
quite as much bone as it is common to see in the get of the common coarse
■»talhons of the country.
THE ARABIAN HORSE.
25
ity,* beating Lance, Waxy Pope (imported), Young Alexander
Sir Hemy (by the horse of the same name, exiiibited at 'Jtica)
Waxy (by Waxy Pope), and several others.
We have been thus full in speaking of Consternation, be-
cause we believe that it is by a judicious cross ^dth the tlior-
ougli-hred horse, that the greatest improvement is to be made
with a class of our common mares, in breeding animals with
style, speed, and, above all, bottom, for the carriage, the buggy,
and the saddle ; and because we believe on the principle that
like lyroduces like, Oonsternation j)roinises better for such a
cross than any other blood stallion of which we have any
knowledge.
His pedigree includes a host of winners, and the most cele-
brated horses of England. It is given on the preceding page.
It may interest some who wish to breed common mares to
Consternation, and w^ho, very properly, consider color an im-
portant consideration in carriage and saddle horses, to know that
of his ancestors above given thirty-five were bay — tiuelve, brown
— ten, chestnut — and tiuo, black.
THE ARABIAN- HORSE.
Mr. Youatt says : — " Although in the seventh century the
Arabs had no horses of value, yet the Cappadocian and other
horses which they had derived from their neighbors, were pre-
served with so much care, and propagated so uniformly and
strictly from the finest of the breed, that in the 13th century
the Arabian horse began to assume a just and unrivalled
celebrity.
There are said to be three breeds or varieties of Arabian
horses : the Attechi, or inferior breed, on which they set little
value, and which are found wild on some parts of the deserts ;
the Kadischi, literally horses of an unknown race, answering to
our half-bred horses — a mixed breed ; and the Kochlani, b )rses
whose genealogy, according to the Arab account, is known for
two thousand years. Many of them have written and attested
pedigrees extending more than four hundred years, and, with
true Eastern exaggeration, traced by oral tradition from the
stud of Solomon. A more careful account is kept of these
genealogies than belongs to the most ancient family of the
proudest Arab chief, and very singular precautions are taken to
* His having once drawn the first premium in the same class, by the
regulations of the Society, disqualified him from again receiving it. But
In such cases, the former winner, if adjudged best, receives a certificate to
that effect.
B
26 PECULIARITIES OF THE ARABIAN HORSE.
prevent the possibility of fraud, so far as the written pedigree
extends.
The Kochlani are principally reared by the Bedouin Arabs,
m the remoter deserts. A stallion may be procured without
much difficulty, although at a great price. A m^are is rarely to;
be obtained, except by fraud and excessive bribery. The Arabs
have found out that which the English breeder should never
forget, that the female is more concerned than the male in the
excellence and value of the produce ; and the genealogies of
their horses are always reckoned from the mothers.
The Arabian horse would not be acknow^ledged by every
judge to possess a perfect form : his head, however, is inimitable.
The broadness and squareness of the forehead, the shortness and
fineness of the muzzle, the prominence and brilliancy of the eye,
the smallness of the ears, and the beautiful course of the veins,
will always characterize the head of the Arabia,n horse.
His body may be considered as too light, and his chest as too
narrow ; but behind the arms the barrel generally swells out,
and leaves sufficient room for the play of the lungs.
In the formation of the shoulder, next to that of the head, the
Arab is superior to any other breed. The withers are high, and
the shoulder-blade inclined backward, and so nicely adjusted,
that in descending a hill the point or edge of the ham never
ruffles the skin. He may not be thought sufficiently high ; he
seldom stands more than fourteen hands two inches.
The fineness of his legs, and the oblique position of his
pasterns, may be supposed to lessen his apparent strength ; but
the leg, altliough small, is flat and wiry ; anatomists know that
the bone has no common density, and the startling muscles of
the fore-arm and the thigh indicate that he is fully capable of
accomplishing many of the feats which are recorded of him.
The Barb alone excels him in noble and spirited action ; and
if there be defects about him, he is perfect for that for which he
was designed. He presents the true combination of speed and
bottom — strength enough to carry more than a light weight, and
courage that would cause him to die rather than to give up.
We may not, perhaps, believe all that is told us of the
Arabian. It has been remarked, that there are en the deserts
which this horse traverses no mile-stones to mark the distance,
or watches to calculate the time ; and the Bedouin is naturally
given to exaggeration, and, most of all, when relating the
prowess of the animal, which he loves as dearly a^ his children :
yet it cannot be denied that, at the introduction of the Arabian
into the European stables, there was no other horse comparable
to him.
The Ar*»b hr'r«»*> ig as celebrated for his docility and good
KIND TREATMENT OF HIS HORSE BY THE ARAB. 27
temper as for his speed and coura^^'e. In that deUghtful bookj
' Bishop Heber's Narrative of a Jonrne) through the Upper
Provinces of India,' the Ibilowing interest" ng character is given
of him. " My morning rides are very pleasant. My horse is a
nice, quiet, good-tempered httle Arab, who is so fearless, that
he goes without starting close to an elephant, and so gentle and
docile that he eats bread out of" my hand, and has almost as
much attachment and coaxing ways as a dog. Tiiis seems the
general character of the Arab horses, to judge from what I have
seen in this country. It is not the (iery dashing animal I had
supposed, but with more rationality about him, and more ap-
parent confidence in his rider, than the majority of English
horses."
The kiudness with which he is treated from a foal, gives him
an affection for his master, a wish to please, a pride in exerting
every energy in obedience to his commands, and, consequently,
an apparent sagacity which is seldom seen in other breeds.
The mare and her foal inhabit the same tent with the Bedouin
and his children. The neck of the mare is often the pillow
of the rider, and, more frequently, of the children, who are
rolling about upon her and the foal : yet no accident ever occurs,
and the animal acquires that friendship and love for man which
occasional ill-treatment will not cause him for a moment to
forget.
When the Arab falls from his mare, and is unable to rise, she
will immediately stand still, and neigh until assistance arrives.
If he lies down to sleep, as fatigue sometimes compels him, in
the midst of the desert, she stands watchful over him, and neighs
and rouses him if either man or beast approaches. An old Arab
had a valuable mare that had carried him. for fifteen years in
many a hard-fouglit battle, and many a rapid weary march ; at
length, eighty years old, and unable longer to ride her, he gave
her, and a scimiter that had been his father's, to his eldest son
and told him to appreciate their value, and never lie down to
rest until he had rubbed them both as bright as a looking-glass.
In the first sldrmish in which the young man was engaged he
was killed, and the mare fell into the hands of the enemy.
AVhen the news reached the old man, he exclaimed that " life
was no longer worth preserving, for he had lost both his son and
his mare and he grieved for one as much as the other ;" and he
immediately sickened and died.
Man, however, is an inconsistent being. The Arab who thus
lives with and loves his horses, regarding them as his most
valuable treasure, sometimes treats them with a cruelty scarcely
to be believed, and not at all to be justified. The severest treat-
ment which the English race-horse endures is gentleness compared
28 ANECDOTE.
with the trial of the young Arabian. Probably the filly has
never before been mounted ; she is led out ; her owner springs
on her back, and goads her over the sand and rocks of the desert
at full speed for fifty or sixty miles without one moment's respite.
She is then forced, steaming and panting, into water deep enough
for her to swim. If, immediately after this, she will eat as if
nothing had occurred, her character is established, and she is
acknowledged to be a genuine descendant of the KocJilani
breed. The Arab is not conscious of the cruelty which he thus
inflicts. It is an invariable custom, and custom will induce us
to inflict many a pang on those whom, after all, we love.
The following anecdote of the attachment of an Arab to his
mare has often been told, but it comes home to the bosom
of every one possessed of common feeling. " The whole stock
of an Arab of the desert consisted of a mare. The French consul
offered to purchase her in order to send her to his sovereign,
Louis XIV. The Arab would have rejected the proposal at once
with indignation and scorn ; but he was miserably poor. He
had no means of supplying his most urgent wants, or procuring
the barest necessaries of life. Still he hesitated ; — he had
scarcely a rag to cover him — and his wife and children were
starving. The sum ofiered was great, — it would provide him
and his family with food for life. At length, and reluctantly, he
consented. He brought the mare to the dwelling of the consul, —
he dismounted, — he stood leaning upon her ; — he looked now at
the gold, and then at his favorite ; he sighed — he wept. ' To
whom is it,' said he, ' I am going to yield thee up ? To Europeans,
who will tie thee close, — who will beat thee, — who will render
thee miserable. Return with me, my beauty, my jewel, and
rejoice the hearts of my children.' As he pronounced the last
words, he sprung upon her back, and was out of sight in a mo-
ment."
Our horses would fare badly on the scanty nourishment aflbrded
the Arabian. The mare usually has but one or two meals in
twenty-four hours. During the day she is tied to the door of the
tent, ready for the Bedouin to spring, at a moment's warning,
into the saddle ; or she is turned out before the tent ready sad-
dled, the bridle merely taken olT, and so trained that she gallops
up immediately at her master's call. At night she receives a'
little water ; and with her scanty provender of five or six pounds
of barley or beans, and sometimes a little straw, she lies down
content, in the midst of her master's family. She can, however,
endure great fatigue ; she will travel fifty miles without stopping ;
she has been pushed, on emergency, one hundred and twenty
miles, and occasionally, neither she nor her rider has tasted food
for three whole days.
THIL CANADIAN AND THE NORMAN HORSE. 29
To the Arabian, principally, England is indebted for her im-
proved and now unrivalled breed of horses for the turf, the field,
and the road."
As already said, when speaking of the English race-horse, the
Arabian is not equal to his English descendant. This has also
been incontestably proved in the United States. Pure blood
Arabians of the highest pretensions have at various times been
mported into our country ; but they have never compared in
either speed or bottom, with the English race-horse and his
descendants.
THE CANADIAN HORSE,
Found in the Canadian Provinces, and somewhat in the
Northern United States, is too well known to require any partic-
ular description. He is mainly of French descent — though many
so called, and doubtless some of the fleetest ones, are the produce of a
cross between the Canadian and the English thorough-bred stal-
lion. They are a long-lived, easily kept, and exceedingly hardy
race, making good farm and draft horses, when sufficiently large.
In form, many of them display in a marked manner the charac-
teristics of the Norman — so too in their general qualities — but
they are usually considerably smaller. Stallions of this breed
have in various instances, of late, been introduced into New York
and other northern States, to cross with our common mares.
The result has been decidedly satisfactory, particularly in giving
compactness and vigor of constitution, where the dam does not
excel in those particulars.
A black stallion imported from Canada, a few years since, by
Mr. John Legg, of Skaneateles, N. Y., has got several hundred
colts, which, when broken, have averaged about one hundred
dollars a piece in value ; a sum considerably above the average
prices of horses in the country. They are almost invariably fair
roadsters, and excellent farm-horses. This cross is more and
more findinjr favor amonir our farmers.
THE NORMAN HORSE.
In connection with the Canadian — though not so old a variety
in the United States, as snmi^ of which we have presently to
.speak — we will advert to the French or Norman horse, from
which the Canadian is descended. We cannot do this more
satisfactorily to ourselves, or more usefully to the reader, than to
publish entire the following mterfistuig and admirably candid
30
LETTER FP.OM MR. HARRIS.
'etter from Edward Harris, Esq., of Moorestowii, Burlington Co.,
"STew Jersey, who introduced this breed into the United States.
LOUIS PHILLIPB.*
Moorestown, April 6, 1850.
My dear Sir: — Tour kind favor of the last of March has been duly
received. I regret that, in consequence of the decease of a near relative,
it has been out of my power to prepare my answer as soon as you desired.
I thank you, my dear sir, for the order you have suggested to be observed
in my communication. You will soon perceive that I am by no means a
practised writer, therefore your suggestions are the more acceptable in
aiding me to draw up my " plain, unvarnished tale."
These horses first came under my observation on a journey through
France ii\ the year 1831. I was struck with the immense power displayed
by th-^m in drawing the heavy diligences of that country, at a pace which,
although not as rapid a=! the stage-coach travelling of England, yet such a
pace, say from five to nine miles per hour, the lowest rate of which I do
not hesitate to say, would, in a short time, kill the English horse if placed
before the same load. \x\ confirmation of this opinion I will give you an
extract ^roai an article on the Norman horse in the British Quarterly Jour-
nal of Agriculture, which I quoted in my communication to the Farmer's
Cabinet of Philadelpliia, in 1842, as follows: —
* Bred by Edward Harris, Esq., of Moorestown, New Jersey (in 1843),
from liis pure imported Norman stock. (See Mr. Harris's letter which
follows.) Loui.s Phillipe is an excellent characteristic specimen of the
Norman horse, is a dapple gray, fifteen hands one and one half inches high
and weighs twelve huuihed pounds, in good condition. He is owned by R
B. Howland, E.-q., of Union Springs, Cayuga Couniy, N. Y.
QUALITIEa OF THE NORMAN. 3 J
" Tlie writei , in giving an account of the origin of the liorse, which
agi^^es in tracing it to the Spanisli horse (of Arabian ancestry), wirh the
account which I have given above, wliich I procured from French sources,
says, 'The horses of Normandy are a capital race for Iiard work and scaut\j
fare. I have never seen such horses at the collar, under tjie tliligence, the
post-carriage, the cumbrous and heavy voiture or cabriolet for one or two
horses, or the farm-cart. They are enduring and enerc/etic hei/ond descrip-
tion; with their necks cut to the bone, they flincli not; they put forth all
their etTi)rts at the voice of the brutal driver, or at the dreatied sound of his
never-ceasing whip; theij keep their condition wlien other horses would die
of neglect and hard treatment. A better cross for some of our horses can
not be imagined than those of Normandy, provided they have not the ordi
nary failing, of too much length from the hock downwards, and a heavy
head.' I think that all who have paid attention to this particular breed of
Norman horses (the Percheron, which stands A No. 1), will bear me out in
the assertion that the latter part of this quotation will not apply to them,
and that, on the contrary, they are short from the hock downwards ; that
their heads are short, with the true Arabian face, and not thicker than
they should be to correspond with the stoutness of their bodies. At all
events you can witness that Diligence has not these failings, which, when
absent, an Englishman (evidently, from hi-; article a good horseman) thinks,
constitutes the Norman horse the best imaginable horse for a cross upon
the English horse of a certain description. Again he says, ' They are very
gentle and docile ; a kicking or vicious horse is almost unknown there ; any
person may pass in security at a faii- at the heels of hundreds.' "
My own impressions being fortified by such authority from such a source
(where we look for little praise of anything French), and numerous others,
verbal and written, I made up my mind to feturn to France at an early
day and select a stallion at least, as an ex-.eriment in crossing upon the
hght mares of New Jersey. My intention was unavoidably dela^'ed until
the year 1839, when I went seriously to work to p\u-chase two stallions and
two mares with the aid of a veterinary surgeon of Havre, Monsieur St. Marc,
to whose knowledge of the various distinct breeds which exist in France,
and his untiring zeal in aiding my enterprise, I take great pleasure in
making acknowledgments. The animals in due time were procured, but
the last which was brought for my decision, although a fine stallion, showed
such evident signs of a cross of the English blood (afterwards acknowledged
oy the owner), that I rejected him, and the packet being about to sail, and
f)reparations being made for the shipment, I was obliged to put the stal-
ion and two mares on board, no time beings left to look up another stal
lion. Here another difficulty arose — I could find no competent groom in
Havre to take charge of them on the voyage,. and deliver them in New
York. I was obliged to make an ari-angement with one of the steerage
passengers, a German, who had never been to sea before, to attend to them
to the best of his ability. As you may suppose, I did not feel very well
satisfied with this arrangement. I therefore wrote to M. Meuricc of Paris,
to take charge of my baggage which I had left at his hotel, and the next
morning I was on my way to New York on the packet ship Iowa, Captain
Peck, where I lived in the round-hf>use on deck, with himself and officeru
It was the Iowa's first voyage, and her cabin had not been finished, so great
was the fear of the owners, at that time, that their " occupation was gone"
of carrying cabin passengers, in consequence of the recent success of the
English sea-steamers. We had three hundred steerage, and I was the only
cabin passenger. The horses were also on deck. The first night, so great
was the change in the temperature, on the occurrence of a slight storm,
that aU the horses took violent colds, and. unfortunately, with the best U3<^
32 THE PERCHERON.
I could make of M. St. Marc's medicine-chest, and his very judicious direc-
tions for the treatment of the horses under tliis anticipated state of affaira,
I could not prevent the death of the stallion from inflammation of the lungs,
before reaching New York. The mares were landed safely, but too much
stiffened by the voyage and their sickness, to make the journey at once across
the Jerseys on foot. I procured a trusty man to accompany them, and sent
them by railroad for Burlington. The next morning I had the mortifica-
tion to see my man returned with the sad news that the finest mai-e had
I-»r()k(;n through the bottom of the car, and fractured one of her hind legs
Tlnu left with one horse out of four selected, the only alternative was to
giv(? up, or go back for more. I did not hesitate about the latter, and m
three weeks I was steaming it on board the Great Western. My next pur-
chase was " Diligence," another stallion, and two mares. This time I was
move fortunate, and procured an excellent groom to accompany them, who
succeeded in getting them safely to New York and to Moorestown, carefully
cJmmdng the railroad. I have, since that time, lost one of the mares, and
the other stallion went blind after making one season. Not wishing to run
the risk of perpetuating a race of horses with weak eyes, I have not since
permitted him to cover mares ; though I must say for him that his colts
have all good eyes, and stand high in public favor.
Those who are acquainted with the thorougli-bred Canadian horse, will
see in hkn a perfect model, on a small scale, of the Percheron horse. This
is the peculiar breed of Normandy which are used so extensively through-
out tlie northern half of France for diligence and post-horses, and from the
best French authorities I could command (I cannot now quote the precise
authorities), I learned that they were proiluced by the cross of the Andahi-
sian horse upon the old heavy Norman horse, whose portrait may still be
seen as a war-horse on the painted windows of the cathedral of Rouen, sev-
eral centuries old. At the ti.ne of the occupation of the Netherlands by
the Spaniards, the Andalusian was the favorite stallion of the north of Eu
rope, and thus a stamp of the true Barb was implanted, which remoins to
the present day. If you will allow me to digress a moment, I will give
you a short desc! iption of the old Norman draught-horse on which the cross
was made. They average full sixteen hands in height, with head short,
thick, wide and hollow between the eyes ; jaws heavy; ears short and
pointed well forwards ; neck very short and thick ; mane heavy ; shoulder
well inclined backwards; back extremely short; rump steep; quarters
verv broad; chest deep and wide; tendons large; muscles excessively de-
veloped ; legs very short, particularly from the knee and hock to the fet-
lock, and thence to the coronet, which is covered with long hair, hiding half
the hoof; much hair on the legs.
The bone and muscle, and much of the form of the Percheron is derived
from this horse, and he gets his spirit and action from thb Andalusian. Do-
cility comes from both sides. On the expulsion of the Spaniards from the
north, the supply of Andalusian stallions was cut off, and since that time
in the Perche district in Normandy, their progeny has doubtless been bred
in-and-in ; hence the remarkable uniformity of the breed, and the disposi-
tion to impart their form to their progeny beyond any breed of domestic
animals within my knowledge. Another circumstance which I think has
tended to perpetuate the good qualities of these horses, is the fact of all
their males being kept entire ; a gelding is, I believe, unknown among the
rural horses of France. You may be startled at this notion of mine, but if
you reflect a moment, you must perceive that in such a state of things (so
contrary to our practice and that of the English) the farmer will always
breed from the best horse, and he will have an opportunity of judging, be-
cause the horse has been broken to harness and his qualities known before
DILIGENCE. 33
he could command business «s a stallion. Hence, too, their indifference to
pedigree.
If the success of Diligence as a stallion is any evidence of the value of
the breed, I can state, that he has averaged eighty mares per season for the
ten seasons he has made in this country, and a^he is a very sure foal getter,
be must have produced at least four hundred colts ; and as I have never
vet heard of a colt of his that would not readily bring one hundred dollars,
and many of them much higher prices, you can judge of the benefit which
Qas accrued from his services. I have yet to learn that he has produced
me worthless colt, nor have I heard of one that is spavined, curbed, ring-
boned, or has any of those defects which render utterly useless so large a
number of the tine-bred colts of the present day. The opinion of good
judges here is, that we have never had, in this part of the country at
least, so valuable a stock of horses for farming purposes ; and further, that
no horse that ever stood in this section of the country has produced the
same number of colts whose aggregate value has been equal to that of the
colts of Diligence ; for the reason that, although there may have been indi-
viduals among them which would command a much higher price than any
of those of Diligence, yet the number of blemished and indifferent colts has
been so great, as quite to turn the scale in his favor.
In reply to your queries, I would say to the first, that Diligence has not
been crossed at all with thorough-bred mares — such a thing is almost un-
known here at the present day ; but those mares the nearest approaching
to it have produced the cleanest, neatest, and handsomest colts, though
hardly large enough to command the best prices. Those I know of that
cross are excellent performers.
2. The style of mares with which Diligence breed? best, appears to me to
be the mare which you would choose to breed carriage-horses from, with
a good length of neck, and tail coming out on a line with the back, to cor-
rect the two prominent faults in form of the breed, the short neck and
steep rump.
3. What is the result of the cross with different styles (as regards size
and shape) ? This may be answered in a general way by stating, the size
will depend somewhat upon the size of the mare, with due allowance for
casting after back stock, which will be well understood by breeders. As
regards shape, you may depend upon the predominance of the form of the
horse in nine cases out of ten ; indeed, I have only seen one of his colts
that I could not instantly recognize from the form. The reason will occur
to you from what I have said of the extreme purity of the breed : such as
they are they have been for centuries ; and could you find another race
of horses of entirely different form in the same category as regards theii
pedigree, my belief is, that when you should see the first colt from them,
you would see the model of all that were to follow.
4. Can you breed carriage-horses sufficiently fashionable for the city mar-
kets ? I do not hesitate to say that it cannot be done with the first cross.
There is too much coarseness about them, which must be worn down by
judicious crossing ; and I think a stallion got by Diligence upon a large-
sized thorough-bred mare, would go very far towards producing the desired
result. Should this fail, I feel very confident that another cross from these
colts on the thorough-bred mare, will give you the Morgan-horxe on a
larger scale. I still hold to the opinion I expressed to you years ago, that
le action of our common horses would be improved by this cross. His
• •- Its have higher action than their dams, and generally keep their feet bet-
ter under them; in other words, they pick them up quicker, not suffering
tiiem to rest so long upon the ground.
3 b
34 THE COLTS OF DILIGENCE.
Your fifth and sixth questions will be answered by what I have furtboi
to '»ay in regard to the progeny of Diligence.
I may safely say they are universally docile and kind, at the same time
spirited and lively. They break-in without any difficulty. As regards
their speed, I do not know ^f any that can be called fast horses, though
many smart ones among ordinary road horses. Diligence, as I have said
elsewhere, was chosen (for obvious reasons) as a full-sized specimen of the
breed. As for speed in trotting, we cannot doubt its being in the breed,
when we look at the instances among the thorough-bred Canadian ponies.
Could I have made my selection from the stallions which I rode behind in
the diligences, I could have satisfied the most fastidious on this point, but,
unfortunately, these horses all belonged to the government, and are never
sold until past service. My main object was to produce a valuable farm
horse. The chance of fast colts is not very great ; because those persons
having fast mares to breed from, naturally look for a fast stallion, and fail-
ing to find him, take one of the best English blood they can find ; and
should they occur, they will be mares, or, ten to one, horses, gelded before
their good qualities are discovered. Perhaps some part of what I say
above will be more clear to you if I say, that I hold to the opinion that the
Percheron blood still exists in Canada in all its purity.
You will think, perhaps, that I have said quite enough about my humble
hobby, and you will have found out too, that I have no idea, contrary to
your good-natured warning, of making " swans of my geese." What I
should like to see would be further importations of these horses, thereby
multiplying the chances for a happy hit in crossing, and to draw public atten-
tion to them, which would do more for them than writing till doomsday.
So fnr from considering these horses as capable by any crossing of producing
the very best of horses for all purposes, that is to say, the best horse-of-all-
work, I believe that if I had my time to live over again, had a very large
landed estate, an unlimited supply of " the dust,'" I could produce that
horse by breeding from the thorough-bred English racer. It would not
be difficult now to select, to start from, stallions and mares possessing all
the requisites of size, form, temper, (fee. ; but each of these individuals is
such a compound of all kinds of ancestors, good, bad, and indifferent, that
you would be obliged fi-om their progeny to select and reject so often, for
faults of size and form, and for blemishes and vices, that your allotted days
would be near a close before you produced anything like uniformity in the
breed. Still, we see what has been done by Bakewell and others in breed-
ing stock, therefore I contend, a la Sam Patch, that what has been done
may be done again.
I therefore am decidedly of opinion, that we cannot do better, if we wish
to produce in any reasonable time a most invaluable race of horses for the
farm and the road, than to breed form the full-sized Norman or Percheron
horse.
Mr. Rowland's horse (the portrait of which is given at the beginning of
1 his article) is of r!ie true breed, having been raised by me from one of my
iHiiforted mare.'s put to Diligence, and I consider him a remarkably fine
"Specimen of the breed.
I remain, yours very sincerely,
EDWARD HARRIS.
Mr Youatt in speaking of the French horses, says : " The
best French horses are bred in Limousin and Normandy. From
the former district come excellent saddle-horses and hunters ;
%nd from the latter a stronger species for the road, the cavalry,
THE MORGAN.
35
or the (jarria^e. The Norman horses are now much crossed by
our hunters, and occasionally by the thorough-bred ; and the Eng
lish roadster and light drail horse has not suHered by a mixture
with the Norman." In his remarks on the Coach Horse, Mr.
Y. says : — " The Normandy carriers travel with a team of four
horses, and from fourteen to twenty-two miles in a day, with a
load of ninety hundred weight."
THE MORGAN HORSE.
GENERAL GIFFORD.
OffH'
Of this celebrated American variety or family of horses, the
writer of this possesses little knowledge derived from personal
experience. That they have obtained m.uch celebrity as light
buggy and saddle horses, — attracted much notice and admira-
tion at the New York State Fairs from their remarkably spirited
action and evident docility — sold for high prices not only for the
* " General GifFord" was got by Gifford Morgan, he by Burbank. he by
the original " Morgan Horse." The dam of General Gifford was got by
Sherman Morgan. He is ISi hands high, of a dark chestnut color, exceed
ingly compact ; remarkable for his muscular development, and is said by a
correspondent in the Genessee Farmer, in " only decent working condition'
to have weighed 10-40 pounds. The same correspondent states on the au-
thority of Mr. Mason (who has owned the horse), that he has trotted a mile
inside of three minutes. He is a horse of great action, and is considered a
very characteristic and favorable specimen of the breed in all particulars
He is now owned by Chark^s W TngersoU Esq., of L^di. Seneca Co.. N, Y
0(j ORIGIN OF THE MORGAN.
saddle and buggy, but as stallions to extend the breed, — is cei
tain. They have many warm admirers, and find ready pur-
chasers. Others, on the contrary, are disposed to concede to
them no uncommon value as a family, as will be seen by some
quotations v/hich we shall presently make.
The origin of the Morgans is thus stated in a letter to us from
a highly intelligent and, ah we believe, perfectly responsible
source : —
Burlington, March Sth, 1850.
My dear Sir, — Tlie conflicting reports concerning the origin of the
"Morgan" horse are so numerous, and come in "such questionable shapes,"
that no one can be satisfied beyond a doubt of the truth of any one story.
The pedigree given by the descendants of Mr. Justin Morgan, is, in my
estimation, the one entitled to the most credit. They have made oath to
certain statements in regard to the pedigree of the " Morgan" horse. But
these statements, so far as I can learn, depend upon the reminiscences of
early childhood, anil consequently are not entitled to implicit confidence.
Adopting the pedigree, as given by a son of Mr. Justin Morgan, as the
most reliable pedigree, I will proceed. The original " Morgan " horse, the
founder of the family of horses known by that name, was brought, at two
years old. in 1795, from Springfield, Rlass., to Randolph, Vt., by Justin
Morgan, of the latter place. He was got by " True Britton," he by More-
ton's "Traveller" (imported), among whose ancestors are found "English
Eclipse," " Childers," and the " Godolphin Arabian." "True Britton" (not
the hoi-se of same name mentioned in the Stud Book, and got by imported
" Othello"), was stolen from Gen. Delancey, of New York, while with a
band of refugee troops on Long Island. Gen. Delancey was the importer
of the horses " Wild-air" and " Lath," both thorough-bred horses — the for-
mer of such superiority that he was sent back to England, in 1772.
Judging from Gen. Delancey's taste in horses, it is but right to infer
that "True Britton" was thorough-bred. Thus much for the sire of the
"Morgan" horse. Concerning his dam, Mr. F. A. Weir, of Walpole, N.
H., writes as follows (Cultivator, January, 1840, p. 19.): "The dam is
described by Mr. John Morgan, who knew her, as of the 'Wild-air' breed,
of middling size, with a heavy chest, of a very light bay color, with a
bushy mane and tail, the hair on the legs rather long, and a smooth, hand-
some traveller. She was got by ' Diamond,' a thick heavy horse, of about
the middling size, with a thick heavy mane and tail, hairy legs, and a smooth
traveller," " Diamond," Mr. Weir further says, was got by " Wild-air," out
of the " noted imported ?^ar(? ' Wild-air.' " I can find no account of any
such importation, and deem it improbable that a mare and horse should
have been imported about the same time, and allowed to retain one and
the same name. However, I may be wrong, and Mr. Weir right. " Wild-
air," sire of " Diamond," was got by imported " Wild-air."
The reasonable conclusion from this statement is, that the dam of the
old " Morgan" had some good blood in her veins, but was ,iot thorough-
bred. This, it is believed, is as correct and reliable an account of the pedi-
gree of the " Morgan" horse as caji be obtained. From the appearance of
chose horses now living, nearest related to the original " Morgan," it is evident
that the old horse was possessed of no small share of pure blood. There
can be no good reason to doubt the above pedigree, if we judge from the
character of the immediate descendants of the old horse.
There were but four colts of the original " Morgan" kept as stallions.
and concerning; the blood of theu' dams nothing is known.
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MORGAN. 37
I. " Rpvenge ' was foaled in Claremont, N. H., out of a " middle-sized
white mare, of no particular blood."
II. " Shermau Morgan," raised in Lyndon, Vt., was from a " chestnut
colored mare, of rather light bone, and said to be of English blood."
III. " Bulrush," bred by Mr. Gifford, of Tunbridge, Vt., was out of .
"thick, heavy, dark bay and rather lazy mare."
IV. " Woodbury," or "Burbank," was also foaled in Tunbridge, Vt., and
was out of a " bay marc, said to weigh about 1000 pounds, a smart, good
Iriver."
" Burbank" was doubtless the best colt from the loins of the old horse,
kept as a stallion. He was the sire of the " GitTord Morgan, now owned
by F. A. Weir, of Walpole, N. H.," [and grandsire of " General Gifford,"
given in our cut. — £d.]
The Committee of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society, " on
stock owned out ol' the State," at the State Fair at Auburn, in
184G, thus spoke of the Morgans, and of the horse (General
Gifford) represented in the cut, and of his sire GijETord Morgan : —
" Gififord Morgan, a dark chestnut stallion, fourteen hands and three
inches high, aged twenty years, was exhibited by F. A. Weir, of Walpole,
N. H. It is claimed on the part of his owner, that this horse possesses the
celebrated " Morgan" blood in greater purity than any other now living.
"General Gifford," got by the above-named horse, was exhibited by Mr. 0.
Blodget, of Chelsea, Vt. In his size, figure, action, and color, he closely
resembles his sire. Both are exceedingly compact horses, deep chested,
strong-backed, with fore-legs set wide apart, and carrying their heads
(which are small, with fine, well set eyes) high and gracefully, without a
bearing-rein. Their action attracted the marked admiration of all. This
breed are reputed to possess great bottom and hardiness, and everything
about the two presented, goes to prove that their reputation, in this par-
ticular, is well founded. For light carriage or buggy horses, it would l)e
difficult to equal them, and if by crossing with prime large mares, of any
breed, size could be obtained in the progeny, without losing the tjre ajid
action of the Morgan, the result of the cross would be a carriage of very
superior quality. Your committee are not aware of the extent or result
of sucli crosses, in the region where the Morgans originated. Unless expe-
rience has already demonstrated their inutility, we could recommend to our
horse-breeders, some well-considered experiments, limited at first, to test
the feasibility of engrafting the Morgan characteristics on a larger horse."
A distinguished judge of horses in Yermont, writes us : —
" The original Morgan ought not to be pronounced a thorough-bred horse,
not having been bred from a full blood mare. Yet it is evident that the
rich, high blood from which he sprung, though slightly diluted, is the cause
of the reputation to which his stock has attained. But when we trace down
his stock, we find, in the very first generation, an admixture of cold, worth-
less blood, to the full measure of one half The result, usual in similar
cases, IS found here. Many of the colts related more or less nearly to tha
old horse, exliibit the characteristics of the " Morgan" /o?-jn, but lack com-
pactness— not of general form, hut of muscle, and they lack bottom. The
general characteristics of the Morgan family, are small size, weighing from
Beven hundred to one thousand pounds — a long but strong back — plump
38 THE CLEVELAND BAY.
ness of general contour, like a Berkshire pig — short, strong, hairy legs — a
brufique air — a bustling gait, with more pucker and gather than freedom
and elasticity of step — long, coarse hair — heavy mane and tail — and a sur-
prising predisposition to accumulate fat, instead of muscle — and a remark-
ably docile and tractable temper. As a general thing, the " Morgans" have
not length of stride enough to be good roadsters. They take too many
steps in a mile. It is but very rarely one can be found that proves to be a
good " all-day horse." It often occurs that one can be driven ten miles
within the hour, and perhaps at the same rate for the second hour, Avithout
apparent distress or injury. But for a high rate of speed throughout the
day, search must be made among other families than the " Morgan." There
is a place for them, however. They are good for an hour's drive — for
short stages. They are good to run around town with. They are good in
the light pleasure-wagon — prompt, lively (not spirited) and " trappy."
There is no question among those who have had fair opportunities of com-
paring the " Morgans" with horses of purer blood, and descended from dif-
ferent stocks, in regard to the relative position of the " Morgan." He is, a?
he exists at the present day, inferior in size, speed, and bottom, in fact, Idn
all those qualities necessary for the performance of " great deeds" on the
road or the farm, to the descendants of Messenger, Duroc, imp. MagnuL..
Bonum, and of many other horses of deserved celebrity. The Clifford Mor-
gan embodies the characteristics of the " Morgan" form, or did embody
them, better, and in more prominent and pleasant relief than any other
horse I am acquainted with, of this family." * * *
The above is not, as already stated, the popular estimate of
this family. Having stated both sides of the question, we leave
it to the judgment of the pubhc.
THE CLEVELAND BAT.
According to Mr. Youatt, the true Cleveland Bay is nearly ex-
tinct in England. They were formerly employed as a heavy,
slow coach-horse. Mr. Y. says : " The origin of the better kind
of coach-horse is the Cleveland Bay, coniined principally to
Yorkshire and Durham, with, perhaps, Lincolnshire on one side,
and Northumberland on the other, but difficult to meet with
pure in either county. The Cleveland mare is crossed by a
three-fourths, or thorough-bred horse of sufficient substance and
height, and the produce is the coach-horse most in repute, with
his arched crest and high action. From the thorough-bred of
sufficient height, but not of so much substance, we obtain the
four-in-hand, and superior curricle-horse.
From less height and more substance we have the hunter and
better sort of hackney ; and, from the half-bred, we derive the
machineer, the poster, and the common carriage-horse : indeed,
Cleveland, and the Yale of Pickering, in the East Riding of
Yorkshire, may be considered as the most decided breeding coun-
'.ry in England for coach-horses, hunters, and hackneys."
Again, in his article on the Farmer's Horse, Mr. Y. says: "If
THE DRAY HORSE. 39
he (the farmer) has a superior mare, one of the old Cleveland
breed, and puts her to a L<:Jliy, three-fourths-bred horse, or, if he
can find oTie stout and compact enough, a seven-eighths, or a
thorough-bred one. he will have a fair chance to rear a colt that
will amply repay tiim as a hunter or carriage-horse."
In his article on Heavy Draught Horses, Mr. Y. says : " The
Cleveland horses have been known to carnj more than seven
hundred pounds sixty miles in twenty-four hours, and to perform
this journey four times in a week."
Cleveland Bays were imported into western New York, a few
years since, where they have spread considerably. They have
often been exhibited at our State Fairs. They are monstrously
large, and, for their size, are symmetrical horses, and possess very
respectable action. Whether they would endure on the road, at
any but a moderate pace, we are not informed, and have some
doubts. Whether they spring from the genuine and unmixed
Cleveland stock, now so scarce in England, we have no means of
knowmg. The half-bloods, the produce of a cross with our com-
mon mares, are liked by many of our farmers. They are said to
make strong, serviceable farm beasts — though rather prone to
sullemiess of temper.
THE DRAT HORSE.
Of the Heavy Black Dray Horses, but few have been imported
into this country, and they do not seem likely to become favorites
here. Mr. Youatt says of them :
" The Heavy Black Horse is the last variety it may be necessary
to notice. It is bred chiefly in the midland counties from Lin-
colnshire to Staffordshire. Many are bought up by the Surrey
and Berkshire farmers at two years old, — and being worked mod-
erately until they are four, earning their keep all the while, they
are then sent to the London market, and sold at a profit of ten or
twelve per cent.
It would not answer the breeder s purpose to keep them until
they are fit for toAvn-work. He has plenty of fillies and mares
on his farm for every purpose that he can require ; he therefore
sells them to a person nearer the metropolis, by whom they a.re
gradually trained and prepared. The traveller has probably
wondered to see four of these enormous animals in a line before
a plough, on no very heavy soil, and where two lighter horses
would have been quite sufficient. The farmer is training them
for their future destiny ; and he does right in not requiring the
exertion of all their strength, for their bones are not yet perfectly
formed, nor their joints knit ; and were he to urge them too se-
trerely, he would probably injure and deform them. By the geiw
40 THE AMERICAN TROTTING-HOK.SE.
tie and constant exercise of the plough, he is preparing them for
that continued and equable pull at the collar, which is after-
wards so necessary. These horses are adapted more for parade
and show, and to gratify the ambition which one brewer has to
outvie his neighbor, than for any peculiar utility. They are cer-
tainly noble-looking animals, with their round fat carcases, and
their sleek coats, and the evident pride which tliey take in them-
selves ; but they eat a great deal of hay and corn, and at hard
and long-continued work they would be completely beaten by a
team of active muscular horses an inch and a half lower.
The only plea which can be urged in their favor, beside their
fine appearance, is, that as shaft-lmrses over the badly-paved
streets of the metropolis, and with the immense loads they often
have behind them, great bulk and weight are necessary to stand
the unavoidable shaking and battering. Weight must be opposed
to weight, or the horse would sometimes be quite thiown off his
legs. A large heavy horse must be in the shafts, and then little
ones before him would not look well.
Certainly no one has walked the streets of London without
pitying the poor thill-horse, jolted from side to side, and exposed
to many a bruise, unless, with admirable cleverness, he accom-
modates himself to every motion ; but, at the same time, it must
be evident, that bulk and fat do not always constitute strength,
and that a compact muscular horse, approaching to sixteen hands
high, would acquit himself far better in such a situation. The
dray-horse, in the mere act of ascending from the wharf, may
display a powerful effort, but he afterwards makes little exertion,
much of his force being expended in transporting his own over-
grown mass."
THE AMERICAN TROTTING-HORSE.
Before leaving the consideration of our present topic — the con-
sideration of the principal breeds and varieties of horses now in
the United States — we cannot refrain from calling attention to
our trotting-horses, though in reality they do not, at least as a
whole, constitute a breed, or even a distinct variety or family.
There is a family of superior trotters, including several the best
our country has ever produced, the descendants of Abdallah and
Messenger, and running back through their sire Mambrino, to the
thorough-bred horse, old Messenger. But many of our best trot-
ters, including the extraordinary animal of which we have given
a cut, have no known pedigrees, and some of them, without
doubt, are entirely destitute of the blood of the race-horse. Lady
Suffolk is by Engineer, but the blood of Engineer is unknown
^she is a {rray mare, fifteen hands and two inches high). Dutch
SUPERIORITY OF AMERICAN TROTTERS.
41
LADY SUFFOLK.
man has no known pedigree. Other celebrated trotters stand in
the same category, — though we are inchned to think that a de-
cided majority of the best, especially at long distances, have a
greater or less infusion of the blood of the race-horse.
The United States has undoubtedly produced more superior
iTotters than any other country in the world, and in no other
couutry has the speed of the best American trotters been equalled.
The New York " Spirit of the Times" — the best authority in oui
country on this and all kindred topics — thus compares the Eng-
lish and American trotters : —
• Ximrod, in admitting the superiority of our trotting-horses to the
' English,' claims that the English ' approach very near to the Americans,
even in this breed of cattle. Possibly the characteristic national vanity
would not allow him to make a further concession. But there is no com
parison whatever between the trotting-horses of the two countries. Mr
Wheelan, who took Rattler to England last season, and doubly distanced
with ease every horse that ventured to start against him, as the record shows,
informs us that there are twenty or more roadsters in common use in thia
city, that could compete successfully with the fastest trotters on the Eng
lish turf They neither understand the art of training, driving, or riding,
there. For example : some few years since, Alexander was purchased by
Messrs. C. and B. of this city, for a friend or acquaintance, in England.
Alexander was a well-known roadster here, and was purchased to order af
a low rate. The horse was sent out and trials made of him ; but so unsuc
42 CAUSES OF THE SUPERIORITY OF AMERICAN TROTTERS.
cessful were they, that the English importers considered him an imposition.
Thus the matter stood for a year or more. When Wheelan arrived in Eng
land, he recognized the horse, and learned the particulars of his purchase
and subsequent trials there. By his advice the horse was nominated in a
stake at Manchester (we believe) with four or five of the best trotters in
England, he (Wheelan) engaging to train and ride him. When the., horses
came upon the ground, the odds were 4 and 5 to 1 against Alexander, who
won by nearly a quarter of a mile ! Wheelan says he took the track at
starting, and widened the gap at his ease — that near the finish, being sur-
prised that no horse was anywhere near him, as his own had not yet made
a stroke, he got frightened, thinking some one might outbrush him — that he
put Alexander up to his work, and finally won by an immense way, no
horse, literally, getting to the head of the quarter stretch, as he came out
at the winning stand ! The importers of Alexander, at any rate, were so
surprised aiiJ delighted at his performance, that they presented Wheelan
with a magnificent gold timing- watch, and other valuable presents, and sent
Messrs. 0. and B. a superb service of plate, which may be seen at any
time at their establishment in Maiden Lane."
From whence does this superiority of the American trotters
spring ? Is it from blood ? This would seem to he disproved
from the facts already shown. The American trotter belongs
to no particular breed or blood. Many of our celebrated trotters
have partaken more or less deeply of the blood of the English
race-horse. The Abdallah and Messenger family are consider-
ably more than half-bloods — the dams of these horses being
also of Messenger blood. Unless it is shown that the unknown
or common blood which they possess, has been the source of
their siqieriority as trotters, then it is certain that England
possesses as good materials as ourselves, so far as blood is con-
cerned, for breeding trotters. The former has never, so far as
we are aware, been claimed, and there is not a reasonable doubt
that England does possess all the requisite materials to equal us.
The diilereiice has been occasioned by management, training,
and attentiou to this definite object. On this subject, we quote
the following just and highly spirited remarks from a disser-
tation on American Trotting Horses^ by that talented but ilU
rewarded veteran agricultural writer, Hon. J. S. Skinner :- —
" According to the theory here maintained, the great number of trotters
in America that can go, as before said, their mile under three minutes, and
there are many who do it under 2m. 40.s., and even in some cases under
1in. 305., — as for instance in the case of Ripton and Confidence, whose per-
formances have given so much gratification to sportsmen, is to be explained
,x\ tlie same way that we account for the great number of siiperb hunters
that are admitted to abound in England above all countries, not excepting
our own. There, in every county in the Kingdom, there are organized
" Hunts,'" with their whippers-in, and huntsmen, and earth-stoppers, and
* See prefatory chapter to the American edition of Youatt on the
^lorse. Lea tk Blanchard : Philadelphia, 1849.
ENGLISH HUNTERS AND AMERICAN TROTTERS. 43
costly appointmonts of every kind to accommodate some fifty or an hun-
dred coujjle of high-bred hounds, whose pedigrees are as well preserved as
those of Priam or Long waist ; and a wide district of country is reserved
and assigned exclusively to each hunt. Fox-hunting is there termed par
excellence, a princely amusement, and gentlemen of the most exalted rank
and largest fortune, take pride in the office of ''Master of the liounds,^' and
assuredly in all the wide field of manly exercises, none can compare with
an English fox or steeple-chase, for union of athletic vigor and daring skill,
and magnificence of equitation; unless perhaps it were some splendid
charge de cavalrie, like those we used to read of, made by the gallant
MuRAT at a critical moment of the battle, when he was wont, in his gor-
geous uniform and towering plumes, to fall with his cavalry like an ava-
lanche upon his adversary, confounding and crushing him at a blow !
Truly, it would well be worth a trip across the Atlantic, to see a single
" turn out" of an English hunt, all in their fair tops, buckskin smalls, and
scarlet coats, mounted on hunters that under Tattersall's hammer would
command from one to two hundred guineas ! Imagine such a field with
thirty couple of staunch hounds, heads up and sterns down, all in full cry,
and well away with then- fox ! !
■NoAV, my brave youths,
Flourish the whip, nor spare the galling spur ;
But in the madness of delight, forget
Your fears. Far o'er the rocky hills we range,
And dangerous our course ; but in the brave
True courage never fails."
To indicate more strongly the prevalence of this partiality for trotting-
horses, and emulation to own the fiistest goer, and the number and extent
of associations and arrangements for this sort of trial and amusement, it
need only be mentioned that the " Spirit of the Times," published in New
York, contains lists of matches and purses, and of thousands on thousands
of dollars in small purses, won and lost on these };erformances on trotting
courses! These performances show that the excel' etice which is conceded
to American trotters, is not founded on a solitary achievement or very rare
cases, nor to be ascribed to the possession of any distinct and peculiar breed
of horses ; but is the natural and common fruit of that union of blood and
bone, which forms proverbially the desideratum in a good hunter, with the
superaddition of skilful training, much practice, and artful jockeying, for
the trotting course. Who can doubt that if Hiram Woodruff were to go to
England, having the run of their hunting-stables, he might select nags
enough which could soon be made, under his training and consummate
jockeyship, to go along with Edwin Forrest and Lady Suffolk, Ripton,
llattler. Confidence, and the Dutchman ?"
CHAPTER II.
THE ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE HORSE.
[Before commencing the perusal of the following chapters, the reader, and
particularly the young reader, is earnestly requested to turn back and read
the Introduction. It is believed that he will there find some highly useful
and important hints in regard to the manner of acquiring a full knowledge
of the contents of the work. — much of which, comparatively speaking, will
be but imperfectly understood by him, without attention to the rules there
laid down. — Am. Fd.]*-
In his zoological classification, the Horse ranks under the divi-
sion vertebrata — ^the class mammalia — the tribe ungulata — the
order pachydermata — and the family solipeda.
The solipeda consist of several sjoecies, as the horse, the ass, the
mule, and the quagga.
First stands the Equus Caeallus, or Common Horse.
The horse has six incisors or cutting teeth in the front of each
jaw ; and one canine tooth or tusk.
On each side, above and below — at some distance from the
incisors, and behind the canines, and with some intervening
space — are six molar teeth, or grinders ; and these molar teeth
have flat crowns, with ridges of enamel, and that enamel pene-
trating into the substance of the tooth.
The whole is thus represented by natural historians : —
Horse. — Incisors^, canines — , molar - — -. Total, fort\
.eeth. ^ -^ 1-1 ^-6
♦ The work should be read through in course, ealier bemg f.^equentlj
D3ces?ary to explain later portions of it : and he who would derive the full
advantage of it, should never pass over a word without understanding its
signification. Many of the scientific terms admit of no substitutes — at least
without much and 'frequently recurring circumlocution — and their detinitiona
will usually be found in Webster's dictionary. These should be committed
to memory; and especially the names of the different parts and tissues.
Much less trouble of this kind is necessary, than would be supposed, to r
full understanding of the work.
SKELr.i'ON OF THE HORSE.
45
Skeleton of the Horse.
Fig. 1.
The Head.
The posterior maxillary or under jaw.
The superior maxillary or upper jaw. A little lower down than the letter
is a foramen, through which pass the nerves and blood vessels which
chiefly supply the lower part of the face.
The orbit, or cavity containing the eye.
The nasal bones, or bones of the nose.
The suture dividing the parietal bones below from the occipital bones above.
The inferior maxillary bone, containing the upper incisor teeth.
The Seven Cervical Vertebrae, or bones of the neck.
The Eighteen Dorsal Vertebrte, or bones of the back.
The Six Lumbar Vertebrae, or bones of the loins.
The Five Sacral Vertebrae, or bones of the haunch.
The Caudal Vertebrae, or bones of the tail, generally about fifteen.
The Scapula, or shoulder-blade.
The Sternum, or fore-part of the chest.
The Costae, or ribs, seven or eight articulating with the sternum, and called
the true ribs, and ten or eleven united together by cartilage, called the
Jalse ribs.
The Humerus, or upper bone of the arm.
The Radius, or upper bone of the arm.
The LHna, or elbow. The point of the elbow is called the Olecranon.
The Carpus, or knee, consisting of seven bones.
The Metacarpal bones. The larger metacarpal or cannon or shank in
front, and the smaller metacarpal or splint bone behind.
46 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.
g The fore pastern and foot, consisting of the Os SufFraginis, or the upper an«*'
larger pastern bone, with the sesamoid bones behind, articulating with
the cannon and greater pastern ; the Os Coronas, or lesser pastern ; the
Os Pedis, or cotliu bone ; and the Os Naviculare, or navicular, or shuttle-
bone, not seen, and articulating with the smaller pastern and collin
bones.
/i The coiTesponding bones of the hind-feet.
O The Haunch, consisting of three portions, the Ilium, the Ischium, and the
Pubis.
P The Femur, or thigh.
Q, The stiile joint with the Patella.
R The Tibia, or proper leg bone — behind is a small bone called the fibula.
S The Tarsus, or hock, composed of six bones. The prominent part is the Os
Calcis, or point of the hock.
T The Metatarsals of the hind leg.
THE SENSORIAL FUN'CTIO:^'
An accurate knowledge of what constitutes the just structure
of the horse — the form and connection of parts on which strength,
or fleetness, or stoutness, must necessarily depend, is claimed by
nearly all who have had anything to do with this noble animal ;
but in reality it is possessed by very few.
In speaking of the structure of this animal, and the points
which guide the opinion of real judges of him, we shall, as briefly
and as simply as we are able, explain those fundamental princi-
ples on which his usefulness and beauty must depend. We re-
quire one kind of horse for slow and heavy draught, and another
for lighter and quicker work ; one as a pleasant and safe roadster
— another, with more speed and equal contiimance, as a hunter —
and another still is wanted for the race-course. What is the pe-
culiarity of structure — what are the particular points that will
fit each for his proper business, and, to a certain degree, unfit him
for everything else ? The farmer will require a horse of aU-ivork,
that can carry him to market and take him round his farm — on
which he can occasionally ride for pleasure, and which he must
sometimes degrade to the dung-cart or the harrow. What com-
bination of powers will enable the animal to discharge most of
these duties well, and all of them to a certain extent profitably?
Much time spent among horses, an acquired love of them, and
a little, sometimes possibly too dearly-bought experience, may
give the agriculturist some insight into these matters. And we
shall try to render him some useful assistance in this affair — to
teach him why certain points must be good or bad — and to induce
him to discard many common but dangerous errors and prejudices.
It is only by being well acquainted Math the structure and anatomy
of the horse, that we can appreciate his shape and uses, or under-
stand the different diseases to which he is liable.
The nervous system will first pass in review, for it is the mov
ing power of the whole machine. It consists of the brain, to
THE HEAD.
47
which all sensation is referred or carried, ai.d from whicli all
voluntary motion is derived — the spinal cord, a prolongation of
the brain, and thus comiected with sensation and voluntary mo-
tion, governing all the involuntary motions of the frame, and by
power from which the heart beats, and the lungs heave, and the
stomach digests ; and one other system of nerves — the ganglionic
— presiding over the functions oi' secretion and of nutrition, atd
the repair and the welfare of the frarae generally.
The Head. — The following cut represents the head of the
horse divided into the numerous bones of which it is composed,
and the boundaries of each bone clearly marked by the sutures
which comiect it with those around. It is composed of nine
bones.
a a Tlie frontal bones, oi' bones of the forehead.
b b The supra-orbital foramina or holes above the
oroit, through which the nerves and blood-
vessels supplying the forehead pass out. The
small hole beneath receives the vessels which
dip into and supply the bone.
C c The parietal bones, or walls of the skull.
d d The temporal bones, or bones of the temples.
e e The zygomatic, or yoke-shaped arch.
// The temporal fossa, or pit above the eye.
g g The occipital bone, or bone of the hinder part
of the head.
h k The orbits containing and defending the eye.
i i The lachrymal bones belonging to the convey-
ance of the tears from the eyes.
j j The nasal bones, or bones of the nose.
k k The malar, or cheek-bones.
1 1 The superior maxillary, or that portion of the
upper jaw containing the molar teeth or
grinders.
mm The infra-orbital foramen — a hole below the or-
bit, through which pass branches of nerves
and blood-vessels to supply the lower part of
the face.
n n The inferior maxillary, the lower part of the
upper jaw-bone — a separate bone in quadru-
peds, containing the incisor or cutting teeth,
and the upper tushes at the point of union
between the superior and inferior maxillaries.
o The upper incisor or cutting teeth.
p The openings into the nose, with the bones
forming the palate.
The ethmoid and sphenoid bones will be better seen ii the cut
Fig. 3.
There is an evident intention in this division of the head into
so many bones. When the fcutus — the unborn foal — first begins
to have life, that which afterwards becomes bone, is a mere jelly-
like substance. This is gradually changed into a harder material
— cartilage ; and, before the birth of the animal, much of the
cartilage is taken away by vessels called absorbents, and bone
48 THE HEAD.
df^posited in its stead. In fiat bones, lilte those of the head, thib
deposit talv3s place in tlie centre, and rays or radiations of bone
extenrl tlience in every direction. Then, by having so many
bones, tliere are so many centres of radiation ; and, consequently,
the formation of bone is carried on so much the more rapidly, and
perfected at the trnie when the necessities of the animal require
it. At the period of birth, however, this process is not completed,
out the edges of the bones remain somewhat soft and pliant, and
therefore, in parturition, they yield a little and overlap each other,
and ihus, by rendering the birth more easy, they save the mother
much pain, and contribute to the safety of the foal.
The frontal bones are united by a curious and intricate dove-
tailing to defend from injury the brain which lies beneath the
upper part of them. Lower down, and where the cavity of the
nose is only to be defended, their union is sufficient, but far less
complicated. Here we have a proof of wise design.
Few things more clearly indicate the breed or blood of the
horse thon the form of the frontal bones. Who has not remarked
the broaa angular forehead of the blood horse, giving him a
beautiful expression of intelligence and lire, and the face gradu-
ally tapering from the forehead to the muzzle, contrasted with
the large face of the cart or dray-horse, and the forehead scarcely
wider than the face ?
Aty, between the frontal bones, is the pit or cavity above the
eye, and by the depth of which we form some idea of the age of
the horse. There is placed at the back of the eye, a consider-
able quantity of fatty substance, on which it may revolve easily
and without friction. In aged horses, and in diseases attended
with general loss of condition, much of this disappears ; the eye
oecumes sunken, and the pit above it deepens.
The sinuses on the different sides of the forehead do not commu-
nicate with each other, but with other sinuses in the ethmoid,
and sphenoid, and upper jaw-bones, and also with the cavities of
the nose on. their respective sides. These sinuses afford a some-
what increased protection to the brain beneath ; and by the con-
tinuous and slightly projecting line which they form, they give
beauty to the forehead ; but their principal use probably is, like
the windings of the Frencii horn, to increase the clearness and
loudness of the neighing. It will be remarked that they are very
irregular in depth, which at one place is an inch or more.
In the sheep, and occasionally in the ox — rarely in the horse —
the larvae of maggots, produced by certain species of flies, crawl
up the nose, lodge themselves in these sinuses, and produce intol-
erable pain.
Veterinary surgeons have availed themselves of these sniuses
to detect the existence of glanders in doubtful cases, if the
THE HEAD.
49
hor.-je is glandered, there will probably be a coiisideraole ulcera-
lioii HI the upper part of the cavity of" the nose, and a colleciion
of matter there. This is ascertained by making an opening into
the sinuses, which may be done with perfect safety. [See
Glanders.]
Section of the Head.
Fig. 3.
%5f
~}0t
a The nasal bone, or bone of the nose.
b The frontal bone. The cavities or cells beneath art; called the frontal sinuses
c The crest or ridge of the parietal bones.
d The tentorium or bony separation between the cerebrum and cerebellum.
e The occipital bone.
/ The ligament of the XiQ.Qk.,ox pack-rcax, by which the head is ch'efly supported
^ The atlas, svafaitdns^ or carrying : the first bone of the neck.
k The dentata, tooth-like, or second bone of the neck.
« The cuneiform, or wedge-shaped process, or base of the occipital bone. Be-
tween it and the other portion of the occipital bone, e, lies the great
foramen or apertui-e through which the prolongation of the brain —
the spinal marrow — issues from the skull.
k The sphenoid, icedge-like, bone, v^'ith its cavities.
/ The ethmoid, sieve like, bone, with its cells.
m The cerebrum, or brain, with the appearance of its cortical and medullary
substance.
11 The cerebellum, or little brain, with its beautiful arborescent appearance,
o A portion of the central medullary, marroir-like^ substance of the brain, and
the prolongation of it under the name of the crus cerebri, leg of tht
brain, and from which many of the nerves take their origin.
V The medulla oblongata — the prolongation of the brain after the medullary
substance of the cerebrum and cerebellum have united, and forming
the commencement of the soiual man-ow. The columnar appearance
4 C
50 TUC UKaD.
of this portion of the brain is represented, and the origins of the reepi
ratory nerves.
q The spinal marrow extending through a canal in the centre of the bones of the
neck, bank, and loins, to the extremities of the tail, and from which the
nerves of feeling and of motion, that supply every part of the frame
except the head, arise.
r The septum narium, or cartilaginous division between the nostrils.
& The same cut off at the lower part, to show the spongy turbinated, turban
skaped, bones, filling the cavity of the nostril.
i The palate.
n The molar-teeth, or grinders.
V The inferior maxillary bone, containing the incisor teeth, or nippers. The
canine tooth, or tush, is concealed by the tongue.
W7 The posterior maxillary, or lower jaw w^ith its incisors.
X The lips,
y The tongue.
z A portion of the os hyoides, or bone of the tongue, lihe a Greek u, v.
1 The thyroid, Jielmet-shaped, cartilage, enclosing and shielding the neighboring
parts. ^
2 The epiglottis, or covering of the glottis, or aperture of the wind-pipe.
3 The artyenoid, funnel-shaped, cartilages, having between tl)em the aperture
leading into the trachea or wind-pipe.
4 One of the chordae vocales, cords or ligaments concerned in the formation of
the voice.
5 The sacculus laryjigis, sac or ventricle of the larynx, < throat, to modulate the
voice. '^
6 \E.he trachea, or wind-pipe, with its different rings.
7 The soft palate at the back of the mouth, so constru Jed as almost to prevent
the possibility of vomiting.
8 The opening from the back part of the mouth into the nostril.
9 The cartilage covering the entrance into the eustachiai tube, or communication
between the mouth and internal part of the ear.
10 The oesophagus, or gullet.
Ij. The cricoid, ring-like, cartilage, below and behind th thyroid.
12 Muscle of the neck, covered by the membrane of the back part of the mouth.
As the froatal sinuses are lined by a continuation of the mem-
brane of the nose, they will sympathize with many of the affec-
tions of that cavity ; but the membrane of the sinuses is
susceptible of an inflammation peculiar to itself The disease is
rare, and the cause of it has not been fully ascertained. It is
oftenest metastasis of inflammation of the brain, — shifting of in-
flammation from the brain to the membrane of the sinus, or
communication of inflammation from tnc brain by proximity of
situation.
Inflammation of the Membrane of the Frontal Sinuses.
— The attack is usually sudden — the horse is dull, lethargic, and
almost as comatose as in stomach-staggers. The first thing that
excites suspicion of the actual character of the disease, is heat in
the situation of the frontal sinus, when the hand is placed on the
forehead. The lethargy soon passes over, and a state of the high-
2st excitation succeeds. The conjunctiva and the membrane of
the nose are injected — the pulse is quick and hard — the horse
Decomes violent and dangerous ; he kicks, plunges, and, half con*
scious and half unconscious, he endeavors to do all the ixiischief
that he can. The disease is now evidently combined with, or is
THE HEAD. 51
essentially, inflammation of the brain. It is distin^islied from
madness by tliis half-consciousness, and also by his being more
dis])osed to bite than he is in pure phrenitis.
The disease is usually fatal. It rarely lasts more than eight-
and-forty hours.
The i^ost-mortem appearances are, great inflammation uf the
brain, with frequent efiiisions of blood. The sinuses are some-
times filled Avith coagulated blood. The brain seems to be
affected just in proportion to the violence which the animal has
exhibited.
The treatment should consist of copious bleeding, application
of ice to the head, blistering the head, and physic. The trephine
is scarcely admissible, from the danger of producing greater
irritation.
Sometimes the disease assumes a more chronic form. There
is ulceration of the membrane, but not cerebral affection. A pur-
ulent discharge then appears from the nose, evidently not of a
glanderous character, and none of the submaxillary glands are
eidarged. In both the acute and chronic form, it is usually con-
fined to one sinus.
The inner plate of the frontal bone covers a considerable por-
tion of the anterior part of the brain, and it is studded with de-
pressions correspondmg with irregularities on the surface of the
brain.
Immediately above the frontal, and extending from the frontal
to the poll, are the iDarietal bones. They are two, united together
by a suture when the aninrial is young, but that suture soon
becoming obliterated. They are of a closer and harder texture
than the frontals, because they are more exposed to injury, and
more concerned in defending the brain.
A very small portion only of the 'parietal?, is naked, and that
is composed of bone even harder than the other part, and with
an additional layer of bone rising in the form of a crest or ridge
externally. Every other part of these bones is covered by a
thick mass of muscle, the temjooral muscle, which is principally
concerned in chewing the food, but which, likewise, by its yield-
ing resistance, speedily and effectually breaks the force of tlie
most violent blow.
On the side of the head, and under the parietals {d d,
Fig. 3), are the temjooral bones, one on each side, //. These
again are divided into two parts, or consist of two distinct bones ;
the jjetrous portion, so called from its great or stony hardness,
and containing the wonderful mechanism of the ear, and the
squatnous portion, from the appearance of its union with the
parietal, overlapping it like a great scale.
From the latter there projects a portion of bone, e which
52 THE HEAD.
onites witli the frontal, and forms a strong- arch — ^the zygomatic —
distinctly to be felt at the side of the head, immediately above
the eye. This arch is designed to protect the upper part of the
lower jaw, the motion of which may very plainly be seen be-
neath it when the horse is feeding.
At the base of the arch is an important cavity not visible in
the cut, receiving into it, and forming a joint with, the head of
the lower jaw — it will be presently described.
Having reached the base of the temporal bone, it is found
united to the parietal, not by a simple suture, as the lower part
of the frontals, or the bones of the nose (see fig. a and j. Fig. 2),
nor by a dove-tailed suture, as the upper part of the frontals (see
the same cut), but it is spread over the parietal in the form of a
large scale, and hence, as before observed, called the sqitamous
portion of the temporal bone. In fact, there are two plates of
bone instead of one. Was there design in this ? Yes, evidently so.
In the first place, to increase the strength of the base of the zygo-
nuitic arch. This extensive union between the temporal and parie-
tal bones, resembles the buttress or mass of masonry attached to
the base of every arch, in order to counteract its lateral pressure.
The concussion, likewise, which might be communicated by a
blow on the top of the arch, is thus spread over a large surface,
and consequently weakened and rendered comparatively harmless ;
and that surface is composed of the union of two bones of dissimi-
lar construction. The hard stonij structure of the parietal is
very different from the tougher material of the temporal ; and
thus, as a finger acts on a sounding-glass, the vibration commu-
nicated to the temporal is at once stopped, and the brain receives
no injury.
There is another proof of admirable design. Where is this
iqiiarnous portion of the temporal bone situated ? On the side
of the head. And what is the figure of the cranium or skull,
and principally that part of it which contains the cerebrum or
brain ? It is an elhptical or oval arch (see fig. m, n, o, Fig. 3).
If pressure is made on the crown of that arch — if a blow is re-
ceived on the suture between the parietals sufficient to cause
the elastic materials of which the skull is composed to yield —
the seat of danger and injury is at the side. If a man receives
a violent blow on the crown or back part of the head, the frac-
ture, if there is any, is generally about the temple, and the ex-
travasation of blood is oftenest found there. The following figure
will explain this : —
Let the line ABC represent an elliptical arch, composed af
elastic materials. Some force shall be applied at B, sufficient
to cause it to yield. We cannot compress it into smaller compass ;
but iust in proportion as it yields at B, will it spur or bulge out at
THE HEAD. >").
D, and give way sometimes as represented at E. In a dome the
weight of the materials constantly acting may be considered as
representing the force applied at
B ; and so great is the lateral
pressure, or tendency to bulge
out [vide D and E), that it is
necessary either to dove-tail the
materials into one another, or to
pass strong iron chains round
them. For want of sufficient
attention to this, " the dome of
St. Sophia in Constantinople,
C built in the time of the emperor
Justinian, fell three times during its erection ; and the dome of the
cathedral of Florence stood unfinished an hiuidred and twenty
years, for want of an architect."
Nature, in the construction of the horse's head, has taken
away tlie pressure, or removed the probability of injury, by giv-
ing an additional layer of bone, or a mass of muscle, where
alone there was danger, and has dove-tailed all the materials.
Farther than this, in order to make assurance doubly sure, she
has placed this effectual girder at the base, in the overlapping
of the squamous portion of the temporal bone.
Above the 'parietah, and separated from them by a suture
(fig. g", Fig. 2, and fig. e. Fig, 3), is the occijntal bone. Supe-
riorly it covers and protects the smaller portion of the brain, the
cerebellum ; and as it there constitutes the summit or crest of
the head, and is particularly exposed to danger, and not pro-
tected by muscles, it is. interesting to see what thickness it
assumes. The head of the horse does not, like that of the hu-
man being, ride upright on the neck, with all its weight sup-
ported by the spinal column ; but it hangs in a slanting position
from the extremity of the neck, and the neck itself projects a
considerable distance from the chest, and thus the whole weight
of the head and neck is suspended irom the chest, and require
very great power in ore Br to support them.
How is this weight tc be supported ?
From the back of the occipital bone (fig. /*, Fig. 3), and im-
mediately below the crest, proceeds a round cord of considerable
bulk, and composed of a ligamentous substance, which reaches
down and is securely attached to the spines of the vertebrae, or
bones of the back ; and by this ligament — the ligamentum
colli, ligament of the neck — the head is supported.
There are, however, some admirable contrivances connected
with this ligament. As it proceeds from the head, it is in the
form of a romid cord.. It passes over the atla^^ or first bone of
54 THE HEAD.
the neck, Jvatliout touching it, and then, attaching itself strongly
to the second bone, principally supports the head by its union
with this bone. The mechanical disadvantage is increased ; but
the head is turned more freely on the first and second bones
The principal stress is on the dentata or second bone, so much
so, that in poll-evil, this ligament may be divided without seri-
ous inconvenience to the horse. It then suddenly sinks deeper,
and communicates with all the other vertebrae. Each of these
communications becomes a separate point of support, and as they
approach nearer to the base, the mechanical disadvantage, or
the force with which the weight of the head and neck presses
and acts, is materially lessened.
The head, then, while the animal is in a state of rest, is sup-
ported by this ligament, without any aid from muscular energy.
It differs from the other ligaments of the body, in the fact
that it is elastic. It stretches full two inches longer when the
horse is browsing, and resumes its natural dimensions when the
head is held erect.
The ligament of the neck is inserted into the centre of the
back part of the occipital bone, and immediately below the
vertex or crest of that bone ; and therefore the bone is so thick
at this part (see fig. e, Fig 3).
Many large and powerful muscles are necessary'- to turn the
head in various directions, as well as to assist in raising it when
depressed. The occipital bone, as will be seen in the cut, pre-
sents a spine running down the centre, B, and a large roughened
surface for the attachment of these muscles, C C.
Lower down, and still at the
back' ©f the occipital bone, are
two rounded protuberances D D,
by which the head is coim^ected
with the atlas, or upper or first
vertebra, or bone of the neck :
and these are called the condy-
loid, cup-shaped, processes of the
occipital bone. All the motions
of the head are partly, and many
of them wholly, performed by
this joint.
Between them is a large hole,
i\\e foramen magnimi, or great
aperture, E, through which the continuation of the brain, termed
rhe spinal cord or marrow, passes out of the skull.
As an additional contrivance to support the enormous weight
of the head, are two other projections of the occipital bone, pe-
culiar to animals whose heads are set on in a slantinsr direction.
THE HEAD S5
and info wlilcli powerful mnsoles are inserted. They are called
the conccoid, beak-like, processes or prolongations, F F, of the
occipital bone.
Running: ibr\^'ard, and forming outM\T.rdly a part of the base,
and inwardly a portion of the floor of the skull, is what, from
its wedge-like shape, is called the cuneiform process of the
occipital bone (fig. i, Fig. 3). It is thick, strong, and solid, and
placed at the bottom of the skull, not only to be a proper foun-
dation for, and to give additional strength to, the arch on either
side, but speedily to stop all vibration "and concussion.
At the base of the skull, and anterior to or below the oc-
cipital, lies the sphenoid, wedge-like bone (fig. k, Fig. 3). Its
body, likewise called the cuneiforrti or wedge-shaped process, is
a contmuation of the same process of the occipital, and, like it,
is thick and solid, and for the same important purpose. This
bone branches out into four irregular bodies or plates, two of
which are called the ivings, and two running to the palate, the
legs. They could not be represented in the cut, and there it
nothing important belonging to them, so fa,r as this work is eon-
cerned. Internally (fig. k), the sphenoid forms a portion of the
cavity of the skull.
Of the ethmoid, sieve-like, bone, little can be seen outwardly.
A small portion is found in the back part of the orbit, and in
the cavity of the cranium ; but the most important part of it is
that which is composed of a great number of tliin plates, form-
ing numerous cavities or cells (fig. I, Fig. 3), lined with the
membrane of the nose, and entering into its cavity. The upper
portion is called the cribriform or sieve-shaped plate, from its
being perforated by a multitude of little holes, through wliich
the nerve connected with smelling passes and spreads over the
nose.
Altogether these bones form a cavity of an irregular oval
shape, but the tentorium penetrating into it. gives it the appear-
ance of being divided into iwo {d, Fig. 3),
The cavity of the skull may be said to be arched all round.
The builder knows the strength which is connected with the
form of an arch. If properly constructed, it is equal to a solid
mass of masonry. The arch of a horse's skull has not much
weight to support, but it is exposed to many injuries from the
brutality of those by whom he should be protected, and from ac-
cidental causes.
On raising any part of the skull of the horse, the dense and
strong membrane which is at once the lining of the cranium and
the covering of the brain — the dura mater — presents itself. It
is united to the membranes below by numerous little cords er
prolongations of its substance, conveying blood and ftnmmuni-
DO THE BRAIN.
eating strength to the parts beneath. Between this membrane
common to the cranium and the brain, and the proper investing
tmiic of that organ, is fomid that delicate gossamer's web, appro-
priately called the arachnoid — the spider's membrane — and
which is seen in other animals, designed either to secrete the
fluid which is interposed, for the purpose of obviating injurious
concussion, or perhaps, to prevent the brain from readily sym-
pathizing with any inflammatory action produced by injury of
the skull.
Beneath is the proper investing membrane of the brain — the
'pia 'inater — which not only covers the external surface of the
brain, but penetrates into every depression, lines every ventricle,
and clothes every irregularity and part and portion of the brain.
The Brain. — We now arrive at the brain itself. The brain
of the horse corresponds with the cavity in which it is placed
(m, Fig. 3). It is a flattened oval. It is divided into two parts,
one much larger than the other — the cerebrwtn or brain, and
the cerebellum or little brain {n, Fig. 3). The brain of a horse
is only about half the size and weight of that of a man.
When the brain is cut, it is found to be composed of two sub-
stances very unlike in appearance (w^, Fig. 3) ; one, principally on
the outside, gray, or ash-colored, and therefore called the cortical
{bark-like) from its situation, and cineritious [ashen) from its
color ; and the other, lying deeper in the brain, and from its
pulpy nature called the medullary substance. Although placed
in apposition with each other, and seemingly mingling, they
never run into the same mass, or change by degrees into one
another, but are essentially distinct in construction as well as in
function.
The medullary portion is connected with the nervous system.
The nerves are prolongations of it, and are concerned in the dis-
charge of all the offices of life. They give motion and energy
to the limbs, the heart, the lungs, the stomach, and every part
connected with life. They are the medium through which sen-
sation is conveyed ; and they supply the mind with materials to
think and work upon.
The cineritious part has a different appearance, and is differ-
ently constituted. Some have supposed, and with much appear-
ance of truth, 'that it is the residence of the mind — receiving the
impressions that are conveyed to the brain by the sensitive
nerves, and directing the operation and action of those which
give motion to the limbs.
From the medullary substance — as already stated — proceed
certain cords or prolongations, termed nerves, by which the ani-
mal is enabled to receive impressions from surrounding objects.
4nd to coimect himself with them ; and also to possess many
THE L;RA1^.
*>!
pleasurable or painful sensations. One of them is spread over
the membrane of the nose, and gives the sense of smell ; another
expands on the back of the eye, and the faculty oi' sight is gained ;
and a third goes to the internal structure of the ear, and tlie ani-
mal is conscious of sound. Other nerves, proceeding to ditierent
parts, give the faculty of motion, while an equally important one
bestows the power of feeling.
One division of nerves [Jl, Fig. 3), springing from a prolonga-
tion of the brain, and yet within the skull, wanders to difierent
parts of the frame, for important purposes connected with respira-
tion or breathing. The act of breathing is essential to life, and
were it to cease, the animal would die. These are nerves of ^?^-
volic?itary motion ; so that, whether he is awake or asleep, con-
scious of it or not, the lungs heave and liie is supported. Lastly,
from the spinal cord q — a farther prolongation of the brain, and
running through a cavity in the bones of the neck, back, and
loins, and extending to the very tip of the tail — other nerves are
given off at certain intervals. The cut below delineates a pair
of them. The spmal cord a, is combined of six dii^tinct columns
Fia:. 6.
or rods, running through its whole length — three on either side
The two upper columns — the portion of spinal marroAV represeu'
ed in our cut, is supposed to be placed with its inner or lower
surface towards us — proceed from those tracks of the brain devoted
to sensation. Numerous distinct fibres spring abruptly from the
column, and which collect together, and, passing through a little
ganglion or enlargement, d — an enlargement of a nervous cord is
called a ganglion — become a nerve of sensation. From the
lower or imier side, — a prolongation of the track devoted to
motion, — proceed other fibres, which also collect gradually to-
gether, and form a nervous cord, c, giving the power of motion.
Reyond the ganglion the two unite, and form a perfect spinal
c
58 THE EAR.
nerve, h, possessing the power both of sensation and motion ;
and the fibres of the two columns proceed to "their destination,
enveloped in the same sheath, and apparently one nerve. Out
cut, closely examined, will give at b some idea of the man-
ner in which these distinct fibres are continued ; — each covered
by its own membrane, but all enveloped in a common en-
velope.
All these nerves are organs of sensation and motion alone ;
but there are others whose origin seems to be outside of" and
below the brain. These are the synij^athetic, so called from
their union and sympathy with all the others, and identified
with life itself. They proceed from a small ganglion or enlarge-
ment in the upper part of the neck, or from a collection of little
ganglia in the abdomen. They go to the heart, and it beats,
and to the stomach, and it digests. They form a net-work round
each blood-vessel, and the current flows on. They surround the
very minutest vessels, and the frame is nourished and built up.
They are destitute of sensation, and they are perfectly beyond
the control of the will.
The reader, we trust, will now comprehend this wonderful,
yet simple machinery, and be able, by and by, to refer to it the
explanation of several diseases, and particularly of the operation
to which we have referred.
Two of the senses have their residence in the cavity of the
cranium — those of hearing and sight.
The Ear. — They who know anything of the horse, pay much
attention to the size, setting on, and motion of the ear. Ears
rather small than large — placed not too far apart — erect and
quick in motion, indicate both breeding and spirit ; and if a horse
is frequently in the habit of carrying one ear forward, and the
other backward, and especially if he does so on a journey, he
will generally possess both spirit and continuance.
The ear of the horse is more intelligible even than the eye, m
indicating his temper and intentions. His hearing is remarkably
acute. The cartilage of the ear is attached to the head by liga-
ments and sustained by muscles, on which its action depends
The ear is covered by skin thinner than in most other parts of
the body, and is destitute of other tissues unnecessarily increasing
its bulk and weight. Under the skin are glands that secrete and
throw out a white greasy matter, destined to keep the parts sup-
ple and smooth. Below this are other glandi=« which deposit the
wax, which is supposed to be necessary to deter insects from
crawling into the ear, by its offensiveness to them, or by mechan-
ically arresting their progress. Long hair standing across the
inner passage of the ear in e"v 'ry direction, keeps out insects,
cold, and properly breaks sounds striking on the membrane cover-
THE EYE 5^
ing the drum of the ear. It should not therefore be cut out, as
is sometimes customary. -
The sound, collected by the outer ear, is conveyed through the
external auditory passage to the Qiiembrana tympani — the mem-
brane of the drum, stretching across and closing the external
passage. Between this and another membrane still deeper in
the ear, are four little bones, highly elastic, and covered with a
highly elastic cartilage, by means of which the vibrations of
Bound are conveyed more perfectly than they would be through
the mere air of the cavity.
It is conveyed to a strangely irregular cavity, filled with an
aqueous fluid, and the substance or pulp of the portio mollis or
soft portion of the seventh pair of nerves, the cmditory nerve,
expands on the membrane that lines the walls of this cavity.
Sound is propagated far more intensely through water than
through air ; and therefore it is that an aqueous fluid occupies
those chambers of the ear on the walls of which the auditory
nerve is expanded.
The Eye — The Eye is a most important organ, and comes
next under consideration, as enclosed in the bones of the skull.
The eye of the horse should be large, somewhat but not too
prominent, and the eyelid fine and thin. If the eye is sunlt in
the head, and apparently little — for there is actually a ver)^ tri-
fling difference in the size of the eye in animals of the same spe-
cies and bulk, and that seeming difference arises from the larger
or smaller opening between the lids — and the lid is thick, and
especially if there is any puckering towards the inner corner of
the hds, that eye either is diseased, or has lately been subject tc
inflammation ; and, particularly, if one eye is smaller than the
other, it has, at no great distance of time, been inflamed.
The eye of the horse enables us with tolerable accuracy to
guess at his temper. If much of the white is s'-en, the buyer
should pause ere he completes his bargain ; for horses exhibiting
this characteristic are usually found vicious-tempered.
The eyes are placed at the side of the head, but the direction
of the conoid cavity which they occupy, and of the sheath by
which they are surrounded within the orbit, gives them a pre-
vailing direction forwards, so that the animal has a veiy extended
field of vision.
The eye-ball is placed in the anterior and most capacious part
of the orbit, nearer to the frontal than the temporal side, with a
degree of prominence varying with diflerent individuals, and the
will of the animal. It is protected by a bony socket beneath and
on the inside, but is partially exposed on the roof and on the out-
side. It is, however, covered and secured by thick and powerfu'
muscles — ^by a mass of adipose matter which is distributed to va
60 THE KYI.
nous parts of the orbit, upon which the eye may be readily moved
without friction and by a sheath of considerable density and
firmness, and especially where it is most needed, on tiie exteruai
and superior portions.
In front, the eye is supported and covered by the lids, which
closinf? rapidly, protect it Irom many an injury that threatens
and supply it witii that moisture which is necessary to preserve
its transparency.
Extending round both lids, and, it may be almost said, having
neither origin nor insertion, is a muscle called the orbicidaru, or
circular muscle. Its office is to close the lids in the act of wink-
ing or otherwise, but only while the animal is awake. When he
sleeps, this is effected by another and very ingenious mechanism.
The natural state of the eyelids is that ol' being closed ; and they
are kept open by the energy of the muscles whose office it is 1o
raise the upper lid. As sleep steals upon the animal, these mus-
cles cease to act, and the lids close by the inherent elasticity of
the membrane of which they are composed.
The skin of the lid is, like that of the ear, exceedingly fine, in
order to prevent unnecessary weight and pressure on such a part*
and to give more easy and extensive motion.
The horse has no eye-brow^, and the eye-lashes are peculiarly
arranged to guard against the ingress of too much light, or oi' in-
sects, and therefore should never be clipped, as is the custom
with some senseless grooms in England.
There is a beautiful contrivance about the horse's eye, to cleai
it of dust, insects, and other foreign matters. Concealed withir
its inner corner, or only the margin of it, black or pied, visible
is a triangular-shaped cartilage, the haiv^ with its broad part for-
■^ards. It is concave within, exactly to suit the globe of the eye;
it is convex without, acurately to adapt itself to the membrane
luring the lid ; and the base of it is reduced to a thin or almost
sharp edge. At the will of the animal this is suddenly protruded
from its hiding-place. It passes rapidly over the eye, and shovels
up every nuisance mixed with the tears, and then, being speedily
drawii back, the dust or msect is wiped away as the cartilage
again passes under the corner of the eye.
The ha\D has no muscle attached to it to thrust it forward or
draw it dack. When that powerful muscle which the horse
possesses m common with other quadrupeds, for the purpose of
dra\\ang back the eye, or causing it to recede into its socket, when
thi'eatened with danger, is brought into action, the eye presses
upon the flitty matter below it, and as a portion of that fotty
inatter is peculiarly accumulated about the mner corner of the
r ye, it is forced outward in that direction and drives the haw be-
'■ ire it. Being pressed ^ ^tween the eye and a polished bone, it
THE EYli; 61
shoots out witli the velocity of lightning, and guided by the lids,
projects over the eye, and clears it of oiiending matter. When
the muscle which draws in the eye ceases to act, the eye resumes
its natural situation in the orbit. There is room for the fatty
matter to return to its place, and it immediately returns by the
elasticity of the membrane by which it is covered, and draws
after it this cartilage with which it is comiected, and whose return
is as rapid as Avas the projection.
The old farriers strangely misunderstood the nature and design
of the haw, and many at the present day do not seem to be much
better informed. When, from sympathy with other parts of the
eye laboring under inflammation, and becoming itself inflamed
and increased in bulk, and the neighboring parts likewise thick-
ened, it is either forced out of its place, or voluntarily protruded
to defend the eye from the action of light and cannot return, they
mistake it for some injurious excrescence or tumor, and proceed
to cut it out. The " haw in the eye" is a disease well known to
the majority of grooms, and this sad remedy for it is deemed the
only cure. It is a barbarous practice, and if they were compelled
to walk half a dozen miles in a thick dust, without being per-
mitted to wipe or to cleanse the eye, they would feel the torture
to which they doom this noble animal. A little patience having
been exercised, and a few cooling applications made to the eye
while the mflammation lasted, and ai'terwards some mild astrin-
gent ones, and other proper means being employed, the tumor
would have disappeared, the haw would have returned to its
place, and the animal would have discharged the duties required
of him without inconvenience to himself, instead of the agony to
which an unguarded and unprotected eye must now expose him.
The loss of blood occasioned by the excision of the haw may
frequently relieve the inflammation of the eye ; and the evident
amendment which follows induces these wise men to believe that
they have performed an excellent operation ; but the same loss
of blood by scarification of the overloaded vessels of the con
junctiva would be equally beneficial, and the animal would not
be deprived of an instrument of admirable use to him.
The eye is of a globular figure, yet not a perfect globe. It is
rather composed of parts of two globes ; the half of one of them
smaller and transparent in front, and of the other larger and the
coat of it opaque, behind. We shall most conveniently begin
with the coats of the eye.
The conjunctiva, f (Fig. 7), is that membrane which lines the
'ids, and covers the fore-part of the eye. It spreads over all that we
can see or feel of the eye, and even the transparent part. It is
itself transparent, and transmits the color of the parts beneath
It is very susceptible of inflammation.
«2
THE EYK.
Fig. 1.
A B a supposed object viewed by the animal, and an inverted image of which, a
b, is thrown on the retina at the back of the eye.
c c The points where the rays, having passed the coi-nea and lens, converge by
tlie refractive power of the lens.
d e The rays proceeding from the extremities of the object to the eye.
f The cornea, or horny and transparent part of the eye, covered by the con-
junctiva, uniting different parts together.
g' The crystalline (crystal or glassy) lens, behind the pupil, and in front of the
vitreous humor.
h h Muscles of the eye.
i The optic nerve, or nerve of sight.
k The sclerotica (hard firm coat) covering the whole of the eye except the por-
tion occupied by the cornea, and being a seeming prolongation of the
covering of the optic nerve.
I The choroides (receptacle or covering), or choroid coat, covei'ed with a black
secretion or paint.
m m The iris or rainbow-colored circular membrane under the cornea, in front
of the eye, and on which the color of the eye depends. The duplica-
ture behind is the 2wea, from being colored like a grape. The opening
in the centre is the pupil.
n n The ciliary (hair-like) processes.
o The retina, or net-like expansion of the optic nerve, spread over the whole
of the choroides as far as the lens.
p The vitreous (glass-like) humor filling the whole of the cavity of the eye
behind the lens.
q The aqueous (water-like) humor filling the space between the cornea and
the lens.
Covering the back part of the eye, and indeed four fifths of
the globe of it, is the sclerotica, k.
The cornea is, or we would wish it to be, the only visible
part of the horse's eye. It fills up the vacuity which is left by
the sclerotica in the fore-part of the eye, and, although closely
united to the sclerotica, may be separated from it, and will drop
out like a watch-glass. Its convexity or projection is a point of
considerable importance, as we shall hereafter have occasion to ,«ee
It should be perfectly transparent. Any cloudiness or opacity
is the consequence of disease. There is nothing that deserves
attention from the purchaser of a horse more than its perfect
transparency over the whole of its surface. The eye should fee
examined for this purpose both in front, and with the face of
TIIE EYE. » 63
the examiner close to the cheek of the horse, under and behind
the eye. The latter method of looking through the cornea is
the most satisfactory, so far as the transparency of that part of
the eye is concerned. During this exainination the horse should
not be in the open air, but in the stable standing in the door-
way and a little within the door. If any small, faint, whitish
lines appear to cross the cornea, or spread over any part of it,
they are assuredly the remains of previous inflammation ; or,
although the centre and bulk of the cornea should be perfectly
clear, yet if around the edge of it, where it unites with the
sclerotica, there should be a narrow ring or circle of haziness,
the conclusion is equally true, that the inflammation occurred at
a more distant period. Whether however the inflammation has
lately existed, or several weeks or months have elapsed since it
was subdued, it is too likely to recur.
There is one caution to be added. The cornea in its natural
state is not only a beautiful transparent structure, but it reflects,
even in proportion to its transparency, many of the rays which
fall upon it; and if there is a white object immediately before
the eye, as a light waistcoat, or much display of a white neck-
cloth, the reflection may puzzle an experienced observer, and has
misled many a careless one. The coat should be buttoned up,
and the white cravat carefully concealed.
Within the sclerotica, and connected with it by innumerable
minute fibres and vessels, is the choroid coat, I. It is a very
delicate membrane, and extends over the whole of the internal
part of the eye, from the optic nerve to the cornea. It secretes
a dark-colored substance or paint, by which it is covered ; the
intention of which, like the inside of our telescopes and micro-
scopes, is probably to absorb any wandering rays of light which
might dazzle and confuse the vision. The different manner in
which this colored matter is distributed in the horse's eye from
that of the human being, and its difierent color, render the sight
of the former less strong during the day, but much more acute
in the night.
Perfectly white and cream-colored horses have a peculiar ap-
pearance of the eyes. The pupil is red instead of black. It is
the choroid coat itself which we see in them ; and the red ap-
pearance is caused by the numerous blood-vessels wliich are
^bund on every part of that coat.
Tracing the choroides towards the fore-part of the eye, we
perceive that it is reflected from the side to the edge of the lens,
n, and has the appearance of several plaits or folds. They are
Actually foldings of the membrane. They prevent the passage
of any rays of light on the outside of the lens, and which, pro-
ceeding forward in various directions, and uncondensed by the
f>4 THE EYE.
power of the lens, would render vision confused or imperfect
These folds of the choroides are called the ciliary jyi'ocesses.
Within the cornea, and occupying the fore-part of the eye, is
the aqueous hirnior, j)^ so termed from its resemblance to pure
water. It is that by which the cornea is preserved in its protu-
berant and rounded form. It extends to the crystalline lens q,
and therefore a portion of it, although a very small one, is be-
hind the iris {tn, Fig. 7). Floating in this fluid is a membrane,
with an oblong aperture, called the Iris. It is that which gives
color to the eye. The color varies little in the horse, except
that it always bears some analogy to that of the skin. We
rarely see it lighter than a hazel, or darker than a brown.
Horses perfectly white, or cream-colored, have the iris white
and the pupil red. When horses of other colors, and that are
usually pied, have a white iris and a black pupil, they are said
to be ivall-eyed. Vulgar opinion has decided that a wall-eyed
horse is never subject to blindness, but this is altogether erroneous.
The aperture in the iris is termed the 'pupil, and through it
light passes to the inner chamber of the eye. The pupil is ob-
long, and variable in size. It differs with the intensity or de-
gree of light that falls upon the eye.
This alteration of form in the pupil is effected by the muscu-
lar fibres that enter into the composition of the iris. When
these fibres are relaxed, the pupil must proportionably diminish.
This dilatation or contraction of the pupil gives a useful method
of ascertaining the existence of blindness in one eye or in both.
The cornea and crystalline lens remain perfectly transparent, but
the retina is palsied, and is not affected by light ; and many
persons have been deceived when blindness of this description
has been confined to one eye. A horse blind in both eyes will
usually have his ears in constant and rapid motion, directing
them in quick succession to every quarter. He M'ill likcAvisc
hang back in his halter in a peculiar way, and will lift his feet
high as if he were stepping over some obstacle, when there is
actually nothing to obstruct his passage, and there will be an
evident uncertainty in the putting down of his feet. In blind-
ness of one eye, little or nothing of this characteristic gait and
manner can be perceived. Although a one-eyed horse may not
be absolutely condemned for the common business of the car-
nage or the road, he is generally deteriorated as a hunter, for he
cannot measure his distance, and will run into his leaps.
Let the size of both pupils be carefully noticed before the
\orse is removed from the stable, and, as he is led to the door,
observe whether they both contract, and equally so, with the
increase of light. If the horse should be first seen in the o])e;i
air, let it be observed whether the pupils are precisely of the same
THE EYE. 65
size ; then let the hand be placed over each eye alternately and
held there for a little while, and let it be observed whetlier the
pupil dilates with the abstraction of light, and equally in each
eye.
In our cut, m gives a duplicature of the iris, or the back sur-
face of it. This is called the uvea, and it is covered with a
thick coat of black mucus, to arrest the rays of light, and to
prevent them from entering the eye in any other way than
through the pupil. The color of the iris is, in some unknown
way, comiected with this black paint behind. Wall-eyed horses,
whose iris is white, have no uvea.
We now arrive at a body on which all the important uses of
the eye mainly depend, the cnjstaUme lens, g, so called from its
resemblance to a piece of crystal, or transparent glass. It is of
a yielding jelly-like consistence, thicker and firmer towards the
centre, and convex on each side, but more convex on the inner
than the outer side. It is enclosed in a delicate transparent bag
or capsule, and is placed between the aqueous and the vitreous
humors, and received into a hollow in the vitreous humor,
with which it exactly corresponds. It has, from its density and
its double convexity, the chief concern in converging the rays of
hght which pass into the pupil.
The lens it very apt to be affected from long or violent inflam-
mation of the conjunctiva, and either its capsule becomes cloudy,
and imperfectly transmits the light, or the substance of the lens
becomes opaque. The examination of the horse, with a view
to detect this, must either be in the shade, or at a stable door,
where the light shall fall on the animal from above and in front ;
and in conducting this examination, we would once more cau-
tion the intended purchaser against a superfluity of white about
his neck. Holding the head of the animal a little up, and the
light coming in the direction that has been described, the con-
dition of the lens vidll at once be evident. The confirmed cata-
ract, or the opaque lens of long standing, will exhibit a jjearly
appearance, that cannot be mistaken, and will frequently be
attended with a change of form — a portion of the lens being
forced forwards into the pupil. Although the disease may not
have proceeded so far as this, yet if there is the slightest cloudi-
ness of the lens, either generally, or in the form of a minute
spot in the centre, and with or without lines radiating from that
spot, the horse is to be condemned ; for, in ninety-nine cases out
of a hundred, the disease will proceed, and cataract, or complete
opacity of the lens, and absolute blindness, will be the result.
Behind the lens, and occupying four fifths of the cavity of the
eye, is the vitreous himior (glassy, or resembling glass). It
seems, when first taken from the eye, to be of the consistence of
5
66
THE EYE.
a jelly, and of beautiful transparency ; but if it is punctured a
fluid escapes from it as limpid and as thin as water, and when
this has been suffered completely to ooze out, a mass of membra-
neous bags or cells remains.
Last of all, between the vitreous humor and the choroid coat,
is the retina, o, or net-like membrane. It is an expansion of the
substance, g, of the optic nerve.
On this expansion of nervous pulp, the rays of light from sur-
rounding objects, condensed by the lens and the humors, fall, and,
producing a certain image corresponding with these objects, the
animal is conscious of their existence and presence.
It may, however, so happen that from the too great or too little
convexity of the eye or a portion of it, the place of most distinct
rision may not be immediately on the retina, but a little before
or behind it. In proportion as this is the case, the sight will be
indistinct and imperiect ; nor shall we be able to offer any remedy
for this defect of sight. It is this chat occasions shying in the horse,
and as he grows older and the eye becomes less convex, the habit of
shying will increase.
Nature has given seven muscles to the horse to enable him to
turn his eye, so that he can command the whole of that extended
field of view which the position of the organ enables it to take
in. And that they may act with sufficient power and quickness,
no fewer than ^ix nerves are directed to the muscles of the eye
generally, or t'> particular ones — while the eye rests on a mass of
fat, that it may be turned with little exertion of power, and
without friction.
Muscles of the Eye
There are four
straight muscles, three
of which, d, e, and /,
are represented in our
cut, rising from the
back of the orbit, and
inserted into the ball
of the eye, opposite to,
and at equal distances
from, each other. One.
d, runs to the upper
part of the eye, just
behind the transparent and visible portion of it, and its office is
clearly to raise the eye. When it contracts, the eye must be
drawn upwards. Another, /, is inserted exactly opposite, at the
bottom of the eye ; and its office is as clearly to depress the eye.
TIIE EYE. G7
or enable the animal to look downwards, A third, e, is insert'^jd
at the outer corner, and by means of it the eye is turned outwaid,
and, from the situation of the eye of the horse, considerably back-
ward ; and the fourth is inserted at the inner corner, turning the
eye inward. They can thus rotate or turn the eye in any direc-
tion the animal mshes, and by the action of one, or the combined
power of any two of them, the eye can be immediately and ac-
curately directed to every point.
These muscles also assist to support the eye in its place. They
are aided in this, especially when the head is depressed, by the
retractor (drawer back) muscle, g, which has already been al-
luded to. The power of this muscle is veiy great, and it renders
some operations on the eye almost impossible. It is an admirable
substitute for hands to defend the eye from many things that
would injure it. Being partially separated into four divisions, it
assists the straight muscles in turning the eye.
The muscles we have described, perform another important
office. By drawing back the eye, and slightly flattening it, they
bring the lens nearer the retina, and adapt the eye to the obser
vation of more distant objects. There are two other muscles,
used solely in turning the eye, called oblique muscles, because
their course is obliquely across the eye. The upper one, a, b, is
most curiously constructed. It comes from the back part of the
orbit, and takes a direction upwards and towards the inner side,
and there, just under the ridge of the orbit, it passes through a
perfect mechanical pulley, and, turning round, proceeds across the
eye, and is inserted rather beyond the middle of the eye, towards
the outer side. Thus the globe of the eye is evidently directed
inward and upward. Something more, however, is accomplished
by this singular mechanism. When it is necessar}'' to bring the
eye forward in its socket, to enlarge the field of vision, the object
is readily effected by this singular pulley, b, c. By the powder of
this muscle — the trochlearis, or pulley-muscle — and the straight
muscles at the same time not opposing it, or only regulating the
direction of the eye, it is really brought somewhat forward. The
lower oblique muscle rises just within the lachrymal bone (z, Fig.
2), and, proceeding across the eye, is fixed mto the part of the
sclerotica opposite to the other obhque muscle, and it turns the
eye in a contrary direction, assisting, however, the upper oblique
Ip bringing the eye forward from its socket.
CHAPTER III.
INJURIES AND DISEASES OF THE SKULL THE BRAIN THE
EARS AND THE EYES.
We have now arrived at a convenient resting--place in our
somewhat dry but necessary description of the structure of the
horse, and we wilUngly turn to more practical matter. We will
consider the injuries and diseases of the parts we have surveyed.
FRACTURE.
The skull of the horse is so strongly and admirably con-
structed, that a fracture of it is almost impossible. A blow of
sufficient violence to break these bones, must likewise irrepara-
bly injure the brain, and remedies are out of the question.
The upper part of the orbit of the eye is sometimes fractured
by falling, or by violent blows. The slightest examination will
detect the loosened pieces ; but a professional man alone can
render effectual assistance.
EXOSTOSIS.
Bony enlargements of the orbital arch sometimes arise from
natural predisposition or local injury. They should be attacked
m the earliest stage, for they are too apt rapidly to increase.
Some preparation of iodine, as described in the account of medi-
cines, will be useful in this case.
CARIES.
Inflammation and enlargement of the injured bones, followed
by abscess and the production of certain bony growths, are of
occasional occurrence. A skilful practitioner can alone decide
whether a cure should be attempted, or the sufferings of the ani
mal terminated by death
DISEASES OF THE BRAIN. ijj
COMPRESSION OF THE BRAIN.
Cysts containing a serous or viscid fluid, are occasionally Ibund
witliin the cranial cavity, and lying upon or imbedded in the
brain. The following is a history of a case of this kind : — A
horse exhibited symptoms of vertigo, or staggers, which disap-
peared after copious bleeding and purgatives. About twelve
months afterwards the same complaint was evident. He carried
his head low and inclined to the right side. He staggered as he
walked, and the motion of his limbs was marked by a peculiar
convulsive action, confined to the four extremities. He moved
by a succession of spasmodic boundings. He was completely
deaf ; and rapidly lost flesh, though he ate and drank voraciously.
He remained in this state, to the shame of the owner and the
practitioner, several months, and then he had a fresh attack of
vertigo, and died suddenly. On examination of the brain, its
membranes were found to be completely reddened ; and, between
the two lobes of the brain, was a round cyst as large as a pullet's
egg. The pressure of this was the manifest cause of the raiis-
chief.
PRESSURE ON THE BRAIN.
This may be produced by some fluid thrown out between the
membranes, or occupying and distending the ventricles of the
brain. In the full-grown horse it rarely occurs ; but it is well
known to breeders as an occasional disease of the foal, under the
name of "water in the head." The head is either much en-
larged, or stangely deformed, or both ; and the animal dies, eithci
in the birth, or a few days after it.
MEGRBIS.
This is another kind of pressure on the brain, resulting from
an unusual determination or flow of blood to it. From various
causes, of which the most common is violent exercise on a hot
day, and the horse being fat and full of blood, more than the
usual quantity is sent to the head ; or, from some negligence
about the harness — as the collar being too small, or the curb-
rein too tight — the blood is prevented from returning from the
head. The larger vessels of the brain will then be too long and
injuriously distended ; and, what is of more consequence, the
small vessels that permeate the substance of the brain will be
enlarged, and the bulk of the brain increased, so that it will
press upon the origins of the nerves, and produce, almost without
warning, loss of power and consciousness
70 MEGRIMS — APOPLEXY.
The mildest afTection of this kind is known as Megnms
When the horse is driven rather quickly, he will, without any
premonitory symptoms, suddenly stop, shake his head, and exhibit
evident giddiness and half-unconsciousness. This will soon pass
over, and he will go on as if nothing had happened.
When the attack is more serious, he will fall without the
slightest warning, or suddenly run round once or twice and then
fall. He will lie insensible, or struggle with the utmost vio-
lence. In five or ten minutes he will begin gradually to come
to himself; he will get up and proceed on his journey, yet some-
what dull, and evidently affected and exhausted by what had
happened, although not seriously or permanently ill.
At the moment of attack, three or four quarts of blood should
be taken from the neck- vein, or the bars of the palate should bo
cut, in the manner hereafter described. The driver should treat
him soothingly, loosen the curb-rein, ease the collar if practicable
and drive slowly the rest of his journey. When he gets home, a
dose of physic should be administered if the horse can be spared,
the quantity of dry food lessened, and mashes given or green food,
or he should have a run at grass. A predisposition to a second
attack almost always remains, and it is a long time before the
blood-vessels recover their former tone. Experience has shown
that a horse that has had a second attack of the megrims is
never to be trusted.^
APOPLEXY.
Megrims is Apoplexy under its mildest form. In the latter
affection, the determination of blood, if not so sudden, is greater,
or differently directed, or more lasting. It is seldom, however,
that there are not timely warnings of its approach, if the carter
or the groom had wit enough to observe them. The horse is a
little off his feed — he is more than usually dull — there is a
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — Mi*. Spooner speaks of a species of the disease
the symptoms of which border on epilepsy, and appear to arise from dis-
ordered functions of the brain. He says : —
We have known some horses more liable to this disease in very cold
frosty weather; in such instances the symptoms have been those of giddi-
ness, without the severity of ordinary megrims ; the animal has reeled,
however, like a drunken man, and been extremely dangerous both to ride
and drive. We have known an old horse thus continue almost useless
tliroughout the winter, and gradually shake off the disease as warm weather
came on. Now, it must be evident that the exciting causes ^ such instances
must be altogether different from that of ordinary megrims ; and, whilst
the bleeding and purging are very proper, as recommended in the text
for ordinary megrims, arising from plethora, it is not to be advised for that
variety of disease to which we have called attention, and which is rather
to b J beuefited bv warmth, good groomhig, and tonic mediciua
APOPLEXY 7 1
d«^grree of stupidity about him, and, generally, a somewhat stag-
gering gait. This goes off when he has been out a little while,
but it soon returns under a more decided character, until, at
length, it forces itself on the attention of the most careless.
The actual illness is perhaps first recognized by the horse
standing with his head depressed. It bears upon, or is forced
against the manger or the wall, and a considerable part of the
weight of the animal is evidently supported by this pressure of
the head. As he thus stands, he is balancing himself from one
side to the other as if he were ready to fall ; and it is often dan-
gerous to stand near to him, or to move him, for he falls without
warning. If he can get his muzzle into a corner, he will some-
times continue there motionless ibr a considerable time, and then
drop as if he were shot ; but, the next moment, he is up again,
with his feet almost in the rack. He sleeps or seems to do so as
he stands, or at least he is nearly or quite unconscious of sur-
roundmg objects. When he is roused, he looks vacantly around
him. Perhaps he will take a lock of hay if it is offered to him ,
but ere it is half masticated, the eye closes, and he sleeps again
with the food in his mouth. Soon afterwards he is, perhaps,
roused once more. The eye opens, but it has an unmeaning
glare. The hand is moved before him, but the eye closes not ,
he is spoken to, but he hears not. The last act of voluntary mo-
tion which he vidll attempt is usually to drink ; but he has little
power over the muscles of deglutition (swallowing), and the fluid
returns through the nostrils.
He now begins to foam at the mouth. His breathing is labo-
rious and loud. It is performed by the influence of the organic
nerves, arid those of animal life no longer lend their aid. The
pulse is slow and oppressed — the jugular vein is distended almost
to bursting — the muzzle is cold, and the discharge of the faeces
involuntary. He grinds his teeth — twitchings steal over his
face and attack his hmbs — they sometimes proceed to convul-
sions, and dreadful ones, too, in which the horse beats himself
about in a terrible manner ; but there is rarely disposition to do
mischief. In the greater number of cases these convulsions last
not long. All the powers of life are oppressed, and death speed
ily closes the scene.
Post-mortem examination usually shows the whole venous sys-
tem in a state of congestion, and the vessels of the brain, par-
ticularly, turgid with black blood. Occasionally, however, there
IS no inflammation of the brain or its membranes ; but either
the stomach contains a more than usual quantity of food, or the.
larirer intestines are loaded with foul matter.
Apoplexy is a determination of blood to the head, and tho
3'iuse is the over-condition of the animal, and too great fulness
72 APOPLEXY.
of blood. > It used to be much more common, when it was cus
tomary to keep horses exceedmgly fat, overwork them, and then
sufler them to eat voraciously miti] their stomachs were preter-
aaturally distended. The farmer used to keep his horses at the
plough six or eight hours, then suffer them to overgorge them-
selves at will. The consequence was, that the farmer's horse
was notoriously subject to fits of heaviness and sleepiness — to
staggers, or half-attacks of staggers. And from the frequent
pressure on the optic nerve and other parts, caused by oppres-
sion of the brain, they frequently became blind , A better divi-
6</on of labor, with properly distributed intervals for rest and
leeding, have, comparatively speaking, banished deejnj staggers.
Old horses are more subject to staggers than young ones, their
btomachs and digestive functions having been weakened by re-
peated abuses.
Hard-worked, and half-starved animals on being turned into
rich pastures, are sometimes attacked. If the weather is hot,
tne sympathy of the brain with the undue labor of the stomach
is more easily excited, and a determination of blood to the brain
more readily effected.
There is nothing in the appearance of the horse which will
lead to a discovery of the cause of staggers — no yellowness nor
twitchings of the skin, no local swellings, as some have de-
scribed ; but the practitioner or owner must get at the truth of
the matter as well as he can, and proceed accordingly.
As to the TREATMENT of staggcrs, whatever be the cause of
the disease, bleeding is the first measure indicated — the over
loaded vessels of the brain must be relieved. The jugular vein
should be immediately opened. It is easily got at — it is large —
the blood may be drawn from it in a full stream, and, being also
the vessel through which the blood is returned from the head,
the greater part of the quantity obtained will be taken immedi-
ately from the overloaded organ, and therefore will be most
likely to produce the desired effect No definite quantity of
blood should be ordered to be abstracted. The effect produced
must be the guide, and the bleeding must be continued until the
horse falters, or begins to blow — or, perhaps, with more assured
Fiiccess, until he falls. Some persons select the temporal artery.
This is very unscientific practice. It is difficult, or impossible,
to obtain from this vessel a stream that promises any decisive
success. It is likewise difficult to stop the bleeding from this
artery ; and, after all, the blood is not drawn from the actual
seat of the disease — the brain.
The second step is to ascertain what is the cause of the apo-
plexy. If produced by over-distention of the stomach, cathar
tics are of little avail. Recourse should be had to the stomach
APOPLEXY. 73
pfwip {one of the most valuable discoveries of modern times), and
iujectioiis of warm water. The latter may be continued not
only until the contents of the stomach are so lar diluted as to
escape by the anus, but until the obstruction to vomiting offered
by the contracted entrance of the stomach is overcome, and a
portion of the food is returned through the nostrils or mouth.
This being effected, or it having been ascertained that there
was no extreme distention of the stomach, recourse should be
had to aloes, and from eight to twelve drachms of it may be ad-
ministered. It will be proper to add some stimulating medicine
to the aloes, with a view of restoring the tone of the stomach,
and inducing it to contract on its contents. Gentian and ginger
are most likely to effect this purpose.
The after-treatment must be regulated by circumstances. For
some time the horse should be put on a restricted diet ; mashes
should be given ; green food in no great quantity ; a moderate
allowance of hay, and very little grain. When sufficiently re-
covered, he may be turned out with advantaire on rather bare
pasture. One circumstance, however, should never be forgotten
— that the horse who has once been attacked with staggers is
liable to a return of the complaint from causes that otherwise
would not affect him. The distended vessels are weakened —
the constitution is weakened, and prudence would dictate that
such an animal cannot be too soon disjiosed of.
Let no one delude himself with the idea that apoplexy is con-
tagious. It is so under no circumstances, though the same kind
of mismanagement may produce repeated cases of it nearly at
the same time, and in the same establishment.*
" JS^ote by Mr. Spooner. — With regard to those diseases which come under
the denomination of staggers, we have, certainly, three varieties, though
neither of them are so prevalent as they were formerly.
Mad staggers is undoubtedly inflammation of the brain, and is charac-
terized by those symptoms of extreme violence spoken of in the text.
These symptoms may be preceded by the sleepy stage, or may occur with-
out it. In sleepy staggers, as it used to be called, one of the most striking
symptoms is a disposition to thrust the head forwards, and it is surprishig
with Avhat force and determination this will be done. Thus resting his head,
the horse will doze for hours. Now, there are certainly two diseases pre-
senting these symptoms. One, which has been denominated stomach stag-
gers, arises from distention of the viscus with food. Such is the sympathy
between the stomach and the brain, that distention of the former will pro-
duce very similar symptoms to that when the brain is primarily chseased.
We are, however, very much in the dark as to whether distention of the
stomach with food is a cause or an effect; that is, whether it is caused by
indigestion arising from a want of tone in the nervous system, or whether
distention of the stomach with food is at once the cause of all the other symp-
toms.
Stomach staggers used formerly to be very prevalent, owing to the causes
Darned in the text. In this disease there is a very great disposition tt-
74 PHRENTTIS.
PHRENITIS.
Primary inflammation of the brain or its membranes, or both,
sometimes occurs, and of tlie membranes oftenest when both are
not involved.
The early symptoms are almost precisely those of apoplexy,|
except that the phrenetic horse is not quite so lethargic. He
sees a little better, will shrink more from the whip, and the dis-'i
ease runs its course more rapidly. In apoplexy, from distention
of the stomach, twenty-four or thirty-six hours will elapse before
cure, rupture of the stomach, or the destruction of the horse. If
it proceeds merely from an oppression of the digestive organs
and the sympathy which subsists between the stomach and brain,
it may. run on for two or three days. But the apoplexy of the
phrenetic horse will often run its course in a few hours.
In a case of evident phrenitis, blood-letting and physic must be
early carried to their full extent. The horse will often be
materially relieved, and, perhaps, cured by this decisive treat-
ment ; but, if the golden hour has been suffered to pass, or if
remedial measures have become inefiectual, the scene all at once
changes, and the most violent reaction succeeds. The eye
brightens — strangely so ; the membrane of the eye becomes
suddenly reddened, and forms a frightful contrast with the
transparency of the cornea ; the pupil is dilated to the utmost ;
the nostril, before scarcely moving, expands and quivers, and
labors ; the respiration becomes short and quick ; the ears are
force the head forwards, the pulse is slow and oppressed, and the abdomen
generally distended, the bowels costive, and the dung usually slimy. This
distention of the stomach is the principal distinction between this affection
of the stomach, and the sleepy staggers, as it is called, which is primarily
a disease of the brain. In this latter complaint, however, there is less dis-
position to thrust forward the head, and the a!)domen is by no means dis-
tended.
Sleepy staggers is sometimes suddenly succeeded by mad staggers or
inflammation of the brain ; the symptoms of which are sufficiently detailed
in the text. It is important to distinguish between these different diseases,
as the treatment requires considerable modification.
Mad staggers, the symptoms f)f which are so extremely violent, must be
met by the active bleedings and purgatives recommended in the text.
I would not, however, recommend the same active blood-letting for the
stomach or the sleepy staggers, as in these diseases there ap]iears a want
of that nervous energy and excitation which abounds so nmch in tlie mad
staggers, and which blood-letting is calculated to depress. In the stomach
disease, oily purgatives and clysters, assisted by plenty of diluents, are
called for; and, in those cases where lethargy anddebihty are present,
tonics and mild stimulants are to be recommended.
I have never observed any connection to exist between staggers and
amaurosis ; the latter, it is true, may be caused by indigestion, but I have
never met with an instance of its being produced by staggers.
PHELINITIS. 75
erect, or bent forward to catch the slightest sound ; and the
horse, becoming more irritable every instant, trembles at the
slightest motion. The irritability oi" the patient increases — it
may be said to change to ferocity — but the animal has no aim
or object in what he does. He dashes himself violently about,
plunges in every direction, rears on his hind-legs, whirls round
and round, and then falls backward with dreadful force. He lies
for a while exhausted — there is a remission of the symptoms,
but perhaps only for a minute or two, or possibly for a quarter
of an hour.
Ill the intervals between the paroxysms, one or both jugulars
should be opened ; and all the blood abstracted that can be ob-
tained. It is better not even to pin up the vein at all. The
patient will never thus be lost, and it is indispensable to
promptly relieve the brain and reduce the inflammation. Physic
should be administered, and that which will most speedily act.
The farina of the Crotoii nut will, perhaps, have the prefer-
ence. Half a drachm or two scruples of it may be fearlessly
administered. This medicine can be administered in the form
of a little ball, or in drink, by means of the probang, or a
stick, or the horn. Sometimes the phrenetic horse will drink
with avidity, and thus repeated doses of purgative medicine may
be given, and they should be continued until the bowels respond
The forehead should be blistered, if it can in any way be ac-
complished ; yet but little service is to be expected from this
manipulation. The bowels having been well opened, digitalis
should be administered. Its first and most powerful action is on
the heart, diminishing both the num.ber and strength of its
pulsations. To this may be added emetic tartar and nitre, but
not a particle of hellebore ; for that drug, if it acts at all, pro-
duces an increased determination of blood to the brain.
The second paroxysm is more dreadful than the first. Again
the animal whirls round and round, and plunges and falls. He
seizes his clothing and rends it in pieces ; perhaps, destitute of
feeling and of consciousness, he bites and tears himself He
darts furiously at everything within his reach ; but no mind, no
design, seems to mingle with or govern his fury. These attacks
and remissions follow for an uncertain period, until he becomes
unable to rise. He pants — he foams — at length, completely
exhausted, he dies.
While the disease continues, no attempt must be made to
induce the horse to feed ; and even when appetite returns with
the abatement of inflammation, great caution must be exercised
both with regard to the quantity and quality of the food.
The post-mortem appearances are altogether uncertain. There
is usually very gre; t injection and inflammation of the meim
76 RAiJIES.
branes of the brain, and even of portions of the substance oi
the brain ; but in other cases there is scarcely any trace of
inflammation, or even of increased vascularity.
Phr(Uiitis may be confounded with cholic and rabies. In cholic,
the horse rises, falls, and kicks at his belly, but there is no in-
voluntary spasm of any of the limbs, and he is iierfectly sensible
He looks piteously at his flanks, and the expression of his anxious
countenance is altogether difierent from the fearfully excited one
of the phrenetic horse. His pulse is also comparatively quiet,
and his struggles and violence are tame in comparison with
those of the other.
In rabies, there is even more violence than in phrenitis, but
the horse is perfectly conscious, recognizes those about him, and
seemingly exhibits more than his ordinary intelligence in his
attempts to do mischief.
RABIES, OR MADNESS.
This is another and fearful disease of the nervous system. It
results from the bite of a rabid animal, and, most com.monly,
of the companion and friend of the horse — the coach-dog.
The early symptoms of rabies in the horse have not been
carefully observed or well recorded ; but, in the majority of
cases, so far as our records go, there will not often be premoni-
tory symptoms sufficiently decisive to be noticed by the groom.
The horse goes out to his usual work, and, for a certain time
and distance, performs it as well as he had been accustomed to
do ; then he stops all at once — trembles, heaves, paws, staggers,
and falls. Almost immediately he rises, drags his load' a little
farther, and again stops, looks about him, backs, staggers, and
falls once m.ore. This is not a fit of megrims — it is not a sudden
determination of blood to the brain, for the horse is not for a
single moment insensible. The sooner he is led home the better,
for the progress of the disease is as rapid as the first attack is
sudden ; and, possibly, he will fall twice or thrice before he
reaches his stable.
In the great majority of cases — or rather, with very few ex-
ceptions— a state of excitation ensues, which is not exceeded by
that of the dog under the most fearful form of the malady ; but
there are intervals when, if he had been naturally good-tem-
pered and had been attached to his rider or his groom, he will
recognize his former friend and seek his caresses, and bend on
him one of those piteous, searching looks which, once observed
will never be forgotten : but there is danger about this. Prf's
ently succeeds another paroxysm, without warning and witnou^
RABIES. 77
jontrol ; and there is no safety for h'm who had previously the
most complete mastery over the animal,
I attended a rabid horse which the twner refused to have
destroyed, and to which attendance I only consented on condi-
tion of the animal being slung. He had been bitten in the near
liind-leg. When I approached him on that side, he did not
attempt to bite me, and he could not otherwise injure me ; but
he was agitated and trembled, and struggled as well as he
could ; and if I merely touched him with my finger, the pulsa-
tions were quickened full ten beats in a minute. When, how-
ever, I went round to the off side, he permitted me to pat him,
and I had to encounter his imploring gaze, "and his head was
pressed against me — and then presently would come the par-
oxysm ; but it came on almost before I could touch him, when
I approached him on the other side.
These mild cases, however, are exceptions to a general rule
The symptoms of the malady, of Mr. Moneyment's pony
rapidly increased — he bit everything within his reach, even
different parts of his own body — he breathed laboriously — his
tail erect — screaming dreadfully at short intervals, striking the
ground with his fore-feet, and perspiring most profusely. At
length he broke the top of his manger, and rushed out of the
stall with it hanging to his halter. He made immediately
tovv'ards the medical attendant, and the spectators who were
standing by. They fortunately succeeded in getting out of his
way, and he turned in the next stall, and dropped and died.
A young veterinary friend of mine in fool-hardily attempting
to administer a ball to a rabid horse, was seized by the hand,
lifted from the ground, shaken as a terrier would shake a rat, and
the ferocious animal was only compelled to relinquish his hold
when attacked with pitchforks, and not before he had completely
torn the flesh from the hand.
In the Museum of the Veterinary School at Alfort, is the lower
jaw of a rabid horse, which was fractured in the violent efforts
of the animal to do mischief
There is also in the horse, whose attachment to his owner is
often comparatively small, a degree of treachery which we rarely
meet with in the nobler and more intellectual dog.
I have had occasion more than once to witness the evident pain
of the bitten part, and the manner in which the horse in the in-
tervals of his paroxysms employs himself in licking or gnawing
the cicatrix. One animal had been bitten in the chest, and he,
not in the intervals between the exacerbation, but when the par-
oxysm was most violent, would bite and tear himself until his
breast was shockingly mangled, and the blood flowed from it in
a stream.
78 RABIES.
The most interesting and satisfactory symptom is the evident
dread of water which exists in the decided majority of cases, and
the impossibility of swallowing any considerable quantity.
As the disease progresses, not only is the animal rapidly debili-
tated, but there* is the peculiar staggering gait which is observable
in the dog — referable to evident loss of power in the muscles of
he lumbar region. Although this symptom is not often observed
.n the dog, it is a satisfactory identification of the disease, when
it is so frequently seen in the horse, and so invariably in the hu-
man being.
The earliest and perhaps the most decisive symptom of the
near approach of rabies in the horse,, is a spasmodic movement of
the upper lip, particularly of the angles of the lip. Close follow-
ing on this, or contemporaneous with it, is the depressed and anx-
ious countenance, and inquiring gaze, suddenly however lighted
up and becoming fierce and menacing, from some unknown cause,
or at the approach of a stranger. From time to time different
parts of the frame — the eyes — the jaws — particular limbs — will
be convulsed. The eye will occasionally wander after some im-
aginary object, and the horse will snap again and again at that
which has no real existence. Then will come the irrepressible
desire to bite the attendants or the animals within its reach. To
this will succeed the demolition of the rack, the manger, and the
whole furniture of the stable, accompanied by the peculiar dread
of water which has been already alluded to.
Towards the close of the disease there is generally paralysis,
usually confined to the loins and the hinder extremities, or involv-
ing those organs which derive their nervous influence from this
portion of the spinal cord ; — hence the distressing tenesmus
(ineffectual attempt to stool) which is occasionally seen.
The disease rarely extends beyond the third day.
After death, there is uniformly found inflammation at the back
part of the mouth, and at the top of the windpipe, and likewise
in the stomach, and on the membrane covering the lungs, and
where the spinal marrow first issues from the brain.
When the disease can be clearly connected with a previous
bite, the sooner the animal is destroyed the better, for there is no
cure. If the symptoms bear considerable resemblance to rabies,
although no bite is suspected, the horse should at least be slung,
and the medicine, if any is administered, given in the form of a
drink, and with the hand well protected ; for if it should be
scratched in balling the horse, or the skin should have been pre-
viously broken, the saliva of the animal is capable of communi
eating the disease. Several farriers have lost their lives from
being bitten or scratched in the act of administering medicine to
a rabid horse.
LOCKED JAW.
79
If a horse is bitten by a dog under suspicious circumstances, he
should be carefully examined, and every wound, and even the
slightest scratch, well burned with the lunar caustic (nitrate of
silver). Tiie scab should be removed and the operation repeated
on the third day. The hot iron does not answer so well, and
other caustics are not so manageable. In the spring of 1827,
four horses were bitten near Hyde Park, by a mad dog. To one
of them the lunar caustic was twice severely applied — he lived.
The red-hot iron was unsparingly used on the others, and they
died. The caustic must reach every part of the wound. At the
expiration of the fourth month, the horse may be considered to
be safe.
TETANUS, OR LOCKED JAW.
Tetanus is one of the most dreadful and fatal diseases to which
the horse is subject. It is called locked jaw, because the mus-
cles of the jaw are earliest affected, and the mouth is obstinately
and immovably closed. It is a constant spasm of all the volun-
tary muscles, and particularly of those of the neck, the spine, and
the head. It is generally slow and treacherous in its attack.
The horse, for a day or two, does not appear to be quite well ; he
does not feed as usual ; he partly chews his food, and drops it ;
and he gulps his water. The owner at length finds that the mo-
tion of the jaAvs is considerably limited, and some saliva is driv-
elling from the mouth. If he tries he can only open the mouth
a very httle way, or the jaws are perfectly and rigidly closed ;
and thus the only period at which the disease could have been
successfully combated is lost. A cut of a horse laboring under
this disease is here given, which the reader will do well to oxam-
'ne carefuUy.
Fig. 9.
80 LOCKED JAW.
The first thing that strikes the observer is a protrusion of the
muzzle, and stifihess of the neck ; and, on passing the hand down
it, the muscles will be found singularly prominent, distinct, hard,
knotty, and unyielding. There is difficulty in bringing the head
round, and still greater difficulty in bending it. The eye is
drawn deep within the socket, and, in consequence of this, the
fatty matter behind the eye is pressed forward ; the haw is also
protruded, and there is an appearance of strabismus, or squinting,
in an outward direction.
The ears are erect, pointed forward, and immovable ; if the
horse is spoken to, or threatened to be struck, they change not
their position. Considering the beautiful play of the ear of the
horse when in health, and the kind of conversation which he
maintains by the motion of it, there is not a more characteristic
symptom of tetanus than this immobility of the ear. The nostril
is expanded to the utmost, and there is little or no play of it, as
in hurried or even natural breathing. The respiration is usually
accelerated, yet not always so ; but it is uniformly laborious.
The pulse gives little indication of the severity of the disease.
It is sometimes scarcely affected. It will be rapidly accelerated
when any one approaches the animal and offers to touch him, but
it presently quiets down again almost to its natural standard.
After a while, hoAvever, the heart begins to sympathize with the
general excitation of the system, and the pulse increases in fre-
quency and Ibrce until the animal becomes debilitated, when it
beats yet quicker and quicker, but diminishes in power, and
gradually flutters and dies away.
The countenance is eager, anxious, haggard, and tells plainly
enough what the animal suffers.
The stiffness gradually extends to the back. If the horse is in
a narrow stall, it is impossible to turn him ; and, even with room
and scope enough, he turns altogether like a deal-board.
The extremities begin to participate in the spasm — the hinder
ones generally first, but never to the extent to which it exists in
the neck and back. The horse stands with his hind-legs strad-
dling apart in a singular way. The whole of the limb moves, oi
rather is dragged on, together, and anxious care is taken that no
joint shall be flexed more than can possibly be helped. The fore
limbs have a singular appearance ; they are as stifle as they can
possibly be, but stretched forward and straddling They have
not unaptly been compared to the legs of a form.
The abdominal muscles gradually become involved. They
seem to contract with all the power they possess, and there is a
degree of " hide-bound" appearance, and of tucking up of the
belly, which is seen under no other complaint. The tail becomes
LOCKED JAW. 81
in constant motion from the alternate and violent action of tht
muscles that elevate and depress it.
Constipation, and to an almost insurmountable degree, now ap-
pears. The abdominal muscles are so powerfully contracted, that
no portion of the contents of the abdomen can pass on and be
discharged.
By degrees the spasm extends and becomes everywhere more
violent. The motion of the whole frame is lost, and the horse
stands fixed in the unnatural posture which he has assumed
The countenance becomes wilder and more haggard — its expres-
sion can never be effaced from the memory of him who cares
about the feelings of a brute. The violent cramp of a single
muscle, or set of muscles, makes the stoutest heart quail, and
draws forth the most piteous cries — what, then, must it be for
this torture to pervade the whole frame, and to continue, with
little respite, from day to day, and from week to week ! When
his attendant approaches and touches him, he scarcely moves ,
but the despairing gaze, and the sudden acceleration of the
pulse, indicate what he feels and fears
Tetanus is evidently an affection of the nerves, caused by an
injury to some one of them, and the effect of that injury has
spread to the origin of the nerve — the brain — and universal dis
eased action has followed.
If the disease terminates fatally, it is usually from the sixth
to the eighth day. There are occasionally slight remissions in
the spasm, but not sufficiently to enable the animal to eat or to
drink. If these remissions return and increase in length, and
particularly if there is more relaxation of the lower jaw, there
is yet hope. If the horse recovers, it will be slowly, and he
will be left sadly weak, and a mere walking skeleton.
On post-mortem examination the muscular fibre will exhibit
sufficient proof of the labor which has been exacted from it.
The muscles will appear as if they had been macerated — their
texture will be softened, and they will be torn with the greatest
ease. The lungs will, in the majority of cases, be highly in-
flamed, for they have been laboring long and painfu ly, to fur-
nish arterial blood in sufficient quantity to support this great
expenditure of animal power. The stomach will contain patches
of inflammation, but the intestines, in most cases, will not ex-
hibit much departure from the hue of health. The examination
of the brain will be altogether unsatisfactory. There may be
slight injection of some of the membranes, but, in the majority
of cases, there will not be any morbid change worthy of record .
Tetanus most usually occurs from injvifies to some nervous
fibre of the foot — sometimes from a prick in shoeing. It is
also connected with docking, nicking and castration (q. v.)
6 cl
82 LOCKED JAW CRAMP,
Severe over-exertion, or sudden exposure to cold after being
heated by exercise, has also brought it on.
The treatment of tetanus is simple — the system must he tran-
quillized. The grand agent in accomplishing this is copious
bleeding. The animal should be bled until he falls, or the
pulse evidently falters. Tvi^enty pounds of blood have been
safely taken in such cases.
The profuse bleeding will generally relax the muscles of the.
jaw, so that a dose of physic can be administered. Eight or ten
drachms of aloes should be given. If the remission of the spasm
is slight, there is another purgative — not so certain in its action,
but more powerful when it does act — the farina of the Croton nut.
Clysters will be useful in assisting the action of the purgative
A solution of Epsom salts will constitute the safest and best in-
jection. As to medicine, opium is not only a valuable drug, but
it is that on which alone dependence can be placed in this disease.
It will be borne in doses, from half a drachm to two drachms.
The application of sheep-skins warm from the animal, and
applied along the whole course of the spine, may somewhat un-
load the congested vessels of the part, and diminish the sufierings
of the animal. They should be renewed as soon as they become
offensive, and the patient should be covered from the poll to the
tail with double or treble clothing.
Gentle friction with the hand along the course of the spine,
and the application of an opiate liniment, is highly useful.
Gruel should be placed within the reach of the horse, and he
should also have thoroughly wet mashes placed before him. By
means of a small horn, or bottle, gruel can sometimes be intro-
duced in the stomach. Tliis can be readily accomplished by
means of the flexible tube accompanying Read's patent pump,
A little food should be placed in the manger, and occasionally
inserted between his grinders. The effort to eat will assist in
breaking the chain of spasmodic action. Turn out the horse for
a few hours in the middle of the day, in fine weather.^
CRAMP.
This is a sudden, involuntary, and painful spasm of a par-
ticular muscle. It occasionally attacks the muscles of organic
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Successful treatment is principally confined to
those cases in which the spasm is not universal, but confined to one part, as
the neck or jaw, when it is denominated trisums. Purgatives, opiates, and
antimonials, form, with blood-letting, the principal curative measures ; but
it should be borne in mind that, beyond all these, perfect quietude, and the
absence of all excitement, is most essential. The animal should therefore be
left alone as much as possible, without being harassed by frequent visita
and the exhibition of medicines.
STRING HALT CHOREA. 83
life, but in its most common form only affects the hind extremi-
ties, where it is observed by the temporary lameness and stiff-
ness it produces, in the hardly worked horse, as he is first led out
of the stable in the morning. If any lameness remains, which
can be ascertained by presshig the parts, it should be removed
by hard rubbing, or by giving the horse a wider and more com-
fortable stall, if that should appear to be the origin of the
difficulty.
STRINGHALT.
This is a sudden and spasmodic action of some of the muscles
of the thigh when the horse is first led from the stable. One or
both legs are caught up at every step with great rapidity and
violence, so that the fetlock sometimes touches the belly ; but,
after the horse has been out a little while, this usually goes off
and the natural action of the animal returns. In a few cases it
does not perfectly disappear after exercise, but the horse continues
to be slightly lame.
Stringhalt is not a perfectly involuntary action of a certain
muscle, or a certain set of muscles. The limb is flexed at the
command of the will, but it acts to a greater extent and with
more violence than the will had prompted.
Professor Spooner is of opinion that this peculiar affection is not
referable to any diseased state of the brain or spinal cord, nor to
any local affection of the muscles of the limbs, but simply to
a morbid affection of the sciatic nerve. He has not dissected a
single case of stringhalt in which he has not found disease of this
nerve, which mainly contributes to supply the hind extremities
with sensation and the power of voluntary motion.
Stringhalt is decided unsoundness ; but generally speaking, it
so little interferes with the services of the animal, that although
an unsoundness, it would not weigh a great deal against other
manifest valuable qualities.
CHOREA.
This is a convulsive, involuntary t^vitching of some muscie or
set of muscles. A few, and very few, cases of it in the horse are
recorded. Professor Gohier relates one in which it attacked both
fore-legs, and especially the left, but the affection was not con-
stant. During five or six minutes the spasms were most vio-
lent, so that the horse was scarcely able to stand. The convul-
sions then became weaker, the interval between them increased,
and at length they disappeared, leaving a slight but temporary
lameness. All means of cure were fruitlessly tried, and the dis-
ease continued until the horse died of some other complaint. In
84 FITS PALSY.
another case it followed sudden suppression of the discharge of
glanders and disappearance of the enlarged glands. This also
was intermittent during the life of the animal.
FITS, OR EPILEPSY.
The stream of nervous influence is sometimes rapid, or the
suspensions are considerable. This is the theory of Fits, or Ep-
ilepsy. Fortunately the horse is not often afflicted with this
disease, although it is not unknown to the breeder. The attack
-S not sudden. The animal stops — trembles — looks vacantly
around him, and falls. Occasionally the convulsions that follow
are slight ; at other times they are terrible. The head and fore-
part of the horse are most affected, and the contortions are very
singular. In a few minutes the convul^ons cease ; he gets up ;
looks around him with a kind of stuj)id astonishment ; shakes his
ears ; urines ; and eats or drinks as if nothing had happened.
The only hope of cure consists in discovering the cause of the
fits ; and an experienced practitioner must be consulted, if the
animal is valuable. G-enerally speaking, however, the cause
is so difficult to discover, and the habit of having fits is so soon
formed, and these fits will so frequently return, even at a great
distance of time, that he who values his own safety, or the lives
of his family, will cease to use an epileptic horse.
PALSY.
The stream, of nervous influence is sometimes stopped, and
thence results palsy. The power of the muscle is unimpaired,
but the nervous energy is deficient. In the horse, palsy is usually
general, and not confined to one side as commonly happens in
the human subject. It generally attacks the hind extremities.
The loins and the back oftenest exhibit the eflects of palsy, be-
cause there are some of the most violent muscular efforts, and
there is the greatest movement and the least support. It may
consequently be taken as an axiom to guide the judgment of the
piactitioner that palsy in the horse almost invariably proceeds
from disease or injury of the spine.
On inquiry it is almost invariably found that the horse had
lately fallen, or had been worked exceedingly hard, or that
covered with perspiration, he had been left exposed to cold ami}
wet. It commences generally in one hind-leg, or perhaps both
are equally affected. The animal can scarcely walk — ^lie walks
on his fetlocks instead of his soles — he staggers at every motion.
At length he falls. He is raised with difflculty, or he never
rises again. The sensibilitj of the part seems for a while to be
RHEUMATISM. 85
«
dreadfully increaFu'd ; but, in general, this gradually subsides — it
sinlvs below the u&ual standard — it ceases altogether.
If he is examined after death, there will usually, about the
region of the loins, be inflammation of the membranes of the
spinal cord, or of the cord itself. The medullary matter will be
found of a yellow color, or injected with spots of blood, or it will
be softened, and have become semifluid.
The treatment is simple. It should commence with bleeding
until the pulse begins to falter or the horse to reel. To this
should follow a strong cathartic. The loins should be covered
with a mustard poultice frequently renewed. The horse should
be warmly clothed, supplied plentifully with mashes, but with-
out a kernel of grain in them ; and frequent injections administer-
ed. If favorable symptoms appear, the horse must not be in the
slightest degree neglected, nor the medical treatment suspended,
for in no disease is there a greater liability of relapse, and in
none is a relapse more fatal. Palsy of the horse is an inflamma-
tory complaint, and under no circumstances should grain or any
tonic medicine be given.
If the heat and tenderness abate, and the animal regains a
freer use of his limbs, or if it is becoming a case of chronic palsy,
an extensive and stimulating charge over the loins should be
immediately applied. It will accomplish three purposes : there
will be the pruiciple of counter-irritation — a defence against the
cold — and a useful support of the limbs.
RHEUMATISM.
It is only of late years that this has been admitted into the
list of the diseases of the horse, although it is in truth a very
common affection. It is frequent in old horses that have been
early abused, and among younger ones whose powers have been
severely taxed. The lameness is frequently excessive, and the
pain is evidently excruciating. The animal dares not to rest the
shghtest portion of its weight on the limb, or even to touch the
ground with his toe. He is heaving at the flanks, sweating pro-
fusely, his countenance plainly indicative of the agony he feels ;
but there is at first no heat, or swelling, or tenderness. With
proper treatment, the pain and the lameness gradually disappear ;
but in other instances the fasciae of the muscles become thick-
ened— the ligaments are also thickened and rigid — ^the capsules
of the joint are loaded with a glairy fluid, and the joint is evi-
dently enlarged. This is simply rheumatism ; but if it is neg-
lected, palsy soon associates itself with, or succeeds to, the com-
plaint ; and the loss of nervous power follows the difficultY oi
pain of moving.
86 NEUROTOMY.
Every horseman will recollect cases in which the animal that
seemed on the preceding day to be perfectly sound becomes
decidedly lame, and limps as though he had lost the use of his
limbs ; yet there is no thickening of the tendons, nor any external
inflammatory action to show the seat of the complaint.
The attack is most common in winter, and in wet, cola
weather. Good bleeding and sharp purging, the former aided if
necessary by injections — and warm fomentations to the afiected
parts — constitute the proper treatm.ent.
NEUROTOMY.
From the faulty construction of the shoe, the premature and
cruel exaction of labor, and various other causes, the horse is
subject to a variety of diseases of the foot — all of them accom-
panied with a greater or less degree of pain, often of a very in-
tense character, and ceasing only with the life of the animal.
The division of the nerve as a remedy for intense pain in
any part of the frame, was systematically practiced more than
a century ago. Mr. Moorecroft has the honor of introducing
this operation — neurotomy — into veterinaiy practice. He laid
bare one of the metacarpal nerves, and divided it. It always
immediately reduced the lameness, and, sometimes, the horse
rose perfectly sound. This result was not always permanent,
however, for the lameness returned in a few weeks, or on much
active exertion. He next cut out a small piece of the nerve.
The freedom from lameness was of longer duration, but eventu-
ally returned. He then tried a bolder experiment — the excision
of a portion of the nerves going both to the inner and outer
metacarpals, and found that the sensi)iility of the foot was thus
destroyed.
Fig. 10 gives a view of the nerve on the inside of the leg,
as it approaches the fetlock. It will be seen that branches
are given off above the fetlock, which go to the fore-part of the
foot and supply it with feeling. The continuation of the nerve
below the fetlock is given principally to the quarters and hinder
part of the foot. The grand consideration, then, with the oper-
ator is — does he wish to deprive the whole of the foot of sensa-
tion, or is the cause of lameness principally in the hinder part
of the foot, so that he can leave some degree of feeling in the
fore-part, and prevent that alteration in the tread and going of
the horse, which the horseman so much dislikes ?
The horse must be cast and secured, and the limb to be
operated on removed from the hobbles and extended — the hair
having been previously shaved from the part. The operator
then feels for the throbbing of the artery, or the round fxira
NEUROTOIMY.
87
Dody of the nerve itself, on the side of the shank bone or the
larger pastern. The vein, artery, and nerve liere run close
together, the vein nearest to the front of the leg, then the
artery, and the nerve behind. He cautiously cuts through the
skin for an inch and a half in length. The vessels will then
be brought into view, and the nerve will be distinguished from
them by its lying behind the others, and by its whiteness. A
crooked needle, armed with silk, is then passed under it, in order
to raise it a little. It is dissected from the cellular substance
beneath, and about three quarters of an inch of it cut out, — the
first incision bemg made at the upper part, in which case the
second incision will not be felt. The horse must then be turned,
and the operation performed on the other side ; for there is a
nervous trunk on both sides. The wounds are now closed with
strips of adhesive plaster, a bandage placed over them, the head
tied up for a couple of days, and the animal kept rather low,
and as quiet as possible. The incisions will generally rapidly
heal ; and in three weeks or a month, and sometimes earher,
the horse will be fit for work.
Fig. 10.
A The metacarpal nerve on the inside of the off leg
at the edge of the shank bone, and behind the
vein and artery.
B The continuation of the same nerve on the past-
ern, and proceeding downward to supply the
back part of the foot wnth feeling.
C The division of the nerve on the fetlock joint.
D The branch which supplies \vith feeling the
fore-part of the foot.
E The artery between the vein and nerve.
F The continuation of the artery on the pastern,
close to, and before the nerve.
G The vein before the artery and nerve.
H The same vein spreading over the pastern
I One of the flexor tendons, the perforatus (per-
forated).
J The deeper flexor tendon, the perforans (per-
forating, contained within the other).
K The tendinous band in w-hich the flexors work,
L One of the extensors of the foot.
M The internal or sensible frog.
N The posterior lateral ligament.
O The fleshy or sensible lamina covering the coffin
bone, the horny crust being removed.
P The horny crust.
a The sole.
For rmg-bone — the side cartilages becoming bony, and there
being partial stiffness of the pastern and coffin joints the
88 NEUROTOMY.
Operation of nerving will probably be beneficial. The sense
of pain being taken away, the animal will use these parts more,
and they will gradually recover their natural action and motion.
For the same reason, in old contraction cf the feet, it is highly
beneficial. The torture occasioned by the pressure of the horny
crust on the sensible parts within being no longer felt, and the
foot coming fully and firmly in contact with the ground, not only
is lameness relieved, but the elasticity and form of the foot par-
tially restored. Where lameness has long existed, unattended
with heat of the foot or alteration of shape, and the seat of
which could not be ascertained, although probably existing be-
tween the navicular bone and the back tendon that plays over
it, neurotomy may be resorted to with decided advantage.
Mischief, however, will result from the operation if the pastern
or coffin joints are perfectly stifi^, because the concussion occa-
sioned by the forcible contact of the foot with the ground, and
unbroken by the play of the joints, must necessarily still more
injure the bone. When the sole of the foot is convex or pum-
iced, the efiect of neurotomy will be most destructive. The sole
scarcely able to bear the pressure of the coffin-bone, even when
pain induces the animal to put his foot as gently as possible
on the ground, being forced below its natural situation, would
be speedily worn through and destroyed. So if inflammation
existed, although its pain might be removed, yet its progress
would be quickened by the bruising to which the parts might
be jubjected ; and more especially would this be the case, if
there was any ulceration of the ligaments or cartilages.
The unfettered shoe of Mr. Turner being adopted, at least so
far as we can have it unfettered — attached to the foot on one
side alone, and the inner quarter being left free — ^the foot
gradually regains its original healthy form, and when, in pro
cess of time, a new portion of nerve is produced, and the sensi
bility of the foot re-established, the horse continues to be sound.
To some extent, immediate good effect is produced as it regards
the actual disease. We remove that general constitutional ir-
ritability which long-continued pain occasions, and which height-
ens and perpetuates local disease. We obtain for the patient
an interval of repose, and every local ailment soon subsides or
disappears, and the whole constitution becomes invigorated.
Mr. Percival relates the case of a mare with contracted feet,
that was never subject to periodical CEstrum, and would not
breed— and an incompetent stallion, with some disease of the
feet — both of which procreated freely after being subjected to
the operation of neurotomy.
Neurotomy having been performed, the veterinary surgeon
jvill attempt to remove the original cause of the pain, and re
NEUROTOMY. 89
store the foot, except so far as feeling is concerned, to its natu-
ral condition. In doing this, he is now permitted to use appli-
ances which humanity would have prevented him from resorting
to, before the sensibility of the part was destroyed. Some of
these will be hereafter adverted to.
The principle of neurotomy is plain and simple — it is the re-
moval of jKiin. In this light, it is a noble operation, and one
in which every humane person will rejoice. But it may be
abused. If no contemporaneous means are adopted to cure the
disease of the foot — if in canker, or quittor, or inflammation of
the laminae, for example, no means are used to lessen the con-
cussion and pressure — the destruction of the part, and the utter
ruhi of the horse, are the inevitable consequences. The primary
result is the removal of pain. It is for the operator to calculate
the bearing of this on the actual disease, and the future useful-
ness of the animal.
The excised portion of the nerve is again reproduced, but the
time in which' this is effected has not been tested by any definite
experiments. With the restoration of the nerve, the lameness
and pain return, unless the cause is removed.
Can the horse that has undergone the operation of neurotomy
be afterwards passed as sound ? Most certainly not.=^ [See Un-
soundness.]
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — The operation lias sometimes fallen into disrepute
from having been performed on improper cases, or from the horse having
afterwards been unduly worked. It should never be performed on a Aveak.
fiat, or convex foot, as the danger from concussion, pricks from shoeing,
and other injuries, is great, and is still further increased by the operation
in question. It also should not be performed for diseases of the fetlock
joint, nor when the feet are exceedingly contracted ; for, in the former
case, the inflammation of the fetlock will soon extend above the seat of
operation on the renewal of work ; and, in the latter case, the disposition
to expansion will be so great from the horse treading boldly on his heels
that inflammation will result from the pressure of the soft parts against
the horny crust, and enlargement and disorganization will be likely to fol-
low. The best cases for the operation are those where the foot is strong
and but little contracted. The horse should be worked moderately and
steadily afterwards, either at a foot pace or a steady trot. He should not
be used for hunting ; as, in alighting from a leap, the diseased sinew, in
passing over the navicular bone, to which it often becomes morbidly united,
sometimes snaps or ruptures, and the horse is rendered useless. For the
same reason, the horse should not be turned out to grass, as the same re-
sult may happen from playfulness. A result which sometimes attends this
operation is, that when the horse has been previously disposed to overreach
or clack his hind shoes against his fore ones, this disposition is afterwards
greatly increased, from the leg operated on not being moved out of the way
of the hind-leg so rapidly as it should be.
Neurotomy is usually performed a few inches above the fetlock joint.
Some novices have performed it midway between the fetlock joint and the
knee, and been much surprised to find that the lameness still continued,
90 INSANITY
INSANITY.
There is no doubt that the animals which we have subjugated
possess many of the same mental faculties as the human being
— volition, memory, attachment, gratitude, resentment, fear, and
hatred. Who has not witnessed the plaui and manifest display
of these principles and feelmgs in our quadruped dependants ?
The simple possession of these faculties implies that they may
be used for purposes good or bad, and that, as in the human
being, they may be deranged or destroyed by a multitude of
causes which it is not necessary to particularize.
The conduct of the horse laboring under insanity, is highly
analogous to certain acts of insanity in man.
Professor Rodet, of Toulouse, gives an account of a horse re-
markable for an habitual air of stupidity, and for a wandering ex-
pression of countenance, that when he saw or heard any sudden
or unusual noise, or even when his grain was thrown into his
manger without speakmg to him or patting him, was frightened
to an incredible degree ; he recoiled precipitately, every limb
trembled, and he struggled violently to escape. If unable to do
BO, he became so enraged that it was dangerous to approach him.
This was followed by dreadful convulsions, which did not cease
until he got free. He then would become calm, and suffer him-
self to be led back to his stall.
Professor Rodet also speaks of a mare belonging to a soldier,
that had not the slightest fear of the sights and sounds of a field
of battle, but had an insane aversion to paper I She distin-
guished it at once from all other objects, and even m the dark,
which -was owing to the fact that the outer metacarpal nerve sends off a
branch which passes obhquely over the back sinews, and joins the other
several inches lower down ; so that the section is made on one side below
the place where the branch nerve leaves, and on the other above the spot
where it joins the nerve ; thus feeling is readily kept up by means of this
branch nerve. Sometimes the operation is performed below, or immedi-
ately upon the fetlock joint ; the effect of which is, that feeling is preserved
to the front of the foot by means of two small branch nerves which are
given off above the fetlock joint, whilst the navicular joint is deprived of all
feeling. This would be a very desirable mode of performing the operation,
were it always successful ; but it often happens that, after some time, lame-
ness again follows from the mischief extending itself within the sphere of
the nerves that remain. In some instances, however, where the disease is
entirely confined within the navicular joint, the horse has continued sound,
and still preserved a certain degree of feeling. Another mode of operating
is, to excise the nerve on the inside above the fetlock, and, on the outside,
upon it ; by which means a slight degree of feeling is preserved on the out-
eide and front of the foot, and there is no danger of injury from cutting
which is the case when the operation is performed immediately on the fftt-
lock joint on both sides of the leg.
DISEASES OF THE EYE. 91
if two leaves were rubbed together — and her fright caused her
several times to unhorse her rider.
Another mare, quiet in other respects, would invariably rush
at another white or gray horse, and attempt to destroy it.
These instances are selected from various others, because they
approach so nearly to what would be termed insanity in man.
It is a species of monomania, and as decided insanity as ever
the biped discovered. One of these horses, the second, was by
long and kind attention divested of this insane terror, and be-
came perfectly quiet and useful ; but the others bid defiance to
all means of cure, and to coercion among the rest.
DISEASES OF -THE EYE.
The diseases of the eye constitute a very important, but a
most unsatisfactory division of our work, for the maladies of this
organ, although few in number, are frequent in their appear-
ance. They are sadly obstinate, and often baffle all skill.
We have spoken of fracture of the orbit, and its treatment
Occasionally the substance round the eye is wounded by a
fork or other sharp instrument, and inflammation ensues. This
should be abated by poultices, and bleeding, and physic ; but
no probe should be used in such a place.
The eyelids are subject to occasional inflammation from blows
or other injuries. Fomentation with warm water will be ser-
viceable here.
The horse has occasionally a scaly eruption on the edges of the
eyelids, attended with great itching, in the effort to allay which,
by rubbing the part, the eye may be blemished. The nitrated
ointment of quicksilver, mixed with an equal quantity of lard,
may be slightly rubbed on the edges of the Uds with considerable
good efi^ect.
The eyelids will sometimes become oedematous (puffed up with
a serous hmnor). Horses fed in low wet pastures, old carriage-
horses, &c., are subject to it. It is sometimes the result of badly
treated inflammation. The lids should be well bathed with
warm water mmgled with an aromatic tincture.
Weakness and dropping of the upper lid is caused by diminu-
tion or loss of power in its muscles. Dry frictions and aromatic
lotions will frequently restore the tone of the parts.
The eyelids are subject to occasional injury from their situation
and office. In small incised (cut) wounds of them great care
should be taken that the divided edges unite by the first intention.
This will hasten the cure, and prevent deformity. If any of the
muscles are divided, it is usually the ciliary or orbicularis palpe-
orarum. This lesion must be healed, if possible, by the first in-
S2 DISEASES OF THE EYE.
tention, and either by means of adhesive plaster or the suture
(sewing). The suture is probably the preferable agent.
Suppurating wounds in the eyelids may be the consequence of
the necessary abstraction of a considerable surface of the skin, in
the removal of warts or tumors. The principal thing to be at-
tended to is the frequent removal of the matter tj means of tow
or cotton wool. The rest may generally be left to nature.
Inversion of the lids is of very rare occurrence in the horse.
Warts are sometimes attached to the edges of the lids, and are
a source of great irritation. When rubbed they bleed, and the
common opinion is true — that they are propagated by the blood.
They should be taken off with a sharp pair of scissors, and theii
roots touched with the lunar caustic.
The membrane which covers the Haw is subject to inflamma-
tion. It is, indeed, a continuation of the conjunctiva, the inflam-
mation of which constitutes ophthalmia. An account of this
inflammation will be better postponed until the nature and treat-
ment of ophthalmia come under particular notice.
The Haw, or Membrana Nictitans, is subject to inflammation
peculiar to itself, arising from the introd\iction of foreign bodies,
or from blows or other accidents. The entire substance of the
haw becomes inflamed. It swells and protrudes from the innei
angle of the eye. The heat and redness gradually disappear, bul
the membrane often continues to protrude. The inflammation
of this organ often assumes a chronic character in a very short
time, on account of the structure of the parts, which are m gen-
eral little susceptible of reaction.
The ordinary causes of this disease in the horse are repeated
and periodical attacks of ophthalmia, and blows on the part.
Young and old horses are most subject to it.
Emollient applications, bleeding, and restricted diet will be
proper at the commencement of the disease, and, the inflamma-
tion being abated, slight astringents will be useful in preventing
the engorgement of the part. Rose-water with subacetate of
lead will form a proper eye-wash. If the protruding body does
not diminish after propei means have been tried, and for a suffi-
cient period, it must be removed with a curved pair of scissors.
No danger will attend this operation if it is performed in time ;
but if it is neglected, ulceration of the part and the growth of
fungous vegetations will give a serious character to the affair.
A second operation may also be necessary, and even a -third, and
fungus hsematodes will probably be established.
Ulceration and caries (decay) of the cartilage will sometimes
be accompanied by ulceration of the conjunctiva. This will fre-
quently prove a very serious affair, demanding, at least, the re-
moval of the haw.
INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 93
The Canmcula Lacrymalis, or Tubercle, by means of wbich
the tears are directed into the canal through which tliey are to
escape from the nostril, is sometimes enlarged in consequence of
inriammation, and the Puncta LacrymaHa, or conduits into which
the tears pass from the eye, are partially or completely closed
file application of warm and emollient lotions will generally re-
move the collected mucus or the inflammation of the parts ; but
if the passage of a stylet or other more complicated means are
required, the assistance of a veterinary surgeon should be imme-
aiately obtained. The lacrymal sac mto which the tears pass
from tlie puncta has occasionally participated in the inflammation,
and been distended and ruptured by the tears and mucus. This
lesion is termed Fistula Lacrymalis. It has occasionally existed
in colts, and will require immediate and peculiar treatment.
COMMON INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE.
The conjunctiva is occasionally the seat of great disease, and
that which is too often destructive to the eye. Inflammation of
the eye may i)e considered under two forms — the common and
manageable, and the specific and fatal. The Common Inflam-
mation is generally sudden in its attack. The lids will be found
swelled and the eyes partially closed, and some weeping. The
inside of the lid will be red, some red streaks visible on the white
of the eye, and the cornea slightly dim. This is occasionally
connected with some degree of catarrh or cold ; but it is as often
unaccompanied by this, and depends on external irritation, as a
blow, or the presence of a bit of hay-seed or oat-husk within the
lid, and towards the outer corner where the haw cannot reach it :
therefore the lids should ahvays be carefully examined as to this
possible source of the complaint. The health of the animal is
generally unafi^ected — he feeds well, and performs his work with
his usual spirit. Cooling applications to the eye, as the Goulard's
extract or tincture of opium, with mash-diet, and gentle physic,
will usually abate the evil ; or the mflammation will subside
without medical treatment. =^
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Unless this disease is connected with influenza,
or some other malady affecting the whole system, it is usually produced by
external violence, and in nine cases out of ten, may be distinguished from
specific ophthalmia. When caused by a blow, there is in addition to swelling
of the lids, and a large effusion of tears, a considerable dimness or opacity
on the surface of the eye, whilst at the same time the interior is compara-
tively free from disease. In specific ophthalmia, there is a greater amount
of disease in the interior of the eye, and little if any opacity of the cornea.
When connected with influenza there is much swelling of the lids, and a
great flow of tears, while the eye itself is tok-rably free from injury ; and
when it proceeds from a cold, there is usually a thick matter, or mucus, dis-
94 OPHTHALMIA.
SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA, OR MOON-BLINDNESS.
Should three or four days pass, and the inflammation not be
abated,, we may begin to suspect that it is Ophthalmia, especially
if the eye is very impatient of light, and the cornea is considerably
clouded The aqueous humor then often loses its transparency —
even the iris changes its color, and the pupil is exceedingly con-
tracted. The veterinary surgeon has now an obstinate disease to
combat, and one that will generally maintain its ground in spite
of all his efforts. For three, or four, or five weeks, the inflam-
mation will remain undiminished ; or if it appears to yield on one
day, it will return with redoubled violence on the next. A.t
length, and often unconnected with any of the means that have
been used, the eye begins to bear the light, the redness of the
membrane of the lid disappears, the cornea clears up, and the
only vestige of disease which remains is a slight thickening of
the lids and apparent uneasiness when exposed to a very strong
light.
If the owner imagines that he has got rid of the diseE.se, he
will be sadly disappointed, for, in the course of' six weeks, or
two months, either the same eye undergoes a second and similar
attack, or the other one becomes affected. All again seems to
pass over, except that the eye is not so perfectly restored, and
a slight, deeply-seated cloudiness begins to appear ; and after
repeated attacks, and alternations of disease firom eye to eye,
the affair terminates in opacity of the lens or its capsule, at-
tended with perfect blindness either of one eye or both. This
affection was formerly known by the name of moon-blindness,
from its periodical return, and some supposed influence of the
moon. That body, however, has not, and cannot have, anything
to do with it.
What is the practitioner doing all this while ? He is an
anxious and busy, but almost powerless spectator. He foments
the eyes with warm water, or applies cold lotions, with the ex-
tract of lead or opium, or poultices to which these drugs may be
added ; he bleeds, not from the temporal artery, for that does
not supply the orbit of the eye, but from the angular vein at
the inner corner of the eye, or he scarifies the lining of the lid,
or subtracts a considerable quantity of blood from the jugular
vein. The scarifying of the conjunctiva, which may be easily
accomplished without a -twitch, by exposing the inside of the
charged from the corner of the eye after the first day or two. A cut from
a whip generally leaves a streak on the surface of the eye (unless the in-
jury is sufficient to involve the whole surface), and this streak sometimes
becomes permanent.
OPHTHALMIA. 95
lids, and drawing a keen lancet slightly over them, is the most
effectual of all ways to ahate inflammation, for we are then im-
mediately miloadiug the distended vessels. He places his seton?
in the cheek, or his rowels imder the jaw; and he keeps the
animal low, and gives physic or fever medicine (digitalis, nitre
and emetic tartar). The disease, hoAvever, ebbs and flows, re
treats and attacks, until it reaches its natural termination, blind
iiess of one or both eyes.
The horse is more subject to this disease from the age of foui
to six years. Every affection of the eye appearing about tliia
age, should be regarded with suspicion. The eye should be
most carefully observed at the time of purchase, and the ex-
aminer should be fully aware of the minute indications of dis-
ease. They are a slight thickening of the lids, or puckering tow-
ards the, inner comer of the eye ; a difference in the apparent
size of the eyes ; a cloudiness, although perhaps scarcely per-
ceptible, of the surface of the cornea, or more deeply seated,
or a hazy circle round its edge ; a gloominess of eye generally,
and dulness of the iris ; or a minute, faint, dusky spot in the
centre, with or without minute fibres or lines diverging from it.
There is undoubtedly a strong predisposition to this inflamma
tion in the eye of the horse, but it is assisted by the heated and
empoisoned air of many stables. The dung and urine of the
horse, and the litter when becoming putrid, emit fumes of vola-
tile alkali, or hartshorn. We need not wonder at the prevalence
of inflammation m the eye of the stable horse, nor at the diffi-
culty in abating it, while this organ contmues much exposed to
the effect of this pungent gas.
Dark stables are another cause of ophthalmia. Let the horse
be led several times a day from a dark room into a full glare
of light, and the sight will become disordered, the eyes weak,
and disposed to take on sudden inflammation, with all its fatal
results.
The disease is also in a high degree hereditary. A stallion with
defective sight should never be employed.
The most frequent consequences of this disease are cloudiness
of the eye, and cataract. The cloudiness is singular in its nature.
It will change in twenty-four hours from the thinnest film to the
thickest opacity, and, as suddenly, the eye Avill nearly regain its
perfect transparency, but only to lose it, and as rapidly, a second
time.
Chalk, salt, sugar, and even pounded glass have been intro-
duced into the eye to remove the film, but we need not say that
the effect of such remedies would be to recall the inflammation,
and that they are utterly barbarous. Where the cloudiness can
bo removed, it will be best effected by first abating inflamma
96 OPHTHALMIA.
tion, and then exciting the absorbents to take up the gray de
posit, by washing the eye with a very weak solution of corrosive
subhmate.
Opacity of the lens is another consequence of inflammation.
A white speck appears on the centre of the lens, which gradually
spreads over it, and completely covers it. It is generally so
white and pearly as not to be mistaken — at other times it is
more hazy, deceiving the inexperienced, and occasioning doubt in
the mind of professional men. We have seen many instances in
which the sight has been considerably affected or almost lost, and
yet the horse has been pronounced sound by very fair judges. The
eye must be exposed to the light, and yet under the kind of
shelter which has been already described, in order to discover the
defect. The pupil of the horse is seldom black, like that of the
human being, and its grayish hue conceals the recent or thin film
that may be spreading over the lens.
Confirmed cataract in the eye of the horse admits of no remedy.
But slight cataracts come and go, sometimes withou"', ♦ ny pre-
vious inflammation, and without leading to blindness. Still it is
a serious thing at all times, and, although existing in the minut-
est degree, it is unsoundness, and very materially lessens the
value of the horse.
Mr. Percival says the best way of distinguishing between this
transient cataract, and that which is the consequence of ophthal-
mia, is the general appearance of the eye. If perfectly clear and
healthy, we should infer it was the former, but the slightest trace
of prior or present inflammation would lead us to suspect the
latter.*
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — With regard to the causes of these diseases, we
agree with the author in ascribing much to the ammoniacal fumes which
escape from the urine, to which we would add high stimulating food and
great exertion in harness. We believe, also, that improved stabhng and
better ventilation has lessened the frequency of these ocular cases. Horsts
with small pig eyes are much more liable to ophthalmia than those with
laro;e prominent eyes ; and thus, as the former are more frequently found
with horses deficient in breeding, it may account for the opinion which is
popularly entertained, that black horses are more liable to blindness than
others, these horses being generally deficient in breeding.
With regard to the treatment of these diseases, we have little to add to
that detailed in the text. Inflammation is the leading feature in all, and
therefore should be met by active antiphlogistic treatment. An active dose
of physic should be given, as soon as the horse is prepared, by mashes
and, in the meantime, three or four quarts of blood should be taken frou
the neck, on the same side as the affected eye. The eyelids should also be
scarified, then well fomented with warm water ; after which we have de-
rived great assistance from putting linseed poultices, in linen bags, on the
eyes, by means of leather blinds. These should be continued during the
day, and may serve as the vehicle for the application of opiate or Goulard
lotions, which, applied in the visual way, are but of little service. By this"
GUTTA SERENA. 97
GUTTA SERENA.
Another species of blindness, and of which mention was made
vvhen describing the retina, is Gutta Serena, commonly called
glass eye. The pupil is more than usually dilated : iit is im-
movable, and bright, and glassy. This is palsy of the optic
nerve, or its expansion, the retina ; and is usually produced by
determination of blood to the head. It is the kind of blindness
which we have described, as sometimes resulting from the pres-
sure on the base of the brain, and the consequent injury to the
function of the nerve, in staggers.
The treatment of Gutta Serena is quite as difficult as that of
cataract. We have heard of successful cases, but we never saw
one ; nor should we be disposed to incur much expense in en-
deavoring to accomplish impossibilities. Reasoning from the
cause of the disease, we should bleed and physic, and administer
the strj^chnine in doses, commencing at half a grain, and not
exceeding two grains, morning and night — very carefully watch-
ing it. If we succeed, it must be by constitutional treatment.
As to local treatment, the seat of the disease is out of our reach. ^
prompt and active treatment a great deal of good can be accomplished,
and the loss of sight may be greatly postponed. It is useless to attempt
half measures ; we should either treat actively or not at all. After the vio-
lence of the inflammation has subsided, much benefit may be obtained by
putting a few drops of the wine of opium into the eye twice a daj
Cataract.
Cataract may be either partial or complete ; and again, it may either
succeed the violent disease before spoken of, or it may gradually come on
with very little previous inflammation. It admits also of another impor-
tant division. It may be either a cataract of the lens itself, or merely of
the membrane whicli covers it. The latter may come on without any
noticeable inflammation ; appearing as one or two small specks in the cen-
tre of the eye, about the size of a pin's head. It is very important to
distinguish between these different kinds of cataracts, inasmuch as, whilst
the former is irremovable, the latter is very frequently absorbed without
any external treatment. Whilst the former is often pearly white, and com-
pletely opaque, so far as it exists, the latter is gray and less opaque. Tt
requires a considerable amount of tact, as well as experience, to discover
these small incipient cataracts, and to discriminate between the one kind
and tlie other.
* Note hy Mr. Spoor) er. — This disease is sometimes connected with
diseased liver, particularly a rupture of its coats, when the blindness may
shift from one eye to the other. Although this disease is generally but
little under the influence of treatment, we have met with successful cases
in young animals. The treatment should principally be directed to the
removal of the cause which produces the disease.
E
7
98 DISEASES OF THE EAR DEAFNESS.
DISEASES OF THE EAR.
Wounds oi" the ear are usually the consequence of cart less ot
brutal treatment — often of the application of th^ twitch or the
pliers. These bruises or wounds will generally speedily heal ;
but sinuses and abscesses are sometimes the result. A simple
laceration of the cartilage is easily remedied. The divided
edges are brought together, the head tied up closely a few days,
and all is well ; but where ulceration of the skin and subja-
cent parts, and caries of the cartilage take place, deep sinuses
will be formed, and the wound will bid defiance to medical
treatment. I had a case of this kind under my care for more
than two months, and finally had to cut off the ear. The
lunar caustic, or the muriate of antimony, or the heated iron,
must be early employed, or all labor will be in vain.
I have seen two cases where the auditory passage was closed,
and the hearing destroyed — the result of violent blows. When
there is swelling about the root of the ear and the fluctuation
of a fluid within can be detected, it should be opened with a
lancet, and the purulent fluid liberated. The incision should be
of considerable length, or the opening will soon close. It should
not be permitted to close until the abscess is obliterated.
The size and carrying of the ear may be changed. The first
is done by clipping them to the requisite size. If they hang
down too much, a fold of the skin is pinched up and cut away,
on either side of the occipital bone, and in a straight line for
ward and backward. The divided edges are then brought to-
gether, confined by two or three stitches, and they presently
unite. If the ears are too close together, this fault may be cor-
rected by another piece of cruelty. Similar slips of skin are
cut away on the outside base of the ear, and in the same direc-
tion. The edges of the wound are then brought together, con-
fir ed by stitches, and the ears are drawn further apart from each
other, and have different directions given to them. A very
slight examination of either of the horses will readily detect the
imposition.
DEAFNESS.
Of the occasional existence of this in the horse, there is no
doubt. The beautiful play of the ears has ceased, and the
horse hears not the voice of his master, or the sound of the
whip. Much of the apparent stupidity of a few horses is at-
tributable to their imperfect hearing. It is the result of certain
diseases, blows, and, as in other domesticated animals, is the
certain accompaniment of old age. It is incurable.
CHAPTER IV.
THE ANATOMY OF THE DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH
We now proceed to a description of the face, or lower part
of the head of the horse. The nasal bones, or bones of the
nose {j j, Fig. 2, and a. Fig. 3), are connected with the frontal
bones above, and with the lacrymal, i i, and the bones of the
upper jaw, I I, on either side. They are united together by a
plain suture, which is a continuation of the frontal, and they ter-
minate in a point at the nostril [p, Fig. 2). They are rounded
and arched above, because they are exposed to occasional violence
and injury, which the arch-form will enable them best to resist ;
and at the base of the arch, where the main strength should
be, they are overlapped by the upper jaw-bone, as the temporal
bone overlaps the base of the parietal. These bones form a prin-
cipal part of the face ; and the length, or shortness, and the
character of the face, depend upon them. Sometimes there is
an appearance of two little arches, with a depression between
them along the sutures. This is often found in the blood-horse,
with his comparatively broad head and face. The single ele-
vated arch is found in the long and narrow face of the heavy
draught-horse.
The profile of the horse has been supposed by many, and
probably with some truth, to be indicative of his temper. The
straight profile may be accompanied with a good or bad temper, but
not otten either in any great excess. The one with a prominent
Roman nose, is usually an easy, good-tempered, hardy beast,
ready enough to feed, not always, perhaps, so ready to work,
but may be made to do his duty without any cruel urging, and
having no extraordinary pretension to speed or blood. On the
other hand, a depression across the centre of the nose generally
indicates some breeding, especially if the head is small, but occa
sionally accompanied by a vicious, uncontrollable disposition.
There is another way, however, in Avhich the nasal bones do
more certainly indicate the breed, viz., by their comparative length
or shortness. There is no surer criterion of a well-bred horse,
I M> ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF
than a broad angular forehead, prominent features, and a short
face ; nor of a horse with little breeding, than a narrow forehead
small features, and lengthened nose. The comparative develop
ment of the head and face indicates, with little error, the pre
ponderance of the animal or intellectual principle.
Fracture of the nasal bones of the horse will sometimes occui
from falling, or a kick from the companion, or the brutality of
the attendant. It is generally followed by laceration of .the lin
ing membrane of the nostrils, and by haemorrhage. The bleed
ing may usually be arrested by the application of cold watei
externally. In spontaneous hsemorrhage, this decs not often
succeed until a considerable quantity of blood is lost.
In cases of fracture of the nasal bones, the assistance of a
veterinary surgeon is indispensable. He alone knows the precise
anatomy of the parts, and will have recourse to the elevator or
the trephine, as circumstances may require.
Ozena sometimes follows these wounds, or foundation may be
laid for the appearance of glanders.
Spontaneous bleeding from the nose must be carefully attended
to. It may proceed from an over fulness of the blood vessels of
the membrane of the nose, consequent on very high condition, or
from the lungs. If from the nostril alone, it will usually be con-
fined to one side ; if from the lungs, the discharge is from both
nostrils, and generally mingled with mucus or froth ; and there
is also a quickened respiration, and more or less cough.
If it is apparently connected with some slight cause, a dose of
physic and quietness for a day or two will be sufficient, and, if
necessary, a slight solution of alum may be injected up the nos-
stril. If the bleeding is apparently from the lungs, a more se-
rious evacuation will be required.
These bones form the roof of an important cavity (see <2,
Fig. 3). The sides are constituted above by the nasal bones,
and, lower down, by the upper jaw-bones {sujjerior inaxillaries),
while plates from these latter bones project and compose the pal-
ate, which is both the floor of the nose and the roof of the
mouth {t, Fig. 3.) Above (near 8), not visible in our cut, is a
bone called the palatine, although it contributes very little ta
the formation of the palate. It is the termination of the palate,
or the border of the opening where the cavities of the mouth and
nose meet (8). The frontal sinuses, h, and large vacuities in the
upper jaw-bone, and in the sethmoid, I, and sphenoid bones, k,
communicate with and enlarge the cavity of the nose.
This cavity is divided into two parts by a cartilage called the
Septum (see r. Fig. 3.) It is of considerable thickness and
strength, and divides the cavity of the nose into two equal parts.
It is placed in the centre for the purpose of strength, and it is
101
formed of cartilage, in order that, by its gradual yielding resist-
ance, it may neutralize almost any force that may be applied
to it.
When we open the nostril, we see the membrane lining the
whole cavity of the nose, by the color of which, much more than
by that of the lining of the eye-lids, we judge of the degree of
fever, and particularly of inflammation of the lungs, or of any
of the air passages. The cut above shows the ramification of the
arterial and venous blood-vessels on this membrane. Certain
ulcerations on it also betray the existence of glanders.
The nasal cavity is, on either side, ocfupied by two bones,
which, from their being rolled up somewhat in the form of a
turban, are called the turhinated or turban-shajied bones, (s s,
Fig. 3.) ; part of the cartilage is cut away in our cut in order
to display them. They are as thin as gauze, and perforated, like
gauze, with a thousand holes. Between them are left sufficient
passages for the air. ^Spread out, they would occupy a consider-
able surface. Over them is spread the substance or pulp of" the
olfactory nerves, whicli makes them the seat of smell ; and they
are thus expanded, because by the sense of smell, the horse must
in a great degree "supply the want of that of touch. They also
enable him to distinguish his proper herbage, detect distant dan-
ger ; and they, like the windings of a horn, give loudness to his
voice.
The extension of the nostril at the lower part of these cavi-
ties is an important part of the face, and intimately connected
with breeding, courage, and speed. The horse can breathe only
through the nose. All the air which goes to and returns from
the lungs, must pass through the nostrils. In the common act
of breathing, these are sufficiently large ; but when the animal
is put on his speed, and the respiration is quickened, these pas-
102
MUSCLES, ETC., Of THE HEAD.
sages must dilate, or he will be much distressed. The expanded
nostril is a striking feature in the blood-horse, especially when
he has been excited and not over-blown. The nostril should be
proportioned to the kind of labor we require from the animal —
larger in proportion to the activity of the labor, and the conse-
quent liability of being blown.
Some very powerful muscles proceed from different parts of
the face to the neighborhood of the nostrils, in order to draAV
them ba'sk and dilate them. Four of these are given in the
following cut, which is inserted to complete our present subject,
and which will be often referred to in the course of our work ;
Z, m, 0, and 2^, are muscles employed for this purpose.
THE MUSCLES, NERVES, AND BLOOD-VESSELS OF THE HEAD AND
UPPER PART OF THE NECK.
Fig. 12.
a The upper part of the ligament of the neck.
b The levator hnmen (elevator of the shoulder), arising from the tubercle of tho
occiput, the mastoid (nipple-shaped) process of the temporal bone, and the
transverse processes (cross projections) of the four first bones of the neck,
and the ligament of the neck, and going to the muscles of the shoulders, and
the upper bone of the arm; to draw forward the shoulder and arm; or turn
the head and neck; and, when the two levators act, to depress the head.
c The tendon common to the coinplexna major (larger complicated), and splenins
(splint-like) • to the mastoid process of tlie temporal bone, to hold up the head,
or, the muscles on one side alone acting, to turn it.
d The xterno-inoxillarifi (l)elonging to the breastbone) and upper jaw, from tbs
cartilage in front of the chest to the angle of tlie lower jaw : to bend the head,
or, if one only acts, to bend it on one side.
« Tho st^/o-maxi/lnris, from the styloid (pencil-shaped) or coracoid (beak-shaped)
process of the occiput, to the angle of the jaw : to pull the jaw backward and
open it.
MUSCLES, ETC., OF THE HEAD. 103
/ The anbarnpnlo hyoideuR, from under the .shouMor-blade, to the body of iho ox
/ii/o/dcs (the bone at the root of the tongue formed like a Greek v, v) : to draw
buck that bone.
gr The massefer (chewins") ; a nio-^t powerful muscle, constituting the check of the
horse :- -from the upper jaw bone into the rough surface round tlie anurle of
the lower: in conjunction with the temporal muscle to close the mouth and
chew the food.
h The orbiciilarix (circular) surrounding the eye and closing the lids.
t The zyqomaticnx, from the zygomatic arch and masseter to the corner of the
mouth, to draw back the angle of the mouth.
h The buccinator (trumpeter), from the inside of the mouth and cheeks, to the
angle of the mouth, to draw it back.
I The vaxalis labii siiperioris (belonging to the nose and upper lip), from a depres-
sion at the junction of the superior maxillary and malar bones, to the angle
of the nostril: to raise the lip, and dilate the no-strils.
m Dilator naris lateralis (side dilator of the nostril), reversed to show the vessels
and nerves which it covers, going from the covering of the nasal and frontal
bones, to the angle of the mouth, and side of the nostril : to retract the upper
lip and dilate the nostrils.
n Dilator magnus (great dilator), assisting in the same office.
o Deprenxor labii inferioris (puller down of the under lip), to the sides of the un-
der lip : to pull it down.
p Orbicularis oris (circular muscle of the mouth), surrounding the mouth : to
close the lips and dilate the nostrils.
q The upper portion of the parotid gland (gland near the ear) reversed, to show
the blood-vessels and nerves beneath it.
r The parotid duct piercing the cheek, to discharge the saliva into the mouth.
s The maxillary gland (gland of the lower jaw) with its duct.
t The jugular (neck) vein, after the two branches have united.
71 At this letter, the submaxillary artery, a branch of the jugular, and the parotid
duct, pa.ss under and within the angle of the lower jaw ; they come out again
at «•, and climb up the cheek to be distributed over the face.
V The vein and artery, passing under the zygomatic arch.
c A branch of the tifth pair, the sensitive nerve of the face, emerging from under
the parotid gland.
/ The main branch oi' the j)ortio dura (hard portion) of the seventh pair, Xheviotor
(moving) nerve of the face coming out from beneath the parotid gland, to
spread over the face.
z Branches of both nerves, with small blood-vessels.
There are also four distinct cartilages attached to the nostrils,
which, by their elasticity, bring back the nostrils to their former
dimensions, as soon as the muscles cease to act. The bones of
the nose {a a, Fig. 2, and Fig. 3), are also sharpened off to a
point, to give wider range for the action of the muscles ; while
the cartilages are so contrived, as not only to discharge the
office we have mentioned, but to protect this projection of bone
from injury.
The membrane of the nose, as already stated, is an excellent
guide to the degree and character of many diseases. In health,
and uninfluenced by exercise, that portion of the membrane seen
in the nostrils is a pale uniform pink. An increased blush of
red betokens some excitement of the system — a streaked appear-
ance, inflammation commenced — intense redness, acute inflam-
mation— pale ground with patches of vivid red, half-subdued
but still existing fever — uniform color, but somewhat redder than
natural, a return to healthy circulation — paleness approacliinor
104 NASAL POLYPUS — NASAL DISCHARGE.
to white, debility — and dark livid color, approaching stagnation
of the vital current.
NASAL POLYPUS.
By the polypus, is meant an excrescence or tumor, varying in
size, structure, and consistence, and attached by a pedicle to a
mucous surface.
The nasal polypus usually adheres to some portion of the
superior turbinated bone, or it has come from some of the sin-
uses connected with that cavity.
As it increases in weight, it elongates that sac of the schnide-
rian membrane which invests it, and it descends in the nose. It
is of a pear form, and differs in weight from a few drachms to
three or four pounds.
When it descends so that it can fairly be got at with the fin-
gers, the forceps, or (for it possesses little sensibility) the tenta-
culum, it must be car^ully and gently drawn out, and a liga-
ment passed tightly round the neck or pedicle of il, as high up
as convenient, and then if practicable, it should be returned into
the nostril. It will slough off in a few days, with very little
inconvenience to the horse. If it cannot be returned, it should
be cut off below the ligature. If the ligature is drawn suffi-
ciently tightly, not much hemorrhage will often ensue. Cau
teiy may be resorted to to stop bleeding, as a last resort, in case
of obstinate hemorrhage, but it is objectionable on account of
the degree of irritation it produces, and the difficulty of safely
resorting to it in such a situation. In very bad cases, Avhere the
tumor cannot be drawn out, it may be necessary to slit up the
side of the nostril, but in that case the false nostril should not be
cut through, as from its thinness it is difficult to confine the
edges securely together until they unite. The incision should
be made along the lateral edge of the nasal bone, beginning at
its point. The flap will then conveniently turn down, so as to
expose the cavity, and there will be sufficient muscular sub-
stance to secure an almost certain union by the first intention,
when stitched properly together.*
NASAL GLEET, OR DISCHARGE FROM THE NOSE.
There is a constant secretion of fluid to lubricate and moisten
the membrane that lines the cavity of the nose, and which, un-
* Note hy Mr. Spoonpr. — Still more rarely we find a bony tumor forming
in ths nostrils, nearly obstructing all passage, and .-ausing a (li>charge some-
what resembling that of glanders. This, like the f?rmer, should be removed
if possible by an operation.
OZENA. 105
cler catarrh or cold, is increased in quantity, and altered in ap-
pearance and consistence. Tliis will properly belonir to the a.--
count of catarrh or cold ; but that wiiicli is innnediately undei
consideration, is a continued and oftentimes proi'use discharge of
thickened mucus, when every symptom of catarrh and fever has
passed away. If the horse is at grass, the discharge is almost as
green as the food on which he lives ; — or if he is stabled, it is
white, or straw-coloured, or brown, or even bloody, and some-
times purulent. It is either constantly running, or snorted out
in masses many times a day ; teazing the horse, and becoming a
perfect nuisance in the stable, and to the rider. This has been
known to continue several mouths, and eventually to destroy the
horse.
If the discharge is not offensive to the smell, nor mixed wtih
purulent matter, it is probably merely an nicreased and some-
what vitiated secretion from the cavities of the nose ; and, all
lever having disappeared, will frequently yield to small doses ol"
blue vitriol, given twice in the day. If fever or cough remains,
the cough medicine that will hereafter be described must be
dmbined with the tonic. If the discharge is mingled with pus,
and very offensive, the vegetable tonics, gentian and ginger, may
be added to the copper ; but there is now reason to apprehend
that the discharge will not be controlled, and will termuiate in
glanders. Turning into a salt marsh will occasionally effect a
cure, when both the mineral and the vegetable tonics have
failed.*
OZENA.
Ozena is ulceration oi' the membrane of the nose, not always
or often visible, but recognised by the discharge of muco-purulent
matter, and the peculiar stench from which the disease derives
its name. It resembles glanders, in being confined, in most in-
stances, to one nostril, and the submaxillary gland on the same
side being enlarged ; but differs from it in the gland not being
adherent, and the discharge, from its earliest stage, being puru-
lent and stinking.
There is sometimes a foetid discharge from the nostril, in con-
sequence of inflammation of the lungs, or produced by some of
the sequelae of pheumonia ; distinguished, however, from ozena,
* Hote by Mr. Spo^ner. — It is exceedingly rare that the nasal discharge
s ever so profuse as that described in the text, unless produced by strangles,
or severe catarrh, or glanders : nor is it brown or bloody, unless connected
with other active disease. It is, indeed, very rare, and i< usually of a gray
color and free ivom smell, and seems to arise from a relaxation of the secret-
ing membrane of the nostrils. It should be treated by tonics internally, as-
sisted by good feeding and grooming.
e
106 OZENA.
by its usually flowing irregularly, being coughed up in great
quantities, more decidedly purulent, and the gland or glands sel
dom affected. The discharge from ozena is constant, muco-
purulent, and attended by enlargement of the glands. It is of
immense consequence that wc should be enabled to distinguish
the one from the other ; for while ozena may, sometimes at
least, be manageable, the other is too frequently the precursor of
death.
The cause of ozena cannot always be discovered. Chronic in-
flammation of the membrane may assume another and malignant
character. In severe catarrh, the membrane may become
abraded, and the abrasions may degenerate into foul and foetid
ulcers. It is not an unfrequent consequence of epidemic catarrh.
It has been produced by caustic applications to the lining mem-
brane of the nose. It has followed hemorrhage, spontaneous, or
the consequence of injury.
In some cases, and those as obstinate as any, it cannot perhaps
be traced to any probable cause, and the health of the animal
has not appeared to be in the slightest degree affected.
The steam of a- bran-mash, scalding hot, could, by means of a
nose-bag, be made to penetrate the cavities of the nose, and would
cleanse the part. By means of the nose-bag and warm mash,
chloride of lime might be introduced into the cavities, removing
the stench and arresting the tendency to decomposition. The
vapor of turpentine, or of resinous pine shavings, can by the same
means be brought in contact with all parts of the membrane, and
it has been found serviceable. A run at spring grass promises
still better. It is the finest alterative, depurative, and restora-
tive in the whole list of remedies ; and if it is acceptable in the
form of a salt-marsh, there is no better chance of doing good.=^
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — When a nasal gleet is attended by much offen
sive smell, we may rest assm'ed that it is not ghinders, but that it either
arises from external injury, or maybe justly included under the de«;ignation
ozena. This is a rare disease in a horse, and is generally prochiced by
catarrh, particularly that of the epidemic Itind. The discharge is usually
thick, considerable, and very offensive. The treatment should consist of
tonics, internally and .externally, fumigations of chlorine gas by means of
Read's inhaler, or with the common nose bag ; or, if this does not succeed
a solution of the chloride of lime may be syringed up the nostrils every day,
or may be alternated with a weak solution of the sulpliates of zmc and cop-
per, and applied in the same manner. Nasal gleet, attended with foetid
smell, and proceeding from one nostril only, is usually produced by some
blow, or external injury. This much resembles glanders, and has often been
confounded with it.
GLANDERS. ! 07
GLANDERS.
The most formidable of all the diseases to which the horse is
subject, is Glanders. It has been known from the earliest an-
tiquity.
The earliest symptom of Glanders is an increased discharge
from the nostril, small in quantity, constantly flowing, of an aque-
ous (watery) character, and a little mucus mingling with it.
It is a common and very mischievous error to suppose that this
discharge is sticky, when it first makes its appearance. It is an
aqueous or mucous, but small and constant discharge, and is thus
distinguished from catarrh, or nasal gleet, or any other deiluxion
(discharge) from the nostril. If a horse is in the highest condi-
tion, yet has this small water}'' constant discharge, and especially
from one nostril, no time should be lost in separating him from
his companions. No harm will be done by this, although the
defluxion should not ultimately betray lurking mischief of a worse
character.
The peculiar stickiness and gluiness which is generally supposed
to distinguish the discharge of glanders from all other mucous
and prevalent secretions belongs to the second stage of the dis-
ease, and, for many months before this, glanders may have ex-
isted in an insidious and highly contagious form. It must be ac-
knowledged, however, that, in the majority of cases, some degree
of stickiness does characterise the discharge of glanders from a
very early period.
It is a singular circumstance, for which no satisfactory accouni
has yet been given, that when one nostril alone is attacked, it is.
in a great majority of cases, the near, or left.
This discharge, m cases of infection, may continue, and in sc
shght a degree as to be scarcely perceptible, for many months, or
even two or three years, unattended by any other disease, even
ulceration of the nostril, and yet the horse being decidedly glaii-
dered from the beginning, and capable of propagating the mala-
dy. In process of time, however, pus (matter) mingles with tlit»
discharge, and then another and a characteristic symptom a}>-
pears. Some of this is absorbed, and the neighbouring glands be-
come affected. If there is discharge from both nostrils, the glands
within the under jaw will be on both sides enlarged. If the
discharge is from one nostril only, the swelled gland will be found
on that side alone. Glanders, however, will frequently exist at
an early stage without these swelled glands, and some other dis-
eases, as catarrh, will produce them. Then we must look out
for some peculiarity about these glands, and we shall readily find
it The swelling may be at first somewhat large and diffused.
108 GLANDERS.
Dut the surrounaiiig enlargement soon goes off, and one or two
small distinct glands remain ; and they are not in the centre oi
the channel, but adhere closely to the jaw on the a,[fected side.
The membrane of the nose should now be examined, and wilJ
materially guide our opinion. It will either be of a dark purplish
hue, or almost of a leaden colour, or of any sliade between the
wo ; or if there is some of the redness of inflammation, it will
have a purple tinge : but there will never be the faint pink blusli
of health, or the intense and vivid red of usual inflammation.
Spots of ulceration will probably appear on the membrane cover-
ing the cartilage of the nose — not mere sore places, or streaks oi"
abrasion, and quite superficial, but small ulcers, unusually ap-
proaching to a circular form, deep, and with the edges abrupt
and prominent. When these appearances are observed, there
can be no doubt about the matter. Care should be taken, how-
ever, to ascertain that these ulcers do actually exist, for spots of
mucus adhering to the membrane have been more than once
taken for them The finger should, if possible, be passed over
the supposed ulcer, in order to determine whether it can be wiped
away ; and it should be recollected, as was hinted when describ-
ing the duct that conveys the tears to the nose, that the orifice of
that duct, just within the nostril, and on the inner side of it, has
been mistaken for a chancrous ulcer. This orifice is on the con-
tinuation of the common skin of the muzzle which runs a little
way up the nostril, while the ulcer of glanders is on the proper
membrane of the nose above. The line of separation between
the two is evident on the slightest inspection.
When ulcers begin to appear on the membrane of the nose, the
constitution of the horse is soon evidently affected. The patient
loses flesh — his belly is tucked up — his coat unthrifty, and readily
coming off — the appetite is impaired — the strength fails — cough,
more or less urgent, may be heard — the discharge from the nose
will increase in quantity ; it will be discoloured, bloody, offensive
to the smell — the ulcers in the nose will become larger and more
numerous, and the air-passages being obstructed, a grating, chok-
ing noise will be heard at every act of breathing. There is now
a peculiar tenderness about the forehead. The membrane lining
the frontal sinuses is inflamed and ulcerated, and the integument
of the forehead becomes thickened and somewhat swelled. Farcy
is now superadded to glanders, or glanders has degenerated into
farcy, and more of the absorbents are involved.
At or before this time little tumours appear about the muscles,
and face, and neck, following the course of the veins and the ab-
sorbents, for they run side by side ; and these the tumours soon
ulcerate. Tumours or buds, still pursuing the path of the ab-
sorbents, soon appear on the inside of the thighs. They are eon-
GLANDERS. 100
decied together by a corded substance. This is the inflamed and
enlarged lymphatic ; and ulceration quickly follows the a})pcar-
ance of these buds. The deeper seated absorbents are next
affected ; and one or both of the hind-legs swell to a great size,
and become still', and hot, and tender. The loss of ilesh and
strength is more marked every day. The membrane of the nose
becomes of a dirty livid color. The membrane of the mouth is
strangely pallid. The eye is infiltrated with a yellow fluid ; and
the discliarge from the nose becomes more profuse, and insufiera-
bly ofiensive. The animal presents one mass of putrefaction, and
at last dies, exhausted.
There are peculiarities about the enlargement of the submax-
illary glands, already referred to, which deserve particular atten-
tion. They are rarely large, except at first, or hot, or tender ;
but they are characterised by a singular hardness, a proximity to
the jaw-bone, and, frequently, actual adhesion to it. The adhe-
sion is produced by the inflammatory action going forward in the
gland, and the effusion of coagulable lymph. This hardness and
adhesion accompanying discharge from the nostril, and being on
the same side with the nostril whence the discharge proceeds,
aflbrd proof not to be controverted that the horse is glandered.
But there are cases of glanders in which the glands are neithei
adherent nor much enlarged.
Glanders have often been confounded with strangles, and by
those who ought to have known better. Strangles are peculiar
to young horses. The early stage resembles common cold, with
some degree of fever and sore throat — generally with distressing
cough, or at least frequent wheezing , and Avhen the enlargement
appears beneath the jaw, it is not a single small gland, but a
swelling of the whole of the substance between the jaw^s, grow-
ing harder towards the centre, and, after a while, appearing to
contain a fluid, and breaking. In strangles, the membrane of
the nose will be intensely red, and the discharge from the nose
profuse and purulent, or mixed with matter almost from the first.
When the tumor has burst, the fever will abate, and the horse
will speedily get well.
Should the discharge from the nose continue, as it sometimes
does, for a considerable time after the horse has recovered from
strangles, there is no cause for fear. Simple strangles need never
degenerate into glanders. Good keep, and small doses of tonic
medicine, will gradually perfect the cure.
Glanders have been confounded wijth catarrh or cold ; but the
distinction between them is plain enough. Fever, and loss of
appetite and sore throat, accompany cold — the quiddiiig of the
food and gulping of the water are sufficient indications of t. e
latter of these ; the discharge from the nose is profuse, and per-
f 1 0 GLANDERS.
haps purulent ; the glands under the jaw, if swelled, are movt
able, there is a thickening around them, and they are tender and
hot. With proper treatment the fever abates ; the cough disap-
pears ; the swellings under the throat subside ; and the dischargp
from the nose gradually ceases, or, if it remains it is usually very
different from that which characterises glanders. In glanders,
ihere is seldom cough of any consequence, and generally no cough
at all.
A running from the nose, small in quantity, and, from the
smallness of its quantity, drying about the edges of the nostril,
and presenting some appearance of stickiness, will, in a few cases,
remain after severe catarrh, and especially after the influenza of
spring ; and these have gradually assumed the character of glan-
ders, and more particularly when they have been accompanied
by enlarged glands and ulceration in the nose. Here the aid of
a judicious veterinary surgeon is indispensable ; and he will
sometimes experience considerable difficulty in deciding the case.
One circumstance will principally guide him. No disease will
run on to glanders wliich has not, to a considerable and palpable
degree, impaired and broken down the constitution ; and every
disease that does this will run 07i to glanders. He will look
then to the general state and condition of the horse, as well as to
the situation of the glands, the nature of the discharge, and the
character of the ulceration.
If, after all, he is in doubt, an experiment may be resorted to,
which wears indeed the appearance of cruelty, and which only
the safety of a valuable animal, or of a whole team, can justify.
He will inoculate an ass, or a horse already condemned to the
hounds, with the matter discharged from the nose. If the horse
is glandered, the symptoms of glanders or farcy will appear in
the inoculated animal in the course of a few days.
The post mortem examination of the horse will remove every
doubt as to the character of the disease. The nostril is generally
more or less blanched, with spots or lines of inflammation of
considerable intensity. Ulceration is almost invariably found,
and of a chancrous character, on the septum, and also on the
SBthmoid and turbinated bones. The ulcers evidently follow the
course of the absorbents, sometimes almost confined to the track
of the main vessel, or, if scattered over the membrane generally,
thickest over the path of the lymphatic. The sethmoid and tur-
binated bones are often filled with pus, and sometimes eaten
through and carious ; but, iai the majority of cases, the ulceration
is confined to the external membrane, although there may be pus
within. In aggravated cases the disease extends through all the
cells of the face and head.
The path of the disease down the larynx and windpipe is easily
GLANDERS. 1 1 1
traced, and the ulcers follow one line — that of the alsorbents.
In ag-rri'avated cases, this can generally be traced on to the lungs.
It produces inflammation in these organs, characterised in some
cases by congestion ; but hi other cases, the congestion having
cone on to hepatisation, in which the cellular texture of the lungs
16 obliterated. Most frequently, when the lungs are aflected at
all, tubercles are found — miliary tubercles — minute granulated
spots on the surface, or in the substance of the lungs, and not
accompanied by much inflammation. In a few cases there are
larger tubercles, which soften and burst, and terminate in cavities
of varying size.
In some cases, and showing that glanders is not essentially oi
necessarily a disease of the lungs, there is no morbid aflection
whatever in those organs.
The history thus given of the symptoms of glanders will clearly
point out its nature.
It is inflammation, whether specific or common, of the lining
membrane of the nose — possibly for months, and even for years,
confined to that membrane, and even to a portion of it — the
health and the usei'ulness of the animal not being in the slightest
degree impaired. Then, from some unknown cause, not a new
but an intenser action is set up, the inflammation more speedily
runs its course, and the membrane becomes ulcerated. The in-
flammation spreads on either side down the septum, and the ul-
ceration at length assumes that peculiar chandrous form which
characterises inflammation of the absorbents. Even then, when
the discharge becomes gluey, and sometimes after chancres have
appeared, the horse is apparently well. There are hundreds of
glandered horses about the country with not a sick one among
them. For months or years this disease may do no injury to the
general health. The inflammation is purely local, and is only
recognised by the invariable accompaniment of inflammation and
increased secretion. Its neighbors fall around, but the disease
aflects not the animal whence it came. At length a constitu-
tional inflammation appears ; farcy is established in its most hor-
rible form, and death speedily closes the scene.
Glanders may be either bred in the horse, or communicated by
contagion. What we have farther to remark on this malady
will be arranged under these two heads.
Improper stable management we believe to be a far more fre-
quent cause of glanders than contagion. The air which i?
necessary to respiration is changed and empoisoned in its passage
through the lungs, and a fresh supply is necessary for the support
of life. That supply may be suflicient barely to support life, but
not to prevent the vitiated air from again and again passing to
the iunp-s, and producing irritation and disease. The membrane
112 GLANDERS.
of the- nose, possessed of extreme sensibility for the purposes of
smell, is easily irritated by this poison, and close and ill-ventilated
stables oftenest witness the ravages of glanders. Professor Cole-
man relates a case which proves to demonstration the rapid and
fatal agency of this cause. " In the expedition to (iuiberon, the
norses had not been long on board the transports before it became
necessary to shut down the hatchways for a few hours ; the con-
sequence of this was, that some of them were sufibcated, and
rnat all the rest were disembarked either glandered or farcied."
The injurious gasses arising from the dung, urine, &c., in badly
wieaned stables, are also powerful sources of the mischief.
vrlanders may be produced by anything that injures, or for a
length of time acts upon and weakens, the vital energy of this
membrane. They have been known to follow a fracture of the
bones of the nose. They have been the consequence of violent
caiairh, and particularly the long-continued discharge from the
nosniis, ot whicli we have spoken. They have been produced
by me injection of stimulating and acrid substances up the nos-
tril, liveiytnmg that weakens the constitution generally will
lead lo /i^iandeis.
Among me causes of glanders are want of regular exercise,
over-exeruon. anu the stimulating and debilitating cordials ad-
ministered uy senseless grooms.
Every exciimg cause of disease exerts its chief and worst in
fluence on the membrane of the nose, and there is not another
disease which niav not lay the foundation of glanders. A long
time may elapse oefore it appears, but when at length the whole
frame becomes excited or debilitated in some way, this debilitated
portion is the tirst to yield to the attack.
Several strongly marked instances are on record showing the
connection between the attack of this disease and exposure to the
dampness of brick or stone stables, the walls of which were not
yet dry, and in others subject to damp exhalations.
There is no doubt that glanders, or a predisposition to glanders,
is sometimes hereditary.
Glanders are highly contagious. If the discharge from the
nostrils of" a glandered horse is rubbed on a wound, or on a mu-
cous surface, like the nostrils, it will produce a similar disease.
If the division between two horses were sufficiently high to pre-
vent all smelling and snorting at each other, and contact of every
kind, and they drank not out of the same pail, a sound horse
might live for years, uninfected, by the side of a glandered one.
The matter of glanders has been mixed up into a ball, and given
to a healthy horse, without effect. Some horses have eaten the
hay left by those that were glandered, and no bad consequence
has followed : but others have been speedily infected. The
GLANDERS. ] 1 3
glanderous matter must come in contact with a wound, or fall on
some membrane, thin and delicate, like that of the nose, and
through which it may be absorbed. It is easy, then, accustomed
as horses are to be crowded together, and to recognize each other
by the smell — eating out of the same manger, and drinking from
the same pail — to imagine that the disease may be very readily
communicated. One horse has passed another when he was in
the act of" snorting, and has become glandered. Some fillies have
received the infection from the matter blown by the wind across
a lane, when a glandered horse, in the opposite field, has claimed
acquaintance by neighing or snorting. It is almost impossible for
an infected horse to remain long in a stable with others without
irreparable mischief.
If some persons underrate the danger, it is because the disease
may remain unrecognised in the infected horse for some months,
or even years, and therefore, when it appears, it is attributed to
other causes, or to after inoculation. No glandered horse should
be employed on any farm, nor should a glandered horse be per-
mitted to work on any road, or even to pasture on any field He
should be destroyed.
In a well settled case of glanders it is not worth while, ex-
cept by way of experiment at a veterinary school, to attempt
any remedies. The chances of cure are too remote, and the
danger of infection too great.
If, however, remedial measures are resorted to, a pure atmos-
phere is that which should first be tried. Turn out the horse,
and, if practicable, on a salt marsh, — but much caution is requi-
site, as the grass, and even the fences may receive the glander-
ous matter ; and hardening on them, it may months afterward
communicate the disease to horses ; and there is not yet decided
proof that sheep and cattle are not subject to the same malady.
Worse than all, the man who attends on that horse is in
danger. The cases are now becoming far too numerous in
which the groom or the veterinary surgeon attending on glan
dered horses becomes infected, and in the majority of cases dies.
Every portion of the stable, every vessel, &c., which have
been within the reach of a nasal discharge of a glandered
horse, should be well scraped, , scoured with soap and water,
then well washed with a solution of chloride of lime (a pint ol
the chloride to a pail full of water,) and the walls white- washed.
His head gear should be burned — his clothing baked or washed —
pails newly painted — and the iron work with which he has been
in contact, should, where practicable, be exjiosed to a red heat.*
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — Mr. S.'s note contains nothing materially adding
to Mr. Youatt's elaborate account ; but the following is important :
The contagious character of glanders is very well known, and not only
114 FARCY.
PARCY
Farcy is intimately connected with glanders ; they will rui*
into each other, or their symptoms will mingle together, anu
before either arrives at its fatal termination its associate wih
almost invariably appear. An animal inocculated with the
matter of farcy will often be afflicted with glanders, while the
matter of glanders will frequently produce farcy. They are
different types or stages of the same disease. There is, how-
ever, a very material difference in their "symptoms and progress,
and this most important one of all, that while glanders are
generally incurable, farcy, in its early stage and mild form, m.ay
be successfully treated.
While the capillary vessels of the arteries are everywhere
employed in building up the frame, the absorbents are no less
diligently at work in selecting and carrying away every useless
or worn-out portion or part of it. There is no surface on which
thousands of these little mouths do not open. Opening on the
surfaces of glanderous ulcers, they absorb a portion of the virus
secreted by them, and as it passes through these little tubes,
they become thickened and inflamed by means of its acrimonious
qualities, and hence they received the name of corded vein?, from
farriers who mistook them for the veins whose courses they
follow.
At certain distances in the course of the absorbents are
natural valves, or loose duplicatures of the lining membrane,
which are pressed against the side of the vessel and permit the
fluid to pass in a direction towards the chest, but belly out and
impede or arrest its progress from the chest. The virus at these
places, and the additional inflammation there excited, is to a
greater or less degree evident to the eye and to the feeling.
They are usually first observed about the lips, the nose, the neck,
and the thighs. They are very hard — even of a scirrhous hard-
ness, more or less tender, and with perceptible heat about
them.
The poisonous matter being thus confined and pressing on the
part, suppuration and ulceration ensue. The ulcers have the
it so with regard to the horse, but it is capable of being communicated to
the human being- ; and, indeed, there have been very many deaths from this
cause, and most horrible deaths they are. It is generally by means of
eome cut or abrasion which comes in contact with the glandered matter,
that the infection is communicated. The utmost caution should, therefore,
be exercised by the attendants ; and it is most unpardonable to keep glan-
dered horses any length of time for the sake of their work ; and we are
scarcely justified in tampering long with them under tlie idea of effecting a
cure, when the cases are decidedly glandered.
FARCY. 1 10
same character as the g-landcrous ones on the membrane of the
nose. They are rounded, with an elevated edire and a pale
surface. They are true chancres, and they discharge a virus as
infectious and as dangerous as the matter of glanders. While
they remain in their hard prominent state, they are called
buttons or farcy buds ; and they are connected together by the
inflamed and corded veins.
In some cases the horse vi^ill droop for many a day before the
appearance of the corded veins or buds — his appetite will be
impaired — his coat will stare — he will lose flesh. The poison is
(evidently at work, but has not gained sufficient power to cause
the absorbents to enlarge. In a few cases these buds do not
ulcerate, but become hard and difficult to disperse. The pro-
gress of the disease is then suspended, and possibly for some
months the horse Avill appear to be restored to health ; but he
bears the seeds of the malady about him, and in due time the
larcy assumes its virulent form, and hurries him ofT. These
buds have sometimes been confounded with the little tumors oi
lumps termed surfeit. They are generally higher than these
tumors, and not so broad. They have a more knotty character,
and are principally found on the inside of the limbs, instead of
the outside. The surfeit buinjJS are pustular and end in des-
quamation (scaling ofi',) not in ulceration, and they do not follow
the course of the absorbents, but are scattered irregularly over
the skin.
Few things are more unlike, or more perplexing, than thf;
different forms Avhich farcy assumes at different times. One of
the legs, and particularly one of the hinder legs, will suddenly
swell to an enormous size. At night the horse will appear t()
be perfectly well, and in the morning one leg will be three times
the size of the other, with considerable fever, and scarcely the
power of moving the limb.
At other times the head will be subject to this enlargement,
the muzzle particularly will swell, and an offensive discharge
will proceed from the nose. Sometimes the horse will gradually
lose flesh and strength ; he will be hide-bound ; many eruptions
will appear in different parts ; the legs Avill swell ; cracks will
be seen at the heels, and an inexperienced person may conceive
it to be a mere want of condition, combined with grease.
By degrees the affection becomes general. The virus has
reached the termination of the absorbents, and mingles with
the general circulating fluid, and is conveyed Avith the blood to
every part of the frame. There are no longer any valves to
impede its progress, and consequently no knots or buds, but th*?
myriads of capillary absorbents that penetrate every part be
come inflamed, and thickened, and enlarged, and cease to dis
116 FARCY.
charge their function. Hence arises enlargement of the sub-
stance of various parts, swellings of the legs, and chest, ami
head — sudden, painful, enormous, and distinguished by a heat
and tenderness, which do not accompany other enlargements.
Farcy cannot probably exist without previous glanders, and it
is certain that it cannot long and extensively prevail without
being accompanied by it. They are, in fact, stages of the same
disease.
Farcy has been confounded with other diseases ; but he must
be careless or ignorant who mistook sprain for it. The inflam-
mation is too circumscribed and too plainly connected with the
joint or tendon.
It may be readily distinguished from grease or swelled legs.
In grease there is usually some crack or scurfiness, a peculiar
tenseness and redness and glossiness of the skin, some ichorous
discharge, and a singular spasmodic catching up of the leg.
In farcy the engorgement is even more sudden than that of
grease. The horse is well to-day, and to-morrow he is gorged
from the fet-lock to the haunch, and although there is not the
same redness or glossiness, there is great tenderness, a burning
heat in the limb, and much general fever. It is simultaneous
inflammation of all the absorbents of the limb.
Local dropsy of the cellular membrane, and particularly that
enlargement beneath the thorax which has the strange appella-
tion of ivater-farcy, have none of the characters of real farcy.
'It is general debility to a greater or less degree, and not in-
flammation of the absorbents.
Farcy, like glanders, springs from infection and from bad
stable management. It is produced by all the causes which
ffive rise to slanders, with this difierence, that it is more fre-
quently generated, and sometimes strangely prevalent in particu-
lar districts. The matter of farcy must come in contact Avith a
wound or sore, in order to communicate the disease.
The treatment of farcy differs with the form that it assumes.
As a general rule, and especially when the buttons or buds are
beginning to appear, a mild dose of physic should first be ad-
ministered. The buds should then be carefully examined, and
if any of them have broken, the budding-iron, at a dull red heat,
should be applied. If pus should be felt in them, showing that
they are disposed to break, they should be penetrated with the iron.
These wounds should be daily inspected, and if, when the slough
of the cautery comes ofl', they look pale, and foul, and spongy,
and discharge a thin matter, they should be frequently washed
with a strong lotion of corrosive sublimate, dissolved in rectified
spirit. When the wounds begin to look red, and the bottom of
them is even and firm, and they discharge a thick white or yel
THE LIPS. 1 17
low matter, the Friar's balsam will usually dispose them to
heal.
As, however, the constitution is now tainted, local applications
will not be sufficient, and the disease must be attacked by inter-
nal medicine, as soon as the physic has ceased to operate.
The most effectual constitutional remedy is the diniodide m
copper. It is a stimulant of the absorbent vessels, and a tonic.
The ofentian root is usually combined with it. Cantharides, in
small quantities, may be advantag-eously added. An indication
oi" its influence is a soreness of the diseased parts, arising from
the absorbent vessels being roused into increased action : the
agent should then be for a time withheld.
The animal should be generously fed, have green food, if pos-
sible, and a free circulation of air.^
THE LIPS.
The lips of the horse are far more important organs than
many suppose. They are the hands of the animal, and without
them he could not convey his food to his mouth. The lips are
composed of a muscular substance for the sake of strength, and
a multitude of small glands, which secrete a fluid that covers
the inside of the lips and the gums, in order to prevent friction,
and likewise furnish a portion of the moisture so necessary for
the proper chewing of the food.
The lips of the horse should be thin and well kept together :
and the depth of the mouth should be considerable. The cor-
* Note hij Mr. Spooner. — The cure of farcy materially depends on the ex-
tent to which the constitution is affected by the disease. If it be confinea
to a single extremity, particularly one of the hind ones, or if the superficial
absorbents are alone affected, there is then a very reasonable prospect of
establishing a cure. The application of the caustic, as advised in the text,
is very proper ; but we may also materially assist the case by rubbing
into any swollen part, or along the course of the absorbents, an ointment
consisting of
Iodine 31
Lard 5I
Mercurial ointment ... 5 1
to be incorporated together.
Advantage will also be felt by the internal exhibition of five to ten grains
daily of hydriodate of potash in combination with a mineral tonic, such as
sulphate of iron, three drachms, and gentian, two drachms. The ointment
as well as the ball must be continued for some time.
We have succeeded in many cases by this mode of treatment, though it
must be acknowledged that there is no disease, to which the horse is liable,
so deceptive as this. When the external symptoms are most favorable, the
ulcers healed, and the swelling reduced, the disease will somt times break
out ag;iin, and prove rapidly fatal.
I lo
THE MOUTH PALATE.
ners or angles of the lips are sometimes wounded by the ti^^ii-
ness of the bearing-rein, or by sharp or badly formed bits. If
inflammation or ulcers in the mouth follow contusions inflicted
by the bit, a little cooling medicine may be administered ; and
to the ulcers themselves, tincture of myrrh, diluted with water,
or alum dissolved in water, may be applied with advantage.
THE BONES OF THE MOUTH.
The bones, in and giving form to the mouth, are the superior
maxillary or upper jaw (b, Fig. 1, and /, Fig. 2,) containing the
grinders : the anterior maxillaiy, or lower part of the upper jaw,
(b, Fig. 1, n, Fig. 2, r, Fig. 3,) containing the upper-nippers or
cutting-teeth ; the palatine bone (below 8, Fig. 3,) and the pos-
terior maxillary or under jaw (a, Fig. 1, and 2U, Fig. 3,) con-
taining all the under-teeth.
The size of these, their connection with the other bones of the
head, aiid their muscular attachments, will be sufiiciently learned
from a careful inspection of the cuts, Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 12.
THE PALATE.
Adhering to a portion of the three bones just described, and
constituting the lining of the roof of the mouth, is the palate {t,
Fig. 3,) composed of an elastic and dense substance, divided into
several ridges called bars. The following cut gives a view of
them.
Fig. 13.
a The palate, divided into ridges
or bars.
b A strip dissected up to show the
vessels and nerve beneath.
c The palatine artery,
d The palatine vein.
e The palatine nerve, between the
artery and the vein.
/ The cheek divided, showing the
direction of the muscular
fibres.
g The grinders.
h The nippers.
i The lushes.
LAMP AS, 1 1^
It will also point out the bleeding place, if it should occasion-
ally be deemed advisable to abstract blood from the mouth ; or,
if the horse should be attacked with megrims on a journey, and
the driver, having no lancet, should be compelled to make use
of his knife, the incision should be made betw^een the central and
second nippers on either side, about an inch within the mouth,
and cutting through the second bar. A stream of blood will
be thus obtained, which will usually cease to flow when two
or three quarts have escaped, or may generally be arrested by
the application of a sponge filled with cold water.
Should the cut be made a little too much on one side, and
about the middle of the second incisor tooth, the artery may
be wounded longitudinally, but not divided, and there may be
very great difficulty in stopping the blood. We recollect a horse
which almost bled to death from the artery being thus wounded.
If, however, a large and firm pledget of lint or tow be rolled
round a piece of twine, and that tied firmly round the front
teeth, the pressure on the part will effect the desired purpose ;
or, should this in a very few cases fail, a gag may be easily con-
trived to press upon the pledget, and the bleeding will imme-
diately cease.
This, however, is a make-shift sort of bleeding, that may be
allowable on a journey, and possibly in some cases of lampas,
but which is decidedly objectionable as the usual mode of ab-
stracting blood. The quantity withdrawn cannot be measured,
the degree of inflammation cannot be ascertained by the manner
in which it coagulates, and there may be difficulty to the
operator, and annoyance and pain to the horse, in stopping the
bleeding.
LAMPAS.
The bars occasionally swell, and rise to a level with, and
even beyond the edge of, the teeth. They are very sore, and the
horse feeds badly on account of the pain he sufiers from the pres-
sure of the food on them. This is called the Lampas. It may
arise from inflammation of the gums, propagated to the bars,
when the horse is shedding his teeth — and young horses are more
subject to it than others — or from some slight febrile tendency in
the constitution generally, as when a young horse has lately been
taken up from grass, and has been over-fed, or not sufficiently
exercised. At times, it appears in aged horses ; for the process
of growth in the teeth of the horse is continued during the whole
life of the animal.
In the majority of cases, the sw^elling wdll soon subside without
medical treatment ; or a few mashes, and gentle alteratives, will
120 THE LOWER JAW.
relieve tne animal. A few slight incisions across the bars with
a lancet, or pen-knife, will remove the inflammation, and cause
the swelling to subside ; indeed, this scarification of the bars in
lamp as will seldom do harm, although it is far from being so
necessary as is supposed. The brutal custom of the farrier, who
sears and burns down the bars with a red-hot iron, is most objec-
tionable. It is torturing the horse to no purpose, and rendering
that part callous, on the delicate sensibility of which all the
pleasure and safety of riding and driving depend. It may be
prudent, in case of lampas, to examine the grinders, and more
particularly the tushes, in order to ascertain whether either of
them is making its way through the gum. If it is so, two inci-
sions across each other should be made on the tooth, and the
horse will experience immediate relief. =^
THE LOWER JAW.
The posterior or lower jaw may be considered as forming the
floor of the mouth {a, Fig. 1, or w, Fig. 3). The body, or lower
part of it, contains the under cutting teeth and the tushes, and
at the sides are two flat pieces of bone containing the grinders.
\t>>QQ the preceding cuts of the anatomy and tissues of the head].
The joint which connects the lower to the upper jaw, unlike that
in carnivorous animals, is so constructed, that it not only admits
of the simple motion of a hinge, but of a lateral or grinding
motion, necessary to break down vegetable fibre, and fit it for
the stomach.
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — It is almost impossible that the swelling of the
bars of the mouth, denominated lampas, can interfere with the process of
mastication, when the horse is in the stable and feeding on grain, for we
well know that tlie food is ground as in a mill, by the 'molar teeth. It often
happens, however, that connected with this lampas, there is an inability to
masticate properly ; the horse quids his food, as it is called, that is, throws
it out of his mouth in rolls covered with saliva. On the same principle as
" Tenterden steeple being the cause of Goodwin sands," the lampas has been
regarded as the cause of this imperfect mastication. If we look farther,
however, -we shall almost invariably tind that the gums are swelled gene-
rally, and particularly the membranous tissues covering the lower jaw-bone,
between the molar and incisor teeth ; so much so, that when the horse at-
tempts to masticate, this membrane gets between the molar teeth and
causes pain, and interrupts the process of mastication. This state of the
parts is often oveilooked, and the horse becomes weak and thin from not
having sufficient nutriment. This disease, if it can be called so, is com-
monly termed the Rags, or Washes, and is relieved by cutting off a portion
of the membrane by means of a pair of scissors ; the bleeding relieves the
inflammation, and the cicatrizatinn of the wound causes the membrane to
contract, so as to be put out of the way of further injury from the teetk
The b.orse should have mashes for some days after the operatioa and care
muist be taken that tlie bit does not injure the denuded part.
PROCESS OF TEETHING.
IC)
Fig. 14.
The space beneath between the jaw-bones, called the channel,
IS of considerable consequence. It may be a little too wide, and
ilien the lace will have a clumsy appearance : but if it is too
narrow, the horse will never be able to bend his head freely and
gracefully ; he will be always pulling or boring upon the hand,
nor can he possibly be well reined in.
The jaws contain the teeth, which are the millstones employed
in comminuting the food. The mouth of the horse at five yeai^
old contains forty teeth, viz. : six nippers or cutting-teeth in front,
a tush on each side, and six molars, or grinding-teeth, above and
below. The gums are singularly compact, that it may not be
wounded by the hard or sharp particles of the food, and almost
devoid of feeling, for the same purpose.
Seven or eight months before the foal is born, the germs oi
beginnings of the teeth are visible in the cavities of the jaws
At the time of birth, the first and second
grinders have appeared, large compared with
the size of the jaw, and seemingly filling it.
In the course of seven or eight days the two
central nippers are seen as in Fig. 14. They
likewise appear to be large, and to fill the
front of the mouth ; although they will af-
terwards be found to be small, compared with
the permanent teeth that follow. In the course
of the first month the third grinder appears
above and below, and, not long after, and gen-
erally before six weeks have expired, another
incisor above and below will be seen on each
side of the two first, which have now considerably grown, bm
not attained their perfect height. The second cut will represent
the appearance of the mouth at that time.
At two months, the central nippers will
natural level, and between the second and
third month the second pair will have
overtaken them. They will then begin to
wear away a little, and the outer edge,
which was at first somewhat raised and
sharp, is brought to a level with the inner
one, and so the mouth continues until
some time between the sixth and ninth
month, when another nipper begins to ap-
pear on each side of the two first, making
six above and below, and completing the
colt's mouth ; after which, the only ob-
servable difference, until between the sec-
ond and third year, is in the wear of these teeth
have reached their
Fig-. 15.
Sec Fiff.
122
PROCESS OF TEETHING.
The teeth are covered with a polished and exceedingly hard
substance, called the enamel. It spreads over that portion of
the teeth which appears above the gum, and not only so, but as
they are to be so much employed in nipping the grass, and gath-
ering up the animal's food, and in such employment even this
hard substance must be gradually worn away, a portion of it,
as it passes over the upper surface of the teeth, is bent inward,
and sunk into the body of the teeth, and forms a little pit ini
them. The inside and bottom of this pit being blackened by|
the food, constitutes the mark of the teeth, by the gradual dis-
appearance of which, in consequence of the wearing down of
the edge, we are enabled, for several years, to judge of the age
of the animal.
The colt's nipping-teeth are rounded in front, somewhat hol-
low towards the mouth, and present at first a cutting surface,
with the outer edge rising in a slanting direction above the inner
edo-e. This, however, soon begms to wear down until both sur-
faces are level, and the mark, which was originally long anil
narrow, becomes shorter, and widei, and fainter. At six months
the four nippers are beginning to wear to a level. The annexed
cut will convey some idea of the appearance of the teeth at
twelve months. The four middle teeth are almost level, and
the corner ones becoming so. The mark in the two middle
teeth is wide and faint ; in the two next
teeth it is darker, and longer, and nar-
rower ; and in the corner teeth it is
darkest, and longest, and narrowest.
The back teeth, or grinders, will
not guide us far in ascertaining the
age of the animal, for we cannot ea-
sily inspect them ; but there are some
interesting particulars connected with
them. The foal is born with two
grinders in each jaw, above and be-
low ; or they appear within three or
four days after the birth. Before the
expiration of a month they are suc-
ceeded by a third, more backward.
The crowns of the grmders are entirely covered with enamel on
the top and sides, but attrition soon wears it away from the top,
and there remains a compound surface of alternate layers of
crusted petraser, enamel, and ivory, which are employed iji
grinding down the hardest portion of the food. Nature has,
therefore, made an additional provision for their strength and
endurance.
Fia:. 16.
PROCESS OF TEETHING.
123
Fig. 17.
Fiff. 18.
Fig. 17 represents a grinder sawed across. The five dark
spots represent bony matter ; the parts
covered with Hnes, enamel ; and the
white spaces, a strong bony cement,
uniting the other portions of the teeth.
At the completion of the first year, a
fourtli grinder usually comes up, and
the yearling has then, or soon after-
wards, six nippers, and four grinders
above and below in each jaw, which,
with the alteration m the appearance
of the nippers that we have just described, will enable us to cal-
culate nearly the age of the foal, suject to some variations aris-
ing from the period of weaning, and the nature of the food.
At the age ot" one year and a-half, the mark in the central
nippers will be much shorter and
fainter ; that in the two other pairs
will have undergone an evident
ohanire, and all the nippers will be
flfit. ^
At two years this v/ill be more
manifest. The accompanying cut
(Fig. 18,) deserves attention, as giv-
ing an accurate represention of the
nipners in the lower jaw of a two-
years-old colt.
About this period a fifth grinder
will appear, and now, likewise, will
commence another process. The
first teeth are adapted to the size and wants of the young animal
They are sufl^iciently large to occupy and fill the colt's jaws ; Lul
when these bones have expanded with the increasing growth of
the animal, the teeth are separated too far from each other to be
useful, and another and larger set is required. The second teeth
then begin to push up from below, and the fangs of the first are
absorbed, until the former approach the surface of the gum,
when they drop out. Where the temporaiy teeth do not rise
immediately under the milk-teeth, but by their sides, the latter
being pressed sideway, are absorbed throughout their whole
length. They grow narrow, are pushed out of place, and cause
niconvenience to the gums, and sometimes the cheek. They
are then called -wolf 's- teeth, and they should be extracted.*
The teeth which first appeared are first renewed, and there-
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — Although irregularities of the teeth sometimes
occur, as mentioned in the text, yet the wolves' teeth are generally two
very small supplementary teeth appearing in front of the molar teeth ; and,
124
PROCESS Gi^ TEETHING.
fore the front or first grinder is changed at the age of twn
years.
During the period between the falUng out of the central milk
nippers, and the coming up of the permanent ones, the colt,
having a broken mouth, may find some difficulty in grazing. If
he should fall away considerably in condition, he should be fed
with mashes and corn, or cut feed.
The next cut (Fig. 19,) will represent a three-year-old mouth.
The central teeth are larger than the others, with two grooves
in the outer convex surface, and the mark is long, narrow, deep
and black. Not having yet attained their full growth, they are
rather lower than the others. The mark in the two next nip-
pers is nearly worn out, and it is wearing away in the corner
nippers. Is it possible to give this mouth to an early two-years-
old ? The ages of all horses used to be reckoned from May, but
some are tbaled even so early as January, and being actually
four months over the two years, if they have been well nursed
and fed, and are strong and large, they may, with the inexperi-
enced, have an additional year put upon them. The central
nippers are punched or drawn
out, and the others appear three
or four mouths eq,rlier than they
otherwise would. In the natu-
ral process, they could only rise
by long pressing upon, and caus-
ing the absorption of, the first
set. But opposition from the
first set being removed, it is
easy to imagine that their pro-
gress will be more rapid. Three
or four months will be gained
in the appearance of the teeth,
and these three or four months
may enable the breeder to term
him a late colt of a preceding year. To him, however, who is
accustomed to horses, the general form of the animal — the little
development of the fore-hand — the continuance of the mark on
the next pair of nippers — its more evident existence in the cor-
ner ones, some enlargement or irregularity about the gums from
the violence used in forcing out the teeth — ^the small growth of
the first and fifth grinders and the non-appearance of the sixth
though supposed to have an injurious effect on the eyes, we have rarely, if
ev(!r, found that they produce any injurious effect, eitlier on the eyes or the
mouth, and, consequently, it is useless to interfere with them. When, how-
ever, the teeth grow irregularly, the permanent ones appearing by the side
of the temporary, the latter should be removed.
PROCESS OF TEETHING.
125
Fiar. 20.
prinder, which if it is not through the gum at three years old, is
swelling under it, and preparing to get through — any or all of
these circumstances, carefully attended to, will be a sufficient
security against deception.
A horse at three years old ought to have the central perma-
nent nippers growing — the other two pairs wasting — six grind-
ers in each jaw, above and below — the first and fifth level with
the others, and the sixth protruding. The sharp edge of the
new incisors, although it could not be well expressed in the cut,
will be very evident when compared with the neighboring teeth.
As the permanent nippers wear, and continue to grow, a nar-
rower portion of the cone-shaped tooth is exposed to the attrition,
and they look as if they had been compressed, but it is not so.
The mark, of course, gradually disappears as the pit is worn
away.
At three years and a half, or between that and four, the next
pair of nippers will be changed, and the mouth at that time
cannot be mistaken. The central nippers will have attained
nearly their full growth. A vacuity will be left where the
second stood, or they will begin to peep above the gum, and the
corner ones will be diminished in breadth, worn down, and the
mark becoming small and
faint. At this period, like-
wise, the second pair of grind-
ers will be shed. Previously
to this may be the attempt of
the dealer to give to his three-
year-old an additional year,
but the fraud will be detected
by an examination similar to
that which has been already
described.
At four years, the central
nippers will be fully devel-
oped ; the sharp edge some-
what worn off, and the mark
shorter, wider, and fainter. The next pair will be up, but they
will be small, with the mark deep, and extending quite across
them. The corner nippers will be larger than the inside ones,
yet smaller than they were, and flat, and the mark nearly
effaced. The sixth grinder will have risen to a level with the
others, and the tushes will begin to appear.
Now, more than at any other time, will the dealer be anxious
to put an additional year upon the animal, for the difference
between a four-years-old colt, and a five-years-old horse, in
strength, utility, and value, is very great; but, the want of
126
PROCESS OF TEETHING
wear in the other nippers — the small size of the corner ones—
the little growth of the tush — the smalhiess of the second grinder
—the low fore-hand — the legginess of the colt, and the thick-
ness and little depth of the mouth, will, to the man of common
experience among horses, at once detect the cheat.
The tushes (see Fig. 13,) are four in number, two in each
jaw, situated between the nippers and the grinders — much
nearer to the former than the latter, and nearer in the lower jaw
than in the upper, but this distance increasing in both jaws with
the age. It is conical, protrudes about an inch from the gum,
and is sharp pointed and curved. Mares have the rudiments of
them, and they usually appear externally in old age.
The appearance of the tush in the horse may vary from four
years to lour years and six months. It can only be accelerated a
few weeks by cutting the gum over it.
At four years and a half, or between that and five, the last im-
portant change takes place in the mouth of the horse. The cor-
ner nippers are shed, and the permanent ones begin to appear
The central nippers are considerably worn, and the next pair are
commencing to show marks of usage. The tush has now pro-
truded, and is generally a full half-inch in height ; externally it
has a rounded prominence, with a groove on either side, and it is
evidently hollowed within. The reader needs not to be told that
after the rising of the corner nipper, the animal changes its
name — the colt becomes a horse, and the filly a raiare.
At five years the horse's mouth is almost perfect, (see Fig. 21.)
Yig, 21. T^^ corner nippers are quite up,
with the long deep mark irreg-
ular on the inside ; and the
other nippers bearing evident
tokens of increasing wearing.
The tush is much grown — the
grooves have almost or quite
disappeared, and the outer sur-
face is regularly convex. It is
still as concave within, and with
the edge nearly as sharp as it
was six months before. The
sixth molar is quite up, and the
third molar is wanting. This
last circumstance, if the general
appearance of the animal, and particularly his forehead and the
w^earing of the centre nippers, and the growth and shape of the
tushes, are likewise carefully attended to, will prevent deception
if a late four-years-old is attempted to be substituted for a five
The nippers may be brought up a few months before their time
PROCESS OF TEETHING
127
and the tushes a few weeks, but the grinder is with difficulty
displaced. The three last grinders and the tushes are nevei
shed.
At six years, (see Fig. 22,) Fig. 22.
the mark on the central nip-
pers is worn out. There will
still be a difference of color
in the centre of the tooth.
The cement filling up the
hole, made by the dipping in
of the enamel, will present a
browner hue than the other
part of the tooth, and it will
be evidently surrounded by
an edge of enamel, and there
will even remain a little de-
pression in the centre, and
also a depression round the
case of enamel : but the deep hole in the centre of the teeth, witL
the blackened surface which it presents, and the elevated edge
of enamel, will have disappeared. Persons not much accu.s-
tomed to horses have been puzzled here. They expected to find
a plain surlace of a unitbrra color, and knew not what conclu-
sion to draw when there was both discoloration and irreg-
ularity.
In the next incisors the mark is shorter, broader and fainter ;
and in the corner teeth the edges of the enamel are more regular,
and the surface is evidently worn. The tush has attained its full
growth, being nearly or quite an inch in length ; convex outward,
concave within ; tending to a point, and the extremity some-
what curved. The third grinder is fairly up ; and all the grind-
ers are level.
The horse may now be said to have a perfect mouth. All the
teeth are produced, fully grown, and have hitherto sustained no
material injury. During these important changes of the teeth,
the ammal has suffered less than could be supposed possible. In
children, the period of teething is fraught with danger. Dogs
are subject to convulsions, and hundreds of them die, from the
irritation caused by the cutting or shedding of their teeth ; but
the horse appears to feel Uttle inconvenience. The gums and
palate are occasionally somewhat hot and swollen ; but the
slightest scarification will remove this. The teeth of the horse
are more necessary to him than those of the other animals are
to them. The child may be fed, and the dog wili bolt his food ;
but that of the horse must be well ground down, or the nutri-
ment caimot be extracted from it.
128
PROCESS OF TEETHING.
At seven years, (see Fig. 23,) the mark, in the way in which
„. ^ we have described it, is worn
out in the four central nip-
pers, and fast wearing away
in the corner teeth ; the tush
also is beginning to he altered.
It is rounded at the point ;
rounded at the edges ; stil]
round without ; and begin-
ning to get round inside.
At eight years old, the tush
is rounder in every way ; the
mark is gone from all the
bottom nippers, and it may
almost be said to be out of
the mouth. There is nothing
remaining in the bottom nippers that can afterwards clearly
show the age of the horse, or justify the most experienced ex-
aminer in giving a positive opinion.
Dishonest dealers have been said to resort to a method of pro-
longing the mark in the lower nippers. It is called bhlwjmtg,
from the name of the scoundrel who invented it. The horse
of eight or nine years old, (see Fig. 24,) is thrown, and with an
engraver's tool a hole is dug in the now almost plain surface
of the corner teeth, and m
shape and depth resembling
the mark in a seven-years-old
horse. The hole is then
burned with a heated iron,
and a permanent black stain
is left. The next pair of
nippers are sometimes light-
ly touched. An ignorant
man would be very easily
imposed on by this trick : but
the irregular appearance of
the cavity — the diffusion of
the black stain around the
tushes, the sharpened edges
and concave inner surface of which can never be given again —
the marks on the uppjr nippers, together with the general con-
formation of the horse, can never deceive the careful examiner
Horsemen, after the animal is eight years old, are accustomed
to look to the nippers .'n the upper jaw, and some conclusion has
been drawn from the a ipearances which they present. It cannot
T'vr 24.
PROCESS OF TEETHING. 1^9
be doubted that the mark remains m them for some years after
It has been obliterated irom the nippers in the lower jaw.
There are various opinions as to the intervals between the dis-
appearance of the marks from the different cutting-teeth in the
upper jaw. Some have averaged it at two years, and others at
one. The author is inclined to adopt the latter opinion, and then
the age will be thus determined . at nine years, the mark will
be worn out from the middle nippers — from the next pair at ten,
and from all the upper nippers at eleven. During these periods,
the tush is likewise undergoing a manifest change — it is blunter,
shorter, and rounder In what degree this takes place in the
difierent periods, long and most favorable opportunities for obser-
vation can alone enable the horseman to decide.
Tiie alteration in the form of the tushes is frequently uncertain.
It will sometimes be blunt at eight, and at others, remain pointed
at eighteen.
After eleven, and until the horse is very old, the age may be
guessed at, with some degree of confidence, from the shape of the
upper surface or extremity of the nippers. At eight, they are all
oval, the length of the oval running across from tooth to toooth ;
but as the horse gets older, the teeth diminish in size — and this
commencing in their width, and not in their thickness. They
become a little apart from each other, and their surfaces become
round instead of oval. At nine, the centre nippers are evidently
so ; at ten, the others begin to have the oval shortened. At
eleven, the second pair of nippers are quite rounded ; and at
thirteen, the corner ones have that appearance. At fourteen, the
faces of the central nippers become somewhat triangular. At
seventeen, they are all so. At nineteen, the angles begin to wear
off, and the central teeth are again oval, but in a reversed direc-
tion, viz., from outward, inward ; and at twenty-one, they all
wear this form.
It would of course be folly to expect anything like certainty in
an opinion of the exact age of an old horse, drawn from the above
indications. Stabled horses have the marks sooner wora out than
those that are at grass, and crib-biters still sooner. At nine or
ten. the bars of the mouth become less prq^iiinent, and their reg-
ular dimiimtion will designate increasing age. At eleven or
twelve, the lower nippers change their original upright direction,
and project forward or horizontally, and become of a yellow color.
The general indications of old age, independent of the teeth,
are deepening of the hollows over the eyes ; gray hairs, and par-
ticularly over the eyes and about the muzzle ; thinness and hang-
ing down of the lips ; sharpness of the withers ; sinking of the
oack ; lengthening of the quarters ; and the disappearance of
windo-alls, spavins, and tumors of every kind.
9 r
130 DISEASES OF THE TEETH.
Horses, kindly and not prematurely used, sometimes live to be-
tween thirty-five and forty years of age ; and Mr. Percivall gives
an account of a barge horse that died in his sixty-second year.^*'
DISEASES OF THE TEETH.
Of the diseases of the teeth in the horse, we know little. Ca«
rious or hollow teeth are occasionally, but not often, seen ; but
the edges of the grinders, from the wearing off of the enamel, or
* JS^ote by Mr. Spooner. — We have little to add. There are exceptions,
however, to the above rules. We have known a horse at twelve exhibit
the same appearance as another at six. In such instances, the age must be
judged by the length and shape of the teeth, and more particularly by the
shape of the faces of tlie teeth.
A careful examination leads me to believe that the ob-^ervation in the text,
that tlie teeth are developed much earlier in young animals that are corn-
fed and taken early into tlie stable, and that in thorough-bred horses, conse-
quently, the changes of the teeth are earlier than in animals that remain
more in a state of nature, is erroneous. I thiftk them, of the two, rather
more backward. Many successful attempts have doubtless been made to
run four year old horses for three year okis, as in the celebrated case of
Running Rein, which obtained such notoriety. An inoisor tooth, when it ia
first shed, and for some time afterwards, is higher on the outer or front
edge, than the inner or back edge. After some time, this outer edge is worn
down to the same level as the inner, and subsequently both edges wear
equally, till the bottom of the hole which forms the mark is reached, wlien,
of course, the mark disappears. It takes about three years to effect this
process, that is, from the time the tooth is cut to the disappearance of the
mark. In a four year old mouth, there are four permanent lower incisors,
and two corner temporary teeth. The outer and inner edge of the central
teeth are tolerably level, and the mark smaller than the middle teeth next
them, which present the appearance of j^ounger teeth. Now, in a three-year
old mouth the central teeth have a younger appearance, the mark being
larger, and the outer edge higher, than the inner, whilst the middle teeth
are either in the act of being cut, or the temporary teeth have not yet dis-
appeared. By careful examination, therefore, the difference between a three
and four year old horse can be readily detected. The permanent teeth
differ from the temporary, being larger, less white, and having more depth
above the gums.
After the marks have disappeared, the age of the horse may be judged
partly by tlie shape of the faces of the teeth, and partly by the horizontal
position in which the teeth proceed from the jaw. If we take a young in-
cisor tooth and saw it off below the bottom of the hole whicli forms the
mark, and again at a similar distance lower down, we shall find that the
several surfaces made by the sections resemble the shape of the face of the
tooth in a horse in which a similar quantity of the tooth has been naturally
worn down. The comparison also holds good with regard to the direction in
which the teeth proceed from the lower jaw, being in the young animal up-
right or curved, and in the old one nearly horizontal. Altliough the teeth
grow to supply the loss of that which wears away, yet the original shape
remains, so that the face of an incisor tooth at different periods is owing to
that particular part which, in its turn, reaches and forms the surface.
THE TONGUE. 13)
the iiTCirular growth of the teeth, become rough, and wound the
inside of the cheek ; it is then necessary to adopt a summary, but
eflectual method of cure ; namely, to rasp them smooth. Many
bad ulcers have been produced in the mouth by neglect of this.
The teeth sometimes grow irregularly in length — particularly
the grinders — from not meeting the proper opposition of the cor-
responding tooth in the other jaw. These sometimes penetrate
the bars, causing ulceration ; and at others, interfere partially oi
entirely with the grinding motion of the jaw. The teeth should
be reduced to the level of the others with a saw, and occasionally
looked to, because the difficulty will return. Horses oiten pine
away from this unsuspected cause. Every horse that grows thin
without apparent cause, especially if he qidch, (partly chews and
then drops his feed) should be looked to in this particular. Very
irregular teeth lessen the value of a horse, and to all intents and
purposes constitute unsoundness.
Decayed teeth should be removed to prevent injury to the other
teeth and to the jaw. The hammer and punch should never be
resorted to in this operation, but a keyed instrument, like that of
the human subject, only on a larger scale.*
Fever, cough, catarrhal affections generally, disease of the eyes,
cutaneous affections, diarrhoea, dysentery, loss of appetite, and
general derangement, will frequently be traced by the careful
observer to irritation from teething, in the colt.
It is a rule scarcely admitting of the slightest deviation, that,
when young horses are laboring under any febrile affection, the
mouth should be examined, and if the tushes are prominent and
pushing against the gums, a crucial (in the form of a cross) inci-
sion should be made across them. Relief will often be immediate.
THE TONGUE.
The tongue is the organ of taste. It is also employed in dis-
posing the food for being ground between the teeth, and after-
wards collecting it together, and conveying it to the back part of
the mouth, in order to be swallowed. It is likewise the main
instrument in swallowing, and the canal through which the water
passes in the act of drinking. Its form, attachments, &c., are
too well known to require description.
* The keyed instrument is now banished from human practice, and the
substitutes for it might probably be advantageously introduced into veteri-
nary practice. — American Editor.
132 DISEASE:? JF THE TONGUE THE SALIVARY GLANDS.
DISEASES OF THE TONGUE.
The tongue is frequently lacerated by carelessness in adminis-
tering medicine, by the bit, and sometimes by being bitten by the
animal itself. A little diluted tincture of myrrh, or alum dis-
solved in water, or, if the wound is not serious, unassisted nature,
will heal the parts.
Purple-colored vesicles or bladders will sometimes appear along
the under side of the tongue, and increase to considerable size ;
ihe tongue will be enlarged so that it becomes difficult to swallow ;
and a great quantity of ropy saliva will drivel from the mouth.
Lance the vesicles freely and deeply from end to end and they
will soon disappear, and any little fever that remains may be
subdued by cooling medicine.
THE SALIVARY GLANDS.
In order that the food may be properly comminuted preparatory
to digestion, it is necessary that it should be previously moistened.
Nature has made a provision for this. She has placed in the
neighborhood of the mouth various glands to secrete, and that
plentifully, a limpid fluid, somewhat saline to the taste. This
fluid is conveyed from the glands into the mouth, by various ducts,
in the act of chewing, and, being mixed with the food, renders
it more easily ground, more easily passed afterwards into the
stomach, and better fitted for digestion.
The principal of these is the 'parotid gland (see Fig. 12). The
quantity of" fl uid poured into the mouth, in the act of mastication,
from each jf these glands, amounts to a pint in half an hour.
The paiotid gland sympatliizes with every inflammatory afTec-
tion of the upper part of the throat, and therefore it is found
swollen, hot, and tender, in almost every catarrh or cold. The
catarrh is to be treated in the usual way ; while a stimulating
application, almost amounting to a blister, well rubbed over the
gland, will best subdue the inflammation of that body.
In bad strangles, and, sometimes, in violent cold, this gland
will be much enlarged and ulcerated, or an obstruction will take
place in some part of the duct, and the accumulating fluid will
burst the vessel, and a fistulous ulcer will be formed that will be
very difficult to heal. A veterinary surgeon alone will be com-
petent to the treatment of either case ; and the principle by
which he will be guided, will be to heal the abscess in the gland
as speedily as he can, and, probably, by the application of the
heated iron : or, if the ulcer is in the duct, either to restore the
passage through the duct, or to form a new one, or to eut off the
flow of the saliva by the destruction o^ the gland.
STRANGLES. 133
A second source of the saliva is from the submaxillary glands.
or the glands under the jaw. One of them is represented at s,
Fig. 12. When the horse has catarrh or cold, these glands, like
the parotid gland, enlarge. This is often to be observed after
strangles, and several distinct kernels are to be felt under the jaw.
The farriers call them vives, and often adopt cruel and absurd
methods to disperse them, — as burning them with a lighted can-
dle, or hot iron, or even cutting them out. They will, in the
majority of instances, gradually disperse in proportion as the dis-
ease which produced them subsides ; or they will yield to slightly
stimulating embrocations ; or, if they are obstinate in their con-
tinuance, they are of no further consequence, than as indicating
that the horse has labored under severe cold or strangles.
During catarrh, the little protuberances marking the mouths
of these ducts on either side of the bridle of the tongue, are apt
to enlarge, and the mouth under the tongue is a little red, and
hot, and tender. The farriers call these swellings barbs or paps ;
and as soon as they discover them, mistaking the effect of disease
for the cause of it, they set to work to cut them close off. The
bleeding that follows this operation somewhat abates the local
inflammation, and affords temporary relief; but the wounds will
not speedily heal, and even when healed are apt to break out
again for months or years afterwards. These paps disappear
with the cold that caused them, and should not be meddled with.
The sublingual glands, resembling little folds in the integu-
ment on the lower side of the tongue, or on the bottom of the
mouth, sometimes enlarge during catarrh, and are called gigs,
bladders, or flaps in the mouth. Let them alone ; and should
any ulceration remain after that abatement of the swelling, use
tincture of myrrh, or a solution of alum.
STRANGLES.*
This is a disease principally incident to young horses — usually
appearing between the fourth and fifth year, and oftener in the
spring than in any other part of the year. It is preceded by
cough, and can at first be scarcely distinguished from common
cough, except that there is more discharge from the nostril, of a
yellowish color, mixed with pus, and generally without smell
There is likewise a considerable discharge of ropy fluid from the
mouth, and greater swelling than usual under the throat. This
swelimg increases with uncertain rapidity, accompanied by some
fever, and disinclination to eat, partly arising from the fever, but
more from the pain wliich the animal feels in the act of masti
* Usually termed " Horse distemper" in the United States.
1 34 STRANGLES
cation. There is considerable thirst, but after a gulp or two
the horse ceases to drink, yet is evidently desirous of contin jLing
his draught. In the attempt to swallow, and sometimes when
not drinking, a convulsive cough comes on, which almost threat-
ens to suffocate the animal — and thence, probably, the name of
the disease.
The tumor is under the jaw, and about the centre of the
channel. It soon fills the whole of the space, and is evidently
one uniform body, and may thus be distinguished from glanders,
or the enlarged glands of catarrh. In a few days it becomes
more prominent and soft, and evidently contains a fluid. This
rapidly increases ; the tumor bursts, and a great quantity of
pus is discharged. As soon as the tumor has broken, the
cough subsides, and the horse speedily mends, although some
degree of weakness may hang about him for a considerable
time. Few horses, possibly none, escape its attack ; but, the
disease having passed over, the animal is free from it for the
remainder of his life. Catarrh may precede, or may predispose
to, the attack, and, undoubtedly the state of the atmosphere has
much to do with it, for both its prevalence and its severity are
connected with certain seasons of the year and changes of the
weather. There is no preventive for the disease, nor is there
anything contagious about it. Many strange stories are told
with regard to this ; but the explanation of the matter is, that
when several horses in the same form, or in the same neighbor-
hood, have had strangles at the same time, they have been ex-
posed to the same powerful but unknown exciting cause.
As soon as the tumor under the jaw is decidedly apparent,
the part should be actively blistered. From the thickness of
skin, poultices, fomentations, &c., are of little avail. The blis-
ter will also abate the internal inflammation and soreness of
the throat, and thus lessen the cough and wheezing.
As soon as the swelling is soft on its summit, and evidently
contains matter, it should be freely and deeply lanced. It is a
bad, although frequent practice, to suffer the tumor to burst
naturally, for a ragged ulcer is formed, very slow to heal, and
difficult of treatment. If the incision is deep and large enough,
no second collection of matter will be formed : and that which
is already there may be suffered to run out slowly, all pressure
with the fingers being avoided. The part should be kept clean,
and a little friar's balsam daily injected into the wound.
The remainder of the treatment will depend on the sjinp-
toms. If there is much fever, and evident affection of the
chest, and which should carefully be distinguished from the
oppression and choking occasioned by the pressure of the tumor
it win be proper to bleed In the majority of cases, however
THE PHARYNX. 135
bleeding will not only be unnecessary, but injurious. It will delay
the suppuration of the tumor, and increase the subsequent
debility. A few cooling medicines, as nitre, emetic tartar, and
perhaps digitalis, may be given, as the case requires. The appe-
tite, or railur the ability to eat, will return with the opening of
the abscess. Bran-mashes, or fresh-cut-grass or tares, should be
liberally supplied, which will not only afford sufficient nourish-
ment to recruit tiie strength of the animal, but keep the bowels
gently open. If the weakness is not great, no farther medicine
will be wanted, except a dose of mild physic in order to prevent
the swellings or eruptions which sometimes succeed to strangles
In cases of debility, a small quantity of tonic medicine, as
chamomile, gentian, or ginger, may be administered.*
TUE PHARYNX.
Proceeding to the back of the mouth, we find the pharynx
[camjing or conveijing the food towards the stomach). It com-
mences at the root of the tongue (see 7, 8 and 9, Fig. 3.) ; is
separated from the mouth by the soft palate (7), which hangs
down from the palatine bone at 8, and extends to the epiglottis
or covering to the windpipe.
In order to understand the diseases of these parts, the anatomy
of the neck generally must be considered.
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — A blister is, tinque. tionably, the best topical
apphcation ; but it should be washed off as soon as it rises, by which means
it can be repeated in a day or two, and so the actioL can be kept up, which
will greatly promote the suppurative process. After the abscess is lanced,
a linseed poultice will be a very desirable application ; and, with regard to
injections, they may be omitted witl)out injury. Although the ages from
two to five are the usual period for strangles to appear, yet it occasionally
attacks old animals ; we have, indeed, known it affect a horse sixteen years
old, and within the last month an animal eight years old, but such instances
are rare.
It is a very desirable thing in strangles to get the submaxillary abscess
to form and suppurate without much delay ; for when it is suppressed, or
does not form in this place, there is sometimes danger to be apprehended ;
occasionally, abscesses will form internally, and carry off the patient. The
symptoms of these untoward cases are an unthrifty coat, occasional shiver
ing fits, and a pulse rather accelerated.
When the glands remain hard, and do not suppurate, the disease is fre-
quently termed bastard strangles, and may lead to glanders. The use
of iodine, applied externally as an ointment, and internally as hydriodate
of potass, in daily doses of five to ten grains combined with tonics, will be
found useful.
CHAPTER V.
THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK AND NEIGH-
BORING PARTS.
The neck of the horse, and of every animal belonging to the
class mammalia^ except one species, is composed of seven bones
called vertebrae,, movable or turning upon each other (see Fig. 1).
They are connected together by strong ligaments, and form sc
many distinct joints, in order to give sufficiently extensive motion
to this important part of the body. The ailai has already been
described. Its junction with the head is the seat of a very serious
and troublesome ulcer, termed
POLL-EVIL.
From the horse rub! jig and sometimes striking his poll against
the lower end of the manger, or hanging back in the stall and
bruising the part wi'.n the halter — or from the frequent and pain-
ful stretching of the ligaments and muscles by unnecessary tight
reining, and, occasionally, from a violent blow on the poll, in-
flammation ensues, and a swelling appears, hot, tender, and pain-
ful. It used to be a disease of frequent occurrence, but it is now,,
from better treatment of the animal, of comparatively rare oc-
currence.
It has been stated, that the ligament of the neck passes over
the atlas, or first bone, without being attached to it, and the seat
of inflammation is between the ligament and the bone beneath ;
and being thus deeply situated, it is serious in its nature and dif-
ficult of treatment.
The first thing to be attempted is to abate the inflammation
by bleeding, physic, and the application of cold lotions to the
part. In a very early period of the case a blister might have
considerable effect. Strong purgatives should also be employed.
By these means the tumor will sometimes be dispersed. This
system, however, must not be pursued too far. If the SAvelling
ncreases, and the heat and tenderness likewise nicrease, mattei
POLL-EVIL. 137
will form in the tumor ; and then our object should be to hasten
its ibrmation by warm fomentations, poultices, or stimulating
embrocations. As soon as the matter is formed, which may be
known by the softness of the tumor, and before it has time to
spread around and eat into the neighboring parts, it should be
evacuated. Now comes the whole art of treating poll-evil ; tlip
opening into the tumor must be so contrived that all the matter
shall run out, and continue afterwards to run out as quickly as
it is formed, and not collect at the bottom of the ulcer, irritating
and corroding it. This can be effected by a seton alone. The
needle should enter at the top of the tumor, penetrate through
its bottom, and be brought out at the side of the neck, a little
below the abscess. Without anything more than this, except
frequent fomentation with warm water, in order to keep the part
clean, and to obviate inflammation, poll-evil in its early stage
w^ll frequently be cured.
If the ulcer has deepened and spread, and threatens to eat into
the ligaments of the joints of the neck, it may be necessary to
stimulate its surface, and perhaps painfully so, in order to bring
it to a healthy state, and dispose it to fill up. In extreme cases,
some highly stimulating application may be employed. All
measures, however, will be ineffectual, unless the pus or matter
is, by the use of setons, perfectly evacuated. The application of
these setons will require the skill and anatomical knowledge of
the veteiinary surgeon. In desperate cases, the wound cannot
be fairly exposed to the action of the caustic without the division
of the ligament of the neck. This may be effected wdth perfect
safety ; for although the ligament is carried on to the occipital
bone, and some strength is gained by this prolongation of it, the
main stress is on the second bone ; and the head wdll continue to
be supported. The divided ligament, also, will soon unite again,
and its former usefulness will be restored when the wound is
healed. =^
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — All cooling applications to the poll-evil are use-
less, for when once the swelling which constitutes the disease has appeared
we have never known it dispersed, but sooner or later it suppurates. It
often takes many months before the matter reaches the surface ; but the
more complete the suppuration is, the easier it is to effect a cure. The in-
jury, which generally arises from striking the poll against a low door-way,
is deep-seated, and the surface of the bone is often diseased from the be-
ginning.
It must be confessed that the poll-evil is very difficult to cure, a difficulty
arising not from the character of the injury, but rather from its situation, and
the nature of the surrounding parts. When matter forms in any situation
it has a tendency to pass downwards, and to seek an exit where the least
obstacles are offered to its passtvge. It consequently forms passages or
sinuses (pipesj amongst the muscles, and, when these are filled, the matter
points to the surface. This tendency contLaues after an external openins: \9
138 MUSCLES AND FORM OF NECK.
THE MUSCLES AND PROPER FORM OF THE NECK.
The bones of the neck serve as the frame-work to which nu
merous muscles concerned in the motions of the head and neck
are attached. The weight of the head and neck is supported by
the ligament without muscular aid, and without fatigue to the
animal ; but in order to raise the head higher, or to lower it, or
to turn it in every direction, a complicated system of muscles is
necessary.
The sjdenius muscle (c. Fig. 12) is the principal one concerned
in this. It gives its bulk to the neck above, and the beauty of
that member depends mainly upon it. It was admirably devel-
oped in the horse of whose neck the annexed cut (Fig. 25) gives
an accurate delineation.
made, and deep sinuses are formed in various directions, rendering it alnost
impossible to get a depending opening.
The abscess should not be opened till the matter is thoroughly formed,
and then a depending opening should be made, through which a seton may
be passed. The great error frequently made in the treatment of poll-evil is,
that these openings are not made half large enough, so that much of the
pus flows in another direction, and there forms sinuses. Now, the chief art
in the treatment of this disease is to use the bistoury freely, to lay all the
sinuses open as much as possible, and to throw them together ; then to make
the lower opening extremely large, and as low down as possible, large
enough, indeed, for two fingers to be inserted. If the bone is injured, it will
be necessary to apply some caustic application, in order to cause a healthy
slough. Pressure is found very useful in keeping the sides of the wound
together, and preventing the formation of sinuses. With this view, i'^ >^ag
been recommended to apply a tight compress, by means of bandages, round
the part, but it is extremely inconvenient to apply them in consequence of
the windpipe interfering.
MUSCLES AND FORM OF NECK. 139
If tlie curve were quite regular from the poll to the withers,
we should call it a perfect neck. It is rather a long neck, and
we do not like it the less for that. In the carriage-horse, a neck
that is not half concealed by the collar is indispensable, so far as
appearance goes ; and it is only the horse with a neck of tolera-
ble length that will bear to be reined up, so as to give this part
the arched and beautiful appearance which fashion demands. It
is no detriment to the ridmg-horse, and there are few horses of
extraordinaiy speed that have not the neck rather long. The
race-horse at the top of" his speed not only extends it as far as he
can, that the air-passages may be as straight as he can make
them, and that he may therefore be able to breathe more freely,
but the weight of the head and neck, and the effect increasing
with their distance from the trunk, add materially to the rapidity
of the animal's motion. It has been said, that a horse with a long
neck will bear heavy on the hand ; neither the length of the neck
nor even the bulk of the head has any influence in causing this.
They are both counterbalanced by the power of the ligament of
the neck. The setting on of the head is most of all connected
with heavy bearing on the hand, and a short-necked horse will
bear heavily, because, from the thickness of the lower part of the
neck, consequent on its shortness, the head cannot be rightly
placed, nor, generally, the shoulder.
However fine at the top, the neck should be muscular at the
bottom, or it generally indicates a weak and worthless animal.
It is then called a loose neck.
The principal bulk of the lower part of the neck is composed
of the comiilexiis major, or larger complicated muscle. If its
action is habitually too powerful, the muzzle is protruded, and
the horse becomes what is technically called a star-gazer . He
IS heavy in hand, and even the martingale will not ordinarily
remedy the difficulty.
Comiected with this is another unsightly deformity. The horse
is ewe-necked ; i. e. the neck is hollowed above, and arched be-
low. His head can never be fairly got down, and the bearing
rein of harness is a source of constant torture to him.
The mane is a matter of some importance. In a wild state,
the horse has many battles to fight, and his neck, deprived of the
mane, would be a vulnerable part. The hair of the mane, the
tail, and the legs, is not shed in the same manner as that on the
body. It does not fall so regularly, nor so often ; for, if all were
shed at once, the parts would be for a long time defenceless.
The mane is generally dressed so as to lie on the right side —
some persons divide it equally on both sides. For ponies, it used
to be cut off near the roots, only a few stumps being left to stand
perpendicularly. This was termed the hog-mane. The groom
140 BLOOD-VESSELS AND VEINS OF THE NECK.
sometimes bestows a great deal of pains in getting the mane of
his horse into good and fashionable order. It is wetted, and
plaited, and loaded with lead ; and every hair that is a little
too long is pulled out. The mane and tail of the heavy draught-
horse are seldom thin ; but on the well-bred horse, the than,
well-arranged mane is very ornamental
THE BLOOD-VESSELS OF THE N'ECK.
Running down the under part of the neck, are the principal
blood-vessels, going to and returning from the head, with the
windpipe and gullet. Our cut could not give a view of the
arteries that carry the blood from the heart to the head, because
they are too deeply seated. The external arteries are the carotid,
of which there are two. They ascend the neck on either side,
close to the windpipe, until they have reached the middle of
the neck, where they sometimes diverge, and lie more deeply.
The vertebral arteric* run through the bones of the neck,
supplying the neighboring parts as they climb, and at length enter
the skull at the large hole in the occipital bone, and ramily
on and supply the brain.
It is rarely or never necessary to bleed from an artery. If an
artery is opened in the direction in which it runs, there is usually
great difficulty in stopping the bleeding, and it is sometimes ne-
cessary to tie the vessel to accomplish this : if cut across, it re-
tracts, and after the first gush of blood, no more is obtained.
THE VEINS OF THE NECK.
The external veins which return the blood from the head to
the heart are the jugulars. The horse has but one on either
side. The human being and the ox have two. The jugular
takes its rise from the base of the skull ; it then descends, receiv-
ing other branches in its way towards the angle of the jaw and
behind the parotid gland ; and emerging from that, as seen at t,
Fig. 12, and being united to a large branch from the face, it takes
its course down the neck. Veterinary surgeons and horsemen
have agreed to adopt the jugular, a little way below the union
of these two branches, as the usual place for bleeding ; and a
very convenient one it is, for it is easily got at, and the vessel
is large. The manner of bleeding, &c., will hereafter be adverted
to. (See page 166.)
INFLAMMATION OF THE VEIN. 141
INFLAMMATION OF THE VEIN.
It is usual and proper, after bleeding, to bring the edges of the
wound carefully together, and to hold them in contact by insert-
ing a pin through the skin, with a little tow twisted round it.
In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the wound quickly heals,
and gives no trouble ; but in a few instances, from using a blunt
instrument, or a dirty or rusty one ; or striking too hard, and
bruising the vein ; or, in the act of pinning up, pulling the
skin too far from the neck, and suffering some blood to insinu-
ate itself into the cellular texture ; or neglecting to tie the
horse up for a little while, and thus enabling him to rub the
bleeding place against the manger and tear out the pin ; or
from the animal being worked immediately afterward ; or the
reins of the bridle rubbing against it ; or several blows having
been clumsily given, and a large and ragged wound made ; or
from some disposition to inflammation about the horse (for the
bleeder is not always in fault) the wound does not heal, or, if it
closes for a little while, it re-opens. A slight bleeding appears
— some tumefaction commences — the edges of the orifice sepa-
rate, and become swollen and red — a discharge of sanious, bloody
fluid proceeds from the wound, followed, perhaps, in a feAV days,
by purulent matter. The neck swells, and is hot and tender
both above and below the incision. The lips of the wound be-
come everted — the swelling increases, particularly above the
wound, where the vein is most hard and cordy — the horse begins
to loathe his food, and little abscesses form round the orifice.
The cordiness of the vein rapidly increases. Not only the vein
itself has become obstructed and its coats thickened, but the cel-
lular tissue inflamed and hardened, and is an additional source of
irritation and torture.
The thickening of the vein extends to the bifurcation above :
it occupies both branches, and extends downward to the chest —
even to the very heart itself, and the patient dies.
Of the means of cure it is dilflcult to speak confidently. The
wound should be carefully examined — the divided edges brought
mto exact apposition, and any hair interposed between them re-
moved— the pin withdrawn or not, according to circumstances —
the part carefully and long fomented, and a dose of physic admin-
istered. If two or three days have passed and the discharge still
remains, the application of the budding-iron — not too large or too
not — may produce engorgement of the neighboring part's, and union
of the lips of the wound. Th's should be daily, or every second
day, repeated, according to circumstances. A blister applied over
the orifice, or as far as the mischief extends, will often be ser-
142 THE PALATE LARYNX.
viceable. Here, likewise, the parts will be brought into contact
with each other, and pressed together, and union may be effected.
The owner of the horse will find it his interest to apply to a
veterinary practitioner as soon as a case of inflamed vein occurs.
Should the vein be destroyed, the horse will not be irrepara-
bly injured, and perhaps at no great distance of time, scarcely
njured at all.=*
THE PALATE— (resumed).
At the back of the paiate (see Fig. 3), and attached to the
crescent-shaped border of the palatine bone, is a dense membra-
nous curtain, called the velum 2^cdctti, so arranged that the horse
can breathe through his nostrils alone, and in the act of vomiting,
the contents of the stomach are ejected the same way, and not
by the mouth. On this account it is, and on account of the struc-
ture of the entrance of the stomach, that the horse can with great
difficulty be excited to vomit.
THE LARYNX
Is placed on the top of the windpipe (see 1, Fig. 3) and is the
inner guard of the lungs, if any injurious substance should pene-
trate so far ; it is the main protection against the passage of food
into the respiratory tubes, and it is at the same time the instru-
ment of voice.
The Epiglottis (see 2, Fig. 3), is a heart-shaped cartilage,
placed at the extremity of the opening into the windpipe, with
its back opposed to the pharynx, so that when a pellet of
food passes the pharynx in its way to the oesophagus, it presses
down the epiglottis, and by this means, as already described,
closes the aperture of the larynx, and prevents any food from
entering it. The food having passed over the epiglottis, from
* Ao^e by Mr. Spooner. — This disease sometimes occurs when bleeding
has been performed with the utmost care and skill.
The course of treatment which a considerable experience of the disease
has induced us to adopt, is to avoid all setons, and dissecting out the vein,
and above all, caustic injection, whicli we have known to produce a fatal
result. First allay the superficial inflammation by cold applications, and
then blister the part, washing off the effects of the blistex the following day,
and repeating it several times. The ointment of iodine may be alternated
with the blister to advantage. During this time, the horse's head should
be tied up to the rack, and he should be fed on such food as will not require
any considerable action of the jaws, such as bran mashes, scalded oats, car-
rots, and but very little hay. In a few weeks the swelling will become re-
duced, the blood find new channels, and the horse will become as useful as
ever. We have never known this treatment to fail. In a few instances it
may be necessary to apply the iron to the edges of the wound, and use
other methods to stop bleeding.
I
WINDPIPE TRACHEOTOMY. 143
its own elasticity and that of the membrane at its base, and
more particularly the power of the hyo-epiglotideus muscle,
rises again and resumes its former situation.
The Thyroid Cartilage (see 1, Fig. 3) occupies almost the
whole of the external part of the larynx, both anteriorly and
laterally. It envelops and protects all the rest.
THE TRACHEA OR WINDPIPE.
The windpipe is composed of an elastic cartilage, divided into
rings (50 or 52), sufficiently firm to resist ordinary pressure, and
united together by means of an interposed highly elastic fibro-
iigamentous substance, which, in efiect, constitutes a joint be-
tween each ring, giving the necessary flexibility to all its mo-
tions, and admitting of elongation when the head is stretched up-
ward or downward.
It is indisputable that the windpipe should be prominent and
loose on the neck, in the horse from which active exertion is re-
quired, and which consequently is subjected to hurried respiration.
It is not commonly found thus in large slow beasts, like the cart-
horse, nor is it necessary.
TRACHEOTOMY.
It has been found that when obstructions, not speedily re-
movable enough for safety, occur in the windpipe of the horse,
a portion of the trachea may be safely removed, on or below the
point of obstruction, to admit of the continuance of respiration.
The operation must be performed while the horse is standing,
and secured by a side-line, for he would, probably, be sulibcated
amidst the struggles with which he would resist the act of
throwing. The twitch is then firmly fixed on the muzzle ; the
operator stands on a stool or pail, by which means he can more
perfectly command the part, and an assistant holds a scalpel, a
bistoury, scissors, curvecf needles armed, and a moist sponge.
The operator should once more examine the whole course of
the windpipe, and the difierent sounds which he will be able to
detect by the application of the ear, and likewise the difierent
degrees of temperature and of tenderness wliich the finger will
detect, will guide to the seat of the evil.
The hair is to be closely cut oft^ from the part, the skin tight-
ened across the trachea with the thumb and fingers of the left
hand, and then a longitudinal incision cautiously made through
the skin, three inches in length. This is usually efiected when
there is no express indication to the contraiy on the fifth and
sixth rin^s ; a slip from which, and the connecting ligament
144 THE BRONCHIAL TUBES.
above and below, about half the width of each ring, should be
excised with the intervening ligament. The remaining portion
will then be strong enough to retain the perfect arched ibrm of
the trachea.
If the orifice is only to be kept open while some foreign body
is extracted, or tumor removed, or ulcer healed, or inflammation
subdued, nothing more is necessary than to keep the lips of the
wound a little apart, by passing some thread through each, and
slightly everting them, and tying the threads to the mane.
If, however, there is any permanent obstruction, a tube will
De necessary. It should be two or three inches long, curved at
the top, and the external orifice turning downwards with a little
ring on each side, by which, through the means of strings, it
may be retained in its situation.
The purpose of the operation being answered, the flaps of in-
tegument must be brought over the wc-unds, the edges, if neces-
sary, diminished, and the parts kept in apposition by a few
stitches. The cartilage will be perfectly reproduced, only the
rings will be a Httle thicker and wider.
THE BROI^CHIAL TUBES.
After the windpipe has entered the chest, and continued
through the mediastinum to the base of the heart, it divides
into two tubes — the Bronchial tubes — which enter each lung,
where they are again subdivided into smaller tubes carrying air
to every portion and cell of the lungs. Before considering their
diseases, we will pause and consider the structure and functions
of the chest.
b
a The first rib.
b The cartilages of the eleven hindermost, or false ribs, connected together and
unitins: with that of the seventh or last true rib.
c The breast-bone.
d The top, or point, of the withers, which are formed by the lengthened spinous,
or upright processes of the ten or eleven first bones of the back. The
bones of the back are eighteen in number.
e The ribs, usually eighteen on each side ; the seven first united to the breast-
bone by cartilage; the cartilages of the remaining eleven united to
each other, as at b.
f That portion of the spine where the loins coinmence, and composed of five
bones.
g The bones forming the hip, or haunch, and into the hole at the bottom of
which the head of the thigh-bone is received.
The portion of the spine belonging to the haunch, and consisting of five
pieces.
The bones of the tail, usually fifteen in number.
The chest, in the horizontal position in which it is placed in
the cut, is of a somewhat oval figure, with its extremities trun-
cated (cut off). The spine is its roof; the sternum, or breast,
its floor ; the ribs, its sides ; the trachea, oesophagus, and great
blood-vessels passing' through its anterior extremity and the dia-
])hragm, being its posterior. It is contracted in front, broad and
deep towards the central boundary, and again contracted pos-
\eriorly. It encloses the heart and the lungs, the origin of the
1 '0 Tf!K CHEST.
.arterial and the termination of the venous trunks and the col
'ected vessels of the absorhents. The windpipe penetrates into
it, aiid the cesophagus traverses its whole extent.
Most ingeniously and admirably is this whole structure con-
trived to fill its various purposes.
The ribs are eighteen in number on either side. Nine of
them are perfect, and commonly called the true, or, more
properly, sternal ribs, extending from the spine to the sternum.
The remaining nine are posterior and shorter, and are only indi-
rectly connected with the sternum.
The ribs are united to the corresponding vertebrae, or bones of
the spme, so as to form perfect joints — or, rather, each rib forms
two joints. Before the ribs reach the sternum, they terminate in a
cartilagmous prolongation. The cartilage is united to the ribs
and sternum by joints, and the cartilages of the posterior ribs
are united to them in the same manner.
The stermmi, or breast-bone, is a long, flat, spongy bone, form-
ing the floor of the chest. It supports the ribs by the connect-
ing cartilage. It is composed of from seven to nine pieces
united together by cartilage. The point of the breast-bone is
occasionally injured by blows, and has even been completely
broken off. A kind of tumor on it, difficult to heal, has also
been produced by some cruelty or violence.
The front of the chest is a very important consideration in
the structure of the horse. It should be prominent and broad,
and full, and the sides of it well occupied. When the breast is
narrow, the chest has generally the same appearance : the
animal is flat-sided, the proper cavity of the chest is diminished,
and the stamina of the horse are materially diminished, although,
perhaps, his speed for short distances may not be affected.
When the chest is narrow, and the fore-legs are too close to-
gether, in addition to the want of bottom, they will interfere
with each other, and there will be wounds on the fetlocks, and
bruises below the knee.
A chest too broad is not desirable, but a fleshy and a prominent
one ; yet even this, perhaps, may require some explanation.
When the fore-legs appear to recede, and to shelter themselves
under the body, there is a faulty position of the fore limbs, a
bend, or standing over, an unnatural lengthiness about the fore
parts of the breast, sadly disadvantageous in progression.
The hitercGStal Muscles. — The spaces between the ribs are
occupied by muscles firmly attached to their edges, the fibres of
which cross each other in the form of the letter X. By the pro-
longation thus obtained, they have a much greater latitude of
ar'tion, than they would have if they run straight from rib to rib
The ribs, while they protect the important viscera of the the-
PROPlSR FORM OF THE CHEST. 147
rax from injury, are powerful agents in extending and contract-
ing the chest in the alternate inspiration and expiration ol" air.
TJie Proper Form of the Chest. — This leads to a very im-
portant consideration, the most advantageous form of the chest
for the proper discharge of the natural or extraordinary functions
of the thoracic viscera. The contents of the chest are the
lungs and the heart : — the first, to render the blood nutrient and
stinmlating, and to give or restore it to that vitality which will
enable it to support every part of the frame in the discharge of
its function, and devoid of which, the complicated and beautiful
machine is inert and dead ; and the second, to convey this puri-
fied arterialized blood to every part of the frame.
In order to produce, and to convey to the various parts, a suf-
ficient quantity of blood, these organs must be large. If it
amounts not to hypertrophy, the larger the heart and the larger
the lungs, the more rapid the process of nutrition, and the more
perfect the discharge of every animal function.
Then it might be imagined that, as a circle is a figure which
contains more than any other of equal girth and admeasurement,
a circular form of the chest would be most advantageous. Not
exactly so ; for the contents of the chest are alternately expand-
ing and contracting. The circular chest could not expand, but
every change of form would be a diminution of capacity.
That form of chest which approaches nearest to a circle, while
it admits of sufficient expansion and contraction, is the best —
certainly for some animals, and for all under peculiar circum-
stances, and with reference to the discharge of certain functions.
This- was the grand principle on which Mr. Bakewell proceeded,
and on which all our improvements in the breeding of cattle
were founded.
In the heavy draft-horse, the circular chest is no disadvantage,
and it gives him, what we require, weight to oppose the weight
of his load. Speed is not demanded of him.
Some of our saddle-horses and cobs have barrels round enough,
and we value them on account of it, for they are always in con-
dition, and they rarely tire. But when we look at them more
carefully, there is just that departure from the circular form of
which mention has been made — that happy medium betweer
the circle and the ellipse, which retains the capacity of the on<
and the expansibility of the other. Such a horse is invaluable foi
common purposes, but he is seldom a horse of speed. If he is per-
mitted to go his OMTi pace, and that not a slow one, he v^dll work
on forever ; but if he is too much hurried, he is soon distressed
The Broad JDeep Chest. — Then for the usual purposes of the
road, and more particularly for rapid progression, search is made
for that form of the chest which shall unite, and to as great a
148 FORM OF CHEST
degree as possible, considerable capacity in a quiescent state, and
the power of increasing that capacity when the animal requires
it. There must be the broad chest for the production of muscles
and sinews, and the deep chest, to give the capacity or power
of furnishing arterial blood equal to the most rapid exhaustion
of vitality.
This form of the chest is consistent A^dth lightness, or at least
with all the lightness that can be rationally required. The
broad-chested horse, or he that, with moderate depth at the
girth, swells and barrels out immediately behind the elbow, may
have as light a forehead and as elevated a wither as the horse
with the narrowest chest ; but the animal with the barrel ap-
proaching too near to rotundity is invariably heavy about the
shoulders and low in the withers. It is to the mixture of the
Arabian blood that we principally owe this peculiar and advan-
tageous formation of the chest of the horse. The Arab is light ;
some would say too much so before : but immediately behind the
arms the barrel almost invariably swells out, and leaves plenty
of room, and where it is most wanted for the play of the lungs, and
at the same time where the weight does not press so exclusively
on the fore-legs, and expose the feet to concussion and injury.
Many horses with narrow chests, and a great deal of daylight
under them, have plenty of spirit and willingness for work.
They show themselves well off, and exhibit the address and
gratify the vanity of their riders on the parade or in the park,
but they have not the appetite nor the endurance that will carry
them through three successive days' hard work.
Five out of six of the animals that perish from inflamed lungs,
are narrow-chested. There are many other important points,
but that which is most of all connected with the general health
of the animal, and with combined fleetness or bottom, is a deep,
and broad, and swelling chest, with sufficient lengthening of the
sternum, or breast-bone, beneath.*
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — In speedy animals the chest is, no doubt, more
capacious than in slower ones, and a greater quantity of atmospheric air is
inspired, so as to afford a full supply for the purpose of respiration. This
large capacity is gained, however, not by the greater rotundity of the chest,
but by its increased depth and length, more particularly the former. It is
very evident that a circular chest must present a very unfavorable surface
for the attachment of the shoulder blade, and, indeed, must induce a rolhng
action which is inimical to speed ; thus we find that animals wnth very cir-
cular chests, and with their fore-legs, in consequence, wide apart, are by no
means speedy, but have a great predisposition to the accumulation of fat.
In such animals a considerable quantity of fat is generally found round the
heart and in otlier parts of the chest, so that, in point of fact, animals with
circular chests have smaller lungs than those with deep and flat ribs. It ifi
extremely desirable for a cart-horse to have a circular chest, as this de
THE SPINE. 149
The above remarks show the impropriety of tigfht-gir thing,
particularly where it is less necessary, as in the stable, or when
the rider is oH" from the saddle.
A point of consequence is the length of the carcase and the
ribbing home. If the horse has to carry a heavy weight, and
has much work to do, he should be w^ell ribbed home, i. e.
there should be but little space between the last rib and the hip-
bone.
If speed, however, is required, there must be room for the full
action of the hinder limbs ; and this can only exist where there
is sufficient space between the last rib and the hip-bone.
The thorax, or chest, is formed by the spine f, above (Fig.
26) the ribs e, on either side ; and the sternum, or breast-bone,
c, beneath.
THE SPINE AND BACK.
The spine, or back, consists of a chain of bones from the poll
to the extremity of the tail. It is made of twenty-three bones
from the neck to the haunch ; eighteen, called dorsal vertebrcB,
composing the back ; and five lumbar vertebrcB, occupying the
loins. The structure and attachments of these are remarkably
well calculated for easiness of carriage and strength. The hun-
ter will carry a heavy man through a long chase without great
fatigue or strain ; but if the horse is over-weighted, or tasked too
long, or too suddenly pulled upon his haunches, the ligaments
miiting the vertebrae are strained, inflammation follows, and the
ligaments become changed to bone. From hard service, and
especially from being used too young, very many horses have
some of the bones ol" the back or loins anchyhsed — i. e. united
by bony matter in the place of the natural ligament. When
this exists to any considerable extent, the horse becomes un-
pleasant to ride, turns with difficulty in his stall, is indisposed
to lie down, or being down, to rise, and has a singular straddling
action.
The length of the back deserves attention. The long-backed
horse will be easier in his paces, because the spring is longer ;
and he is formed for speed, for there is more room to bring his
hinder legs under him. But he will be comparatively weak in
the back, and more easily over- weighted.
For general purposes the horse with a short carcase, also, is to
be preferred, as possessing greater health and hardiness. He will
have sufficient easiness of action not to fatigue the rider, and speed
notes a disposition to make flesh, and thus to economize food ; and, for the
same reason, in other horses, a rather circular abdomen is approved of — i»
fkct, one neither too wide nor too flat is the most desirable.
IDO THE LOINS WITHERS.
for every ordinary purpose. Length of back will always be de
sirable when there is more than usual substance generally, and
particularly when the loins are wide, and the muscles of the loins
large and swelling. The two requisites, strength and speed, will
then probably be united.
The back should be depressed a little immediately behind the
withers ; and then continue in an almost straight line to the loins.
This is the form most consistent with beauty and strength. Some
liorses have a very considerable hollow behind the withers. They
are said to be saddle-hacked. Such horses are evidently easy
goers, but in the same proportion, they are weak and liable to
sprain.
A few horses have the curve outward. They are said to^be
roach-backed, from the supposed resemblance to the arched back
of" a roach. This is a very serious defect ; — altogether incompati-
ble with beauty, and materially diminishing the usefulness of the
animal. It is almost impossible to prevent the saddle from being
thrown on the shoulders, or the back from being galled ; — the
elasticity of the spine is destroyed ; — the rump is badly set on ; —
the hinder legs are too much under the animal ; — he is contm-
ually overreaching, and his head is carried awkwardly low.
THE LOINS.
The loins are attentively examined by every good horseman
They can scarcely be too broad and muscular. The strength of
the back, and especially the strength of the hinder extremities,
will depend materially on this. The union of the back and loins
should be carefully observed, for there is sometimes a depression
between them. A kind of line is drawn across, which shows im-
perfection in the construction of the spine, and is regarded as an
indication of weakness.
THE WITHERS.
The spinous processes of the vertebrae, above the upper part
of the shoulder, form the elevated ridge called the withers. (See
Figs. 1 and 26.)
High withers have been always, in the miind of the judge of
the horse, associated with good action, and generally with speed.
The reason is plain enough : — they afford larger surface for the
attachment of the muscles of the back ; and in proportion to the
elevation of" the withers, these muscles act with greater advan-
tage. And as the rising of the fore-parts depends not only upon
the muscles of the legs and shoulders, but on certain ones connect-
FISTULOUS WITliERS WARBLES, SITFASTS, ETC. ]7)[
mg the loins and the spinous processes, the longer the arm of the
lever to whicli the power is applied, the easier and to the greate.
height will the weight be carried up. Good and high action,
and speed, will not, therefore, be often found without this con-
formation.
FISTULOUS WITHERS.
When the saddle has been suffered to press long upon the
withers, a tumor will be formed, hot and exceedingly tender.
It may sometimes be dispersed by the cooling applications recom.-
mended in the treatment of poll-evil ; but if, in despite of these,
the swelling should remain stationary, and especially if it should
become larger and more tender, warm fomentations and poultices,
and stimulatmg embrocations, should be diligently applied, in or-
der to hasten the formation of pus. As soon as that can be fairly
detected, a seton should be passed from the top to the bottom of
the tumor, so that the whole of the matter may be evacuated,
and continue to be discharged as it is afterwards formed ; or the
knife may be freely used, in order to get at the bottom of every
sinus. The knife has succeeded many a time when the st ton has
failed. The after treatment must be precisely that wliich was
recommended for a similar disease in the poll.
In neglected fistulous withers the ulcer may be larger and
deeper, and more destructive than in poll-evil. It may burrow
beneath the shoulder blade, and the pus may appear at the point
of the shoulder or the elbow ; or the bones of the withers may
become carious.
WARBLES, SITFASTS, AND SADDLE GALLS.
On other parts of the back, tumors and very troublesome ul-
cers may be produced by the same cause. Those resulting from
the pressure of the saddle are called ivarbles, and, when they ul-
cerate, they frequently become sitfasts. Warbles are smaU
circular bruises, or extravasations of blood, where there has
been an undue pressure of the saddle or harness. If a horse is
subject to these tumors, the saddle should remain on him two or
three hours after he has returned to the stable. It is only for a
certain time, however, that this will perfectly succeed, for by the
frequent application of the pressure, the skin and the cellular
substance are bruised or otherwise injured, and a permanent sore
or tumor, of a very annoying description, takes place. The cen-
tre of the sore gradually loses its vitality. A separation takes
place from the surrounding integument, and there is a circular
piece of dried and hard skin remaining in the centre. No effort
] 52 CHEST-FOUNDER.
must be made to tear or dissect it ofi^, but stimulating poultices
or fomentations, or, if these fail, a mild blister will cause a speedy
separation ; and the wound will then readily heal by the use of
turpentine dressings, more or less stimulating, according to cir-
cumstances.
Saddle galls are tumors, and sometimes galls or sores, arising
also from the pressure and chafing of the saddle. They differ
little from the warble, except that there is very seldom the sep-
aration of the dead part in the centre, and the sore is larger and
varying in its form. The application of cold water, or salt and
water, will generally remove excoriations of this kind.
CHEST-FOUNDER.
The muscles of the breast are occasionally the seat of an ob-
scure disease, called by the old farriers anticor and chest-founder.
The horse has considerable stiffness in moving, evidently not ref-
erable to the feet. There is tenderness about the muscles of the
breast, and, occasionally, swelling. I believe it to be nothing
more than rheumatism, produced by improper exposure. Some-
times a considerable degree of fever accompanies this ; but bleed-
ing, physic, a rowel in the chest, warm embrocations over the
parts affected, warm stabling, and warm clothing, with occasional
doses of antimonial powder, will soon subdue the complaint.*
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — The absorption or diminution of the muscles of
the chest, alluded to in the text, and which used to be denominated chest
founder, is neither more nor less than disease in the feet (the navicular dis-
ease, in fact), and which, existing in both feet, prevents the fore-legs being
exercised to the same extent as before ; and, consequently, the muscles, from
being partially thrown out of use, become, to a certain extent, absorbed.
By the term anticor, we rather understand an abscess in the breast, or
brisket, to which some horses are liable. It is a rare disease, and more fre
quently attacks heavy-chested horses. Foreign horses are more subject t
\his disease than English ones.
CHAPTER VIL
THE CONTENTS OF THE CHEST.
THE THYMUS GLAND.
At the entrance of the trachea into the thorax, and situated
in the doubhng of the anterior mediastinum, is an irregular
glandular body, called the thymus gland, or " sweet-breac." It
conveys a peculiar albuminous fluid to the vems, but its use in
the system is unlaiown.
THE DIAPHRAGM.
The interposed curtain extending across the cavity of the chest,
between the thorax and abdomen, is called the diaphragm (mid-
riff). It is an irregular muscular expansion, proceeding from the
inferior surface of the lumbar vertebrae posteriorly and superiorly,
adhering to the ribs on either side, and extending obliquely for-
ward and downward to the sternum ; or, rather it is a flattened
muscle arising from all these points, with its fibres all converging
towards the centre, and terminating there in an expansion of
tendinous substance. It is lined anteriorly by the pleura or in-
vesting membrane of the thoracic cavity, and posteriorly by the
peritoneum or investing membrane of the abdominal cavity.
The diaphragm is the main agent, both in ordinary and extra-
ordinary respiration ; it assists also in the expulsion of the urine,
and it is a most powerful auxiliary in the act of parturition.
It is subject to injury and disease of a serious and varied char-
acter. Whatever may be the original seat of thoracic or abdom-
inal ailment, the diaphragm soon becomes irritable and inflamed.
This accounts for the breathing of the horse being so much af-
fected under every inflammation or excitement of the chest or
belly. The irritability of this muscle is often evinced by a sin
gular spasmodic action of a portion, or the whole of it.
Opium should be administered in small doses, together with
ammonia or nitric ether, and as soon as any reaction is observed
have recourse to bleeding.
g
154 RUPTURE OF THE DIAPHRAGM THE PLEURA
RUPTURE OF THE DIAPHRAGM.
This may sometimes occur from any extraordinary exertion,
particularly when tke stomach is distended with food or gas.
In rupture of the diaphragm, the horse usually sits op his
haunches, like a dog ; but this is far from being an infallible
symptom of the disease. It accompanies introsusception, as well
as rupture of the diaphragm. [Mr. Youatt gives no remedy, and
probably the case admits of none.)
THE PLEURA.
The walls of the chest are lined, and the lungs are covered, by
a smooth glistening membrane, the 'pleura. It is a serous mem-
brane, so called from the nature of its exhalation, in distinction
from the mucous secretion yielded by the membrane of the air-
passages. The serous membrane generally invests the most im-
portant organs, and* always those that are essentially connected
with life ; while the mucous membrane lines the interior of the
greater part of them. The pleura is the investing membrane of
the lungs, and a mucous membrane the lining one of the bronchial
tubes.
Among the circumstances principally to be noticed, with regard
to the pleura, is the polish of its external surface. The glistening
appearance of the lungs, and of the inside of the chest, is to be
attributed to the membrane by which they are covered, and by
means of whic*h the motion of the various organs is freer and less
dangerous. Although the lungs, and the bony walls which con-
tain them, are in constant approximation with each other, both
in expiration and inspiration, yet in the frequently hurried and
violent motion of the animal, and, in fact, in every act of expi-
ration and inspiration, of dilatation and contraction, much and
injurious friction would ensue if the surfaces did not glide freel}
over each other by means of the peculiar polish of this membrane.
Every serous membrane has innumerable exhalent vessels upon
its surface, from which a considerable quantity of fluid is poured
out. In life and during health it exists in the chest only as a
kind of dew, just sufficient to lubricate the surfaces. The pleura
possesses very little sensibility in health, but it is otherwise when
it is the seat of disease. In pleurisy, pneumonia, &c., it becomes
susceptible of intense pain.
The pleura adheres intimately to the ribs and to the substance
of the lungs. While the diseases of mucous membranes spread
to other parts, those of serous membranes are generally isolated.
THE LUNGS HEART. 15l
THE LUNGS.
The lungs form two distinct bodies, the right somewhat larger
than the left, and are divided from each other by the duplicature
of the pleura, which has been already described — the mediasti-
num. Each lung has the same structure, and properties, and
uses. Each of them is subdivided, the right lobe consisting of
three lobes, and the left of two. The intention of these divisions
is probably to adapt the substance of the lungs to the form of the
cavity in which they are placed, and to enable them more per-
fectly to occupy and fill the chest.
If one of these lobes is cut into, it is found to consist of innu-
merable irregularly formed compartments, to which anatomists
have given the name of lobules, or little lobes. They are distinct
from each other, and impervious. On close examination, they
can be subdivided almost without end. There is no communica-
tion between them, or if perchance such communication exists, it
constitutes the disease known by the name of broken ivind.
On the delicate membr-ane of which these cells are composed,
innumerable minute blood-vessels ramify. They proceed from the
heart, through the medium of the iralmonary artery — they fol-
low all the subdivisions of the bronchial tubes — they ramify upon
the membrane of these multitudinous lobules, and at length return
to the heart, through the medium of the pulmonary veins, the
character of the blood which they contain being essentially
changed. The mechanism of this, and the effect produced, must
be briefly considered.
THE HEART.
The heart is placed between a doubling of *he pleura — termed
the mediastinum ; by means of which it is supported in its nat-
ural situation, and all dangerous friction between these important
organs is avoided. It is also surrounded by a membrane or bag
of 'its own, called the idericardium, whose office is of a similar
nature. By means of the heart, the blood is circulated through
the frame.
It is composed of four cavities — two above, called auricles,
from their supposed resemblance to the ear of a dog ; and two
below, termed ventricles, occupying the substance of the heart.
In point of fact, there are two hearts — the one on the left side
impelling the blood through the frame, the other on the right side
conveying it through the pulmonary system ; but, unitv'd m the
manner in which they are, their junction contributes to their nao
156 DISEASES OF HEART.
tual strength and both circulations are carried on at the same
time.
The first is the arterial circulation. No function can be dis-
charged— life cannot exist, without the presence of arterial blood
The left ventricle that contains it contracts, and by the power of
that contraction, aided by other means, which the limits of our
work will not permit us to describe, the blood is driven through
the whole arterial circulation — the capillary vessels and the veins
— and returns again to the heart, but to the right ventricle. The
other division of this viscus is likewise employed in circulating
the blood thus conveyed to it, but is not the same fluid which
was contained in the left ventricle It has gradually lost its vita]
power. As it has passed along, it has changed from red to black,
and from a vital to a poisonous fluid. Ere it can again convey
the principle of nutrition, or give to each organ that impulse or
stimulus which enables it to discharge its function, it must be
materially changed.
When the right ventricle contracts, and the blood is driven
into the lungs, it passes over the gossamer membrane of which
the lobules of the lungs have been described as consisting ; the
lobules being filled with the air which has descended through the
bronchial tubes in the act of inspiration. This delicate mem-
brane permits some of the principles of the air to permeate it.
The oxygen of the atmosphere attracts and combines with a por-
tion of the superabundant carbon of this blood, and the expired
air is poisoned with carbonic acid gas. Some of the constituents
of the blood attract a portion of the oxygen of the air, and obtain
their distinguishing character and properties as arterial blood, and
being thus revivified, it passes on over the membrane of the lobes,
unites into small and then larger vessels, and at length pours its
full stream of arterial blood into the left auricle, thence to ascend
into the ventricle, and to be diflused over the frame.
DISEASES OF THE HEART.
The best place to examine the beating of the heart is imme-
diately behind the elbow, on the left side. The hand applied
flat against the ribs will give the number of pulsations. The
ear thus applied will enable the practitioner better to ascertain
the character of the pulsation. The stethoscope affords an un-
certain guide, for it cannot be flatly and evenly applied.
Pericarditis. — The bag, or outer investing membrane of the
heart (" heart case"), is liable to inflammation, in which the
efiiised fluid becomes organized, and deposited in layers, in-
creasing the thickness of the pericardium, and the difficulty of
♦lift exnansion and contraction of the heart. The only symptomt
DISEASES OF HEART. 157
on which dependence can be placed, are a quickened and irregu-
lar respiration ; a bounding action of the heart in an early stage
of the disease ; but that, as the fluid increases and becomes con-
crete, assuming a feeble and fluttering character.
Hydrops Pericardu is the term used to designate the presence
of the fluid secreted in consequence of this inflammation, and
varying from a pint to a gallon or more. In addition to the
symptoms already described, there is an expression of alarm and
anxiety in the countenance of the animal which no other malady
produces. The horse generally sinks from other disease, or from
constitutional irritation, before the cavity of the pericardium is
filled ; or if he lingers on, most dreadful palpitations and throb-
Dings accompany the advanced stage of the disease. It is sel-
dom or never that this disease exists alone, but is combined with
dropsy of the chest or abdomen.
Inflammation of the Lining of the Heart. — Mr. Simpson
relates, in the Veterinarian for 1834, a case in which there were
symptoms of severe abdominal pain ; the respiration was much
disturbed, and the action of the heart took on an extraordinary
character. Three or four beats succeeded to each other, so vio-
lently as to shake the whole frame, and to be visible at the dis-
tance of several yards, with intervals of quietude for five minutes
or more. At length this violent beating became constant.
On dissection both lungs were found to be inflamed, the serum
in the pericardium increased in quantity, and the internal mem-
brane of the heart violently inflamed, with spots of ecchymosis
(livid spots occasioned by extravasated blood).
This would seem to be a case of inflammation of the heart ;
but in a considerable proportion of the cases of rabies, these
spots of ecchymosis, and this general inflammation of the heart,
are seen.
Hypee-TRophy is an augmentation or thickening of the sub-
stance of the heart ; and although not dreamed of a few years
ago, seems now to be a disease of no rare occurrence among
horses. The heart has been known to acquire double its natural
volume, or the auricle and venticle on one side have been thus
enlarged.
Dilatation is increased capacity of the cavities of the heart,
and the parietes being generally thinned. It is probable that
this is a more frequent disease than is generally supposed ; and
from the circulating power being lessened, or almost suspended,
on account of the inability of the cavities to propel their con-
tents, it is accompanied by much and rapid emaciation.
Ossification of the heart, air in the heart, and aneu-
rism of the aorta, sometimes occur.
THE ARTERIES ^PULSE.
THE ARTERIES.
The vessels which carry the blood from the heart are called
arteries. The yielding of the artery to the gush of blood, forced
into it by the contraction of the heart, constitutes
THE PULSE.
The pulse is a very useful assistant to the practitioner of
human medicine, and much more so to the veterinary surgeon,
whose patients cannot describe either the seat or degree of ail-
ment or pain. The number of pulsations m any artery will
give the number of the beatings of the heart, and so express the
irritation of that organ, and of the frame generally. In a state
of health, the heart beats in a farmer's horse about thirty-six
times a minute. In the smaller, and in the thorough-bred horse,
the pulsations aire forty or forty-two. This is said to be the
standard pulse — the pulse of health. It varies singularly little
in horses of the same size and breed, and where it beats natu-
rally there can be little materially wrong. The most convenient
place to feel the pulse, is at the lower jaw (Fig. 1) a little
behind the spot where the submaxillary artery and vein, and
^he parotid duct, come fromi under the jaw. There the number
of pulsations will be easily counted, and the character of the
pulse, a matter of fully equal importance, will be clearly ascer-
tained. Many horsemen put the hand to the side. They can
certainly count the pulse there, but they can do nothing more.
We must be able to press the artery against some hard body, as
the jaw-bone, in order to ascertain the manner in which thtj
blood flows through it, and the quantity that flows.
When the pulse reaches fifty or fifty-five, some degree of fever
may be apprehended, and proper precaution should be taken
Seventy or seventy-five will indicate a dangerous state, and put
the owiier and the surgeon not a little on the alert. Few horses
long survive a pulse of one hundred, for, by this excessive action
the energies of nature are speedily worn out.
Some things, however, should be taken into account in form-
ing our conclusion from the frequency of the pulse. Exercise, a
warm stable, and fear, will wonderfully increase the number of
pulsations.
When a careless, brutal fellow goes up to a horse, and speak?
hastily to him, and handles him roughly, he adds ten beats per
minute to the pulse, and will often be misled in the opinion he
may form of the state of the animal. A judicious person wiD
approach the patient gently, and pat and soothe him, and even
THE PULSE. 1()9
then the circulation, probably, will be a little disturbed. He should
take the additional precaution of noting the number and quality
of the pulse, a second time, before he leaves the animal.
If a quick pulse indicate irritation and fever, a slow pulse
will likewise characterize diseases of an opposite description.
It accompanies the sleepy stage of staggers, and every malady
connected with deficiency of nervous energy.
The heart may not only be excited to more frequent, bu'
also to more violent action. It may contract more powerfully
upon the blood, which will be driven with greater force through
the arteries, and the expansion of the vessels will be greatei
and more sudden. Then we have the hai'd pulse — the sure
indicator of considerable fever, and calling for the immediate
and free use of the lancet.
Sometimes the pulse may be hard and jerking, and yet
small. The stream though forcible is not great. The heart
is so irritable that it contracts before the ventricle is properly
filled. The practitioner knows that this indicates a dangerous
state of disease. It is an almost invariable accompaniment of
inflammation of the bowels.
A iveak pulse, when the arterial stream flows slowly, is
caused by the feeble action of the heart. It is the reverse
of fever, and expressive of debility.
The oppressed pulse is when the arteries seem to be fully
distended with blood. There is obstruction somewhere, and the
action of the heart can hardly force the stream along, or com-
municate pulsation to the current. It is the case in sudden
inflammation of the lungs. They are overloaded and gorged
with blood, which cannot find its way through their minute
vessels. This accounts for the well-known fact of a copious
bleeding increasing a pulse previously oppressed. A portion
being removed from the distended and choked vessels, the re-
mainder is able to flow on.
The state of the pulse should be carefully regarded during
bleeding. The most experienced practitioner cannot tell what
quantity of blood must be abstracted in order to produce the
desired eflect. The change of the pulse can alone indicate when
the object is accomplished ; therefore, the operator should have
his finger on the artery during the act of bleeding, and, compara-
tively regardless of the quantity, continue to take blood, until,
in inflammation of the lungs, the oppressed pulse becomes fuller
and more distinct, or the strong pulse of considerable fever is
evidently softer, or the animal exliibits symptoms of faintness
[See Bleeding.]*
* Note hy Mr. Spooner.—Ihe frequency of the pulse is certainly over
rated in tlie text. There is not that difference in the pulsation of the cart-
1 60 INFLAMMATION.
INFLAMMATION.
Local inflammation is characterized by redness, swelling, heat,
and pain.
If inflammation consists of an increased flow of blood to and
through the part, the ready way to abate it is to lessen the
quantity of blood. All other means are comparatively unim-
portant, contrasted with bleedi7ig. Blood is generally abstracted
from the jugular vein, and so the general quantity may be
lessened ; but if it can be taken from the neighborhood of the
diseased part, it will be productive of tenfold benefit. One quart
of blood abstracted from the foot in acute founder, by unloading
the vessels of the inflamed part, and enabUng them to contract,
and, in that contraction, to acquire the tone and power to resist
future distention, will do more good than five quarts taken from
the general circulation. An ounce of blood obtained by scarify-
ing the swelled vessels of the inflamed eye, will give as much
relief to that organ as a copious bleeding from the jugular. It is
a principle in the animal frame which should never be lost sight
of by the veterinary surgeon, or the horseman, that if by bleeding
the process of inflammation can once be checked, — if it can be
suspended but for a little while, — although it may return, it is
never with the same degree of violence, and in many cases it is
got rid of entirely. Hence the necessity of bleeding early, and
bleeding largely, in inflammation of the lungs or of the bowels,
or of the brain, or of any important organ. Many horses are lost
for want or insufficiency of bleeding, but we never knew one
materially injured by che most copious extraction of blood in tho
early stage of acute inflammation. The horse will bear, and
with advantage, the loss of an almost incredible quantity of
blood, — four quarts taken from him, will be comparatively little
more than one pound taken from the human being. We can
scarcely conceive of a considerable inflammation of any part of
the horse, whether proceeding from sprains, contusions, or any
other cause in which bleeding, local (if possible), or general, or
both, will not be of essential service.
Next in importance to bleeding, is purging. Something may
horse and the thorough bred, as there stated, and 36 or 37 a minute may
be considered the standard pulse in the latter when in health and free
from excitement. It is most important to distinguish between the pulse of
fever and that of inflammation. We may have a pulse of tlie greatest
rapidity, as in influenza, and yet no one part of the body much inflamed.
We have known the pulse of the horse more than trebled, and the animal
still recover ; and, on the other hand, in cases of inflammation, a pulse of
60 has betokened great danger, and, in some cases, has been succeeded by
death.
INFLAMMATION. 161
be removed from the bowels, the retention of which would
increase the general irritation and fever. The quantity of blood
will be materially lessened, for the serous or watery fluid which
is separated from it by a brisk purge, the action of which in the
horse continues probably more than twenty-four hours, is enorm-
ous. While the blood is thus determined to the bowels, less
even of that which remains will flow through the inflamed
part. "While the purging continues, some degree of languor and
sickness is felt ; and the force of the circulation is thereby dimin-
ished, and the general excitement lessened. The importance of
physic in every case of considerable external inflammation, is
sufficiently evident. If the horse is laid by for a few days from
injury of the loot, or sprain, or poll-evil, or wound, or almost any
cause of inflammation, a physic-ball should be given.
In cases of internal inflammation, much judgment is required
to determine when a purgative may be beneficial or injurious.
In inflammation of the lungs or bowels, it should never be given.
The means of abating external inflammation are various, and
seemingly contradictory. The heat of the part very naturally
and properly led to the application of cold embrocations and lo-
tions. Heat has a strong tendency to equalize itself, or to leave
that substance which has a too great quantity of it, or little ca-
pacity to retain it, for another which has less of it, or more
capacity. Hence the advantage of cold applications, by which a
great deal of the unnatural heat is speedily abstracted from the
inflamed part. The foot laboring under inflammation is put
into cold water, or the horse is made to stand in water or wet
clay. Various cold applications are also used to sprains. The
part is wetted with diluted vinegar, or goulard, or salt and water.
When benefit is derived from these applications, it is to be at-
tributed to their coldness alone. Water, especially when cooled
below the natural temperature, is as good an application as any
that can be used. Nitre dissolved in water, will lower the tem-
perature of the fluid many degrees ; but the lotion must be
applied immediately after the salt has been dissolved. A band-
age may be afterwards applied to strengthen the limb, but during
the continuance of active inflammation, it would only confine
the heat of the part, or prevent it from benefiting by the salu-
tary influence of the cold produced by the evaporation of the
water.
Sometimes, however, we resort to warm fomentations, and if
benefit is derived from their use, it is to be traced to the warmth
of the fluid, more than to any medicinal property in it Warm
water will do as much good to the horse, who has so thick a
skin, as any decoction of chamomile, or marsh-mallow, or poppy
heads, or any nostrum that the farrier may reconunend. Fo-
162 INFLAMMATION.
mentations increase the warmth of the skin, and open the pores
of it, and promote perspiration, and thus lessen the tension and
swelling of the part, assuage pain, and relieve inflammation.
Fomentations, to be beneficial, should be long and frequently
applied, and at as great a degree of heat as can be used without
giving the animal pain. Poultices are more permanent, or longer-
continued fomentations. The part is exposed to the influence of
warmth and moisture for many hours or days without intermis-
sion, and perspiration being so long kept up, the distended vessels
will be very materially relieved. The advantage derived from a
poultice is attributable to the heat and moisture, which, by
means of it, can be long applied to the skin, and it should be
composed of materials which will best retain this moisture and
heat. The bran poultice of the farrier is, consequently, objec-
tionable. It is never perfectly in contact with the surface of the
skin, and it becomes nearly dry in a few hours, after which it is
injurious rather than beneficial. Linseed-meal is a much better
material for a poultice, for, if properly made, it will remain
moist during may hours.
It is occasionally very difficult to decide when a cold or hot
application is to be used, and no general rule can be laid down,
except that in cases of superficial inflammation, and in the early
stage, cold lotions will be preferable ; but, when the inflammation
is deeper seated, or fully established, warm fomentations will be
most serviceable.
Stimulating applications are frequently used in local inflam-
mation. When the disease is deeply seated, a stimulating appli-
cation to the skin will cause some irritation and inflammation
there, and lessen or sometimes remove the original malady :
hence the use of rowels and blisters in inflammation of the
chest. Inflammation to a high degree, cannot exist in parts that
are near each other. If we can excite it in one, we shall abate
it in the other, and also, by the discharge which we estabhsh
from the one, we shall lessen the determination of blood to th(
other.
Stimulating and blistering applications should never be applied
to a part already inflamed. A fire is not put out by heaping
more fuel upon it. Hence the mischief which the farrier often
does by rubbing his abominable oils on a recent sprain, hot and
tender. Many a horse has been ruined by this absurd treatment.
When the heat and tenderness have disappeared by the use of
cold lotions or fomentations, and the leg or sprained part remains
enlarged, or bony matter threatens to be deposited, it might be
right to excite inflammation of the skin by a blister, in order to
rouse the deeper-seated absorbents to action, and enable them to
take up tliis deposit ; but, except to hasten the natural process
FEVER. • 163 /^
and effects of inflammation, a blister, or stimulating application,
should never be applied to a part already inflamed.
FEVER.
Fever is general increased arterial action, either without any
local aflection, or in consequence of the sympathy of the system
with inflammation in some particular part.
The first is 'pure fever. Owing to bad stable management and
general treatment, and the susceptibility of various parts of the
horse to take on inflammation, this usually degenerates into in-
flammation. But pure fever is sometimes seen, and runs its
course regularly.
It frequently begins with a cold or shivering fit, although this
is» not essential to fever. The horse is dull, unwilling to move,
has a staring coat, and cold legs and feet. This is succeeded by
warmth of the body ; unequal distribution of warmth to the legs ;
one hot, and the other three cold, or one or more unnaturally
warm, and the others unusually cold, but not the deathlike cold-
ness of inflammation of the lungs ; the pulse quick, soft, and
often indistinct ; the breathing somewhat laborious ; but no
cough or pawing, or looking at the flanks. The animal will
scarcely eat, and is very costive. While the state of pure fever
lasts, the shivering fit returns at nearly the same hour eveiy
day, and is succeeded by the warm one, and that often by a
slight degree of perspiration ; and these alternate during several
days until local inflammation appears, or the fever gradually
subsides. No horse ever died of pure fever. If he is not destroyed
by inflammation of the lungs, or feet, or bowels succeeding to
the fever, he gradually recovers.
Fever is general increased action of the heart and arteries, and
therefore evidently appears the necessity for bleeding, regulating
the quantity of blood by the degree of fever, and usually keeping
the finger on the artery until some evident and considerable
impression is made upon the system The bowels should be
gently opened ; but the danger of inflammation of the lungs, and
the uniformly injurious consequence of purgation in that disease,
will prevent the administration of an active purgative. A sn^all
quantity of aloes may be given morning and night, with the
proper fever medicine, until the bowels are slightly relaxed, after
which nothing more of an aperient quality should be administered.
Digitalis, emetic tarta'r, and nitre should be given morning and
night, in proportions regulated by the circumstances of the case.
The horse should be warmly clothed, but be placed in a cool and
well- ventilated stable.
Symptomatic fever is increased arterial action, proceeding from
164 THE VEINS BOG AND BLOOD SPAVIN.
some local cause. No organ of consequence can be much disor-
dered or inflamed without the neighboring- parts being disturbed,
and the whole system gradually participating in the disturbance.
Inflammation of the feet or of the lungs never existed long or to
any material extent, without being accompanied by some degree
of fever.
The treatment of symptomatic fever should resemble that of
simple fever, except that particular attention must be paid to
the state of the part originally diseased. If the inflammation
which existed there can be subdued, the general disturbance will
usually cease.* *
THE YEINS.
These vessels carry back to the heart the blood which had beer
conveyed to the difierent parts by the arteries.
BOG AND BLOOD SPAVIN.
Attached to the extremities of most of the tendons, and be
tween the tendons and other parts, are little bags containing a
mucous substance to enable the tendons to slide over each other
without friction, and to move easily on the neighboring parts.
From violent exercise these vessels are liable to enlarge. Wind-
galls and thoroughpins are instances of this. There is one of
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — Pure fever does not of necessity require blood-
letting, and, indeed, will often be removed better without the aid of deple
tion. The fact is well shown in cases of influenza, wdiere great quickness
of the pulse, with a hot mouth, and other tokens of fever, are present, and
which symptoms may be often removed without the aid of bleeding. We
decidedly object to bleeding in those cases of fever attended with a shiver
ing fit; and, indeed, we have found that unless the pulse is full and strong,
it is generally better to avoid bleeding. Fever is fiir more dependent on
some irritation of the nervous system than is implied in the text, and bleed-
ing is often calculated to increase this irritation. The administration of a
diffusible stimulant that will act on the skin, such as the spirit of nitrous
ether, is a far better mode of treatment, and will often cut short a case of
fever, which the abstraction of blood would only prolong. In cases of fever
the mucous membrane is very frequently in an irritable state, so that a
purgative will greatly increase such irritation, and should therefore be
avoided. If the bowels are costive, oily laxatives should be administered,
and aloes carefully avoided, unless given in a liquid form, and as a single
<lose. It is a very dangerous practice to give small doses of aloes until the
bowels are relaxed, for, from the long period required to relax the bowels
in the horse, before this effect is produced a quantity will be taken suffi-
ciei.tly to endanger life, and, indeed, death has in many instances occurred
from this practice. It is better therefore either to abstain altogether from
giving aloes in such cases, or otherwise confine it to one moderate dose of
two drachms.
BOG AND BLOOD SPAVIN 165
them on the inside of the hock at its bending. This son^ctimes
becomes considerably increased in size, and the enlargement is
called a bog-spavin. A vein passes over the bag, which is press-
ed between the enlargement and the skin, and the passage of the
blood through it is impeded ; the vein is consequently distended
by the accumulated blood, and the distention reaches from this
bag as low down as the next valve. This is called blood-spavin.
Blood-spavin then is the consequence of bog-spavin. It very
rarely occurs, and is, in the majority of instances, confounded with
bog-spavin.
Blood-spavin does not always cause lameness, except the horse
is very hard worked ; but this, as well as bog-spavin, constitutes
unsoundness, and materially lessens the value of the horse. The
proper treatment is to endeavor to promote the absorption of the
contents of the bag. This may be attempted by pressure long
applied. A bandage may be contrived to take in the whole of
the hock, except its point ; and a compress made of folded linen
being placed on the bog-spavin, may confine the principal pres-
sure to that part. It is, however, very difficult to adapt a
bandage to a joint which admits of such extensive motion ;
therefore most practitioners apply two or three successive blisters
over the enlargement, when it usually disappears. Unfortunately,
however, it returns if any extraordinary exertion is required from
the horse.*
* Kote hy Mr. Spooner. — Much error appears to have prevailed with
regard to bog-spavins. We speak with contidence, and after numerous dis-
sections, when we say, that this disease does not occur from the distention
of any mucous bags, and, therefore, there is no possibihty of cutting them
out. A bog-spavin is neither more nor less than a distention of the capsular
hgameut of the jouit itself; so that, if we cut into it, we open the joint, and
endanger the life of the animal. There are different degrees of severity in
which this disease may exist ; it may be merely an increased secretion of
synovia, so as to distend the ligament, and in such case it is readily curable ;
or, it may be, as it more frequently is, a rupture of the connections of the
ligament with the bones, so as not only to distend, but actually to enlarge,
the cavity of the joint. In the latter instance, though the disease may be
temporarily removed, it generally recurs, with work. When lameness attends
bog-spavin, there is usually no little degree of inflammation on the synovial
membrane of the joint ; and, in cases of long standing, the synovial fluid
becomes solid, and causes permanent stiffness, llioroughpins, are the same
morbid affection as the bog-spavin, but affecting the upper and back part
of the joint, and on each side.
With regard to the blood-spavin, the vein, as it passes up the leg, may
certainly be somewhat obstructed by a bog-spavin: and, consequently, a
little enlarged; but so slightly, that we believe that the bog and blood
spavin of the old farriers were one and the same thing, the vein, from its
proximity being supposed to feed the enlargement.
Tlie best treatment for these enlargements is, next to the actual cautery,
the repeated application of the iodide of mercury, which both operates as a
hlister, as well as specifically, on the absorbents.
:66 . BLEEDING.
BLEEDING.
This operation is performed with a fieara or a lancet. The
first is the common instrument, and the safest, except in skilfUl
hands. The lancet, however, has a more surgical appearance,
and will be adopted by the veterinary practitioner. A bloodstick
— a piece of hard wood loaded at one end with lead — is used to
strike the fleam into the vein. This is sometimes done with too
great violence, and the opposite side of the coat of the vein is
wounded. Bad cases of inflammation have resulted from this.
If the fist is doubled, and the fleam is sharp and is struck with
sufficient force with the lower part of the hand, the bloodstick
may be dispensed with.
For general bleeding the jugular vein is selected. The horse
is blindfolded on the side on which he is to be bled, or his head
turned well away. The hair is smoothed along the course of the
vein with the moistened finger ; then, with the third and little
fingers of the left hand, which holds the fleam, pressure is made
on the vein sufficient to bring it fairly into view, but not to swell
it too much, for then, presenting a rounded surface, it would be
apt to roll or slip under the blow. The point to be selected is
about two inches below the union of the two portions of the jug-
ular at the angle of the jaw (see Fig. 12). The fleam is to be
placed in a direct line with the course of the vein, and over the
precise centre of the vein, as close to it as possible, but its point
not absolutely touching the vein. A sharp rap with the blood-
stick or the hand on that part of the back of the fleam immedi-
ately over the blade, will cut through the vein, and the blood
will flow. A fleam with a large blade should always be pre-
ferred, for tlie operation will be materially shortened, and this
will be a matter of some consequence with a fidgety or restive
horse. A quantity of blood drawn speedily will also have far
more effect on the system than double the weight slowly taken,
while the wound will heal just as readily as if made by a smaller
histrument. There is no occasion to press so hard against the
neck with the pail, or can, as some do ; a slight pressure, if the
incision has been large enough and straight, and in the middle of
the vein, will cause the blood to flow sufficiently fast ; or, the
finger being introduced into the mouth between the tushes and
the grinders, and gently moved about, will keep the mouth in
motion, and hasten the rapidity of the stream by the action and
pressure of the neighboring muscles.
When sufficient blood has been taken, the edges of the wound
should be brought closely and exactly together, and kept togetliei
by a small sharp pm being passed through them. Round this a little
BLEEDING. 167
tow, or a few hairs from the mane of the horse, should b® wrap-
ped, so as to cover the whole of the incision ; and the head of
the horse should be tied up for several hours to prevent his rub-
bing the part against the manger. In bringing the edges of the
wound together, and introducing the pin, care should be taken not
to draw the skin too much from the neck, otherwise blood will
insinuate itself between it and the muscles beneath, and cause sm
unsightly and sometimes troublesome swelling.*
The blood should be received into a vessel, the dimensions of
which are exactly known, so that the operator may be able tc
calculate at every period of the bleeding the quantity that is
subtracted. Care likewise should be taken that the blood flows
in a regular stream into the centre of the vessel, for if it is suf-
fered to trickle doMii the sides, it will not afterwards undergo
those changes by which we partially judge of the extent of in-
flammation. The pulse, however, and the symptoms of the case
collectively, will form a better criterion than any change in the
blood. Twenty-four hours after the operation, the edges of the
wound will have united, and the pin should be withdrawn.
When the bleeding is to be repeated, if more than three or four
hours have elapsed, it will be better to make a fresh incision
rather than to open the old wound.
For general bleeding the jugular vein is selected as the largest
superficial one, and most easily got at. In eveiy affection of the
head, and in cases of fever or extended inflammatory action, it is
decidedly the best place for bleeding. In local inflammation,
blood may be taken from any of the superficial veins. In sup-
posed affection of the shoulder, or of the fore-leg or foot, the jy/a-^e
vein, which comes from the inside of the arm, and runs upwards
directly in front of it towards the jugular, may be opened. In
affections of the hind extremity, blood is sometimes extracted
from the saphcBTia, or thigh-vein, which runs across the inside of
the thigh. In foot cases it may be taken from the coronet, or,
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — In performing this operation with the fleam, the
blood-stick should never be loaded with lead, as there is no possible occasion
for such extra weight. The lancet requires much greater skill ; and, whilst
the jugular vein of the near side is the most convenient situation for the
fleam, the off side is the best for the lancet. In using the .latter, the head
of the horse should be elevated, so as to put the vein somewhat on the
stretch, and prevent its rolUng ; the vein is then pressed with the fingers of
the left hand, which, obstructing the current, causes the vein to swell : the
lancet should then be dexterously thrust forwards and upwards, so as to open
the vein with one incision. The lancet should not be too large — should be
shaped like a human lancet, and about double its size, with a very sharp
point. In bleeding from the arm or the thigh, the fleam is more convenient
tlian the lancet.
In closing the nr'fice th^, pin should not be very large ; and fine tow should
be used tn wind rou'x' Jt, and not hair, as the latter is so apt to slip.
168 BLEEDING.
much more safely, from the toe ; not by cutting out, as the fai-
rier does, a piece of the sole at the toe of the frog, which some-
times causes a wound difficult to heal, and followed by festering,
and even by canker ; but cutting down with a fine drawing-knife
called a searcher, at the union between the crust and the sole at
the very toe until the blood flows, and, if necessary, encouraging
its discharge by dipping the foot in warm water. The mesh-
work of both arteries and veins will be here divided, and blood
is generally obtained in any quantity that may be needed. The
bleeding may be stopped with the greatest ease, by placing a bit
of tow in the little groove that has been cut, and tacking the shor
over it.=^
* A great improvement has lately been introduced in the method of ar-
resting arterial hemorrhage. The operation is very simple, and, with com-
mon care, successful. The instrument is a pair of artery forceps, with rather
sharper teeth than the common forceps, and the blades held close by a slide.
Tiie vessel is laid bare, detached from the cellular substance around it, and
the artery then grasped by the furceps, the instrument deviating a very Ut-
ile from the hne of the artery. The vessel is now divided close to the for-
ceps, and behind them, and the forceps are twisted four or five times round.
The forceps are then loosened, and, generally speaking, not more than a drop
or two of blood will have been lost. This method of arresting bleeding has
been applied by several scientific and benevolent men with almost con-tant
success. It has been readily and effectually practised in docking, and our
patients have escaped much torture, and tetanus lost many a victim. The
forceps have been introduced, and with much success, in castration, and thus
the principal danger of that operation, as well as the most painful part of
it, is removed. The colt will be a fair subject for this experiment. On the
sheep and the calf it may be readily performed, and the operator will have
the pleasing consciousness of rescuing many a poor animal from the iinne-
ceBsary infliction of torture.
CHAPTER VIII.
We now proceed to the consideration of the diseases of the
respiratory system.
THE MEMBRANE OF THE NOSE.
The mucous membrane of the nose is distinguished from other
mucous. surfaces, not only by its thickness, but its vascularity.
It is called the Schneiderian membrane. The importance of ob-
serving its color and appearance generally, as indicia of the dif-
ferent diseases to which the horse is subject, has been adverted to
in speaking of the tissues of the head, (p. 103). Its characteristic
appearance under all circumstances, should be attentively observed
by every one who attempts to prescribe m the diseases of horses
CATARRH OR COLD.
Catarrh, or Cold, is attended by a slight discharge from the
nose — now and then, a slighter weeping from the eyes, and some
increased labor of breathing. When this is a simply local in-
flammation, attended by no loss of appetite or increased animal
temperature, it may speedily pass over.
In many cases, however, the inflammation extends and involves
the fauces, the lymphatic and some of the salivary glands, the
throat, the parotid gland, and the membrane of the laryrix. We
have then increased discharge from the nose, greater redness of
the membrane of the nose, more defluxion from the eyes, and loss
of appetite, from a degree of fever associathig itself with the local
affection ; and there also being a greater or less degree of pain in
the act of swallovdng, and which, if the animal feels this, he
will never eat. Cough now appears more or less frequent oi
painful ; but with no great acceleration of the pulse, or heaving
jf the flanks.
Catarrh frequently arises from exposures, or changes so trifling,
H
173 INFLAMMATION OF THE LARYNX.
that they would not be supposed of the least importance by one
unaccustomed to horses.
In the majority of cases, a few warm mashes, warm clothing,
and a tvami stable — a fever-ball or two, with a drachm of aloes
in each, and a little antimony in the evening, will set all right.
In nineteen cases out of twenty, recovery would take place with-
out any medicine, if the horse is kept free from the cordiah which
grooms are so ibnd of administering ; but in the twentieth case,
a neglected cough may be a precursor of bronchitis and pneumo-
nia. These sometimes creep on before any danger is suspected.
If there is the least fever, the horse should be bled. A common
cold, attended by heat of the mouth or indisposition to feed, should
never pass without the abstraction of blood. A physic-ball, how-
ever, should not be given in catarrh without much consideration.
If inflammation of the lungs has set in, a dose of physic would
be little better than a dose of poison. If there is no danger of
this, ?mall doses of aloes may be united with the other medicine
with advantage.
If catarrh is accompanied by sore throat — if the subrriaxillary
glands are enlarged — if the horse should quid his feed and gulp
his water, this Mali be an additional reason for bleeding, and
also for warm clothing and a comfortable stable.
Some stimulating liniment may be applied over the inflamed
gland, consisting of turpentine or tincture of cantharides, diluted
with spermaceti or neat's-foot oil — strong enough to produce con-
siderable irritation on the skin, but not to blister, or to destroy the
hair. An embrocation sufficiently powerful, and yet that nevei
destroys the hair, consists of equal parts of hartshorn, oil of turpen-
tine, and camphorated spirit, with a small quantity of lauda-
num,^
INFLAMMATION OF THE LARYNX.
Strictly speaking, this refers to inflammation confined to the
larynx ; but either catarrh or bronchitis, or both, fi'equently ac-
company the complaint.
Its approach is often insidious, scarcely to be distinguished
from catarrh, except by being attended with more soreness of
throat, and less enlargement of the parotid glands. There are
also more decided and violent paroxysms of coughing than in
common catarrh, attended by a gurgling noise, which may be
heard at a little distance from, the horse, and which, by auscul
tation, is decidedly referable to the larynx. The breathing i&
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — la catarrh, if there is cough, the throat should be
blistered, or stimulated by the tincture of cantharides.
SORE THROAT. I7l
shorter and quicker, and evidently more painful than catarrh ;
the membrane of the nose is redder ; it is of a deep modena
color ; and the horse shrinks, and exhibits great pain when the
larynx is pressed upon. The paroxysms of coughing become
more frequent and violent, and the animal appears at times al-
most sullbcated.
As the soreness of the throat proceeds the head of the animal
is projected, and the neck has a peculiar stiffness. There is also
much difficulty of swallowing. Considerable swelling of the
larynx and the pharynx ensue, and also of the parotid, sublin-
gual, and submaxillary glands. As the inflammation increases,
the cough becomes hoarse and feeble, and in some cases alto-
gether suspended. At the commencement, there is usually little
or no running at the nose ; but the secretion soon appears, either
pure or mixed with an unusual quantity of saliva.
Auscultation is a very important aid in the discovery of the
nature, and serious or trifling character of this disease. It can-
not be too often repeated, that it is one of the most valuable
means which we possess of detecting the seat, intensity, and re-
sults of the maladies of the respiratory passages. No instru-
ment is required ; the naked ear can be applied evenly and flatly,
and with a very slight pressure, on any jDart that it is of impor-
tance to examine. The healthy sound, when the ear is applied
to the windpipe, is that of a body of air passing uninterruptedly
through a smooth tube of somewhat considerable calibre : it
very much resembles the sound of a pair of forge hellowa, when
not too violently worked.
He who is desirous of ascertaining whether there is any dis-
ease in the larynx of a horse, should apply his ear to the lower
part of the windpipe. If he finds that the air passes in and out
without interruption, there is no disease of any consequence
either in the windpipe or the chest ; for it would immediately be
detected by the loudness or the interruption of the murmur
Then let him gradually proceed up the neck, with his ear still
upon the windpipe. Perhaps he soon begins to recognize a little
gurgling, grating sound. As he continues to ascend, that sound
is more decisive, mingled v\dth an occasional wheezing, whistling
noise. He can have no surer proof that here is the impediment
to the passage of the air, proceeding from the thickening of the
membrane and diminution of the passage, or increased secretion
of mucus, which bubbles and rattles as the breath passes.
By the degree of the rattling or Avhistling, the owner will judge
which cause of obstruction preponderates — in fact, he will have
discovered the seat and the state of the disease, and the sooner
he has recourse to professional advice the better.
Chronic laryngitis is of more frequent occurrence than acute
172 INFLAMMATION OF THE WINDPIPE ROARING.
Many of the coughs that are most troublesome are to be traced
to this source.
In violent cases laryngitis terminates in suffocation ; in others,
in thick wind or in roaring. Occasionally it is necessary to have
recourse to the operation of tracheotomy.
In acute laryngitis the treatment to be pursued is sufficiently
plain. The blood must be abstracted, and that from the jugu-
lar vein, for there will then be the combined advantage of gen-
eral and local bleeding. The blood must be somewhat copious-
ly withdrawn, depending on the degree of inflammation — the
practitioner never for a moment forgetting that he has to do
with inflammation of a mucous membrane, and that what he
does he must do quickly. He will have lost the opportunity of
struggling successfully with the disease when it has altered its
character and debility has succeeded. The cases must be few
and far between when the surgeon makes up his mind to any
determinate quantity of blood, and leaves his assistant or his
groom to abstract it ; he must himself bleed, and until the pulse
flutters or the constitution is evidently affected.
Next must be given the fever medicine already recommended ;
the digitalis, nitre, and emetic tartar, with aloes. Aloes may
here be safely given, because the chest is not yet implicated. To
this must be added, and immediately, a blister, and a sharp one.
The surgeon is sure of the part, and he can bring his counter-
irritant almost into contact with it.
INFLAMMATION^ OF THE TRACHEA.
Inflammation of the membrane of the larynx, and especially
when it has run on to ulceration, may rapidly spread, and in-
volve the greater part or the whole of the lining membrane of
the trachea. A blister must reach as low as the rattling sound
can be detected, and somewhat beyond this. The fever medi-
cines must be administered in somewhat increased doses ; and the
bleeding must be repeated, if the state of the pulse does not in-
dicate the contrary.
ROARING.
The present will be the proper place to speak of that singul ar
impairment of the respiratory function recognized by this name
It is an unnatural, loud, grunting sound made by the animal in
the act of breathing, when in quick action or on any sudden, ex-
ertion. On carefully listening to the sound, it will appear that
the roaring is produced in the act of inspiration, and not in that
ROARING. 173
of expiration. If the horse is briskly trotted on a level surface,
and more particularly if he is hurried up hill, or if he is suddenly
threatened with a stick, this peculiar sound will be heard and
cannot be mistaken.
Roaring is manifest unsoundness. It proceeds from obstruc-
tion in some portion of the respiratory canal.
Bamh of Coagulated Lymph in the trachea are a frequent
cause of roarmg. Thickening of the membrane is a more fre-
quent cause. In some morbid specimens this is treble its natu-
ral thickness, and covered with ulcerations. This is particularly
annoying in the upper part of the windpipe, where the passages,
m their natural state, are narrow. Thus it is that roaring is
the occasional consequence of strangles and catarrh, and other
affections of the superior passages.
Chronic cough occasionally terminates in roaring.
Tlie Disease of DraaglU- Horses generally. — There can be
no doubt of the fact, that the majority of roarers are draught-
horses, and horses of quick draught. They are not only sub-
ject to the usual predisposing causes of this obstruction, but
there is something superadded, — ^the system of tight-reining. To
a certain extent, the curb-rein is necessary. Without it there
would be scarcely any command over a wilful horse, and it
would need a strong arm occasionally to guide even the most
willing. But curbing too tight, particularly when the horse is
young, leads to frequent injuries to the larynx, which result in
inflammation, and ultimately cause roaring.
Facts have established the hereditary predisposition to roar-
mg, beyond the possibility of doubt, and therefore a stallion that
is a roarer should never be bred from.
It is probably useless to attempt to cur& confirmed roaring,
but if it is of recent date, and the seat of the obstruction can be
detected by auscultation, or otherwise, it might be well to bleed,
purge, and most certainly to blister over the aflected part. The
physic having set, a course of fever medicine should be com-
menced. It should be considered as a case of chronic inflamma-
tion, and to be subdued by a continuance of moderate depletory
measures. Probably blood should again be abstracted in less
quantity ; a second dose of physic should be given, and, most
certainly, the blister should be repeated, or kept discharging by
means of some stimulating unguent. The degree of success
which attends these measures would determine the farther pur-
suit of them. If no relief is obtained after a fortnight or three
weeks, perhaps the experimenter would ponder on another mode
of treatment. He would again carefully explore the whole ex-
tent of the trachea, and if he could yet refer the rattling or
wheezing to the same point at which he had before observed it,
i74 BRONCHOCELE.
he wo^ald "boldly propose tracheotomy, for he could certainly cut
upon the seat of disease.
If he found one of these organized bands, the removal of it
would afford immediate relief ; or if he found merely a thickened
membrane, no harm would be done ; or the loss of blood might
abate the local inflammation. No one would eagerly undertake
case of roaring ; but, having undertaken it, he should give the
measures that he adopts a fair trial, remembering that, in every
chronic case like this, the only hope of success depends on perse-
verance.*
BRONCHOCELE.
Mr. Percival is almost the only author who takes notice of en-
largement of the thyroid glands — two oval bodies below the la-
rynx, and attached to the trachea. The use of them has never
been satisfactorily explained. They sometimes grow to the size
of an Qg^, or larger, but are unattended by cough or fever, and
are nothing more than an eye-sore. The iodine ointment has oc-
casionally been applied with success. The blister or the seton
may also be useful,
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — This disease is not always so easily discovered
as is impUed by the statement in the text. In some cases, tlie symptoms of
roaring are only developed after a short gallop ; and, in many, roarers will
not grunt when suddenly alarmed. It is generally very old and confirmed
v.ases that exhibit this symptom. There are not only a variety of degrees
in which roaring may exist, but there are many different causes which pro
duce the noise which gives a name to the disease. Several of these havo
been stated in the text ; but one, and by no means an unfrequent one, has
been omitted, which is the absorption and paralyzation of the muscles, on
one side, which assist in opening and enlarging the entrance to the larynx,
by pulling back the arytenoid cartilages, as they are termed. The conse-
quence of this is, that an obstruction takes place ; and, although the air can
enter with sufficient rapidity when the animal is at rest, yet when respira-
tion is hurried by exertion, a great noise is occasioned by the air passing
thVough the narrow aperture with great rapidity.
The greater number of the cases of roaring certainly occur with carriage
horses and aie connected with the practice of tight reining. It is not, how-
ever, the sudden reining in which causes the mischief, but the long-contin-
ued position of the windpipe when thus distorted. When the breathing is
greatly distressed, either from over-exertion or from inflammation of the
lungs, the horse stretches out his head, and extends the nostrils, and by this
means places the air-passages in a straight line, and admits their greatest ex-
pansion. When, however, the neck is much arched, there is a great angle
formed at the throat, and the upper ring of the windpipe is forced up so as
to form an obsti'uction to the passage of air. This position of the windpipe,
at first temporary, at length becomes permanent, and thus proves a frequent
cause of roarino-.
EPIDEMIC CATARRH. 175
EPIDEMIC CATARRH, OR INFLUENZA.
Various names are given to this disease — influenza, distempei,
catarrhal fever, and epidemic catarrh. Its usual history is as
follows :
In the spring of the year — a cold, wet spring—s-aud that sue
ceeding to a mild winter, and especially among yoan* norses, and
those in high condition, or made up ibr sale, or that have been
kept m hot stables, or exposed to the usual causes of inflamma
tion, this disease principally, and sometimes almost exclusively,
prevails. Those that are in moderate work, and that are corre-
spondingly fed, generally escape ; or even when it appears in
most of the stables in a narrower or wider district, horses in bar-
racks, regularly worked and moderately fed, although not entirely
exempt, are comparatively seldom diseased.
If it has been observed from the begiiming, it will be found
that the attack is usually sudden, ushered in by shivering, and
that quickly succeeded by acceleration of pulse, heat of mouth,
staring coat, tucked-up belly, diminution of appetite, painful but
not loud cough, heaving at the flanks, redness of the membrane
of the nose, swelled and weeping eye, dejected countenance-
these are the symptoms of catarrh , but under a sonaewhat aggra
vated form.
It clearly is not inflammation of the lungs ; for there is no
coldness of the extremities, no looking at the flanks, no stifle im-
movable position, no obstinate standing up. It is not simple
catarrh ; for as early as the second day there is evident debility
The horse staggers as he walks.
It is inflammation of the respiratory passages generally. l\
commences in the membrane of the nose, but it gradually involves
the whole of the respiratory apparatus. Before the disease has
been established four-and-twenty hours, there is frequently sore
throat. The horse quids his hay, and gulps his water. There is
no great enlargement of the glands ; the parotids are a little tu-
mefied, the submaxillary somewhat more so, but not at all equiv-
alent to the degree of soreness. That soreness is excessive, and
day after day the horse will obstinately refuse to eat. Discharge
from the nose soon follows in considerable quantity : thick, very
early purulent, and sometimes fetid. The breathing is accelera-
ted and laborious at the beginning, but does not always increase
with the progress of the disease — nay, sometimes a deceitl'ul calm
succeeds, and the pulse, quickened and lull at first, soon loses its
firmness, and although it usually maintains its unnatural quick-
ness, yet it occasionally deviates from this, and subsides to little
more than its natural standard. The extremities continue to be
176 EPIDEMU- CATARRH.
comibrtably warm, or at least the temperature is variable, and
there is not in the manner of the arinAal. or in anyone symptom,
a decided reference to any particular part or spot, as the chief
seat of disease.
Thus the malady proceeds for aw uncertahi period : occa-
sionally for several days — in not a lew instances through th?
whole of its course, and the animal dias exhausted by extensive
or general irritation : but in other ca^es the mflammation as
sumes a local determination, and we have brojichitis or pneumo-
nia, but of no very acute character, yet difficult to treat, from the'
general debility with which it is connected. Sometimes there
are considerable swellings in various parts, as the chest, the belly.
the extremities, and particularly the head. The brain is occa-
sionally affected ; the horse grows stupid ; the coniunctiva i&
alarmingly red ; the animal becomes gradually unconscious, and
delirium follows. A curious thickening, that may be mistaken
for severe sprain, is sometimes observed about the tendons. It is
seen under the knee or about the fetlock. It is hot a'hd tender,
and the lameness is considerable. The feet occasionally suffer
severely. There is a determination of fever to them far more vio
lent than the original disease, and separation of the laminse and
descent of the sole ensue.
The most decided character in this disease is debility. Not the
stiff, unwilling motion oi" the horse with pneumonia, and which
has been mistaken for debility — every muscle being needed ibr
the purposes of respiration, and therefore imperfectly used in lo-
comotion— but actual loss of power in the muscular system gen
erally. The horse staggers from the second day. He threatens
to fall if he is moved. He is sometimes down, permanently down,
on the third or fourth day. The emaciation is also occasionally
rapid and extreme.
At length the medical treatment which has been employed
succeeds, or nature begins to rally. The cough somewhat sub-
sides ; the pulse assumes its natural standard ; the countenance
acquires a little more animation ; the horse will eat a small quan-
tity of some choice thing ; and health and strength slowly, very
slowly indeed, return : but at other times, when there has been
no decided change during the progress of the disease, no manage-
able change of inflammation while there was sufficient power left
in the constitution to struggle with it, a strange exasperation of
symptoms accompanies the closing scene. The extremities be-
come deathly cold ; the flanks heave ; the countenance betrays
greater distress ; the membrane of the nose is of an intense red ,
and inflammation of the substance of the lungs, and congestion
and death speedily follow.
At other times the redness of the nostril suddenly disappears '
EPIDEMIC CATARRH. ' 177
it becomes purple, livid, dirty brown, and the discharge is bloody
and ietid, the breath and all the excretio'is becoming fetid too
The mild character of the disease gives way to malignant typhus ;
swellings, and purulent ulcers, spread over dili'erent parts ol' the
frame, and the animal is soon destroyed.
Post-mortem Examination. — Examination after death suffi-
ciently displays the real character of the disease, inflammation
first of the respiratory passages, and, in fatal or aggravated cases,
of the mucous membranes generally. From the pharynx, to the
termination of the small intestines, and often including even the
larger ones, there will not be a part free from inflammation ; tlie
upper part of the trachea will be filled with adliesive spume, and
the lining membrane thickened, injected, or ulcerated ; the lining
tunic of the bronchial tubes will exhibit unequivocal marks of in-
flammation ; the substance of the lungs will be engorged, and
often inflamed ; the heart will partake of tlie same affection ; its
external coat will be red, or purple, or black, and its internal one
will exhibit spots of ecchymosis ; the pericardium will be thick-
ened, and the pericardiac and pleuritic bags will contain an un-
due ciuantity of serous, or bloody-serous, or purulent fluid.
The (Esophagus will be inflamed, sometimes ulcerated — ^the
stomach always so ; the small intestines will uniformly present
patches of inflammation or ulceration. The liver will be in-
flamed— the spleen enlarged — no part, indeed, will have escaped ;
and if the malady has assumed a typhoid form in its latter stages,
the universality and malignancy of the ulceration will be ex-
cessive.
This disease is clearly attributable to atmospheric influence.
It is most prevalent in cold, ungenial weather, and is most fre-
quent in the spring. It is both ejyldemic and endemic — some-
times raging over large districts so that scarcely a stable escapes,
and at others, being confined to a neighborhood. It is much
more liable to make its appearance in stables where a number of
horses are kept, than in smaller ones.
The disease is beyond all doubt contagious.
With regard to the treatment of epidemic catarrh, there may
be, and is at times, considerable difficulty. It is a disease of the
mucous membrane, and thus connected with much debility ; but
it is also a disease of a febrile character, and the inflammation is
occasionally intense. The veterinary surgeon, therefore, must
judge for himself. Is the disease in its earliest stage marked by
evident inflammatory action ? Is there much redness of the
membrane of the nose — much acceleration of the pulse — much
heaving of the flanks ? If so, blood must be abstracted. The
orifice should be large, that the blood may flow quickly, and the
circulation be sooner aflccted ; and the medical attendant should
12 li
178 EPIDEMIC CATARRH.
be present at this first venesection, that he may close the orifict
as soon as the pulse begins to falter. This attention to the first
bleeding is indispensable. It is the carelessness with which it is
perlbrmed — the ignorance of the object to be accomplished, and
the effect actually produced, that destroys half the horses that
are lost from this malady. The first falter of the pulse is the sig-
nal to suspend the bleeding. Every drop lost afterwards may be
wanted.
If there is no appearance of febrile action, or only a very slight
one, small doses of aloes may be given, combined with the fever
medicines recommended for catarrh. As soon as the faeces are
pultaceous, or even before that, the aloes should be omitted and
the fever medicine continued. It will rarely be prudent to con-
tinue the aloes beyond the third drachm.
A stricter attention must be paid to diet than the veterinarian
usually enforces, or the groom dreams of. No corn must be al-
lowed, but mashes and thin gruel. The water should be entirely
taken away, and a bucket of gruel suspended in the box. This
is an excellent plan with regard to every sick horse that we do
not wish to reduce too much ; and when he finds that the morn-
ing and evening pass over, and his water is not ofiered to him,
he will readily take to the gruel, and drink as much of it as is
good for him. Green meat should be early ofiered, such as grass,
tares (the latter especially), lucerne, and, above all, carrots. If
these cannot be procured, a little hay may be wetted, and ofiered
morsel after morsel by the hand. Should this be refused, the hay
may be damped with water slightly salted, and then the patient
will generally seize it with avidity.
Should the horse refuse to eat during the two or three first
days, there is no occasion to be in a hurry to drench with gruel ;
it will make the mouth sore, and the throat sore, and tease and
disgust : but if he should long continue obstinately to refuse his
food, nutriment must be forced upon him. Good thick gruel must
be horned down, or, what is better, given by means of Read's pump.
The practitioner will often and anxiously have recourse to aus
cultation. He will listen for the mucous rattle, creeping down
the windpipe, and entering the bronchial passages. If he camiot
detect it below the larynx, he will apply a strong blister, reach-
ing from ear to ear, and extending to the second or third ring of
the trachea. If he can trace the rattle in the windpipe, he must
follow it, — he must blister as far as the disease has spread. This
will often have an excellent efiect, not only as a counter-irritant,
but as rousing the languid powers of the constitution. A rowel
of tolerable size between the fore-legs cannot do harm. It may
act as a derivative, or it may take away a disposition to inflam
mation in the contiguous portion of the chest.
EPIDEMIC CATARRH. 17J)
The inflammation which characterizes the early stage of this
iisease is at first confined to the memhrane of the mouth and the
fauces Can fomentations be appHed ? Yes, and to the very
part, by means of a hot mash, not thrown into the manger over
which the head of the horse cannot be confined, but placed in
that too-much-undervalued and discarded article of stable-furni-
ture, the nose-bag. The vapor of the water will, at eveiy inspi-
ration, pass over the inflamed surface. In the majority of cases
relief will speedily be obtained, and that suppuration from the
part so necessary to the permanent removal of the inflammation
— a copious discharge of mucus or purulent matter from the nos-
trils— will be hastened. If the discharge does not appear so
speedily as could be wished, a stimulant should be applied to the
part. The vapor impregnated with turpentine arising from fresh
yellow deal saw-dust, used mstead of bran, will have very con-
siderable eflect in quickening and increasing the suppuration. It
may even be resorted to almost from the begiiming, if there is
not evidently much irritability of membrane.
A hood is a useful article of clothing in these cases. It in-
creases the perspiration from the surface covering the inflamed
part — a circumstance always of considerable moment.
An equable warmth should be preserved, if possible, over the
whole body. The hand-brush should be gently used every day,
and harder and more eflectual rubbing applied to the leg. The
patient should, if possible, be placed, in a loose box, in wliich he
may toddle about, and take a little exercise, and out of which
he should rarely, if at all, be taken. The exercise of which the
groom is so fond in these cases, and which must in the most per
emptory terms be forbidden, has destroyed thousands of horses.
The air should be fresh and uncontaminated, but never chilly ;
for the object is to increase and not to repress cutaneous perspira-
tion ; to produce, if possible, a determ nation of blood to the
skin, and not to drive it to the part alreaay too much overloaded.
In order to accomplish this, the clothing shouM be rather warmer
than usual.
The case may proceed somewhat slowly, and not quite satis-
factorily to the practitioner or his employer. Thero is not much
fever — there is little or no local mflammation ; but tnere is great
emaciation and debility, and total loss of appetite. The quan-
tity of the sedative may then be lessened but not omitted alto-
gether ; for the fire may not be extinguished, although for a little
while concealed. There are no diseases so insidious and treach-
erous as these. Mild and vegetable tonics, such as gentian and
ginger, may be given. Two days after this the sedative may be
altogether omitted, and the tonic gradually increased.
The feeding should now be sedulously attended to. Almost
180 EPIDEMIC CATARRH.
every kind of green meat that can be obtained should be given,
particularly carrots, nicely scraped and sliced. The food should
be changed as often as the capricious appetite prompts ; and oc-
casionally, if necessary, the patient should be forced with gruel
as thick as it will run from the horn, but the gradual return
of health should be well assured, before one morsel of corn is
given. ^'
Note by Mr. Spooner. — Though this disease often occurs in the form de-
scribed in the text, yet influenza may, and often does occur, as a severe epi-
demic both with and without the peculiarities of catarrli. The diseases,
therefore, though bordering, and often running into each other, are yet dis-
tinct and require separate notice.
With reference to the treatment of catarrhal fever, we should recommend
great caution with regard to bloodletting; and, if much weakness is mani-
fested, it should not be practised at.all. Equal caution should be observed
with regard to purgative medicines ; but, if the bowels are constipated, a
]:)int of linseed oil, or two or three drachms of aloes in solution, may be
given, but not repeated. This may be assisted by injections.
The influenza very extensively prevailed as an epidemic in this country
in the years 1886 and 1840. A very full account of this disease as it pre-
vailed during these periods, may be found in a small treatise on the subject
published by the present writer. The symptoms in 1840 were very similar
to those of the epizootic of 1836, sufficiently so to justify us in denominat-
ing it the same disease. The first symptom in that of 1840 which awakened
attention w- as the sudden failure of the appetite (either total or partial) ;
the liurse, perhaps, might have appeared perfectly well in the morning, and
at noon refused his feed. At this stage we usually found the mouth liot
and the pulse quickened, varying, however, from 42 to 80, being sometimes
full and strong, but more frequently soft and weak. There was generally a
somewhat dull appearance of the animal at first, although nothing compared
to what afterwards supervened ; the coat was often staring, and when so
the attack usually became more severe. This symptom, however, was far
from being universal, and the extremities were rarely cold. Li the course
of six or twelve hours, the symptoms became more aggravated, the pulse
increased in frequency, the appetite was more diminished, and probably the
legs and eyelids were consi. ^erably swollen. In some cases the resiDiration
became quickened, and in others there was cough and sore throat, but, in
the majority of patients, there was no bronchial affection whatever.
In a few instances, the disease quickly reached its acme, but, generally,
the symptoms increased in severity for two or three days; when, supposing
judicious treatment had been employed, they gradually declined, and at
length totally aisappeared, the animal slowly regaining his former health
and spirits.
The bowels, generally speaking, were not apparently much deranged, but
their mucous coat was particularly susceptible to the action of aperient
medicines, and the faeces were frequently enveloped in thin slimy mucus,
and often softer than in a state of health.
In some cases the affection of the eyes was so violent as to occasion tem-
pox ary blindness, and in others pneumonia was present, but more frequently
severe bronchitis. In many patients the oedematous swelling of the legs
was enormous, and continued obstinate when the other symptoms nad abated
But commonly, in proportion as the legs and eyes were much atfecled, the
mternal viscera were free from disease, and vice versa. This rule, however
THE MALIGNANT EPIDEmC. Ibl
THE MALIGNANT EPIDEMIC.
Continental veterinarians describe a malignant variety or ter-
'nination of epidemic catarrh, and Britain is not without its
records of it. It prevailed in 1815, and three horses out of five
attacked by it died. It reappeared in 1823, but was not so
fatal. In 1714, a malignant epidemic was imported ii:om the
continent, and in the course of a few months destroyed 70,000
horses and cattle. It continued to visit other countries, with
but short intervals, for fifty years afterwards.
The malignant epidemic was almost uniformly ushered in by
inflammation of the mucous membrane of the respiratory
passages, but soon involving other portions, and then ensued a
was by no means universal, for, in several instances, severe cephalic
and thoracic symptoms were present in the same subject and at tlie same
time.
AVhen an animal had been previously suffering from some chronic disease,
such as broken wind, or hepatized lungs, the influenza was nearly sure to
light up afresh the embers of the former fire ; and this local disease gene
rally proved troublesome and obstinate. So, likewise, when, from the idio-
syncrasy of the animal, an organ was in a weak and susceptible state, inflam-
mation in that part was quickly excited by the general fever present in the
system.
Treatment. — Whenever the pulse was full and strong, blood was ab-
stracted with the best efl"ect. In such instances I observed the blood slow
in coagulating, and invariably presenting a buify coat; great care, however,
was taken not to abstract too large a quantity ; and I found I could produce
the required influence by half the quantity which, in ordinary inflaniinafory
affections, it would be necessary to take. The amount of blood withdrawn
was always determined by its effect on the pulse, taking care, as .-oon as
its character was materially altered, becoming softer and less perceptible, to
pin up the oritice. This alteration was sometimes produced by the loss of
four pounds of blood, oftener by six, occasionally by eiglit, and in a few
instances, ten pounds were required to be taken. In two or three cases,
where there appeared to be severe internal inflammation, the blood-letting
■was repeated on the following day, and in one case on the same ; bat, as a
general rale, even in cases where the pulse had on the following day re-
gained its strength and fulness, I abstained from a second bleeding, trusting
to medicine and the progress of the disease to soften the pulse, a result which
usually followed on the second or third day.
Recourse was had to local venesection still more frequently than to gene-
ral bleeding ; indeed, whenever the eyes were much inflamed, or the lids
swollen, I scarified the latter with a lancet, and opened the angular reins,
which course of procedure was attended with the best results, for the local
inflammation usually subsided in the course of twelve or twenty-four hours,
whether I bled generally before or not.
On referring to some fifty cases, it appears that in twenty-three I em-
ployed general bleeding ; in the remainder I did not ; but in twenty-five
cases I bled locally, either from the eyelids and eye veins, or the bars of
the mouth. The majority of these were cases which had not been bleJ
previously, and the minority belonged to those *u which I laad before em
18"^ THE MALIGNANT EPIDEMIC.
diarrlicea, which no art could arrest. The fever, acute at first,
rapidly passed over, and was succeeded by great prostration of
■ trength. The inflammation then spread to the cellular texture,
and there was a peculiar disposition to the formation of phleg-
monous tumors : sometimes there were pustular eruptions, but,
oftener, deep-seated tumors rapidly proceeding to suppuration.
Connected with this was a strong tendency to decompositioii,
and unless the animal was relieved by some critical flux or
evacuation, malignant typhus was established, and the horse
speedily sunk.
The most satisfactory account of one of these epidemics is
given us by Professor Brugnone, of Turin It commenced with
loss of appetite, staring coat, a wild and wandering look, and a
ployed venesection. More than one half of the horses that were bled gene-
lally were from the same stable, and were mostly young cart-horses that
had been recently purchased, and afterwards worked very hard. They had
also been allowed a considerable quantity of beans, a diet to which they
had not previously been accustomed. Among these horses I found my
severest cases, which were often complicated with pneumonia, bronchitis, and
other visceral derangement. In them, too, the blood presented a thick
buffy coat, and the pulse was strong and full.
The usual treatment in the way of medicines consisted in administering
the following: —
(Recipe.) Oil of Croton 5 drops.
Nitrate of potassa . . . . 4 to 6 drachms.
Potassio-tartrate of antimony . 1 drachm.
Spirit of nitric ether .... 4 drachms to 1 ounce.
Solution of acetate of ammonia 2 to 4 ounces.
"Warm water sufficient to make a draught.
Sometimes four drachms of bi-tartrate of potassa was added to the
above ; and, when the head appeared much affected, a drachm of camphor.
This draught was generally administered once, but sometimes twice a day,
the croton oil being omitted after the first dose : after the first day, in by
far the greater number of cases, two drachms of powdered gentian were
added ; and after the second or third day, a baU was substituted for the
draught, consisting of : —
(Reoipe.) Nitrate of potassa 3 drachms.
Potassio-tartrate of antimony . 1 "
Powdered gentian root ... 2 "
Powdered pimento berries . . 1 "
Treacle sufficient to form a ball.
Counter-irritation. — In by far the greater number of cases, there was no
inflammation of the air-passages ; but whenever it was denoted, I blistered
the throat, the course of the windpipe, and the breast, or inserted setons or
rowels, as the particular case appeared to demand.
The above treatment I found successful, not only in conquering th e dis-
ease, but in restoring health and strength in a short space of time.
THE MALIGN.) NT EriDEMIC. 183
staggering from the very commencement. The horse would con-
tmually be down and get up again, as^f tormented by cobc ; and
he gazed ahernately at both flanks. In the moments of com-
parative ease, there were universal twitchings of the slun, and
spasms of the limbs. The temperature ol" the ears and feet was
variable. If there happened to be about the animal any old
wound or scar from setoning or firing, it opened afresh and dis-
charged a quantity of thick and black blood. Very shortly
afterwards the flanks, which were quiet before, began to heave,
the nostrils were dilated, the head extended for breath. The
horse had by this time become so weak that, if he lay or fell
down, he could rise no more ; or if he was up, he would stand
trembling, staggering, and threatening to fall every moment.
The mouth was dry, the tongue white, and the breath fetid ; a
discharge of yellow or bloody fetid matter proceeded from the
nose, and fetid blood from the anus. The duration of the
disease did not usually exceed twelve or twenty-four hours ; or
if the animal lingered on, swellings of the head and throat, and
sheath, and scrotum (testicle bag) followed, and he died ex-
hausted or in convulsions.
Black spots of extravasation were found in the cellular mem-
brane, in the tissue of all the membranes, and on the stomach.
The mesenteric and lymphatic glands were engorged, black, and
gangrenous. The membrane of the nose and the pharynx was
highly injected, the lungs were filled with black and frothy
blood, or with black and livid spots. The brain and its me-
ninges (enveloping membranes) were unaltered.
It was found to be highly contagious.
M. Brugnone found that bleeding only accelerated the death
of the patient. He afterwards tried, and ineffectually, acids,
cordials, purgatives, vesicatories, and the actual cautery ; and he
frankly attributes to the power of nature the recovery of the few
who survived.
If seen at its outset the practitioner would probably bleed ;
but if a few hours only had elapsed, he would find that bleeding
would only hasten the catastrophe. Stimulants should be ad-
ministered mingled with opium, and the spirit of nitrous ether
in doses of three or four ounces, with an ounce or more of
laudanum. The quantity of opium should be regulated by the
spasms and the diarrhoea. These medicines should be repeated
in a few hours, combined, perhaps, with ginger and gentian. If
these failed, there is little else to be done. Deep incisions into
the tumors, or blisters over them, might be proper measures ;
but the principal attention should be directed to the arresting of
the contagion. The infected should be immediately removed
from the healthy. All offensive matter should be carefully
l«4 BRONCHITIS.
cleared away, and no small portion of chloride of lime used in
washing the animal, and particularly his ulcers. It mi^rht with
jreat propriety be administered internally, while the stable, an^'
everything that belonged to the patient, should undergo a careful
ablution with the same powerful disinfectant.
BRONCHITIS.
This is not generally a primary disease. That inflammation
of the superior respiratory passages, constituting catarrh, gradu-
ally creeps downwards and involves the larynx and the trachea,
and at length, possibly, the farthest and the minutest ramifica-
tions of the air-tubes. When it is found to be thus advancing,
its progress should be carefully watched by the assistance of
auscultation. The distant murmur of the healthy lung cannot
be mistaken, nor the crepitating (crackling) sound of pneu
monia ; and in bronchitis the blood may be heard filtering or
breaking through the divisions of the lobes, and accounting for
that congestion or filling of the cells with mucus and blood,
which is found after intense inflammation. Inflammation pre-
cedes this increased discharge of mucus. Even that may be
detected. The inflamed merabrane is thickened and tense. It
assumes an almost cartilaginous structure, and the murmur is
not only louder, but has a kind of snoring sound. Some have
imagined that a sound like a metallic ring is mingled with it ;
but this is never very distinct.
The interrupted whizzing sound has often and clearly indicated
a case of bronchitis, and there are many corroborative symptoms
which should be regarded. The variable temperature of the
extremities will be an important guide — not deathly cold as in
pneumonia, nor of increased temperature, as often in catarrh,
but with a tendency to coldness, yet this varying much. The
pulse will assist the diagnosis — more rapid than in catarrh,
much more so than in the early stage of pneumonia : not so
hard as in pleurisy, more so than in catarrh, and much more so
than in pneumonia. The respiration should next be examined,
abundantly more rapid than in catarrh, pneumonia, or pleurisy ;
generally as rapid and often more so than the pulse, and accom-
panied by a wheezing sound, heard at some distance. Mr. Per-
civall relates a case in which the respiration was more than one
hundred in a minute.
In addition to these clearly characteristic symptoms, will be
observed a haggard countenance, to which the anxious look of
the horse laboring under inflammation of the lungs cannot for
a moment be compared ; also an evident dread of suffocation
expressed, not by inability to move, as in pneumonia, but fje
BRONCHITIS. 185
quently an obstinate refusal to do so ; cough painful in tlie
extreme ; breath hot, yet no marked pain in the part, and no
looking- at the side or flanks.
As tlie disease proceeds, there will be considerable discharge
from the nostrils, much more than in catarrh, because greater
extent of membrane is affected. It will be muco-purulent at
llrst, but will soon become amber-colored or green, or grayish
green ; and that not from any portion of the food being returned,
but from the peculiar hue of the secretion from ulcers in tlu
bronchial passages. Small organized pieces will mingle with
the discharge, — portions of mucus condensed and hardened, and
forced from the inside of the tube. If the disease proceeds, the
discharge becomes bloody, and then, and sometimes earlier, it is
fetid.
The natural termination of this disease, if unchecked, is in
pneumonia.
Like every other inflammation of the respiratory passages,
bronchitis is clearly epidemic. It has not, however, yet been
proved to be contagious.
Here again the first step will be to bleed ; and here too will
be the param.ount necessity of the personal attendance of som«
well-informed person while the animal is bled. This is a disease
of a mucous — and an extended mucous surface ; and while oui
measures must be prompt, there is a tendency to debility which
we should never forget. Although the horse may be distressed
quite to the extent wliich Mr. Percivall describes, yet he would
not bear the loss of four pounds of blood without fainting. No
determinate quantity of blood will therefore be taken, but the
vein will not be closed until the pulse falters, and the animal
staggers, and in a minute or two would fall. This may proba-
bly effect the desired object ; if it does not, it is possible that
the practitioner may not have a second opportunity.
The medical attendant should be cautious in the administra-
tion of purgatives, for the reasons that have again and again
been stated ; but if the bowels are evidently constipated, small
doses of aloes must be given with the febrifuge medicine, and
their speedy action promoted by injections, so that a small
quantity may suffice.
A blister is always indicated in bronchitis. It can never do
harm, and it not unfrequently affords decided relief. It should
extend over the brisket and sides, and up the trachea to th<
larynx. The food, if the horse is disposed to eat, should bo
mashes. No grain should be offered, nor should the horse be
coaxed to eat.^
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — In addition to the treatment mentioned in the
text, the use of setons in the brisket, or as near the termination of the
186 INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS.
PNEUMONIA— INFLAMMATION- OF THE LUNGS.
The intimate structure of the lungs has never been satisfacto
rily demonstrated. They appear, however, to be composed of
minute cells or pouches, into which the air is at length con
ducted, and over the delicate membrane constituting the divi-
sions of which myriads of minute blood-vessels are ramifying.
The blood is not merely permeating them, but it is undergoing a
vital change in them ; there is a constant decomposition of the
air, or of the blood, or of both ; and, during the excitement of
exercise, that decciaj ^^^ition proceeds with fearful rapidity. Then
it can readily be ccnceivvl tLat a membrane so delicate as this
must be in order thit it^ ii t;rp)sition shall be no hindrance to
the arteiialization of the blood ; so fragile also, and so loaded
with blood-vessels, will be e.TCoedingly subject to inflammation,
and that of a mosi, dangerous character.
Inflammation of the substance of the lungs is the not unfre-
quent consequence of all th' liseases of the respiratory passages
that have been treated on. Catarrh, influenza, bronchitis, if
neglected or badly managed < r, sometimes in spite of the most
skilful treatment, will spread along the mucous membrane, and
at length involve the termination of the air-passages. At other
times, there is pure pneumonia. This cellular texture is the
primary seat of inflammation. It is often so in the over-worked
horse. After a long and hard day's hunt, it is very common for
horses to be attacked by pure pneumonia.
The following are the most frequent causes of pneumonia. A
sudden transition from heat to cold ; a change from a warm sta-
ble to a colder one ; a neglect of the usual clothing ; a neglect
even of some little comforts ; riding far and fast against a cold
wind, especially in snowy weather ; and loitering about when
unusual perspiration has been excited.
It has not unfrequently happened that when horses have been
turned out too early to grass, or without gradual preparation,
pneumonia has supervened. Few are, under any management,
BO subject to pneumonia as those which, in poor condition and
without preparation, are turned into salt-marsh.
windpipe as possible, are of material service ; and if the inflammation ex-
tends up the windpipe, the setons should also so extend, or the course of
the windpipe may be blistered. Physic should be avoided. With regard
to bleeding,, this must depend entirely upon the state of the pulse. Some-
times its weakness entirely forbids depletion, and, on the other hand,
several bleedings have been required. As a general rule, however, the
Vjlood-letting should not be very copious.
INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 187
On the otlier hand, a sudden and considerable change from
cold to heat may be followed by inflammation of the lungs.
Whether it is the consequence of previous disease of the respi-
ratory passages, or that inflammation first appears in the cellu-
lar texture of the lungs, pneumonia is usually ushered in by a
shivering fit. The horse is cold all over ; this, however, soon
passes ofi', and we have general warmth, or heat of the skin
above the usual temperature, but accompanied by coldness of
the extremities — intense deathy coldness. This is a j)erfectly
characteristic symptom. It ivill never deceive. It is an early
symptom. It is found when there is little or no constitutional
disturbance ; when the pulse is scarcely afiected, and the flanks
heave not at all, but the horse is merely supposed to be dull and
off his feed. It is that by which the progress of the disease may
be unhesitatingly marked, when many scarcely suspect its exist-
ence.
The pulse is not always at first much increased in rapidity,
and but rarely or never hard ; but it is obscure, oppressed.
It is only, however, in the early insidious stage that the flanks
are occasionally quiet. If the compressibility of the lungs is
diminished by the thickening of the membrane, or the engorge-
ment of the vessels, or the filling of the cells, it will be harder
work to force the air out ; there must be a stronger effort, and
that pressure which camiot be accomplished by one effort is at-
tempted over and over again. The respiration is quickened —
laborious ; the inspiration is lengthened ; the expiration is rapid ;
and when, after all, the lungs cannot be compressed by the usual
means, every muscle that can be brought to bear upon the part
is called into action. Hence the horse will not lie down, for he
can use the muscles of the spine and the shoulder with most ad-
vantage as he stands ; hence, too, the very peculiar stiffness of
position — the disinclination to move. The horse with decided
pneumonia can scarcely be induced to move at all ; he cannot
spare for a moment the assistance which he derives from cer-
tain muscles, and he will continue obstinately to stand until he
falls exhausted or dying. How eagerly does the veterinarian
ask when he goes into the stable — " Was he down last night ?"
And he concludes that much progress has not been made to-
wards amendment in the case when the answer is in the nega-
tive. When the patient, wearied out, lies down, it is only for
a moment ; for if the inflammation is not subdued, he cannot dis-
pense with the auxiliary muscles. He frequently, and with
doleful expression, looks at his sides — at one side or at both,
accordingly as one or both are involved. There is not, however,
the decidedly haggard countenance of bronchitis ; and in bron-
chitis the horse rarely or never gazes at his flanks. His is a
188 INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS.
dread of sufTocation more than a feeling of pain. The head is
protruded, and the nostrils distended, and the mouth and the
breath intensely hot. The nose is injected from the earliest pe-
riod ; and soon afterwards there is not merely injection, but the
membrane is uniformly and intensely red. The variation in this
mtensity is anxiously marked by the observant practitioner ; and
he regards with fear and despair the livid or dirty brownish hue
that gradually creeps on.
The unfavorable symptoms are, increased coldness of the ears
and feet, if that be possible ; partial sweats, grinding of the teeth,
evident weakness, staggering, the animal not lying down. The
pulse becomes quicker, and weak and fluttering ; the membrane
of the nose paler, but of a dirty hue ; the animal growing stupid,
comatose. At length he falls, but he gets up immediately. For
awhile he is up and down almost every minute, until he is no
longer able to rise ; he struggles severely ; he piteously groans ;
the pulse becomes more rapid, fainter, and he dies of sufibcation.
The disease sometimes runs its course with strange rapidity. A
horse has been destroyed by pure pneumonia in twelve hours
The vessels ramifying over the cells have yielded to the fearful
impulse of the blood, and the lungs have presented one mass of
congestion.
The favorable symptoms are, the return of a little warmth to
the extremities — the circulation beginning again to assume its
natural character, and, next to this, the lying down quietly and
without uneasiness ; showing us that he is beginning to do with-
out the auxiliary muscles. These are good symptoms, and they
will rarely deceive.
Congestion is a frequent termination of pneumonia. Not only
are the vessels gorged — the congestion which accompanies com-
mon inflammation — but their parietes are necessarily so thin, in
order that the change in the blood may take place although
they are interposed, that they are easily ruptured, and the cells
are filled with blood. This effused blood soon coagulates, and
the lung, when cut into, presents a black, softened, pulpy kind
of appearance, termed by the farrier and the groom, rottenness,
and being supposed by them to indicate an old disease. It
proves only the violence of the disease, the rupture of many a
vessel surcharged with blood ; and it also proves that the disease
is of recent date, for in no great length of time, the serous por-
tion of the blood becomes absorbed, the more solid one becomes
organized, the cells are obliterated, and the lung is hepatized —
i. e. assumes the appearance of livei'.
In every case of pneumonia, early and anxious recourse should
be had to auscultation. Here, again, is the advantage of being
perfectly acquainted with the deep distant murmur presented by
INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 189
the healthy lung. This sound is most distinct in the young
horse, and especially if he is a little out of condition. On such
a horse the tyro should commence his study of the exploration of
the chest. There he Avill make himself best acquainted with
he respiratory murmur in its full state of development. He
should next take an older and somewhat fatter horse ; he will
there recognize the same sound, but fainter, more distant. In
still older animals, there will sometimes be a little difficulty in
detecting it at all. Repeated experiments of this Idnd will grad-
ually teach the examiner what kind of healthy murmur he should
expect from every horse that is presented to him, and thus he
will be better enabled to appreciate the different sounds exhibited
under disease.
If pneumonia exists to any considerable degree, this murmur
is soon changed for, or mingled with, a curious crepitating
sound, which having been once heard, cannot afterwards be mis-
taken. It is caused by the infiltration of blood into the air-cells.
Its loudness and perfect character will characterize the intensity
of the disease, and the portion of the chest at which it can be
distinguished will indicate its extent.
The whole lung, however, is not always affected, or there are
only portions or patches of it in which the inflammation is so
intense as to produce congestion and hepatization. Enough
remains either unaffected, or yet pervious tor the function of res-
piration to be performed, and the animal lingers on, or per-
haps recovers. By careful examination with the ear, this also
may be ascertained. Where the lung is impervious — where no
air passes — no sound will be heard, not even the natural mur-
mur. Around it the murmur will be heard, and loudly. It will
be a kind of rushing sound ; for the same quantity of blood must
be arterialized, and the air must pass more rapidly and forcibly
through the remaining tubes.
A horse with any portion of the lungs hepatized camiot be
sound. He cannot be capable of continued extra exertion.
Another consequence of inflammation of the substance of the
lungs is the formation of tubercles. A greater or smaller num-
ber of distinct cysts are formed — cells into which some fluid is
poured in the progress of uiflammation : these vary in size from
a pin's point to a large egg. By degrees the fluid becomes con-
crete or hardened ; and so it continues for a while — the conse-
quence and the source of inflammation. It occupies a space that
should be employed in the function of respiration, and by its
pressure it irritates the neighboring parts, and exposes them to
uiflammation.
By and by, however, another process, never sufficiently ex
plained, commences. The tubercle begins to soften at its cen-
190 INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS.
tre, — a process of suppuration is set up, and proceeds until the
contents of the cyst become again fluid, but of a diflerent char-
acter, for they now consist of pus. The pus increases ; the cyst
becomes more and more distended ; it encroaches on the sub-
stance of the lungs ; it comes into contact with other tubercles,
and the walls opposed to each other are absorbed by their mu-
tual pressure ; they run together, and form one cyst, or regular
excavation, and this sometimes proceeds until a considerable
portion of the lung is, as it were, hollowed out. By and by,
however, the vomica (tumor) presses upon some bronchial pas-
sage ; the cyst gives way, and the purulent contents are poured
into the bronchise, and got rid of b}'' the act of" coughing. At
other times the quantity is too great to be thus disposed of, and
the animal is sufibcated. Occasionally it will break through the
pleuritic covering of the lung, and pour its contents into the
thorax.
Abscesses may exist for a considerable time in the lungr
undiscovered.
The resolution or gradual abatement of inflammation is the
tem lination most to be desired in this state of the disease, for
then the engorgement of the vessels will gradually cease, the
eHusion into the cells be absorbed, and the lungs will gradually
resume their former cellular texture, yet not perfectly ; for there
will be some induration, slight but general ; or some more per-
fect induration of certain parts ; or the rupture of some of the
air-cells ; or an irritability of membrane predisposing to renewed
inflammation. The horse will not always be as useful as before ;
there will be chronic cough, thick wind, broken wind.
The first thing to do in pneumonia is to bleed until the pulse
falters, and the animal bears heavy on the pail. The orifice in
the vein should be large, that the blood may be extracted as
quickly as possible. This is the secret of treating the inflam-
mation of a vital organ.
Next comes purging, if we dared ; but experience teaches that
in pneumonia there is such a fatal tendency in the inflammation
to spread over every mucous membrane, that purging is almo«t to
a certainty followed by inflammation, and that inflammation bids
defiance to every attempt to arrest it. It may be said with per-
fect confidence that, in the majority of cases, a physic-ball would
be a dose of poison to a horse laboring under pneumonia.
May we not relax the bowels ? Yes, if we can stop there
We may, after the inflammation has evidently a little subsided,
venture upon, yet very cautiously, small doses of aloes in our fever
medicine, and we may quicken their operation by frequent injec-
tions of warm soap and water ; omitting the purgative, however
the moment the faeces are becoming softened. We must, how-
INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. i9l
<>ver, be assured that tlie inflammation is subsiding, and there
must be considerable constipation, or the purgative had better be
let alone.
If we must not give physic, we must endeavor to find some
other auxiliary to the bleeding, and we have it in the compound
of digitalis, nitre, and emetic tartar, which has been so often
recommended.
The greatest care should be taken of the patient laboiing undei
this complaint. His legs should be well hand-rubbed, in order to
restore, if possible, the circulation to the extremities. Comfort-
able flannel rollers should encase the legs from the foot to the
knee. He should be covered up warm. There cannot be a doubt
about this. As for air, in warm weather he cannot have too
much. In cold weather, his box must be airy, but not chilly.
We want to determine the blood to the extremities and the skin
but not all the clothing in the world will keep our patient warm
if he is placed in a cold and uncomfortable situation.
As for food, we think not of it. In nine cases out of ten h.k
will not touch anj^hing ; or if he is inclined to eat, we give him
nothing but a bran-mash, or a little green feed, or a few carrots
We now look about us for some counter-irritant. Therefore
we blister the sides and the brisket, and produce all the irritation
we can on the skin ; and in proportion as we do so, we abate, or
stand a chance of abating, the inflammation within.
We have recourse to a blister in preference to a seton ; and
decidedly so, for our stimulus can be spread over a larger surface,
— there is more chance of its being applied to the imm.ediate
neighborhood of the original inflammation — and, most assuredly,
from the extent of surface on which we can act, we can employ
a quantity of stimulus beyond comparison greater than a seton
would permit us to do. Roicels are frequently excellent adju-
vants (aids) to the blister, but should not be depended upon alone.
In the latter stage of disease the blister will not act, because
the powers of nature are exliausted. We must repeat it, — we
must rouse the sinking energies of the frame, if we can, although
the effort will generally be fruitless. The not rising of a blister,
in the latter stage of the disease, may, too often, be regarded as
the precursor of death, especially if it is accompanied by a livid
or brown color of the membrane of the nose.
Pneumonia, like bronchitis, requires anxious watching. The
first object is to subdue the inflammation, and our measures must
be prompt and decisive. If the mouth continues hot, and the
extremities cold, and the nose red, we must bleed again and again,
and that in rapid succession. The good which we can do must
be done at first, or not at all.
When we have obtained a little returning warmth to the ex-
192 INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS.
treraities, we must continue to adminisier our sedative medicines
without one grain ol" a carminative or a tonic ; and the return of
the deathy-cold foot will be a signal for farther depletion.
* The commencement of the state of convalescence requires the
same guarded practice, as in bronchitis. As many horses arc lost
by impatience now, as by want of decision at first. If we have
Bubdued the disease, we should let well alone. We should guard
against the return of the foe by the continued administration of
our sedatives in smaller quantities ; but give no tonics unless de
bility is rapidly succeeding. When we have apparently weath-
ered the storm, we must still be cautious ; we must consider the
nature and the seat of the disease, and the predisposition to re-
turning inflammation. If the season will permit, two or three
months' run at grass should succeed our medical treatment ; but
if this is impracticable, we must put off the period of active work
as long as it can be delayed, and even after that permit the horse
to return as gradually as may be to his usual employment and
food.*
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — The diseases of the lungs liave been recently
carefully investigated, and we are enabled *•<■' detect three important vai-ie
ties in the inflammatory affections of the lungs and chest, viz., congestive iu-
fiam-.nation of the lungs, or pulmonary apoplexy — piieuinonia, or true inflam-
mation of the lungs — and pleurisy, or pleuritis. The first consists in the
distention of the small vessels of the lungs with dark venous blood, and is
generally produced by over-exertion, particularly if the animal, when at
tacked, is not in proper condition for work. The symptoms are rapid breath
ing, cold extremities, and short duration of the disease, ending either in death
or recovery. When death supervenes, tlie lungs are black, as stated in the
text. With regard to treatment, bleeding should be adopted if the pulse is
disthict as well as rapid ; if not, a diffusible stimulant should first be given
and bleeding should follow.
True pneumonia is longer in its duration, but the symptoms are often ob
scure at first. There is considerable distress, but there does not appear to
be any active pain ; and in this respect it may generally be distinguished
from pleurisy. The pulse is full, strong, and rapid — pain, sometimes acute
but varying from time to time, and the blood presenting a considerable
quantity of buff, or fibrine. The tendencies of the disease are either the
deposition of water in the chest, or else fibrous flakes, and sometimes both
conjoined.
Sometimes pneumonia and pleurisy are combined together, causing pleuro-
mieumonia, and then the danger is increased at the same time, as the symp-
toms are rendered more obscure.
Blood-letting is one of the first of our remedial measures for these dis-
eases, but is called for in a more marked degree in pleurisy than in pneu-
nonia. The pulse, however, in both cases must be our guide as to the quan-
tity to be taken ; and, as stated in the text, a decided effect should be ob-
tained. Repetition of bleeding, too, may be had recourse to with greater
freedom, in pleurisy than in pneumonia. In the latter disease, we must take
care tnat we do not shipwreck the vital powers by repeated and too copious
bleeding, or mistake the effects produced by bleeding for the symptoms
of the disease itself It is only by the conjoint aids of science and experi
"•HIl0^f'C COUGH. 193
OnROMC COUGH.
It would occupy too much space to treat all the causes of this
obstinate cough. Irritability of" the air-passages, occasioned by
previous inflammation, is the most ,frequent. It is sometimes
connected with worms ; it is sometimes caused by glanders. It
is the necessary attendant of thick or broken wind.
n a harsh hollow cough is accompanied by a staring coat, and
the appearance of worms, — a few worm-balls may expel the
worms, and remove the irritation of the intestinal canal. If it pro-
ceeds 11 om m-itability of the air-passages, which will be discov-
ered by the horse coughing after drinking, or when he first goes
out of tne stable m the morning, or by his occasionally snorting
out thicK mucus from the nose, medicines may be given, and
sometimes with advantage, to diminish irritation generally.
Small dosess of digitalis, emetic tartar, and nitre, administered
every nignc, frequently have a beneficial effect, especially when
mixed witn car, which seems to have a powerful influence in
allaying tlie irritation. These balls should, if necessary, be reg-
ularly given lor a considerable time. They are sufficiently pow
erful to quiet blight excitement of this kind, but not to nauseate
the horse, or interfere with his food or his work. A blister,
extending from the root of one ear to that of the other, taking in
the Avhole of ine channel, and reaching six or eight inches down
ence that these nice discriminations can be made; it is therefore the height
of folly for the infcxpeiienced owner to attempt to treat such cases himself.
When plemisy ai.d pneumonia are combined, the symptoms, though ex-
tremely severe, are yet very obscure, anrl the chances of successful treatment
are much diminished. Tne water in the chest spoken of in the text, is the
termination of pleurisy, aj.J becomes fatal in a majority of cases (particu-
larly if, in addition to this ^orous fluid, flakes of lymph are also thrown out).
In some cases where water in the chest has supervened early, and the inflam-
mation has otherwise subsided, relief has been obtained by tapping.
We have little to add with regard to the treatment of these inflamma-
tory diseases, except that we do not approve of the many repeated bleed-
ings advised in the text. It is rarely the case that more "than one bleeding
is desirable, but this in general should be very copious. The best guide as
to the propriety of bleeding is the strength of the pulse and not its frequency.
If some hours after the first bleeding the pulse is still strong and full, as
well as quick, then bleeding is most probably called for again, and more
particularly if the blood has exhibited a thick buffy coat. If the first bleed-
ing has exhibited no buff on the surface, then a repetition of bleeiling is
rarely demanded. Aloes should he always eschewed, and diuretics should
not be continued rifter twelve drachm^ or two ounces of nitre or resin have
been taken. We have also found very good effects from the administration
of small doses of calomel and opium, twice a day, two scruples of the for-
mer, and one of the latter, being suflficient for a dose ; and we have also
found an ounce or two of the spirit of nitrous ether very serviceable in the
early stage of the disease, particularly if the legs and ears are cold.
19 T
]\)-i THICK-WIND.
the windpipe, has been tried, and often with good effect, on the
supposition that the irritation may exist at the roots of the tongue
or the larynx. The bUster has sometimes been extended through
the whole course of the windpipe, until it enters the chest.
Feeding has much influence on this complaint. Too much
dry feed, and especially chalT, increase it. It is aggravated
when the horse is suffered to eat his litter ; and is often relieved
when spring tares are given. Carrots afford decided relief.
The seat of the disease, however, is so uncertam, and all oui
means and appliances so inefficacious, and the cough itself so
little interfering, and sometimes interfering not at all with the
health of the animal, that it i& scarcely worth while to persevere
in any mode of treatment that is not evidently attended with
benefit.
When chronic cough chiefly occurs after eating, the seat of
the disease is evidently in the substance of the lungs. In the
violent effort of the lungs to discharge their functions, when
laboring under congestion, irritation is produced, and the act of
coughing is the consequence. *"
THICK-WIND.
When treating of pneumonia, it was observed, that not only
are the vessels which spread over the delicate membrane of the
air-cells gorged with blood, but they are sometimes ruptured, and
the cells are filled with blood. The black, softened, pulpy
appearance of the lungs thus produced, has been adverted to. If
the horse is not destroyed by this injury to the structure of the
lungs, the serous portion of the effused blood is absorbed, and the
lung becomes organized in that solid form. Its appearance and
structure then much resemble that of a liver, and it is said to be
hepatizecl. This may occur in patches, or it may involve a con-
siderable portion of the lung.
If a portion of the lung is thus rendered impervious, the
remainder will have additional work to perform. The same
quantity of blood must be supplied with air ; and if the workmg
part of the machine is diminished, it must move with great
velocity as well as force — the respiration must be quicker and
more laborious. This quick and labored breathing can be de-
tected even when the animal is at rest ; and it is indicated
plainly enough by his sad distress when he is urged to unusual
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — Chronic cough is generally caused by long- con-
tinued or neglected catarrh, or sore throat. One of the best renaedies for an
obstinate cough that bids fair to become chronic is a seton under the throat
which should be kept in seven or eight weeks.
THICK-WIND. 195
or continued speed. The inspirations and the expirations are
shorter, as well as more violent ; the air must be more rapidly
admitted, and more thoroughly pressed out ; and this is accom-
panied by a peculiar sound that can rarely be mistaken.
The inflammatory stage of the disease having passed, the horse
is restored to comparative health, but in a thick-icinded state.
Auscultation will indicate the amount of the hepatization, and it
will enable us to distinguish between this cause of thick-wind
and that thickening of the air-passages which sometimes results
from bronchitis.
Of the treatment, little can be said. We know not by what
means we can excite the absorbents to take up the sohd organ-
ized mass of hepatization, or restore the membrane of the cells,
and the minute vessels ramifying over them, now confounded
and lost. We have a somewhat better chance, and yet not much,
in removing the thickening of the membrane, for counter-irritants,
extensively and perseveringly applied to the external parietes of
the chest, may do something. If thick- wind immediately fol-
lowed bronchitis, it would certainly be justifiable practice to blis-
ter the brisket and sides, and that repeatedly ; and to administer
purgatives, if we dared, or diuretics, more effectual than the pur-
gatives, and always safe.
Our attention must be principally confined to diet and man-
agement. A thick- winded horse should have his full proportion,
or rather more than liis proportion of grain, and a diminished
quantity of less nutritious food, in order that the stomach may
never be overloaded, and press upon the diaphragm, and so upon
the lungs, and increase the labor of these already over- worked
organs. Particular care should be taken that the horse is not
worked immediately after a full meal. The overcoming of the
pressure and weight of the stomach, will be a serious addition to
the extra work which the lungs already have to perform from
their altered structure. .
Thick-wind may be to some extent iKilliated by daily exer
cising the horse to the fair extent of liis power, and without seri-
ously distressing him.
Thick-wind, however, is not always the consequence of disease.
There are certain cloddy, round-chested horses, that are naturall)
thick-winded, at least to a certain extent. They are capable of
that slow exertion for which nature designed them, but they art
immediately distressed if put a little out of their usual pace. A
circular chest, whether the horse is large or small, indicates thick
wind.
196 SROKEN-WIND.
BROKEN-WIND*
This Is immediately recognizable by the manner of breathing
The inspiration is performed in somewhat less than the natural
time, and with an increased degree of labor ; but the expiration
has a peculiar difficulty accompanying it. It is accomplished by
a double effort, in the first of which, as Mr. Blaine has well
explained it, " the usual muscles operate ; and in the other, the
auxiliary muscles, particularly the abdominal, are put on the
sti'etch to complete the expulsion more perfectly ; and that being
done, the flank falls, or the abdominal muscles relax with a
kind of jerk or spasm."
This is attributable to an emphysematous state of the lungs.
The inner membrane of the bronchial tubes swells and partly
obstructs them. The powerful muscles of inspiration, however,
overcome that obstruction, and fill the cells of the lungs with air.
But there are no such muscles to aid expiration — ^to force the air
out again. It is left chiefly to the elasticity of the parts — suffi-
cient when the bronchial tubes are in their ordinary unobstructed
condition, but not sufficient when they are so obstructed as to
retjuire considerable force to press the air through them. Ac-
cordingly the air remains imprisoned in the cells, and eveiy suc-
ceeding inspiration introduces more air into them until they are
ruptured, or the dilated condition becomes permanent.
Broken-wind is preceded or accompanied by cough — a cough
perfectly characteristic, and by which the horseman would, in the
daik, detect the existence of the disease. It is short — seemingly
cut short — grunting, and followed by whepzing. When the ani-
mal is suddenly struck or threatened, there is a low grunt of the
same nature as that of roaring, but not so loud. Broken-wind is
usually preceded by cough ; the cough becomes chronic, leads on
to thick- wind, and then there is but a step to broken- wind. It is
the consequence of the cough which accompanies catarrh and
bronchitis oftener than that attending or following pneumonia ;
and of inflammation, and probably, thickening of the membrane
of the bronchise, rather than of congestion of the air-cells.
A troublesome cough, and sometimes of long continuance, is
the foundation of the disease, or indicates that irritable state of
the bronchial membrane with which broken-wi rid is almost neces-
sarily associated. Horses that are greedy feeders, or devour large
quantities of slightly nutritious food, or are worked with a stom-
ach distended by this food, are very subject to broken- wind.
3Iore depends upon the management of the food and exercise than
is generally supposed. The post-horse, the coach-horse, and the
* Called Heaves in the United States,
BROKEN-WIND 197
racer, are comparatively seldom broken- winded. They are fed,
at stated periods, on nutritious food that lies in little compass, and
their hours of feeding and of exertion are so arranged that they
seldom work on a full stomach. The agricultural horse is toe
often fed on the very refuse of the farm, and his hours of feeding,
and his hours of work, are frequently irregular ; and the carriage-
horse, although fed on more nutritious food, is often summoned
to work, by his capricious master, the moment his meal is de-
voured.
A rapid gallop on a full stomach has often produced broken-
wind ; but generally, probably, there has been some gradual prep-
aration for the result. There has been chronic cough, more than
usually disturbed respiration after exercise, &c. Galloping after
drinking has been censured as a cause of broken- wind, but it is
not half so dangerous as galloping with a stomach distended with
food.
It is said that broken-winded horses are foul feeders, because
they devour almost everything that comes in their way, and thus
impede the play ol' the lungs ; but there is so much sympathy be-
tween the respiratory and digestive systems, that one cannot be
much deranged without the other evidently suffering. Flatu-
lence, and a depraved appetite, may be the consequence as well
as the cause of broken-wnid ; and there is no pathological fact of
more frequent occurrence than the co-existence of indigestion and
flatulence with broken-wind.
The narrow-chested horse is more subject to broken- wind than
the broader and deeper chested one, for there is not so much room
for the lungs to expand when rapid progression requires the full
discharge of their function.
Is broken- wind hereditary ? We believe so. It may be re-
ferred to hereditary conformation — to a narrower chest, and more
fragile membrane — and predisposition to take on those inflamma-
tor}^ diseases which end in broken-Avind ; and the circular chest,
which cannot enlarge its capacity when exertion requires it, must
render both thick and broken- wind of more probable occurrence.
Is there any cure for broken- wind ? None I No medical skill
can repair the broken-down structure of the lungs.
If, however, we cannot cure, we may in some degree palliate
broken-wnid ; and, first of all, we must attend carefully to the
feeding. The food should lie in little compass — plenty of oat?
and little hay, but no c\ aff'. Chafl^is particularly objectionable,
from the rapidity with -v\ lich it is devoured, and the stomach dis-
tended Water should oe given in moderate quantities, but tlie
horse should not be suffered to drink as much as he likes until the
day's work is over. G reen feed will always be serviceable. Car-
rui» are particularly useful. They are readily digested, and ap-
1.98 UllOKEiN-WlND.
pear to have a peculiarly beneficial effect on the respiratory
system.
Many horses become broken-winded even in the straw-yard.
Keepmg the stomach constantly distended to get enough nutriment
from such poor feed, and consequently habitually pressing on the
lungs, the latter are easily ruptured when the horse plays with
his companions.
The pursive or broken-winded horse should be exercised daily
By attention to this and to his feeding he may be rendered com-
fortable to liimself, and no great nuisance to his owner. Occa-
sional physic, or alterative medicine, will often give considerable
relief where the broken- winded animal has been urged unpre-
pared, or with a stomach full of food, on a journey, and is suffer-
ing the consequences of it.
Thick- wind and broken- wind exist in various degrees, and with
many shades of difference. They have assumed various names.
Pipers make a shrill noise when in quick action. This is a
species of roaring. The wheezer utters a sound not unlike that
of an asthmatic person when a little hurried. This can be heard
even when the horse is at rest in the stable. The ivhistler utters
a shriller sound than the wheezer, but only when in exercise, and
that of some continuance. A sharp gallop up hill will speedily
detect it. It is a great nuisance to the rider, and such a horse
becomes speedily distressed.
When the obstruction seems to be principally in the nose, the
horse loudly puffs and blows, and the nostrils are dilated to the
utmost, while the flanks are comparatively quiet. This animal
is said to be a High-blower.^ With all' his apparent distress,
he often possesses great speed and endurance. The sound is un-
pleasant, but the lungs may be perfectly sound.
Every horse violently exercised on a full stomach, or when
overloaded with fat, will grunt almost like a hog ; but there are
some horses who will at all times emit it, if suddenly touched with
the wliip or spur. They are called Grunters, and should be
avoided. It is the consequence of previous disease, and is fre-
quently followed by thick or broken- wind, or roaring. f
* Eclipse (the English horse of that name), perhaps as good a horse aa
ever run, was a high-blower. — Am. Ed.
f Note by Mr. Spooner. — The term piper is applied solely to a broken-
winded horse, and not to any variety of roar' f. The terms wheezing and
whistling are simply varieties of roaring, and e<press the noise made in the
act of respiration. [Mr. Spooner's description )f the pathology and treat-
ment of broken- wind offers nothine of importance that is not found in the
textl
CONSUMPTION. 199
PHTHISIS PULMONALIS, OR CONSUMPTION.
This fatal complaint is usually connected with, or the conse-
quence ot", pneumonia or pleurisy, and especially in horses of a
peculiar formation or temperament.
If a narrow-chested, flat-sided horse is attacked by inflamma-
tion of the lungs, or severe catarrhal fever, experience tells us
that we shall have more difficulty in subduing the disease in him,
than in one deeper in the girth or rounder in the chest.
When this disease has been properly treated, and apparently
subdued, this horse cannot be quickly and summarily dismissed to
his work. He is sadly emaciated — he long continues so — his coat
stares — his skin clings to his ribs — his belly is tucked up, notwith-
standing that he may have plenty of mashes, and carrots, and
green meat, and medicine — his former gaiety and spirit do not re-
turn, or if he is willing to work he is easily tired, sweating on the
least exertion, and the sweat most profuse about the chest and
sides — his appetite is not restored, or, perhaps, never has been
good, and the slightest exertion puts him completely off his feet.
"We observe him more attentively, and, even as he stands quiet
in his stall, the flanks heave a little more laboriously than they
should dp, and that heaving is painfully quickened when sudden
exertion is required. He coughs sorely, and discharges from the
nose a mucus tinged with blood, or a fluid decidedly purulent —
the breath becomes offensive — the pulse is always above 40, and
strangely increased by the slightest exertion.
When many of these symptoms are developed, the animal will
exhibit considerable pain on being gently struck on some part of
the chest ; the cough then becomes more frequent and painful ;
the discharge from the nose more abundant and fetid, and the
emaciation and consequent debihty more rapid, until death closes
the scene.
The lesions that are presented after death are very uncertain
Generally there are tubercles ; sometimes very minute, at other
times large in size. They are in different states of softening, and
some of them have burst into the bronchial passages, and exhibit
abscesses of enormous bulk. Other portions of the lungs are
shrunk, flaccid, indurated or hepatized, and of a pale or red-brown
color ; and there are occasional adhesions between the lungs and
the sides of the chest.
There is some difficulty in deciding whether consumption is
hereditary ; but those conformations which lead to this disease
are hereditary, and thus far the disease is.
If the horse is not very bad, and it is spring of the year, a run
at grass may be tried. But the apparent amelioration is often
transient.
'/JOO PLEURISY.
The medical treatment, if any is tried, will depend on two si
pie and unerring guides, the pulse and the membrane of tW
nose. If the first is quick and hard, and the second streaked with
red, bleeding should be resorted to, Small bleedings of one ox
two quarts, omitted when the pulse is quieted and the nostril is
pale, may be effected. Coiinter-irritanU will rarely do harm,
rhey should be applied in the form of blisters, extendnig over the
sides, and thus brought as near as possible to the afiected part.
Sedative 'medicines should be perseveringly administered : and
here, as in acute inflammation, the chief dependence will be
placed on digitalis. It should be given in small doses until a
slightly intermittent pulse is produced; and that state oi" the con-
stitution should be maintained by a continued exhibition of the
medicine. Nitre may be added as a diuretic, and j^ulvis anti-
nionialis as a diaphoretic.
Any tonics here ? Yes, the tonic effect of mild and nutritious
food — green food of almost every kind, carrots particularly,
mashes, and now and then a malt mash.
But anything like a cure in confirmed phthisis is out of the
question, and all the practitioner can do is to detect the dis-
ease in its earliest state, and alJay the irritation which causes oi
accompanies the growth of the tubercles.
PLEURISY.
The prevailing causes of pleurisy are the same as those which
produce pneumonia — exposure to wet and cold, sudden altera-
tions of temperature, partial exposure to cold, riding against a
keen wind, immersion as high as the chest in cold water, drink-
ing cold water, and extra work of the respiratory machine. To
these may be added, wounds penetrating into the thorax and la-
cerating the pleura, fracture of the ribs, or violent contusions on
the side, the inflammation produced by which is propagated
through the parietes of the chest.
It is sometimes confined to one side, or to one of the pleura on
either side, or even to patches on that pleura, whether pulmonary
(of the lungs), or costal (of the ribs).
The first symptom is rigor (chill) followed by increased heat
and partial sweats : to these succeed loss of appetite and spirits,
and a low and painful cough. The hispiration is a short, sudden
effort, and broken off^ before it is fully accomplished, indicating
the pain felt from the distention of the irritable, because inflamed,
membrane. This symptom is exceedingly characteristic. In the
human being it is well expressed by the term stitch, and an ex-
Qeedingly painful feeling it is. The expiration is retarded as
PLEURISY. 201
much as possible, by the use of all the auxiliary muscles which
the animal can press into the service ; but it at length finishea
abruptly in a kind of spasm. This peculiarity of breathing, once
carefully observed, cannot be forgotten. The next character is
found in the tenderness of the sides vi^hen the costal pleura is
affected. This tenderness often exists to a degree scarcely credi-
ble. If the side is pressed upon, the horse will recede with a low
painful grunt ; he will tremble, and try to get out of the way
before the hand touches him again. Then comes another indi-
cation, both of pain and the region of that pain, — the intercos-
tal muscles, affected by the contiguous pleura, and in their turn
affecting the subcutaneous muscular expansion without — there
are twitchings of the skin on the side — corrugations (wrinldes)
— waves creeping over the skin. This is never seen in pneumonia.
There is, however, as we may expect, the same disinclination to
move, for every motion must give intense pain.
The pulse should be anxiously studied. It presents a decided
difference of character from that of pneumonia. It is increased
in rapidity, but instead of being oppressed and sometimes almost
unappreciable, as in pneumonia, it is round, full, and strong.
Even at the last, when the strength of the constitution begins
to yield, the pulse is wiry, although small.
The extremities are never deathly cold ; they may be cool,
they are oftener variable, and they sometimes present increased
heat. The body is far more liable to variations of temperature ;
and the cold and the hot fit more frequently succeed each other.
The mouth is not so hot as in pneumonia, and the breath is
rarely above its usual temperature.
A difference of character in the two diseases is here particu-
larly evident on the membrane of the nose. Neither the crimson
nor the purple injection of pneumonia is seen on the lining of
the nose, but a somewhat darker, dingier hue.
Both the pneumonic and pleuritic horse will look at his flanks,
thus pointing out the seat of disease and pain ; but the horse with
pneumonia will turn himself more slowly round, and long and
steadfastly gaze at his side, while the action of the horse with
pleurisy is more sudden, agitated, spasdomic. The countenance
of the one is that of settled distress ; the other brightens up occa-
sionally. The pang is severe, but it is transient, and there are
intervals of relief While neither will lie down or willingly
move, and the pneumonic horse stands fixed as a statue, the
pleuritic one shrinks, and crouches almost to falling. If he lies
down, it is on the affected side, when the disease is confined to
one side only. The head of the horse with inflammation of tlie
substance of the lungs, hangs heavily ; that of the other is
protruded.
202 PLEUUISY.
We here derive most important assistance from Auscultation.
In a case of pleurisy we have no crepitating, crackhng sound,
referable to the infiltration of the blood through the gassamer
membrane of the air-cells ; we have not even a louder and dis-
tincter murmur. Perhaps there is no variation from the sound
of health, or, if there is any difference the murmur is I'ainter ;
for the pleural membrane is thickened, and its elasticity is im-
paired, and the sound is not so readily transmitted. There is
sometimes a slight rubbing sound, and especially towards the
superior region of the chest, as if there was friction between the
thickened and indurated membranes.
To this may be added the different character of the cough,
sore and painful enough in both, but in pneumonia generally hard,
and full, and frequent. In pleurisy it is not so frequent, but faint,
suppressed, cut short, and rarely attended by discharge from the
nose.
These are sufficient guides in the early stage of the disease,
when it is most of all of importance to distinguish the one from
the other.
If after a few days the breathing becomes a little more natu-
ral, the inspiration lengthened and regular, and the expiration,
although still prolonged, is suffered to be completed — if the
twitchings are less evident and less frequent — if the cough can
be fully expressed — if the pulse softens, although it may not dimin-
ish in frequency, and if the animal begins to lie down, or walks
about of his own accord, there is hope of recovery. But if the
pulse quickens, and, although smaller, yet possesses the wiry char-
acter of inflammation — if the gaze at the flanks, previously by
starts, becomes fixed as well as anxious, and the difficulty of
breathing continues (the difficulty of accomjMshing it, although
the efforts are oflener repeated) — if patches of sweat break out,
and the animal gets restless — paws — shifts his posture every
mmute — is unable longer to stand, yet hesitates whether he
shall lie down, — determines on it again and again, but fears,
and at length drops, rather than lies gently down, a fatal termi-
nation is at hand. For some time before his death the effusion
and its extent will be evident enough. He not only walks un
willingly, but on the slightest exercise his pulse is strangely
accelerated ; the feeling of suffocation comes over him, and he
stops all of a sudden, and looks wildly about and trembles ; but
he quickly recovers himself and proceeds. There is also, when
the effusion is confirmed, oedema (swelling from a dropsical hu-
w.yf) of some external part, and that occasionally to a very great
<5Aient. This is oftenest observed in the abdomen, thu chest
and the point of the breast.
The immediate cause of dea*^h is effusion in the chest, ooir
PLEURISY. 203
pressing the lungs on every side, rendering expiration difficult
and at length impossible, and destroying the animal by suiibca-
tion. The very commencement of eliusion may be detected by
auscultation. There will be the cessation of the respiratory mur-
mur at the sternum, and the increased grating — not the crepitat-
ing, crackling noise as when congestion is going on — not the
feebler murmur as congestion advances ; but the absence of it,
beginning from the bottom of the chest.
It is painfully interesting to watch the progress of the eiTu-
Bion — how the stillness creeps up, and the murmur gets louder
above, and the grating sound louder too, until at length there
is no longer room for the lungs to play, and suffocation ensues.
The fluid contained in the chest varies in quantity as well as
appearance and consistence. Many gallons have been found in
the two sacs, pale, or yellow, or bloody, or often differing in the
two sides of the thorax ; occasionally a thick adventitious coat
covering the costal or the pulmonary pleura — rarely much adhe-
sion, but tht lungs purple-colored, flaccid, compressed, not one-
fourth of the r usual size, immersed in the fluid, and rendered
incapable of xpanding by its pressure.
Here, as ii. pneumonia, the bleeding should be prompt and
copious. Next, and of great importance, aperient medicine
should be administered — that, the eflect of which is so desirable,
but which we do not dare to give when the mucous membrane
of the respirat -ry passages is the seat of disease. Here w^e have
to do with a serous membrane, and there is less sympathy with
the mucous membranes of either cavity. Small doses of aloes
should be given with the usual fever niedicine, and repeated
morning and night until the dung becomes pultaceous, when it
will always be prudent to stop. The sedative medicine is that
which has been recommended in pneumonia, and in the same
doses. Next should follow a blister on the chests and sides.
It is far preferable to setons, for it can be brought almost into con-
tact with the inflamed surface, and extended over the whole of
that surface. An airy, but a comfortable box, is likewise even
more necessary than in pneumonia, and the practice of exposure,
uncovered, to the cold, even more absurd and destructive. The
blood, repelled from the skin by the contractile, depressing
influence of the cold, would rush with fatal impetus to the neigh
boring membrane, to which it was before dangerously deter
mined. Warm and comfortable clothing cannot be dispensed
with in pleurisy.
The sedative medicines, however, should be omitted much
sooner than in pneumonia, and succeeded by diuretics. The
common turpentine :s as good as any, made into a ball with
linseed meal, and given in doses of two or three drachms twice in
204 PLEURISY.
the day. If the constitution is much impaired, tonics may be
cautiously given, as soon as the violence of the disease is abated.
The spirit of nitrous ether is a mild stimulant and a diuretic.
Small quantities of gentian and ginger may be added, but the
turpentine must not be omitted.
By auscultation and other modes of examination, the existence
f water in the chest is perhaps ascertained, and, possibly, it is
increasing. Is there any mechanical way of getting rid of it ''
There is one to which recourse should be had as soon as it is evi-
dent that there is considerable fluid in the chest. The operation
of Paracentesis, or tapping, should be performed ; it is a very
simple one. The side-line may be had recourse to, or the twitch
alone may be used. One of the horse's legs being held up, and,
counting back from the sternum to between the seventh and
eighth ribs, the surgeon should pass a moderate-sized trochar into
the chest immediately above the cartilages. He will not have
selected the lowest situation, but as near it as he could with
safety select ; for there would not have been roon between the
cartilages if the puncture had been lower ; and the-e would have
been injured in the forcing of the instrument betv een them, or,
what is worse, there would have been great hazar(i of wounding
the pericardium, for the apex of the heart rests on the sternum.
Through this aperture, close to the cartilages, the far greater part
of the fluid may be evacuated. The operator "»vill now with-
draw the stilette, and let the fluid run through tl e canula. He
will not trouble himself afterwards about the vvound ; it will
heal readily enough ; perhaps too quick, for, <.'()uld it be kept
open a few days, it might act as a very useful drain. It should
he attempted early. Recourse should be had to the operation as
soon as it is ascertained that there is considerable fluid in the chest,
for the animal will at least be relieved for a while, and some
time will have been given for repose to the overlabored lungs,
and for the system generally to be recruited. The fluid will bo
evacuated before the lungs are too much debilitated by laboriou<i
action against the pressure of the water, and a state of collapse
brought on, from which they will be incapable of recovering
They only who have seen the collapsed and condensed state ol
the lung that had been long compressed by the fluid, can con
ceive of the extent to which this is carried.
Few cases of tapping have been permanently successful, buv
the leason has been that they have not been early enough re
sorted to.
If there is fluid in both cavities of the thorax, but one side
should be operated on at once, and the other one, the succeeding
day.
There is in pleurisy a far greater tendency to relapse than m
PLEURISY. 205
pneumonia. Edematous swellings, coug-h, disinclination to work,
pleuritic stitches, which might easily be mistaken for colicky
pains, often succeed it.
There is a greater disposition to metastasis or shifting of the
seat of the inflammatif n, than in pueumonia. It attacks almost
every part. Dropsy is the most frequent change — effusion in the
abdomen is substituted for effusion in the chest or thorax.
CHAPTER IX.
THE ABDOMEN AND ITS CONTENTS.
THE STOMACH.
Fig. 21.
a The oesophagus or gullet, extending to the stomach.
b The entrance of the gullet into the stomach. The circular layers of the mu8
cles are very thick and strong, and which, by their contractions, help
to render it difficult for the food to be returned or vomited.
c The portion of the .stomach which is covered by cuticle, or in.sensible skin.
d d The margin, vshich separates the cuticular from the villous portion.
e e The mucous, or villous (velvet) portion of the stomach, in which the food ia
principally digested.
f The communication between the stomach and the first intestine.
g The common orifice through which the bile and the secretion from the pan-
creas pass into the first intestine. The two pins mark the two tubes
here united
h. A smaller orifice, through which a portion of the secretion of the pancrea«i
enters the intestines.
The oesophagus (gullet) extends from the mouth down the left
side of the neck, and enters the stomach in a somewhat curvec'
THE STOMACH. 207
direction. It is so constructed at its entrance into the stomach,
that a return of the food by vomiting is almost impossible.
The stomach of the horse is so situated that it must be dis-
placed and driven back by every contraction of the diaphragm
(midrifi') or act of inspiration ; and iii proportion to the fulness
of the stomach will be the weight to be overcome, and the labor
of the diaphragm, and the exhaustion of the animal. Hence
the frequency and labor of the breathing, and the quickness with
which such a horse is blo\\ai, or possibly destroyed. Hence also
the folly of giving too full a meal, or too much water, before the
horse starts on a journey or for the chase.
The stomach has four coats. The outermost is the lining of
the cavity of the belly, and the common covering of all the
intestines — that by which they are confined in their respective
situations, and from which a fluid is secreted that prevents all
friction between them. This is called the peritoneum — that
which stretches round the inside of the stomach.
The second is the muscular coat, consisting of two layers of
fibres, one running lengthways, and the other circularly, and by
means of which a constant gentle motion is communicated to the
stomach, mingling the food more intimately together, and pre-
paring it for digestion, and by the pressure of which the food
when properly prepared is urged on into the intestines.
The third, or cuticular {sJcin-like) coat, c, covers but a portion
of the inside of tha stomach. It is a continuation of the lining
of the gullet. There are numerous glands on it, which secrete a
mucous fluid ; and it is probably intended to be a reservoir in
which a portion of the food is retained for a while, and softened
and better prepared for the action of the other or true digestive
portion of the stomach. The cuticular coat occupies nearly one
half of the inside of the stomach. *
The fourth coat is the mucous or villous (velvet) coat, e, where
the work of digestion properly commences. The mouths of nu-
merous little vessels open upon it, pouring out a peculiar fluid,
the gastric (stomach) juice, which mixes with the food already
softened, and converts it into a fluid called chyme. As this is
formed, it passes out of the other orifice of the stomach, the p>y^o-
rus (doorkeepers),/, and enters the first small intestine ; the harder
and undissolved parts being turned back to undergo farther action.
The stomach is occasionally subject to inflammation and
various other injuries.
The symptoms, however, are obscure and frequently mistaken.
They resemble those of colic more than anything else, and should
be met by bleeding, oily purges, mashes, warm gruel, and the
application of the stomach-pump : but when, in addition to the
colicky pains, there appear indistinctness of the pulse — and a
208
BOTS.
very characteristic symptom that is — pallidness of the mem-
branes, coldness of the mouth, frequent lying down, and in such
position that the weight of the horse may rest on the chest, fre-
quently pointing with his muzzle at the seat of pain, and, espe-
cially, if these symptoms are accompanied or followed by vomit-
ing, rupture of the stomach is plainly indicated. The horse
does not necessarily die as soon as this accident occurs. In a
case related by Mr. Rogers, the animal died in about four
hours after the accident, but in one that occurred in the prac-
tice of the author, three days elapsed between the probable
rupture of the stomach, from a sudden and violent fall, and the
death of the animal, and in which interval he several times ate
a little food.
Wisely considering the shocks and dangers to which it is
exposed, the stomach is extremely insensible.
BOTS.
In the spring and early part of the summer, horses are
much troubled by a grub or caterpillar, which crawls out of
the anus, fastens itself under the tail, and seems to cause a
great deal of itching or uneasiness. Grooms are sometimes
alaimed at the appearance of these insects. Their history is
curious, and will dispel every fear with regard to them. We
are indebeted to Mr. Bracy Clark for almost all we know of
the bot.
Fig. 28.
a and b The eggs of the gad-fly, adhering to the hair of the horse.
c The appearance of the bots on the stomach, firmly adhering by their
hooked mouths. The marks or depressions are seen which are left
on the coat of the stomach when the bots are detached from their hold
d The bot detached.
e The female of the gad-fly, of the horse, prepared to deposit her egga.
/ The gad-fly by which the red bots are produced
er The en- ." - • or r«^>d hwt
BOTS. 209
A species of gad-fly, c, the oetrus equi, is in the latter part of
the summer exceediiig:ly busy about the horse. It is observed
to be darting with great rapidity towards the knees and sides of
the animul. The females are deposithig their eggs on the hair,
and wliich adhere to it by means of a glutinous fluid with
which they are surrounded (a and b). In a few days the eggs
are ready to be hatched, and the slightest application of warmth
and moisture will liberate the little animals which they contam.
The horse in hcking himself touches the Qgg ; it bursts, and a
small worm escapes, which adheres to the tongue, and is con-
veyed with the food into the stomach. There it clings to the
caticular portion of the stomach, c, by means of a hook on
either side of its mouth ; and its hold is so firm and so obstinate,
that it must be broken before it can be detached. It remains
there feeding on the mucus of the stomach during the whole of
the winter, and until the end of the ensuing spring ; when,
having attained a considerable size, d, and being destined to
undergo a certain transformation, it disengages itself from the
cuticular coat, is carried into the villous portion of the stomach
with the food, passes out of it with the chyme, and is evacuated
with the dung.
The larva or maggot seeks shelter in the ground, and buries
Itself there ; it contracts in size, and becomes a chrysalis or
grub, in which state it lies inactive for a few weeks, and then,
bursting from its confinement, assumes the form of a fly. The
female, becoming impregnated, quickly deposits her eggs on
those parts of the horse which he is most accustomed to lick,
and thus the species is perpetuated.
There are several plain conclusions to be drawn from this
history. The bots cannot, while they inhabit the stomach of the
horse, give the animal any pain, for they have fastened on the
cuticular and insensible coat. They cannot be injurious to the
horse, for he enjoys the most perfect health when the cuticular
part of his stomach is filled with them, and their presence is
not even suspected until they appear at the anus. They cannot
be removed by medicine, because they are not in that part of
the stomach to which medicine is usually conveyed ; and if they
were, their mouths are too deeply buried in the mucus for any
medicine, that can be safely administered, to affect them ; and,
last of all, in due course of time they detach themselves, and
come away. Therefore, the wise man will leave them to them-
selves, or content himself with picking them off when they col-
lect under the tail and annoy the animal.
The smaller hot, / and g", is not so frequently found.
Of inflammation of the stomach of the horse, except from
poisonous herbs, v r dmgs, we know little. It rarely occurs. It
U
210
THE INTESTINES.
can witli difficulty be distinguished from inflammation of the
bowels ; and, in either case, the assistance of the veterinary sur-
geon is required.
Few horses are destroyed by poisonous plants in ou^ meadows
Natural instinct teaches the animal to avoid the greater part of
those that would be injurious.
THE INTESTINES.
The food having been partially digested in the stomach, and
converted mto chyme, passes through the pyloric or'^ce into the
intestines.
Fiff. 29.
a The commencement of the small intestines. The ducts which convey the
bile and the secretion from the pancreas are seen entering a little below.
b b The convolutions or winding of the small intestines.
c A portion of the mesentery.
d The small intestines, terminating in the caecum.
e The cajcum, or blind gut, with the bands running along it, puckering and
dividing it into numerous cells.
/The begiuuing of the colon.
q g The continuation and expansion of the colon, divided, like the caecum, into
cells.
h The termination of the colon in the rectum.
i The termination of the rectum at the anus.
The intestines of a full-gro^vn horse are not less than ninety
feet in length. They are divided into the small and large intes-
tines ; the former of which occupy about sixty-six feet, and the
latter twenty-four.
The intestines, like the stomach, are composed of three coats
viz., the peritoneum, the middle coat, and the mucous or villousj
one inside of the others.
THE INTESTINES. 211
The inte&tines are chiefly retained in their relative positions
by the mesentery, c, (middle of the intestines), which is a
doubling of" the peritoneum, including each intestine in its folds,
and also inclosing in its duplicatures the arteries, the veins, the
nerves, and the vessels which convey the nutriment from the
intestines to the circulation.
The first of the small intestines, and commencing from the
right extremity of the stomach, is the duodenum, a. It is the
largest and shortest of all the small intestines. It receives the
food partially converted into chyme by the digestive power of
the stomach, and in which it undergoes another and very im
portant change ; a portion of it being converted into chyle. It
is here mixed with the bile and the secretion from the pancreas
which enter this intestine about five inches from its commence-
ment. The bile seems to be the principal agent in this change,
for no sooner does it mingle with the chyme than that fluid
begins to be separated into two distinct ingredients — a white,
thick liquid termed chyle, and containing the nutr-tivj part of
the food, and a yellow, pulpy substance, the imiutritive portion,
which, when the chyle is all pressed from it, is evacuated through
the rectum.
The next portion of the small intestines is the Jejunum, so
called because it is generally found to be empty. It is smaller
in bulk and paler in color than the duodenum. It is more
loosely confined in the abdomen — floating comparatively unat-
tached in the cavity of the abdomen, and the passage of the
food being comparatively rapid through it.
There is no separation or distinction between it and the next
intestine — the Hewn. Together they form that portion of the
intestinal tube which floats in the umbilical region : the latter,
however, is said to occupy three-fifths, and the former two-fifths,
of this portion of the intestines, and the five would contain about
eleven gallons of fluid. The ileum diminishes in size as it ap-
proaches the larger intestines.
These two intestines are attached to the spine by a loose
doubling of the peritoneum, and float freely in the abdominal
cavity.
The large intestines are three in number : — the ccccum, the
colon, and the rectum. The first of them is the ccECum (blind
o-ut), e, — it has but one opening into it, and consequently every-
thing that passes into it, having reached the blind or closed end.
must return, in order to escape. It is not a continuation of the
ileum, but the ileum pierces the head of it, as it were, at right
angles, {d) and projects some way into it, and has a valve — the
valvula coli — at its extremity, so that what has traversed trie
ileum and entered the head of the colon, cannot return into the
212
THE INTESTINES.
ileum. Along the outside of tlie caecum run three strong bands,
each of them shorter than that mtestiiie, and thus puckering it
Fig. 30.
up, and ibrming it into three
sets of cells, as shown m the
accompanying side cut.
That portion of the food
which has not been taken up
by the lacteals or alsorbent
vessels of the small intestines,
passes through this valvulai
opening of the ileum, and a
part of it enters the colon,
while the remainder flows
into the caecum. Then, from
this being a blind pouch, and
from the cellular structure of
this pouch, the food must be
detained in it a very long time ; and in order that, during this
detention, all the nutriment maybe extracted, the caecum and its
cells are largely supphed with blood-vessels and absorbents. It is
principally the fluid part ol" the food that seems to enter the caecum.
A horse will drink at one time a great deal more than his stomach
will contain ; or even if he drinks a less quantity, it remains not
m the stomach or small intestines, but passes on to the CEecum,
and there is retained, as in a reservoir, to supply the wants
of the system. The caecum will hold four gallons.
The colo7i is an intestine of exceedingly large dimensions, and
is capable of containing no less than twelve gallons of liquid or
pulpy food. It has likewise, in the greater part of its course,
three bands like the caecum, which also divide it, internally, into
the same description of cells. The intention of this is evident, —
to retard the progress of the food, and to give a more extensive
surface on which the vessels of the lacteals may open ; and
therefore, in the colon, all the chyle is finally separated and
taken up. The food does not require to be much longer detained,
and the mechafiism for detaining it is gradually disappearing.
The colon, also, once more contracts in size, and the chyle hav-
ing been all absorbed, the remaining mass, being of a harder
consistence, is moulded into pellets or balls in its passage through
these shallower cells.
At the termination of the colon, the rectntn (straight gut)
commences. It is smaller in circumference and capacity than
the colon, although it will contain at least three gallons of water.
It serves as a reservoir for the dung until it is evacuated The
faeces descend to the rectum, which somewhat enlarges to receive
tJiem ; and when they have accumulated to a certain extent the
THE LTVER PANCREAS SPLEEN OMENTUM. 212
Animal, by the aid of the diaphragm and the muscles of the
belly, presses upon them, and they are evacuated. A curious
circular muscle, and always in action, called the sphincter (con-
strictor muscle), is placed at the anus, to prevent the constant
and unpleasant dropping of the fseces, (dung) and to retain them
until the horse is disposed voluntarily to expel them.
THE LIVER.
Between the stomach and the diaphragm — its right lobe or
division in contact with the diaphragm, the duodenum and the
right kidney, and the middle and left divisions with the stomach
— is the liver. It is an irregularly-shaped, reddish-brown sub-
stance, of considerable bulk, and performs a very singular and
important office.
The blood brought back by the veins from the stomach, intes-
tines, spleen, pancreas, and mesentery, instead of flowing directly
to the heart, pass first through the liver. As the blood traverses
this organ, the bile is separated from it, and discharged through
the hepatic duct directly into the duodenum, without the inter-
vention of any gall-bladder, as is found in most animals. The
bile is probably a kind of excrement, the continuance of which
in the blood would be injurious, and it doubtless aids in the pro-
cess of digestion.
THE PANCREAS.
In the domestic animals which are used for food, this organ is
called the siveet-bread. It lies between the stomach and left
kidney. It secretes a fluid which is carried into the intestines
by a duct which enters at the same aperture with that from the
liver. The specific use of this fluid is unknown, but is clearly
employed in aiding the process of digestion.
THE SPLEEN.
This organ, often called the melt, is a long, bluish-brown sub-
stance, broad and thick at one end, and tapering at the other ;
lying along the left side of the stomach, and between it and the
short ribs. The particular use of this organ has never been
clearly ascertained, for in some cruel experiments it has been
removed without apparent injury to digestion or any other func-
tion.
THE OMENTUM.
Or cawl, is a doubling of the peritoneum, or rather consists oi
214 THE OMENTUM.
four layers of it. It has been supposed to have been placed be-
tween the intestines and the walls of the belly, in order to
prevent concussion and injury during the rapid movement of
the animal. That, however, cannot be its principal use in the
horse, from whom the most rapid movements are required ; for
in him it is unusually short, extending only to the pancreas and
a small portion of the colon. Being, however, thus short, the
horse is exempt from a very troublesome, and occasionally, fatal
6pecies of rupture, when a portion of the omentum penetrates
through some accidental opening in the covering of the belly.
' CHAPTER L
THE DISEASES OF THE INTESTINES.
These form a very important and mysterious class of ailments.
They will be considered in the order in which the various con-
tents of the abdomen have been described.
THE DUODENUM.
This intestine is subject to many more diseases than are m-
cluded in the present imperfect veterinary nosology. The pas-
sage of the food through it has been impeded by stricture. The
symptoms resemble those of colic and end in death. It has been
perforated by bots, which have escaped into the abdomen, caus-
'ng death.
The diseases of the jejunum and the ileum consist either of
^,pasmodic affection or inflammation.
SPASMODIC COLIC.
The passage of the food through the intestinal canal is effected
by the alternate contraction and relaxation of the muscular coat
of the intestines. When that action is simply increased through
the whole of the canal, the food passes more rapidly, and purg-
ing is produced ; but the muscles of every part of the frame are
liable to irregular and spasmodic action, and the muscular coat
of some portion of the intestines may be thus afiected. The
spasm may be confined to a very small part of the canal. The
gut has been found, after death, strangely contracted in various
places, but the contraction not exceeding five or six inches in
any of them. In the horse, the ileum is the usual seat of this
disease. It is of much importance to distinguish between spas-
modic colic and inflammation of the bowels, for the symptoms
have considerable resemblance, although the mode of treatment
should be very different.
The attack of colic xs usually very sudden. There is often
216 SPASMODIC COLIC.
not the slightest warning. The horse begins to shift his posture,
look round at his flanks, paw violently, strike his belly with his
feet, and crouch in a peculiar manner, advancing his hind limbs
under him ; he will then suddenly lie, or rather fall down, and
balance himself upon his back, with his feet resting on his belly.
The pain now seems to cease for a little while, and he gets up,
and shakes himself, and begins to feed ; the respite, however, is
but short — the spasm returns more violently — every indication oi
pain is increased — he heaves at the flanks, breaks out into a pro-
fuse perspiration, and throws himself more recklessly about. In
the space of an hour or two, either the spasms begin to relax,
and the remissions are of longer duration, or the torture is aug-
mented at every paroxysm ; tlie intervals of ease are fewer and
less marked, and inflammation and death supervene. The pulse
is but little afi'ected at the commencement, but it soon becomes
frequent and contracted, and at length is scarcely tangible.
It will presently be seen that many of the symptoms very
closely resemble those of inflammation of the mucous membrane
of the bowels : it may therefore be useful to point out the lead-
ing distinctions between them.
COLIC. INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS.
Sudden in its attack. Gradual in its approach, -with pre-
vious indications of fever.
Pulse rarely much quickened in Pulse very much quickened, but
the early period of the disease, and small, and often scarcely to be felt,
during the intervals of ease; but
evidently fuller.
Legs and ears of the natural tern- Legs and ears coM.
perature.
ReUef obtained from rubbing the Belly exceedingly tender and pam-
belly. ful to the touch.
Relief obtained from motion. Motion evidently increasing the
pain.
Int<?rvals of rest. Constant pain.
Strength scarcely affected. Rapid and great weakness.
Among the causes of colic are, the drinking of cold water
when the horse is heated. There is not a surer origin of violent
spasm than this. Hard water is veiy apt to produce this effect.
Colic will sometimes follow the exposure of a horse to the cold
air or a cold wind after strong exercise. Green feed, although,
generally speaking, most beneficial to the horse, yet, given in too
large a quantity, or when he is hot, will frequently produce
gripes. Doses of aloes, both large and small, are not uniVequent
causes of colic. In some horses there seems to be a constitu
tional predisposition to colic. They cannot be hardly worked,
or exposed to unusual cold, without a fit of it. In many cases,
when these horses have died, calculi have been found in some
SPASMODIC COLIC. 217
part of the alimentary canal. Habitual costiveness and the
presence of calculi are frequent causes of spasmodic colic. The
seat of colic is occasionally the duodenum, but oflener the ileum
or the jejunum ; sometimes, however, both the cjECum and colon
are affected.
Fortunately we are acquainted with several medicines that
allay these spasms ; and the disease often ceases almost as sud-
denly as it appeared. Turpentine is one of the most powerful
remedies, especially in union with opium, and in good warm ale.
The account that has just been given of the ca3cum will not be
forgotten here. A solution of aloes will be advantageously added
to the turpentine and opium.
If reliei" is not obtained in half an hour, it will be prudent t(i
bleed, for the continuance of violent spasm may produce inflam-
mation. Some practitioners bleed at first, and it is far from bad
practice ; for although the majority of cases will yield to turpen-
tine, opium, and aloes, an early bleeding may occasionally pre-
vent the recurrence of inflammation, or at least mitigate it. If
it is clearly a case of colic, half of the first dose may be repeated,
with aloes dissolved in warm water. The stimulus produced on
the inner surface of the bowels by the purgative may counteract
the irritation that caused the spasm. The belly should be well
rubbed with a brush or warm cloth, but not bruised and injured
by the broom-handle rubbed over it, with all their strength, by
two ofieat fellows. The horse should be walked about, or trotted
moderately. The motion thus produced in the bowels, and the
tiiction of one intestine over the other, may relax the spasm, but
the hasty gallop might speedily cause inflammation to succeed
to colic. Clysters of warm water, or containing a solution of
9 Joes, should be injected. The patent syringe will here be ex-
ceedingly useful. A clyster of tobacco-smoke may be thrown up
•as a last resort.
When relief has been obtained, the clothing of the horse, satu-
rated with perspiration, should be removed, and fresh and dry
clothes substituted. He should be well littered down in a warm
stable or box, and have bran mashes and lukewarm water for the
next two or three days.
Some persons give gin, or gin and pepper, or even spirit of pi-
mento, in cases of gripes. This course of proceeding is, however,
exceedingly objectionable. It may be useful, or even sufficient
in ordinary cases of colic ; but if there should be any inflamma
tion., or tendency to inflammation, it caimot fail to be highly in-
jurious. =^
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — It is very important to discriminate accurately
between colic and inflammation of the bowels. The principal distinctive
J
118 FLATULENT COLiC.
FLATULENT COLIC.
This is altoofetlier a different disease from the former. It is
not spasm of the bowels, but inflation of them from the presence
of gas emitted by undigested food. Whether collected in the
Btomach, or small or large intestines, all kinds of vegetable mat-
ter are liable to ferment. In consequence of this fermentation,
gas is evolved to a greater or less extent — perhaps to twenty or
symptoms are these : in colic, although the pain is excessive, there are yet
occasional remissions of tlie paroxysms ; whilst in inflammation of the bow-
els, the agony continues without remission, but varying in severity according
to the violence of the disease. The pulse, too, in the latter disease is rapid,
and often small and thready ; whilst in the former, though it becomes more
rapid during the paroxysms, it subsides during the intervals of ease. A
careful examination of these distinctions will generally be sufficient to pre
vent any mistake with regard to the character of the disease. Indeed, we
must not rely on any others.
There appears to be three varieties of colic, spasmodic, flatulent, and ster-
coral, or that which proceeds from constipation or obstruction in the bowels,
The symptoms vary with the situation of the disease — whether in the siom
ach, the small, or the large intestines. Flat ulent colic generally affects either
the stomach or the large intestines. When the former, it is extremely dan-
gerous, and yet is relieved with greater rapidity than when elsewhere ex-
isting. In a case that proved fatal before any remedy was resorted to, the
stomach was found by the present writer distended to three times its ordi-
nary size. Flatulent may be distinguished from spasmodic colic principally
by the great distention of the abdomen which tf^kes place ; whilst stercoi-al
colic is marked by the less violent, though more obstinate, continuance of the
symptoms of pain. ^
For flatulent colic one of the best remedies is sulphuric ether, combined
with the tincture of opium, and even in other cases it is preferable to the
spirits of turpentine, which is apt to irritate and inflame the throat whilst
being administered, and the bowels likewise, if there is any accession of in-
flammation. If relief is not obtained in the course of an hour, bleeding
should be resorted to; and, if constipation is present, a watery infusion of
aloes, or a dose of oil, should be given with the antispasmodic. In stercoral
colic, dependence must be placed on relieving tlie ob-truction, and at the
same time keeping down pain and irritation by means of an opiate. For
these purposes large doses of linseed oil, such as a pint three times a day,
with an ounce of tlie tincture of opium, should be given until the desired/ib-
ject is attained. It is better, however, after the exhibition of a few doses, to
substitute the watery infusion of opium for the spirit, as htftwg less likely to
produce inflammation. By steadily pursuing this system of treatment, we
have, in many of the most obstinate and formidable cases, succeeded in es-
tablishing a cure. Other means, however, such as repeated and copious in-
jections, "should be had recourse to in addition ; and, as soon as the bowels
become relaxed, means should be used to counteract the excessive purgation
which follows, which, if effected by ordinary medicines, would be exceed
ngly dangerous, but when produced by means of linseed oil, is compara-
tively without danger. Drenches of thick flour gruel should be given ; with
two ounces of prepared chalk, and two drachms of tincture of opium, to stay
the bowels.
flatul^:nt colic. 219
thirty times the hulk of the food. This may take place in the
stomnch ; and if so, the life of the horse is in immediate danger, for,
as will plainly appear from the account that has been given of the
CBSophagus and upper orifice of the stomach, the animal has no pow-
er to expel this dangerous flatus (wind) by eructation (belching.)
This extrication of gas usually takes place in the colon and
caecum, and the distention may be so great as to rupture either
the one or the other, or sometimes to produce death, without either
rupture or strangulation, and that in the course of from four to
twenty-four hours.
An overloaded stomach is one cause of it, and particularly so
when water is given either immediately before or alter a plentiful
meal, or food to which the horse has not been accustomed is given.
The symptoms, according to Professor Stewart, are, " the horse
suddenly slackening his pace — preparing to lie down, or falling
down as if he were shot. In the stable he paws the ground with
his fore-feet, lies down, roils, starts up all at once, and throws
himself down again with great violence, looking wistfully at his
flanks, and making many fruitless attempts to void his urine."
Hitherto the symptoms are not much uidike spasmodic colic,
but the real character of the disease soon begins to develope it-
self It is in one of the large intestines, and the belly swells all
round, but mostly on the right flank. As the disease proceeds, the
pain becomes uioTe intense, the horse more violent, and at length
death closes the scene.
The treatment is considerably different from that of spasmodic
colic. The spirit of pimento would be here allowed, or the tur-
pentine and opium drink ; but if the pain, and especially the
swelling, do not abate, the gas, which is the cause of it, must be
got rid of, or the animal is inevitably lost.
This is usually, or almost invariably, a combination of hydrogen
with some other gas. It has a strong affinity for chlorine. Then
if some compound of chlorine — the chloride of lime — dissolved in
water, is administered in the form of a drink, this gives speedy
relief
Where these two medicines are not at hand, and the danger is
imminent, the trochar may be used, in order to open a way for
the escape of the gas. The trochar should be small, but longer
than that which is used for the cow, and the puncture should be
made in the middle of the right flank, for there the large intes-
tmes are most easily reached. In such a disease it cannot be ex-
pected that the intestines shall always be found precisely in their
natural situations, but usually the origin of the ascending portion
of the colon, or the base of the csecum will be pierced. Th*^ au-
tho: of this work, however, deems it his duty to add. that it is only
when the practitioner despairs of otherwise saving the life of the
220 INFLAMMATION OF THE HOWELS ENTERITIS.
animal that this operation should be attempted. Much of the
danger would be avoided by using a very small trochar, and by
withdrawing it as soon as the gas has escaped. The wound in
the intestines will then probably close, from the mnate elasticity
of the parts.
INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS.
There are two varieties of this malady. The first is inflam-
mation of the external coats of the intestines, accompanied by
considerable fever, and usually costiveness. The second is that
of the internal or mucous coat, and almost invariably connect-
ed with purging.
ENTERITIS.
The muscular coat is that which is oftenest aflected. Inflamma-
tion of the external coats of the stomach, wehther the peritoneal or
muscular, or both, is a very frequent and fatal disease. It speedily
runs its course, and it is of great consequence that its early symp-
toms should be known. If the horse has been carefully observed,
restlessness and fever will have been seen to precede the attack.
In many cases a direct shivering fit will occur : the mouth will
be hot, and the nose red. The animal Avill soon express the most
dreadful pain by pawing, striking at his belly, looking wildly at
his flanks, groaning, and rolling. The pulse wall be quickened
and small ; the ears and legs cold ; the belly tender, and some
times hot ; tb'" breathing quickened ; the bowels costive ; and the
animal becomnig rapidly and fearfully weak.
The reader will probably here recur to the sketch given in page
216, of the distinction between spasmodic colic and inflammation
of the bowels, or enteritis.
The causes of this disease are, first of all and most frequently
sudden exposure to cold. If a horse that has been highly fed
carefully groom.ed, and kept in a warm stable, is heated with ex-
ercise, and has been during some hours without food, and in this
state of exhaustion is sufi^ered to drink freely of cold water, or is
drenched with rain, or have his legs and belly washed with cold
water, an attack of inflammation of the bowels will often follow
An over-fed horse, subjected to severe and long-continued exertion,
if his lungs M^ere previously weak, will probably be attacked by
inflammation of them ; but if the lungs were sound, the bowels
will on the following day be the seat of disease. Stones in the
nitestines are an occasional cause of inflammation, and colic neg-
lected or wrongly treated will terminate in it.
The horse paws and stamps as in colic, but without the inter-
vals of ease that occur in that disease. The pulse also is far
ENTERITIS. 221
quicker than in colic. The breathing is more hurried, and the
indication of suffering more evident. " The next stage," in the
graphic language of Mr. Percival, " borders on delirium. The
eye acquires a wild, haggard, unnatural stare — the pupil dilates
— liis heedless and dreadlul throes render approach to him quite
perilous. He is an object not only of compassion but of appre-
hension, and seems fast hurrying to his end ; when, all at once,
in the midst of agonizing torments, he stands quiet, as though
every pain had lett him, and he were going to recover. His
breathing becomes tranquillized — his pulse sunk beyond all per-
ception— his body bedewed with a cold, clammy sweat — he is in
a tremor from head to foot, and about the legs and ears has even
a death-like feel. The mouth feels deadly chill; the lips drop
pendulous ; and the eye seems unconscious of objects. In fine,
death, not recoveiy, is at hand. Mortification has seized the in-
flamed bowel — pain can no longer be felt in that which, a few
minutes ago, was the seat of exquisite suffering. He again be-
comes convulsed, and in a few more struggles, less violent than the
former, he expires."
The treatment of inflammation of the bowels, like that of the
lungs, should be prompt and energetic. The first and most pow-
erful means of cure will be bleeding. From six to eight or ten
quarts of blood, in fact, as much as the horse can bear, should be
abstracted as soon as possible ; and the bleeding repeated to the
extent of lour or five quarts more, if the pain is not relieved and
the pulse has not become rounder and fuller. The speedy w^eak
ness that accompanies this disease should not deter from bleeding
largely. That wealmess is the consequence of violent inflamma-
tion of these parts ; and if that inflammation is subdued by the
loss of blood, the wealaiess will disappear. The bleeding should
be eflected on the first appearance of the disease, for there is no
malady that more quickly runs its course.
A strong solution of aloes should immediately follow the bleed-
ing, but, considering the irritable state of the intestines at this
period, guarded by opium. This should be quickly followed by
back-raking, and injections consisting of warm water, or very
thin gruel, in which Epsom salts or aloes have been dissolved ;
and too much fluid can scarcely be thrown up. If the common
ox-bladder and pipe is used, it should be frequently replenished ;
but with Read's patent pump, already referred to, suflicient may
be injected to penetrate beyond the rectum, and reach to the
colon and caecum, and dispose them to evacuate their contents.
The horse should likewise be encouraged to drink plentifully of
warm water or thin gruel ; and draughts, each containing a
couple of drachms of dissolved aloes, with a little opium, should
be given every six hours, until the bowels are freely opened.
222 ENTERITIS
It will now be prudent to endeavor to excite considerable
external inflammation as near as possible to the seat of the inter
nal disease, and therefore the whole of the belly should be blis-
tered. In a well-marked case of this disease, no time should be
lost in applying fomentations, but the blister at once resorted
to. The tincture of Spanish flies, whether made with spirit of
wine or turpentine, should be thoroughly rubbed in. The legs
should be well bandaged in order to restore the circulation iii
them, and thus lessen the flow of blood to the inflamed part ;
and, for the same reason, the horse should be warmly clothed ;
but the air of the stable or box should be cool.
No corn or hay should be allowed during the disease, but bran
mashes, and green feed if it can be procured. The latter will be
the best of all food, and may be given without the slightest ap-
prehension of danger. When the horse begins to recover, a
handful of grain may be given two or three times in the day ;
and, if the weather is warm, he may be turned into a paddock
for a few hours in the middle of the day. Clysters of gruel
should be continued for three or four days after the inflammation
is beginning to subside, and good hand-rubbing applied to the
legs.
The second variety of inflammation of the bowels aflects the
internal or mucous coat, and is generally the consequence of
physic in too great quantity, or of an improper kind. The purg-
ing is more violent and continues longer than was intended ; the
animal shows that he is suffering great pain ; he frequently looks
round at his flanks ; his breathing is laborious, and the pulse is
quick and small — not so small, however, as in inflammation of
the peritoneal coat, and, contrary to some of the most frequent
and characteristic symptoms of that disease, the mouth is hot and
the legs and ears are warm. Unless the purging is excessive,
and the pain and distress great, the surgeon should hesitate at
giving any astringent medicine at first ; but he should plentifully
administer gruel or thin starch, or arrow-root, by the mouth and
by clyster, removing all hay and corn, and particularly green
feed. He should thus endeavor to soothe the irritated surface of
the bowels, while he permits all remains of the purgative to be
carried ofl'. If, however, twelve hours have passed, and the
purging and the pain remain undiminished, he should continue
the gruel, adding to it chalk, catechu, and opium, repeated every
six hours. As soon as the purging begins to subside, the astrin-
gent medicine should be lessened in quantity, and gradually dis-
continued. Bleeding will rarely be necessary, unless the inflam-
mation is very great, and attended by symptoms of general fever.
The horse should be warmly clothed, and placed in a comforta-
ble stable, and his legs should be hand-rubbed and bandaged
ENTERITIS. 223
Violent purginfr, and attended with much inflammation and
fever, will occur from other causes. Green feed will frequently
purge. A horse worked hard upon green feed will sometimes
scour. The remedy is change of diet, or less labor. Young
horses will often be strongly purged, without any apparent cause.
Astringents should be used with much caution here. It is pro
bably an elibrt of nature to get rid of something that oiiends
A lew doses of gruel will assist in effecting this purpose, and the
purging will cease without astringent medicine.
Many horses that are not taell-riljbed home — having too great
space between the last rib and the hip-bone — are subject to
purging if more than usual exertion is required Irom them. They
are recognized by the term of icaslnj horses. They are often free
and fleet, but destitute of continuance. They should have rather
more than the usual allowance of grain, with beans, when a-l
work. A cordial ball, with catechu and opium, will often be
serviceable either before or after a journey.*
* Note by Mr. Spootier. — When this disease occurs, as it is usually in the
most violent form, and is more frequently fatal than otherwise, bleeding is call
ed for most assuredly ; but we sliould endeavor previously to bring warmth
to the skin and extremities, and also to raise the pulse. Two ounces of
spn-it of nitrous ether, in which a drachm of opium has been infused, may
be administered in a pint and a half of linseed-oil. This will enable us to
take a much larger quantity of blood than we sliould otherwise be enabled
to abstract. It is of great importance to bleed largely in the first instance,
but of very doubtful benefit to repeat the blood-letting. Warm fomenta-
tions to the abdomen are of much importance, and should be continued
almost without remission, whilst the pain continues ; thus applied, the heat
of hot water "will be more efficacious than any external stimulants. The
oil may be repeated in doses of one pint until the bowels are opened, and
the last dose should contain a scruple of powdered opium. Copious draughts
of linseed gruel should also be given, and injections of the same frequently
thrown up.
Inflammation of the peritoneum seldom occurs as an independent disease.
When it does, it usually follows castration, or some injury external to tlie
bowels. The treatment should resemble that previously described. It
sometimes exists in unison with pleurisy, and also with the inflammation of
the bowels {enteritis) ju^t described.
Infl;immation of the mucous coat of the intestines is also a very danger
ous disease. It may be produced by cold, or by over-exertion, particularly
in liot weather, or, more frequently than either, by an overdose of physic, or
an ordinary or weak dose while the metnbrane is either in a state of irrita-
tion, or liable to become so from sympathy with some other important part,
such as the lungs, more particulaidy their lining or mucous membrane.
Bleeding in this disease is seldom of service, the weak and almost imper-
ceptible state of the pulse forbiilding it. Our en.leavors must be devoted
to bringing warmth to the skin and extremities, and gradually stopping the
irritation of the bowels and sheathing its internal mucous membrane. We
may venture on powdered chalk with small doses of opiunt administered in
thick wheat flour gruel.
224 PHYSICKING
PHYSICKING.
Physicking the horse is often necessary — hut it has injured the
constitution and destroyed thousands of animals when unneces-
sarily or improperly resorted to. When the horse comes from
ffrass to dry feed, or from the open air to the heated stable, a
dose or two of physic may be necessary to prevent the tendency
to inflammation. To a horse that is becoming too fat, or has
surfeit, or grease, or mange, or is out of condition from inactivity
of" the digestive organs, a dose of physic is serviceable ; but the
periodical physicking of all horses in the spring and autumn, the
severe course of physic thought necessary to train them for work,
and the too frequent method of treating the animal when under
the operation of physic, cannot be too strongly condemned.
A horse should be carefully prepared for the action of physic.
Two or three bran mashes given on that or the preceding day
are far from sufficient when a horse is about to be physicked.
Mashes should be given until the dung becomes softened. Five
drachms of aloes, given when the dung has thus been softened,
will act much more effectually and much more safely than seven
drachms, when the lower intestines are obstructed by hardened
dung.
On the day on which the physic is given, the horse should have
walking exercise, or may be gently trotted for a quarter of an
hour twice in the day ; but after the physic begins to work, he
should not be moved from his stall. Exercise would then pro-
duce gripes, irritation, and, possibly, dangerous inflammation.
The common and absurd practice is to give the horse most exer-
.jise after the physic has begun to operate.
A little hay may be put into the rack. As much mash should
be given as the horse will eat, and as much water, with the
coldness of it taken oR] as he will drink. If, however, he obsti-
nately refuses to drink warm water, it is better that he should
have it cold, than to continue without taking any fluid ; but in
such case he should not be suffered to take more than a quart at
a time, with an interval of at least an hour between each
draught.
When the purging has ceased, or the physic is set, a mash
should be given once or twice every day until the next dose is
taken, between which and the setting of the first there should be
an interval of a week. The horse should recover from the
languor and debility occasioned by the first dose, before he is
iiarassed by a second.
Eight or ten tolerably copious motions will be perfectly sufR
«"'ifciit to a.nswer every good purpose, although the groom or the
PHYSICKING. 225
carter may not bo satisfied unless double the quantity are pro-
cured. The consequence of too strong purgation will be, that
weakness Avill hang ubout the animal ibr several days or weeks
and mliammation will oilen ensue from the over-irritation of the
intestinal canal.
Long-continued custom has made aloes the almost invariable
purgative of the horse, and very properly so ; ibr there is no
other at once so sure and so safe. The Barbadoes aloes, although
sometimes very dear, should alone be used. The dose, with a
horse properly prepared, will vary from four to seven drachms.
The preposterous doses of nine, ten, or even twelve drachms, are
now, happily ibr the horse, generally abandoned. Custom has
assigned the form of a ball to physic, but good sense will in due
time introduce the solution of aloes, as acting more speedily, ef-
fectually and safely.
The only other purgative on which dependence can be placed
IS the CROTON. The farina or meal of the nut is generally used ;
but from its acrimony it should be given in the form of ball, with
linseed meal. The dose varies from a scruple to half a drachm.
It acts more speedily than the aloes, and without the nausea
which they produce ; but it causes more watery stools, and, con-
sequently, more debility.
TiiNSEED-oiL is an uncertain but safe purgative, in doses from
a pound to a pound and a half. Olive-oil is more uncertain, but
safe ; but castor-oil, that mild aperient in the human being, is
both uncertain and unsafe. Epsom-salts are inefficacious, except
in the immense dose of a pound and a half, and then they are not
always safe.=*
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — We have little to add under this head. "We con-
demn, with the author, the reckless administration of violent doses, by which
very many horses have been killed. The mucous coat of the intestines of
the horse appears to be more irritable than that of man ; besides which it
relatively occupies a larger extent of surface.
Barbadoes aloes is certainly the best purgative with which we are ac-
quainted. A drachm of ginger may be advantageously combined with it to
prevent griping. A ball is certainly the best and safest mode of giving
ordinary physic to a horse. It is necessary to give a much stronger dose in
the form of a draught than that of a ball, which is probably owing to the
fact, that with a ball a considerable amount of action is produced at one
spot where the ball is dissolved, and the irritation there produced spreads
by sympathy to tlie adjacent parts, whilst the liquid being spread at once
over a large surface, a less amount of irritation is produced at any one par-
ticular spot. The exercise on the day following the administration of the
physic should depend on the effect produced. If the purging is copious, no
exercise should be given ; but, if otherwise, it will much assist our opera-
tions by giving a greater or lesser amount of exercise, as may be requited
J
15
226 CALCULI INTHOSUSCEPTION ENTANGLEMENT OF BOWELS.
CALCULI, OR STONES, IN THE INTESTINES.
These are a cause of inflammation in the bowels of the horse
and more frequently of colic. They are generally found in the
caecum or colon, varying considerably in shape, and varying in-
weight from a few grains to several pounds. From the horizontal
position of the horse's body, the stone does not tend downward a&
m the human being, and contiimes increasing until it becomes the
source of fatal irritation. It is a fruitful cause of colic. Little
advance has been made or can be made to procure their expulsion,
or even to determine their existence.^
INTROSUSCEPTION OF THE "INTESTINES.
A portion of an intestine is sometimes slid into the contiguous
portion, producing a fold or doubling. The irritation produced
by it soon forms an obstruction which no jDower can overcome.
There are no symptoms to indicate the presence of this, except
continued and increasing pain ; or, if there were, all our means
of relief would here fail.
ENTANGLEMENT OF THE BOWELS.
This is produced by colic, by the abominable and poisonous
drinks of the farrier, and by other causes.
When the animal rolls and throws himself about, portions of
the intestine become so entangled as to be twisted into nooses and
knots, drawn together with a degree of tightness scarcely credible,
Fiff 81 Nothing but the extreme and continued tor-
ture of the animal can lead us to suspect that
this has taken place, and, could we ascer-
tain its existence, there would be no cure.
The following cut shows an entanglement
of the bowels of a horse that died from the
effects of it. The parts are a little loosened
in order better to show the entanglement of
the intestines, but in the animal they were
drawn into a tight knot, and completely in-
tercepted all passage.
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — When colic arises from stones or concretions in
the intestines, the pain is usually very severe, until, by rolling about, the
stone is dislodged fiom the position in which it was fixed, and chen, becoming
free, the pain ceases. We may presume such to be the nature of the case
if the horse lies much on his back, and rolls over from side to side, with an
evident desire to relieve himself from some painful pressure. After repeated
attacks of this kind the case at length becomes fatal, the calculus accumu-
lates, becomes firmly fixed, obstructing all passage, inflammation supervenes,
and the animal dies.
WORMS RUPTURE. 227
WORMS.
Worms of different kinds inhabit the intestines ; but, except
wnen they exist in very great numbers, they are not so hurtful as
is generally supposed, although the groom or carter may trace to
them, hidebound, and cough, and loss of appetite, and gripes, and
megrims, and a variety of other ailments.
The long white worm much resembles the common earth-worm.
It is from six to ten inches long, and inhabits the small intestines.
If there are too many of them, they may consume more than can
be spared of the nutritive part of the food, or the mucus of the
bowels. A tight skin, and rough coat, and tucked-up belly, are
sometimes connected with their presence. They are then, how-
ever, voided in large quantities. A dose of physic will sometimes
bring away almost incredible quantities of ti.cm. Calomel is
frequently given as a vermifuge. The seldom r this drug is ad-
ministered to the horse the better. "When the horse can be spared,
a strong dose of physic is an excellent vermifuge, so far as the
long round worm is concerned ; but a better medicine, and not
mterfering vidth either the feeding or work of the horse, is emetic
tartar, with ginger, made into a ball with linseed meal and trea-
cle, and given every morning, half an hour before the horse is fed.
A smaller, darker-colored worm, called the needle-worm, in-
habits the large intestines. Hundreds of them sometimes descend
into the straight gut, and immense quantities have been found in
the blind gut. These are a more serious nuisance than the foi-
mer, for they cause a very troublesome irritation about the fun-
dament, which sometimes sadly annoys the horse. Their existence
can generally be discovered by a small portion of mucus, which,
hardening, is found adhering to the anus. Physic will sometimes
bring away great numbers of these worms ; but when there is
much irritation about the tail, and much of this mucus, indicating
that they have descended into the straight gut, an injection of
linseed oil, or of aloes dissolved in warm water, will be a more
effectual remedy.
The tape-worm is seldom found in the horse.
HERNIA, OR RUPTURE.
A portion of the intestine protrudes out of the cavity of th^
belly, either through some natural or artificial opening. In some
cases it may be returned, but, from the impossibility of applying
a truss or bandage, it soon escapes again. At other times, the
opening is so narrow, that the gut, gradually distended by dung,
or thickened by inflammation, cannot be returned, and f^trangu-
228 LIVER DISEASES.
lated hernra is then said to exist. The seat of hernia is either in
the testicle bag of the perfect horse, or the groin of the gelding.
The causes are violent struggling when under operations, over-
exertion, kicks, or accidents. The assistance of a veterinary sur-
geon is here indispensable.*
DISEASES OF THE LIVER.
Horses dying when not more than five years old of other com-
plaints, usually show a healthy liver, but when they reach eight
or nine, the liver is frequently increased in size — is less elastic —
has assumed a more granulated or broken down appearance — the
blood does not so readily pass through its vessels — and at length,
blood begins to ooze from it into its membraneous covering, or
into the cavity of the belly. The horse feeds well, is in apparent
health, in good condition, and capable of constant work ; but, at
length, the peritoneal covering of the liver suddenly gives way,
and the contents of the abdomen are deluged with blood.
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — In congenital hernia (that appearing at birth),
in the testicle bag, the remedy consists in castration by the covered opera-
tion, that is, without cutting into the hernial sac, but placing wooden claws
^^n the cord and the peritoneal membrane, and at the same time, forcing the
gut gently upwards towards the abdomen. In the course of a few days the
:esticles will slough off, or may be removed. The writer purchased a colt
9 few years since for a trifle, being abandoned by its owner as worthless, on
which the operation was successfully performed, and the colt sold afterwards
at a good price.
When the hernia is strangulated, violent pain and great danger is the re-
sult ; the opening through which the gut has escaped is generally very small,
being in fact, the inguinal ring. In such cases, if the hernia cannot be re-
duced by the hand, or the taxis, as it is called, it is necessary to open the
hernial sac, and by means of a bistoury, enlarge the opening sufficiently to
put back the gut — an operation of great difiiculty and danger, and requiring
much skill.
Abdominal hernia may occur in different situations, and are usually caused
by external violence, such as the horn of a cow, or jumping over and across
a post. The muscular and other covering of the abdomen is broken through,
whilst the skin, from its greater looseness, remains entire ; and, indeed, is
the only object between the bowels and the air. If the case is recent, the
hernia may be reduced, and the hernial sac opened, and the sides of the
opening brought together by sutures of metallic wire. Where, however,
the injury is of long standing or natural, as, for instance, in mares, when the
abdominal ring is unusually large, we cannot succeed by this means ; but
yet the case is not always hopeless. The gut being forced back, an incision
is made in the skin, and one or more wooden skewers passed through it, so
that a good portion of the skin can be embraced by some strong waxed
twine, the skewers preventing it slipping off the skin thus embraced, which
sloughs off, and a cicatrix forming the surrounding skin becomes tighter and
thicker than before — sufficiently so to keep the gut, for the most part, within
the abdomen.
JAUNDICE. 22^
The symptoms of this sudden change are — pawing, shifting the
posture, distention of the belly, curling of the upper lip, sighing
frequently and deeply, the mouth and nostrils pale and blanched,
the breathing quickened, restlessness, debility, fainting, and death.
On opening the abdomen, the intestines are found to be deluged
with dark venous blood. The liver is either of a fawn, or light
yellow, or brown color — easily torn by the finger, and, in some
cases, completely broken doviai.
If the hemorrhage has been slight at the commencement, and
fortunately arrested, yet a singular consequence will frequentlv
result. The sight will gradually fail ; the pupil of one or both
eyes will gradually dilate, the animal will have gutta serena, and
become perfectly blind. This will almost assuredly take jdace on
a return of the affection of the liver. Little can be done in a
medical point of view. Astringent and styptic medicines may,
however, be tried. Turpentine, alum, or sulphuric acid, will af-
ford the only chance.^
JAUNDICE,
Commonly called the The Yellows, is a more frequent, but
more tractable disease. It is the introduction of bile into the gene-
ral circulation. This is usually caused by some obstructi-on in
the ducts or tubes that convey the bile from the liver to the intes-
tines. The yellowness of the eyes and mouth, and of the skin,
where it is not covered with hair, mark it sufficiently plainly.
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — The symptoms which we have noticed as attend
ing this disease are, a heavy dull appearance, loss of appetite, and respira
tion somewhat quickened, but not distressed as in inflammation of the luniks ;
the pulse is distinct and somewhat quickened, perhaps from lifry to sixty it)
the minute. The membranes of the eyelids are yellow, or at any rate pale.
It is a very obstinate disease, often becoming fatal, even when the syinpton^s
at first do not appear to denote danger. In such instances they gradually
increase in severity, and symptoms of severe pain become connected with
those of distress previously existing, and, in the course of six to ten days,
the case b(iComes fatal.
Bleeding is required in the first instance, but not to the same extent as in
inflammation of the lungs. Recourse should then be had to mercurial alter-
atives. Calomel two scruples, with opium one scruple, should be given
twice a day for several days, until the system appears to be affected by the
mercury. The relaxation of the bowels should be promoted by a pinh of
linseed oil, repeated twice or thrice. The hair should be cut off the side
opposite the liver, and mercurial or blistering ointment rubbed in. If the
horse refuses to eat mashes, plenty of linseed or oatmeal gruel should be
given with the horn.
The hepatirrhoea, or rupture and bleeding from the liver, mentioned in
the text, is uniformly fatal, if not at the first, at the second or third attack.
It is sometimes atteuaed with amaurosis, or paralysis of tl*i optic nerve.
Treatment is comparatively useless.
230 THE KIDNEYS.
The dung is small and hard ; the urine highly colored ; the
horse languid, and the appetite impaired. If he is not soon
relieved, he sometimes begins to express considerable uneasiness ;
at other times he is dull,, heavy, and stupid. A characteristic
symptom is lameness of the right fore leg, resembling the pain
in the right slioulder of the human being in liver affections.
The principal causes are over-feeding or over-exertion in sultry
weather, or too little work, generally speaking, or inflammation
or other disease of the liver itself
It is sometimes caused by the sympathy of the liver with some
other diseased part, and in this case, the removal of that disease
will remove it. If there is no other apparent disease to any
great extent, an endeavor to restore the natural passage of the
bile by purgatives may be tried, not consisting of large doses,
lest there should be some undetected inflammation of the lungs
or bowels, in either of which a strong purgative would be dan-
gerous ; but, given in small quantities, repeated at short inter-
vals, and until the bowels are freely opened. Bleeding should
always be resorted to, regulated according to the apparent degree
of inflammation, and the occasional stupor of the animal.
Plenty of water, slightly warmed, or thin gruel, should be given.
The horse should be warmly clothed, and the stable well ven-
tilated, but not cold. Carrots or green food will be very bene
ficial. Should the purging, when once excited, prove violent,
we need not be in any haste to stop it, unless inflammation is be-
ginning to be connected with it, or the horse is very weak. The
medicine recommended under diarrhcBa may then be given.
A few slight tonics should be given when the horse is recovering
from an attack of jaundice.^
THE KIDNEYS.
The kidneys are two large glandular bodies, placed under the
loins, of the shape of a kidney-bean, of immense size. The right
kidney is most forward, lying under the liver ; the left is pushed
more backward by the stomach and spleen. A large artery runs
to each, carrying not less than a sixth part of the whole of the
blood that circulates through the frame. This artery is divided
into innumerable little branches, most curiously complicated and
3oiled upon each other ; and the blood, traversing these convolu-
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Jaundice very seldom occurs unconnected with
inflammation of the liver ; when it does, it is denoted by the yellowness of
the membranes, and the absence of any of the symptoms of inflammation-
It is best treated by the same internal medicines as those we advised
under the head of " Inflammation of the liver " (in note) ; or aloes may
also be giv^n in moderate quantities.
INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 231
tions, has its \watery parts, and others, the retaining of which
would be injurious, separated from it.
The fluid thus separated (the urine), varies materially in quan-
tity and composition during health. There is no organ in the horse
so much under our command ; and there are no medicines so use-
ful, or may be so injurious, as diuretics (those which increase the
evacuation of urine), such as nitre and digitalis. They stimulate
the kidneys to separate more watery fluid from the blood, and
thus reduce the circulation, lowering inflammation and calming
excitement. They cause the removal of that fluid in the cellu-
lar substance of the legs of the horse, which causes them so often
to swell. The legs of many horses cannot be rendered fine, or
kept so, without the use of diuretics ; nor can grease — often con-
nected with these sM'^ellings, producing them or caused by them
— be otherwise subdued. It is on this account that diuretics are
raidied among the most useful of veterinary medicines.
In injudicious hands, however, these medicines are sadly
abused. Among the absurdities of stable management, there is
nothing so injurious as the frequent use of diuretics. Not only
are the kidneys often over-excited, weakened, and disposed to
disease, but the whole frame becomes debilitated. There is like-
wise one important fact of which the groom or the horseman sel-
dom thinks, viz : — That when he is removing these humors by
the imprudent use of diuretics, he is only attacking a symptom
or a consequ^^nce of disease, and not the disease itself. The leg&
will fill again, and the grease will return. While the cause
remains, the effect will be produced.
In the administration of diuretics, one thing should be attc ''ded
to, and the good effect of which the testimony of every intelli-
gent man will confirm : the horse should have plenty to drink.
Not only will inflammation be prevented, but the operation of
the mediciiie will be much promoted.
IKFLAMMATIOX OF THE KIDN"EYS.
This is no uncommon disease in the horse, and is more un-
skilfully and fatally treated than almost any other. The early
symptoms are those of fever generally, but the seat of the dis-
ease soon becomes evident. The horse looks anxiously round at
his flanks ; stands with his hinder legs wide apart ; is unwilling
to lie down ; straddles as he walks ; expresses pain in turning ;
shrinks when the loins are pressed, and some degree of heat is
felt there. The urine is voided in small quantities : frequently
it is high-colored, and sometimes bloody. The attempt to urin-
ate becomes more frequent, and the quantity voided smaller,
until the animal strains painfully and violently, but the discharge
232 INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS.
is nearly or quite suppressed. The pulse is quick and hard ; full
in the early stage ol' the disease, but rapidly becoming small, yet
not losing its character of hardness. These symptoms clearly
indicate an affection of the urinary organs ; but they do not dis-
tinguish inflammation of the kidney from that of the bladder
In order to effect this, the hand must be introduced into the rec-
tum. If the bladder is felt full and hard under the rectum, there
is inflammation of the neck of it ; if it is empty, yet on the por-
tion of the intestines immediately over it there is more than
natural heat and tenderness, there is inflammation of the body
of the bladder ; and if the bladder is empty, and there is no in-
creased heat or tenderness, there is inflammation of the kidney.
Too powerful or too often repeated diuretics induce inflamma-
tion of the kidney, or a degree of irritation and weakness of that
organ that disposes to inflammation from causes that would
otherwise have no injurious eflect. If a horse is sprained in the
loins by being urged on, far or fast, by a heavy rider, or com-
pelled to take too wide a leap, or by being suddenly pulled up
on his haunches, the inflammation of the muscles of the loins is
often speedily transferred to the kidneys, with which they lie in
contact. Exposure to cold is another frequent origin of this
malady, especially if the horse is drenched with rain, or the wet
drips upon his loins ; and, more particularly, if he was previously
disposed to inflammation, or these organs had been previously
weakened.
The treatment will only vary from that of inflammation of
other parts by a consideration of the peculiarity of the organ
affected. Bleeding must be promptly resorted to, and carried to
its full extent. An active purge should next be administered ;
and a counter-inflammation excited as nearly as possible to the
seat of disease. For this purpose the loins should be fomented
with hot water, or covered with a mustard-poultice — the horse
should be warmly clothed ; but no cantharides or turpentine
should be used, and, most of all, no diuretic be given internally.
When the groom finds this difficulty or suppression of staling, he
immediately has recourse to a diuretic ball to force on the urine ;
and by thus needlessly irritating a part already too much excited,
he adds fuel to fire, and frequently destroys the horse. The ac-
tion of the purgative having begun a little to cease, white helle-
bore may be administered in small doses, with or without emetic
tartar. The patient should be warmly clothed ; his legs wel]
bandanged ; and plenty of water offered to him. The food
should be carefully examined, and anything that could have
excited or that may prolong the irritation carefully removed.^
* Note by Mr. Spooner — This disease is readily distinguished from
DIABETES HiEMATURIA 23J
DIABETES, OR PROFUSE STALING
Is a comparatively rare disease. It is generally the conse-
quence of undue irritation of the kidney by bad food or strong
diuretics, and sometimes follows inflammation of that organ. It
can seldom be traced in the horse to any disease of the digestive
organs. The treatment is obscure, and the result often uncer-
tain. It is evidently increased action of the kidneys, and there-
fore the most rational plan of treatment is to endeavor to abate
that action. In order to effect this, the same course should be
pursued in the early stage of diabetes as in actual inflammation ;
but the lowering system must not be carried to so great an ex-
tent. To bleeding, purging, and counter-irritation, medicines of
an astringent quality should succeed, as catechu, the powdered
leaf of the whortleberry (uva ursi,) and opium. Very careful
attention should be paid to the food. The hay and oats should
be of the best quality. Green feed, and especially carrots will
be very serviceable. =^
BLOODY URINE— HEMATURIA.
The discharge of urine of this character is of occasional occur-
rence. Pure blood is sometimes discharged which immediately
coagulates — at other times it is more or less mixed with the
urine, and does not coagulate. The cause of its appearance and
the source whence it proceeds cannot always be determined, but
it is probably the result of some strain or blow. It may or may
not be accompanied by inflammation.
Should it be the result of strain or violence, or be evidently
attended by inflammation, soothing and depleting measures
should be adopted. Perhaps counter-irritation on the loins might
others, from the great tenderness of the loins when pressed, and the high
color of the urine, which is sometimes almost black.
The bleeding, as stated in the text, should be very copious, and repeated
if necessary. One of the best applications to the loins is a fresh sheep-skin,
the skin side inwards. This will very soon cause, and keep up, a consider-
able perspiration, which may be continued by means of a fresh skin in the
course of twelve hours. With regard to internal medicines, one of the best
sedatives is the white hellebore, in doses of a scruple twice a-day. The
bowels should be opened by means of an aperient draught, and abundance
of linseed tea should be given, so as to sheath the irritated parts.
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — Diabetes is almost invariably produced by un-
wholesome food, such as mow-burnt hay, or kiln-dried oats. It causes
excessive debility and loss of flesh. We do not approve of blood letting, as
recommended in the text ; but astringents, such as opium and catechu, com-
bined with sulphate of iron, in doses of a drachm twice a-day, are of much
service. The cause of the disease, should of course be removed.
234 ALBUMIN JUS URINE INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER.
be useful. If there is no apparent inflammation, some gentle
stimulus may be administered internally.
ALBUMINOUS URINE.
A peculiar mucous state of the urine of some horses has lately
attracted attention. It has been associated with stretching out
of the legs, stiffness, disinclination to move, a degree of fever, and
costiveness. Slight bleeding, mild physic, the application of
gentle stimulants to the loins, quietness, and gentle opiates, have
been of service.
THE BLADDER.
The urine separated from the blood is discharged by the min-
ute vessels, of which we have spoken, into some larger canals,
which terminate in a cavity or reservoir in the body of each kid-
ney, designated its 'pelvh. Thence it is conveyed by a duct
called the ureter, to a large reservoir, the bladder.
INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER.
There are two varieties of .this disease, inflammation of the
body of the bladder, and of its neck. The symptoms are nearly
the same with those of inflammation of the kidney, except that
there is rarely a total suppression of urine, and there is heat felt
in the rectum over the situation of the bladder. The causes are
the presence of some acrid or irritant matter in the urine, or of
calculus or stone in the bladder. With reference to inflammation
of the body of the bladder, mischief has occasionally been done
by the introduction of cantharides or some other irritating mat-
ter, in order to hasten the period of horsing in the mare. The
treatment in this case will be the same as in inflammation of
the kidneys, except that it is of more consequence that the ani-
mal should drink freely of water or thin gruel.
In inflammation of the neck of the bladder there is the same
frequent voiding of urine in small quantities, generally appear-
ing in an advanced stage of the disease, and often ending in
almost total suppression. There is also this circumstance
which can never be mistaken by him who will pay sufficient
attention to the case, that the bladder is distended with urine,
and can be distinctly felt under the rectum. It is spasm of the
part, closing the neck of the bladder so powerfully that the con
traction of" the bladder and the pressure of the muscles are un-
able to force out the urine.
Here the object to be attempted is sufficiently plain. This
spasm must be relaxed, and the most likely means to effect it is
STONE IN THE BLADDER. 235
to bleed largely, and even to fainting. This will sometimes
succeed, and there Avill be at once an end to the disease. To
the exhaustion and loss of muscular power occasioned by copious
bleeding, should be added the nausea consequent on physic.
Should not this speedily have effect, another mode of abating
spasm must be tried — powdered opium, made into a ball or
drink, should be given every two or three hours ; while an active
blister is applied externally. The evacuation of the bladder,
both in the mare and the horse, should be effected through the
medium of a veterinary surgeon.*
STONE IN THE BLADDER.
The symptoms of stone in the bladder much resemble those
of spasmodic colic, except that, on careful inquiry, it will be
found that there has been much irregularity in the discharge of
urine and occasional suppression of it. When fits of apparent
colic frequently return, and are accompanied by any peculiarity
m the appearance or the discharge of the urine, the horse should
be carefully examined. For this purpose he must be thrown.
If there is stone in the bladder, it will, while the horse lies on
its back, press on the rectum, and may be distinctly felt if the
hand is introduced into the rectum. Several cases have lately
occurred of successful extraction of the calculus ; but to effect
this it will always be necessary to have recourse to the aid of a
veterinary practitioner.!
The catheter invented by Mr. Taylor is made of polished
round iron, three feet long, one and a half inch in circumfer-
ence, and with eight joints at its farther extremity. The solid
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — This is a very rare but exceedingly dangerous
disease, the irritation being so great that it is almost impossible to keep any
soothing application in the bladder, the contents of which are being con-
tinually ejected. Recourse therefore must be had to very copious bleeding,
so as to endeavor to check both the inflammation which exists, as well as
to assuage the irritation which forbids topical (local) measures. It will
assist to atlminister calomel combined with opium and tartarized antimony,
two scruples of each being given three times a day. The same means may
be adopted when inflammation attacks the neck of the bladder, and the
spasm prevents its evacuation. As stated in the text the bladder of a
mare may be readily evacuated by means of a catheter ; and, by the aid
of the elastic and flexible catheter, the bladder of the gelding can also be
discharged, though the operation requires some tact and skill.
\ Note by Mr. Spooner. — In cutting for the stone, the horse is cast and
turned on his back, and supported in that position. A whalebone or wooden
stafl:' is then passed up the urethra, and when it is felt at the perineum
just under the anus, is cut down upon. A pair of forceps is next passed
through the wound thus made, into the bladder, with which the calculus
must be removed. The bladder then should be washed out with tepid
•fcater, and the wound sewed up.
236 STONE IN THE BLADDER
part between each joint is one and a quarter inch in length, and
one and a half in circumference, the moveable part being ten
inches, and the solid part two feet two inches. The joints are
on the principle of a half joint, so that the moveable part
would only act in a straight line, or curve in one direction.
The joints are perfectly rounded and smooth when acting either
in a straight line or a curve. It is represented both m its
straight and curved state in the following cuts.
Many horses occasionally void a considerable quantity of
gravel, sometimes without inconvenience, and at others with
evident spasm or pain. A diuretic might be useful in such
case, as increasing the flow of urine, and possibly washing out
the concretions before they become too numerous or bulky.
The urine having passed the neck of the bladder, flows along
the urethra, and is discharged. The sheath of the penis is
sometimes considerably enlarged. When at the close of acute
disease, there are swellings and effusions of fluid, under the
chest and belly, this part seldom escapes. Diuretics, with a
small portion of cordial medicine, will be beneficial, but in ex-
treme cases slight scarifications may be necessary. The inside
of the sheath is often the seat of disease. The mucous matter,
naturally secreted there to defend the part from the acrimony
of the urine, accumulates and becomes exceedingly offensive,
and produces swelling, tenderness, and even excoriation, with
considerable discharge. Fomentation with warm water, and the
cleansing of the part with soap and water, aided perhaps by the
administration of a diuretic ball, will speedily remove every in-
convenience.
CHAPTER XI.
BREEDING, CASTRATION, ETC.
Our observations on this will be of a general nature, and very
eimple. The first axiom that we would lay down, is that " like
will produce like," and that the progeny will inherit the general
or mingled qualities of the parents. There is scarcely a disease
by which either of the parents is affected that the foal does not
olten inherit, or at least occasionally show a predisposition to it.
Even the consequences of ill usage jy hard work will descend to
the progeny. There has been proof upon proof, that blindness,
roaring, thick-wind, broken- wind, spavins, curbs, ringbones, and
founder, have been bequeathed to their offspring, both by the sire
and the dam. It should likewise be recollected that although
these blemishes may not appear in the immediate progeny, they
frequently do in the next, or even more distant generation. Hence
the necessity of some knowledge of the parentage both of the sire
and the dam.
Peculiarity of form and constitution will also be inherited.
This is a most important but neglected consideration ; for, how-
ever desirable or even perfect may have been the conformation
of the sire, every good point may be neutralized or lost by the de-
fective structure of the mare. The essential points should be
good in both parents, or some minor defect in either be met, and
got rid of, by excellence in that particular point in the other.
The unskilful or careless breeder too often so badly pairs the ani-
mals, that the good points of each are almost lost : the defects
of both mcreased, and the produce is far inferior to both sire and
dam.
The mare is sometimes put to the horse at too early an age ;
or, what is of more frequent occurrence, the mare is incapacitated
for work by old age. The owner is unwilling to destroy her, and
he determines that she shall bear a foal, and thus remunerate him
for her keep. What is the consequence ? The foal exhibits an
unkindliness of growth, — a corresponding weakness, — and there is
«carcely an organ that possesses its natural and proper strength.
That the constitution and endurance of the horse are inherited.
238 BREEDING.
no sporting man ever doubted. The qualities of tlie sire or the
dam descend from generation to generation, and the excellences
or defects of certain horses are often traced, and justl}^ so, to some
peculiarity in a far-distant ancestor.
It may, perhaps, be justly affirmed, that there is more difficulty
in selecting a good mare to breed from than a good horse, because
ehe should possess somewhat opposite qualities. Her carcase
should be long, in order to give room for the growth of the foetus ,
and yet with this there should be compactness of form and short
ness of leg. What can they expect whose practice it is to pur-
chase worn-out, spavined, foundered mares, about whom they fancy
there have been some good points, and send them far into the
country to breed from, and, with all their variety of shape, to be
covered by the same horse ? In a lottery like this there may hi
now and then a prize, but there must be many blanks.
As to the shape of the stallion, little satisfactory can be said
It must depend on that of the mare, and the kind of horse wished
to be bred ; but if there is one point absolutely essential, it is
" compactness" — as much goodness and strength as possible con-
densed into a little space.
Next to compactness, the inclination of the shoulder will be re
garded. A huge stallion, with upright shoulders, never got a
capital hunter or hackney. From him the breeder can obtain
nothing but a cart or dray horse, and that, perhaps, spoiled by the
opposite form of the mare. On the other hand, an upright
shoulder is desirable, if not absolutely necessary, when a mere
slow draught-horse is required.
From the time of covering, to within a few days of the expected
period of foaling, the cart-mare may be kept at moderate labor,
not only without injury, but with decided advantage. It will
then be prudent to release her from work, and keep her near
home, and under the frequent inspection of some careful person.
When nearly half the time of pregnancy has elapsed, the mare
should have a little better food. She should be allowed one or
two feeds of grain in the day. This is about the period when they
are accustomed to slink their foals, or when abortion occurs : the
eye of the owner should, therefore, be frequently upon them.
Good feeding and moderate exercise will be the best preventives
of this mishap. The mare that has once aborted, is liable to a
repetition of the accident, and therefore should never be suffered
to be with other mares between the fourth and hfth months : for
such is the power of imagination or of sympathy in the mare, that
if one suffers abortion, others in the same pasture will too often
share the same fate. Farmers wash, and paint, and tar their
stables, to prevent some supposed infection ; — the infection lies in
the imagination.
BREEDING. 239
The thoroug^h-'bred mare — the stock being intended for sport-
ing purposes — should be kept quiet, and apart Irom other horses,
after the first four or five months. When the period of parturi-
tion is drawing near, she should be watched and shut up during
the night in a safe yard or loose box.
If the mare, whether of the pure or common breed, be thus
taken care of, and be in good health while in foal, little danger
will attend the act of parturition. If there is false presentation of
the loBtus, or difficulty in producing it, it will be better to have
recourse to a well-informed practitioner, than to injure the
mother by the violent and injurious attempts that are often made
to relieve her.
The parturition being over, the mare should be turned into
some well-sheltered pasture, wdth a hovel or shed to run into when
she pleases ; and if she has foaled early, and grass is scanty, she
should have a couple of feeds of grain daily. The breeder may
depend upon it, that nothing is gained by starving the mother
and stinting the foal at this time. It is the most important pe-
riod of the life of the horse ; and if, fromi false economy, his growi;h
is arrested, his puny form and want of endurance will ever after-
wards testify the error that has been committed. The grain
should be given in a trough on the ground, that the foal may par-
take of it with the mother. When the new grass is plentiful, the
quantity of corn may gradually be diminished.
The mare will usually be found again at heat at or before the
expiration of a month from the time of foaling, when, if she is
principally kept for breeding purposes, she may be put again to
the horse. At the same time, also, if she is used for agricultural pur-
poses, she may go again to work. The foal is at first shut in the sta-
ble during the hours of work ; but as soon as it acquires sufficient
strength to toddle after the mare, and especially when she is at
slow work, it will be better for the foal and the dam that they
should be together. The work will contribute to the health ol
the mother ; the foal will more frequently draw the milk, and
thrive better, and will be hardy and tractable, and gradually fa-
miliarized with the objects among which it is afterwards to live.
While the mother, however, is thus worked, she and the foal
should be well fed ; and two feeds of corn, at least, should be
added to the green food which they get when turned out after
their work, and at night.
In five or six months, according to the growth of the foal it
may be weaned. It should then be housed for three weeks or a
month, or turned into some distant rick-yard. There can be no
better place for the foal than the latter, as aflbrdiiig, and that
without trouble, both food and shelter. The mother should be
pat to harder work; and nave drier food. One or two urme-balls.
240 BREEDING BREAKING.
or a physic-ball, will be useful, if the milk should be troublesome
or she should pine after her foal.
There is no principle of greater importance than the liberal
feeding of the foal during the whole of his growth, and at this
time in particular. Bruised oats and bran should form a consid-
erable part of his daily provender. The farmer may be as-
sured tnat the money is well laid out which is expended on the
liDeral nourishment of the growing colt ; yet while he is well fed,
he should not be rendered delicate by excess of care.
A racing colt is often stabled ; but one that is destined to be a
hunter, a hackney, or an agricultural horse, should have a square
rick, under the leeward side of which he may shelter him-
self ; or a hovel, into which he may run at night, and out of the
rain.
The process of breaking-in should commence from the very
period of weaning. The foal should be daily handled, par-
tially dressed, accustomed to the halter when led about, and
even tied up. The tractability, and good temper, and value
of the horse, depend a great deal more upon this than breeders are
aware.
Everything should be done, as much as possible, by the man
who feeds the colt, and whose management of him should be al-
ways kind and gentle. There is no fault for which a breeder
should so invariably discharge his servant as cruelty, or even
harshness, towards the rising stock ; for the principle on which
their after usefulness is founded, is early attachment to, and con-
fidence in man, and obedience, implicit obedience, resulting prin-
cipally from this.
After the second winter the work of breaking-in may com-
mence in good earnest. The colt may be bitted, and a bit
selected that will not hurt his mouth, and much smaller than
those in common use. With this he may be suffered to amuse
himself, and to play, and to champ it for an hour, on a few suc-
cessive days.
Having become a little tractable, portions of the harness may
be put upon him, concluding with the blind winkers ; and, a few
days afterwards, he may go into the team. It would be better if
there could be one horse before, and one behind him, besides the
shaft horse. There should at first be the mere empty wagon.
Nothing should be done to him, except that he should have an
occasional pat or kind word. The other horses will keep him
moving, and in his place ; and no great time Avill pass, sometimes
not even the first day, before he will begin to pull with the rest
The load may then be gradually increased.
The agricultural horse is sometimes wanted to ride as well as
to draw. Let his first lesson be jriven when he is in the team
ARE AXING. 241
Let his feeder, if possible, bt first put upon him. He will be too
much hampered by his harm*ss, and by the other horses, to make
much resistance ; and, in the majority of cases, will quietly and
at once submit. We need not to repeat, that no whip or spur
f^hould be used in giving the first lessons in riding.
When he begins a little to understand his business, backing —
the most difficult part of his work — may be taught him ; first to
back well without anything behind him, and then with a light
cart, and afterwards with some serious load — always taking the
greatest care not seriously to hurt his mouth. If the first lesson
causes much soreness of the gums, the colt will not readily submit
to a second. If he has been previously rendered tractable by kind
usage, time and patience will do everything that can be wished.
Some carters are in the habit of blinding the colt when teacliing
him to back. This may be necessary with a restive and obstinate
one, but- should be used only as a last resort.
The colt having been thus partially broken-in, the necessity of
implicit obedience must be taught him, and that not by severity,
but by firmness and steadiness. The voice will go a great way,
but the whip or the spur is sometimes indispensable — not so se
verely applied as to excite the animal to resistance, but to con-
vince him that we have the power to enlbrce submission. Few,
it may almost be said, no horses, are naturally vicious. It i&
cruel usage which has first provoked resistance. That resistance
has been followed by greater severity, and the stubbornness of the
animal has increased. Open warfare has ensued, in which the
man has seldom gained advantage, and the horse has been fre-
quently rendered unserviceable. Correction may, or must be
used, to enforce implicit obedience after the education has pro-
ceeded to a certain extent, but the early lessons should be incul-
cated with kindness alone. Young colts are sometimes very per-
verse. Many days will occasionally pass before they will permit
the bridle to be put on, or the saddle to be worn ; and one act of
harshness will double or treble this time : patience and kindness,
however, will always prevail. On some morning, when he is in
a better humor than usual, the bridle may be put on, or the sad-
dle may be worn ; and, this compliance being followed by kind-
ness and soothing on the part of the breaker, and no inconve-
nience or pain being sufiered by the animal, all resistance will be
at an end.
The same principles will apply to the breakiug-in of the horse
for the road or the chase. The handhng, and some portion of in-
struction, should commence from the time of weaning. The fu-
ture tractability of the horse will much depend on this. At two
years and a half, or three years, the regular process of breaking-in
shoufd commence. If it is delayed until the animal is four years
K U)
242 BREAKING.
old, his strength and obstinacy will be more difficult to overcome
The plan usually pursued by the breaker cannot perhaps be much
improved, except that there should be much more kindness and
patience, and far less harshness and cruelty, than these persons
are accustomed to exhibit, and a great deal more attention to the
form and natural action of the horse. A headstall is put on the
colt, and a cavesson (or apparatus to confine and pinch the nose)
affixed to it, with long reins. He is first accustomed to the rein,
then led round a ring on soft ground, and at length mounted and
taught his paces. Next to preserving the temper and docility of
the horse, there is nothing of so much importance as to teach him
every pace, and every part of his duty, distinctly and thoroughly.
Each must constitute a separate and sometimes long-continued
lesson, and that taught by a man who will never suffer his pas-
sion to get the better of his discretion.
After the cavesson has been attached to the headstall, and the
long reins put on, the colt should be quietly led about by the
breaker — a steady boy following behind, by occasional threatening
with the whip, but never by an actual blow, to keep him mroving.
When the animal follows readily and quietly, he may be taken
to the ring, and walked round, right and left, in a very small cir-
cle. Care should be taken to teach him this pace thoroughly,
never suffering him to break into a trot. The boy with his whip
may here again be necessary, but not a single blow should actu-
ally fall.
Becoming tolerably perfect in the walk, he should be quickened
to a trot, and kept steadily at it ; the whip of the boy, if needful,
urging him on, and the cavesson restraining him. These lessons
should be short. The pace should be kept perfect, and distinct in
each ; and docility and improvement rewarded with frequent ca-
resses, and handfuls of corn. The length of the rein may now be
gradually increased, and the pace quickened, and the time ex-
tended, until the animal becomes tractable in" these his first les-
sons, towards the conclusion of which, crupper-straps, or some-
thing similar, may be attached to the clothing. These, playing
about the sides and flanks, accustom him to the flapping of the
coat of the rider. The annoyance which they occasion will pass
over in a day or two ; for when the animal finds that no harm
comes to him, he will cease to regard them.
Next comes the bitting. The bits should be large and smooth,
and the reins buckled to a ring on either side of the pad. There
are many curious and expensive machines for this purpose, but the
simple rein will be quite sufficient. It should at first be slack,
and then very gradually tightened. This will prepare for the
more perfect manner m which the head will be afterwards got
into its proper position, when tlie colt is accustomed to the saddle
BREAKING. ^43
Occasionally the breaker should stand in front of the colt, and take
hold of each side rein near to the moutli, and press upon it, and
thus begin to teach him to stop and to back on the pressure of
the rein, rewarding every act of docility, and not being too eager
to punish occasional carelessness or waywardness.
The colt may now be taken into the road or street, to be grad-
ually accustomed to the objects among which his services will be
required. Here, from fear or playlulness, a considerable de-
gree of starting and shying may be exhibited. As little notice
as possible should be taken of it. The same or a similar object
should be soon passed again, but at a greater distance. If the
colt still shies, let the distance be still farther increased until he
takes no notice of the object. Then he may be gradually brought
nearer to it, and this will be usually effected without the slight-
est difficulty : whereas, had there been an attempt to force him
close to it in the first instance, the remembrance of the contest
would have been associated with every appearance of the object,
and the habit of shying would have been established.
Hitherto, with a cool and patient breaker, the whip may have
been shown, but will scarcely have been used ; the colt must
now, however, be accustomed to this necessary instrument of au-
thority. Let the breaker walk by the side of the animal, and
throw his right arm over his back, holding the reins in his left,
occasionally quickening his pace, and at the moment of doing
this, tapping the horse with the whip in his right hand, and at
first very gently. The tap of the Avhip and the quickening of the
pace will soon become associated in the mind of the animal. If
necessary, these reminders may gradually fall a little Ireavier,
and the feeling of pain be the monitor of the necessity of
increased exertion. The lessons of reining in and stopping, and
backing on the pressure of the bit, may continue to be practised
at the same time.
He may now be taught to bear the saddle. Some little cau-
tion will be necessary at the first putting of it on. The breaker
should stand at the head of the colt, patting him and engaging
his attention, while one assistant, on the oft-side, gently places
the saddle on the back of the animal ; and another, on tlie near-
side, slowly tightens the girths. If he submits quietly to this, as
he generally will when the previous process of breaking-in has
been properly conducted, the ceremony of mounting may be
attempted on the following, or on the third day. The breaker
will need two assistants in order to accomplish this. He will
remain at the head of the colt, patting and making much of
him. The rider will put his foot into the stirrup, and bear a
little weight upon it, while the man on the off-side presses
equally on the other stirrup-leather ; and, according to the do-
244 BREAKING CASTRATION.
cility of the animal, he will gradually increase the weight, until
he balances himself on the stirrup. If the colt is uneasy or
fearful, he should be spoken kindly to and patted, or a mouthful
of grain be given to him ; but if he offers serious resistance, the
lessons must terminate for that day. He may probably be in bet-
ter humor on the morrow.
When the rider has balanced himself for a minute or two,
he may gently throw his leg over, and quietly seat himself in
the saddle. The breaker will then lead the animal round the
ring, the rider sitting perfectly still. After a feM' minutes he will
take the reins, and handle them as gently as possible, and guide
the horse by the pressure of them ; patting him frequently, and
especially when he thinks of dismounting ; and, after having
dismounted, offering him a little grain, or green feed. The use
of the rein in checking him, and of the pressure of the leg and
the touch of the heel in quickening his pace, will soon be taught,
and his education will be nearly completed.
The horse having thus far submitted himself to the breaker,
these pattings and rewards must be gradually diminished, and
implicit obedience mildly but hrmly enforced. Severity will not
often be necessary. In the great majority of cases it will be
altogether uncalled for : but should the animal, in a moment of
waywardness, dispute the command of the breaker, he must at
once be taught that he is the slave of man, and that we have
the power, by other means than those of kindness, to bend him
to our will. The education of the horse should be that of the
child. Pleasure is, as much as possible, associated with the
early lessons ; but firmness, or, if need be, coercion, must establish
the habit of obedience. Tyranny and cruelty will, more speediH
in the horse than even in the child, provoke the wish to diso-
bey ; and, on every practicable occasion, the resistance to com-
mand. The restive and vicious horse is, in ninety-nine cases
out of a hundred, made so by ill-usage, and not by nature. None,
but those who will take the trouble to make the experiment, are
aware how absolute a command the due admixture of firmness
and kindness will soon give us over any horse.
CASTRATION.
The period at which this operation may be best performed de-
pends much on the breed and form of the colt, and the purpose
for which he is destined. For the common agricultural horse
the age of four or five months will be the most proper time, or,
at least before he is weaned. Few horses are lost when cut at
that age. Care, however, should be taken that the weather is
not too hot, nor the flies too numerous.
Tf the horse is designed either for the carriaire or for heavy
CASTRATION. 245
draught, the farmer should not think of castrating him until he
is at least a twelvemonth old ; and, even then, the colt should be
carefully examined. If he is thin and spare about the neck and
shoulders, and low in the withers, he will materially improve by
remaining uncut another six months ; but if his fore-quarters are
fairly developed at the age of a twelvemonth, the operation
should not be delayed, lest he become heavy and gross before,
and perhaps has begun too decidedly to have a will of his own.
No specific age, then, can be fixed ; but the castration should be
performed rather late in the spring or early in the autumn, when
the air is temperate, and particularly when the weather is dry.
No preparation is necessary for the sucking colt, but it may
be prudent to bleed and to physic one of more advanced age.
In the majority of cases, no after treatment will be necessary,
except that the animal should be sheltered from intense heat, and
more particularly from wet. In temperate weather, he will do
much better running in the field, than nursed in a close and hot
stable. The moderate exercise that he will take in grazing will
be preferable to perfect inaction.
The old method of opening the scrotum (testicle bag), on
either side, and cutting off the testicles, and preventing bleeding
by a temporary compression of the vessels, while they are seared
with a hot iron, must not, perhaps, be abandoned ; but there is no
necessity of that extra pain, when the spermatic cord (the blood-
vessels and the nerve) is compressed between two pieces of wood
as tightly as in a vice, and there left until the following day, or
until the testicle drops off.
The practice of some farmers of tivitching * their colts at an
early period, exposes the animal to much umiecessary pain, and
is accompanied with considerable danger..
Another method of castration is by Torsioii. An incision is
made into the scrotum, and the vas deferens is exposed and
divided. The arter)^ is then seized by a pair of forceps contrived
for the purpose, and twisted six or seven times round. It retracts
without untwisting the coils, and bleeding ceases. The testicle
is removed, and there is no sloughing or danger. The most pain-
ful part of the operation — the operation of the firing-iron or the
clams — is avoided, and the wound readily heals. f
* Termed cording in the United States. — Am. Ed.
f Note bij Mr. Spooner. — We agree with the author, that the old
method of operating, by opening the scrotum with the knife, cutting the
clams on the cord, and searing it off with the hot iron, is as safe and unob-
jectionable as any. We have, however, in performing this operation, found
the use of chloroform very beneficial, both in removing all pain, and also
preventing that severe struggling which often takes place, and which has
sometimes been followed with very dangerous consequences. With this
assistance we have safely performed the operation in seven minutes, with-
out anv pain to the anunal.
CHAPTER XII.
THE FORE LEGS.
We arrive now ax those parts of the frame which are most
essentially connected with the action and value of the horse, and
oftenest, and most annoyingly, the subjects of disease.
SPRAIN OF THE SHOULDER.
The muscles of the shoulder-blade are occasionally injured by
some severe shock. This is effected oftener by a slip or side-fall,
than by fair, although violent exertion. It is of considerable
importance to be able to distinguish this shoulder-lameness from
injuries of other parts of the fore extremity. There is not much
tenderness, or heat, or swelling. If, on standing before the horse,
and looking at the si^e of the two shoulders, or rather their points,
one should appear evidently larger than the other, this must not
be considered as indicative of sprain of the muscles of the shoul-
der. It probably arises from bruise of the point of the shoulder,
which a slight examination will determine.
In sprain of the shoulder the horse evidently suffers extreme
pain while moving, and, the muscle underneath being inflamed
and tender, he will extend it as little as possible. He ivill drag
his toe along the ground. It is in the lifting of the foot that the
shoulder is principally moved. If the foot is lifted high, let the
horse be ever so lame, the shoulder is little, if at all affected.
In shoulder-lameness, the toe alone rests on the ground. The
circumstance which most of all characterises this affection is, that
when the' foot is lifted and then brought considerably forward
the horse will express very great pain, which he will not do if
the lameness is in the foot or the leg.
In sprain of the internal muscles of the shoulder, few local
measures can be adopted. The horse should be bled from the
vein on the inside of the arm (the plate vein), because the blood
is then abstracted more immediately from the inflamed part. A
dose of physic should be given, and fomentations applied, and
principally on the inside of the arm, close to the chest, and the
horse should be kept as quiet as possible. The injury is too
SLANTING OF THE SHOULDER.
247
deeply seated for external stimulants to have ver}^ great eflect,
yet a blister will properly be resorted to, if the lameness is not
speedily removed.*
SLANTING DIRECTION OF THE SHOULDER.
It will be observed, that (see G and J, Fig. 1 .) the shoulder-blade
and the lower bone of the shoulder are not connected together in
a straight line, but form a very considerable angle with each
other. This will be more evident from the fallowing cut, which
represents the fore and hind extremities m the situations which
they occupy in the horse.
Fig. 33.
This angular construction of the limbs reminds us of the
similar arrangement of the springs of a carriage, and the ease of
motion, and almost perfect freedom from jolting, which ard
thereby obtained.
* N^ote by Mr. Spooner. — The symptoms of shoulder lameness as pointed
out in the text, are for the mo^t part correct. A horse, however, never points
in this disease, but will sometimes keep the lame limb further back than the
other. The pain is almost entirely felt in motion, and not in sustaining the
weight; wliiUt, ia strain-^ of the flexor tendons, there is no pain in extending
the limb, bat only when the weight comes upon it ; so that a horse, in tlie
latter case, steps short with the sound leg and long with the lame one, and
the very reverse in shoulder lameness. Bleeding from the arm, and mildly
blistering the shoulder, generally ^iioceeds in effecting a cure.
24 d SLANTING OF THE SHOULDER.
The obliquity or slanting direction of the shoulder effects other
very useful purposes. That the stride in the gallop, or the space
passed over in the trot, may be extensive, it is necessary that the
lore part of the animal should be considerably elevated. The
shoulder, by means of the muscles vi^hich extend from it to the
inferior part of the limb, is the grand agent in effecting this.
Had the bones of the shoulder been placed more upright than we
see them, they could not then have been of the length which
they now are, — their connection with the chest could not have
been so secure, — and their movements upon each other would
have been comparatively restricted.
The slanting shoulder accomplishes a most useful object. The
muscles extending from the shoulder-blade to the lower bone of
the shoulder are the powers by which motion is given to the
whole of the limb. The extent ^nd energy of that motion
depend much on the force exerted or the strength of the muscle ;
but there are circumstances in the relative situations of the dif-
ferent bones which have far greater influence.
Let it be supposed that, by means of a lever, some one is
endeavoring to raise a certain weight.
A is a lever, resting or turning on a pivot B ; C is the weiifrht
to be raised ; and D is the power, or the situation at which the
power is applied. If the strength is applied in the direction per-
pendicular to the lever, as represented by the line E, the power
which must be exerted can easily be calculated.
Fig. 34.
In proportion as the distance of the power from the pivot or
centre of motion exceeds that of the weight from the same place,
so will be the advantage gained. The power here is twice as
far from the center as the weight is, and therefore advantage i&
gained in the proportion of two to one : or if the weight is equal
to 2001bs., a force of lOOlbs. will balance it. If the direction in
which the power is applied is altered, and it is in that of the line
F, will lOOlbs. effect the purpose? No ; nothing like it. How,
then, is the necessary power to be calculated ? The lin-e of
direction must be prolonged, until another line, falling perpen-
dicularly from the lever, and commencing at the center of mo-
tion, will cut it ; and the length of that line will give the actual
SLANTING OF THE SHOULDER. 249
effect of the strength employed. Now, this new line is but half
as long as the distance of the weight from the centre of motion,
and therefore advantage is lost in the proportion oi" two to one ;
or a strength equal to 4001bs. must he exerted to raise the 2001hs.,
and so in proportion to the deviation from the right or ^/erpendic-
ular line.
Let the shoulder of the horse be considered. The point of the
shoulder — the shoulder joint — is the pivot or centre of motion;
the leg attached to the bone of the arm is the weight ; the
shoulder-blade being more fixed is the part whence the power
emanates ; and the muscles extending I'rom the one to the other
are the lines in which that power is exerted. These lines
approach much more nearly to a perpendicular in the oblique
than in the upright shoulder (see Fig. 33). In the upright one,
the shoulder-blade and the bones of the arm are almost in a
straight line, and the real action and power of the muscles are
most strangely diminished. In this point of view tlie oblique
shoulder is most important. It not only gives extensive action, but
facility of action. The power ot the muscles is more than doubled
by being exerted in a line approaching so much nearer to a per-
pendicular.
The oblique shoulder is less exposed to concussion, particularly
n rapid action. The horse is less likely to trip. Nature, as if
to supply the deficiency of action and of j)ower in an upright
shoulder, invariably accumulates on it more muscle, and there-
fore the upright shoulder is proverbially thick and cloddy.
Then, ought every horse to have an oblique shoulder ? No !
The question has relation to those horses that are designed to
ride pleasantly, or from which extensive and rapid action is re-
quired. In them it has been said that an oblique shoulder is
indispensable : but there are others which are seldom ridden ;
whose pace is slow, and who have nothing to do but to throw as
much weight as possible into the collar. To them an upright
shoulder is an advantage, because its additional thickness gives
them additional weight to throw into the collar, which the power
of their hinder quarters is fully sufficient to accomplish ; and
because the upright position of the shoulder gives that direction
to the collar which enables the horse to act upon every part of
it, and that inclination of the traces which will enable his
weight or power to be most advantageously employed.
An imxproved breed of our heavy draught-horses has of late
years been attempted, and with much success. Sufficient up-
rightness of shoulder is retained for the purposes of draught, 'while
a slight degree of obliquity has materially quickened the pace
and improved the appearance.
k
250
MUSCLES OF THE SHOULDER
CUT je" THE MUSCLES ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE SHOULDER.
a and b, in Fig. 35, represent a portion of the Trapezius mus-
-\e. Its use is to elevate and support the shoulder-blade — to
■p- gg raise it and likewise
to draw it backward.
A portion of it is
represented as turned
back, to show the
muscles beneath.
A moment's consid-
eration will convince
the reader that al-
though a low fore-
hand and thick shoul-
der are very properly
objected to, yet still
some fullness and
fleshiness are necessa-
ry, even about the
withers ; otherwise,
although there may
be height of withers,
and obliquity of shoul-
der, to give extensive
action, there will not
be sufficient muscular
power to work the
machine with either
quickness or continu-
ance.
At c is a portion of
the levator humeri
(the raiser of the shoul-
der). It is a muscle
of immense power and
great utility, raising
and drawing forward
the shoulder and the
arm, or, when these
are fixed, turning the head and neck if one only acts, and de-
pressing them if the muscles on both sides act at the same time.
AtVZ is a portion of the serratus magnus muscle, between the
shoulder and side of the chest, and constituting the bulk of the
lower part of the neck.
At ^ is a small portion of the splenius muscle, /, represents a
inuscie sometimes described as a portion of the levator humeri
MUSCLES OF THE SHOULDER.
251
At ^ is a portion of the stei'no maxillaris, or muscle common
Co the fore part ol'the chest and the lower jaw.
h designates the principal portion of this muscle, extending from
the shoulder to the humerus, and employed in drawing this bonp
towards the shoulder-blade, and bendhig the whole of the limb.
The muscle i, antea ^yinatus, is situated on the outer and
anterior part of the shoulder, below and behind the muscle next
mentioned ; and its office is to extend the lower bone of th^^
shoulder on the shoulder-blade.
The muscle j, iios,tea sjmiatus, behind the spine or ridge,
occupies that space of the shoulder. It draws this bone outward
and upward.
At I', is a muscle common to the breast and the shoulder-blade,
and called the pectoralis iiarvus,. Its action, in common with
that of a larger muscle, seen at w, the great 'pectoral, is to draw
the head of the shoulder backward, and also the lower part of the
shoulder-blade, and to give the latter a more upright position.
At q, is the tendon of a very important muscle, the extensor
longits of the arm. At r and s, are the three divisions of another
muscle concerned in the same office.
1, 2 and 3 designate the places of the principal artery, nerve,
and vein of the leg ; 4 gives the subcutaneous vein running within
the arm ; and 5 the subcutaneous vein of the side of the chest.
Fig. 36 represents the muscles on the
inside of the shoulder and fore-arm. a
is a YQYy prominent one. It is called the
pectoralis transversus (the muscle cross-
ing the breast). The use of this muscle ^
is obvious and important. It binds the
arm to the side of the horse ; it keeps
the legs straight before the horse when
he is at speed, that the weight of the
body may be received on them in a di-
rection most easy and safe to the horse
and to the rider, and most advantageous
for the full play of all the muscles con-
cerned in progression. Considering the
unevenness of surface over which a horse
often passes, and the rapid turnings
which are sometimes necessary, these
muscles have enough to do ; and when
the animal is pushed beyond his strength,
and these muscles are wearied, and the
fore-iegs spread out, and the horse is
" all abroad,'" the confused and unpleas-
' ant manner of going, and the sudden
falling-off in speed, are well known to
252 THE ARM.
every rider. The lines above represent, in the order from the
front, the principal nerves, arteries, and veins of the shoulder
and arm ; and, on the muscles, k represents the principal sub-
cutaneous vein of the inside of the arm, and i the artery by
which it is accompanied.
THE HUMERUS, OR LOWER BONE OF THE SHOULDER.
Forming a joint with the shoulder-blade, at the point of the
shoulder, is the liumerus. It is a short, strong bone, slanting
backward in an opposite direction to the shoulder-blade. At the
upper part it has a large round head, received into the shallow
cavity of the shoulder-blade. In a well-formed horse this bone
can scarcely be too short.
THE ARM.
The ann extending from the elbow to the knee (see K and L,
Fig. 1, and also Fig. 35), consists, in the young horse, of two dis-
tinct bones. The long and front bone, called the radius, is nearly
straight, receiving into its upper end the lower heads of the hu-
merus ; and the lower end corresponding with the upper layer of
the bones of the knee. The short and hinder bone is called the
ulna. It has a very long and powerful projection, received be-
tween the heads of the humerus, and called the elbow ; it then
stretches down, narrowing by degrees (see L, Fig. 1, and the Fig.
35), to below the middle of the front bone, where it terminates
in a point. The two bones are united together by cartilage and
ligament ; but these are by degrees absorbed and changed to bone,
and before the horse becomes old the whole of the arm consists
of one bone only.
The strength of the horse, so far as his fore limbs are concerned,
resides principally in those muscles which give size to the arm.
A full and swelling fore-arm is the characteristic of every
thorough-bred horse. Whatever other good points the animal
may possess, if the arm is narrow in front and near the shoulder,
flat on the side, and altogether deficient in muscular appearance,
that horse is radically defective. He can neither raise his knee
for rapid action, nor throw his legs suflRciently forward.
The arm should likewise be long. In proportion to the length
of the muscle is the degree of contraction of which it is capable ;
and in proportion also to the degree of contraction will be the
extent of motion in the limb beneath.
Enlargements sometimes 'appear about the elbow, either the
consequence of a violent blow, or from the calks of the shoes in-
juring this part when the horse sleeps with his legs doubled under
him. If a seton is passed through the tumor, it will sometiniei»
THE KNEE. 253
rapully diminish, and even disappear ; but if it is of considerable
miiofiiitude, the skin should be opened along the middle of the
swelliuof, and the tumor dissected out.
The elbow-joint is sometimes punctured, either accidentally, or
through the brutality of the groom or carter. The swelling is
often rapid and extensive, and fatal inflammation may ensue.
Rest, and the closure of the wound, are the most important con-
siderations.
There are other muscles of the fore-arm employed in extending
the limb. At x, Fig. 35, is the principal one, called the extensor
metacarpi. Its office is to extend the leg.
The next muscle in situation and importance is seen at iv, and
called the extensor loedis.
At u. Fig. 35, is the tendon of another extensor muscle, and
at 2; a curious oblique one, passing over the tendon of x, confining
it in its situation, and likewise assisting in extending or straight-
ening the leg.
The muscles employed in bending the leg are both numerous
and powerful. Two of the superficial ones are given in Fig. 36.
The first is aX t, Fig. 35 ; it is also seen at h, Fig. 35. It is
called \\\Q flexor ineclius Tnetacarjn, because its office is to bend
the leg. The other is seen at v, Fig. 35. It is called the flexor
metacarjii externus, and is also designed to flex the leg.
The internal flexor is seen at e. Its office is also to bend the
leg.
A portion of one of the most powerful of the flexor muscles,
and powerful indeed they must be, is delineated at c, Fig. 35.
It is XkiQ flexor brachii. It is the muscle by which, almost alone,
the whole of the leg below the arm is bent, and carried forward
and upward. [There are other muscles of the leg and foot, not
necessary to be named here.]
THE KNEE.
To avoid the effects of concussion in so exposed a part, six dis-
tinct bones, each covered above and below with a thick coating
of cartilage, cormected together by strong ligaments, but separated
by interposed fluids and membranes, form the knee.
The knee should be broad. It should present a very consider-
able width, compared with the arm above, or the shank below.
In proportion to the breadth of the knee is the space for the. at-
tachment of muscles, and for the accumulation of ligamentous
expansions and bands. In proportion to the breadth of the knee
there will be more strength ; and likewise the direction of some
muscles will be less oblique, and the course of others will be more
254 BROKEN KNEES.
removed from the centre of motion, in either of which cases mu«h
power will be gained.
BROKEN KNEES.
The treatment of broken knees is a subject of considerable
mportance, for many horses are sadly blemished, and others are
destroyed, by wounds in the knee-joint. The horse, when falling,
naturally throws his knees forward ; they receive all his weight,
and are sometimes very extensively lacerated. The first thing
to be done is, by very careful washing with warm water, to
cleanse the wound from all gravel and dirt. It must then be
ascertained whether the joint is penetrated. The grating of the
probe on one of the bones of the knee, or the depth to which
the probe enters the wound, will too plainly indicate that the
joint has been opened. Should any doubt exist, a linseed-meal
poultice must be applied. This will at least act as a fomenta-
tion to the wound, and will prevent or abate inflammation ; and
when, twelve hours afterwards, it is taken ofl^, the sy7iovia or
ioint-oil, in the form of a glairy, yellowish, transparent fluid,
will be seen, if the capsular ligament has been penetrated.
Should doubt remain after the first poultice, a second ought
to be applied.
It having been ascertained that the interior of the joint is not
injured, attention must be paid to the wound that is actually made.
The horse should wear a cradle to prevent his getting at the
wound. A stimulating application — the common black-oil of
the farrier is as good as any — should be lightly applied every
day, until healthy pus is produced on the wound, and then a little
friar's balsam will probably eflect a cure.
The opening of the joint, however, being ascertained, the first
and immediate care is to close the orifice ; for the fluid which
separated and lubricated the bones of the knee being sufl^ered to
escape, they will be brought into contact with and will rub upon
each other ; the delicate* membrane with which they are covered
will be highly inflamed ; the constitution will be speedily
aflected, and a degree of fever will ensue that will destroy the
horse : while, in the meantime, of all the tortures that can be-
inflicted on the poor animal, none can equal that which accom-
panies inflammation of the membranes lining the joints.
The manner of closing the orifice must be left to the judg-
ment of the veterinary surgeon, who alone is capable of properly
treating such a case. It may be efiected by a compress enclos-
ing the whole of the wound, and not to be removed for many
days ; or it may be attempted by the old and generally successful
method of applying the hot iron over the wound, and particularly
BROKEN KNEEb. 255
over the spot where the ligament appears to be lacerated. A
poultice may then be placed on the part, and the case treated
as a common wound. The surgeon will (ind no difliculty in de-
termining whether the sharp edge of the common firing-iron
should be used — as would be the case if the laceration is con
siderable, or whether the budding-iron should be resorted to
After the use of the cautery, the application of a blister may,
in .'Some cases, be serviceable. Should the joint-oil continue to
flow, the iron may be applied a second, or even a third time.
By its application, so much swelling is produced on the imme-
diate puncture, and in the neighboring parts, as mechanically to
close up and plug the orifice.
If, however, the opening into the joint is extensive, and tlie
joint-oil continues to flow, and the horse is evidently sufierino
much pain, humanity wiii dictate that he should be destroyed
The case is hopeless. A high degree of fever will ere long carry
him of!', or the inflammation will cause a deposit of matter in
the cavity of the joint that will pnxhice incurable lameness. ^'^
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — The knee is subject to a variety of injuries from
falls. Sometimes, thoufi;h tlie wound is large and apparently formidable, it
is yet but an ordinary wound, and will heal readily with common treat-
ment. At other times, partly from the width and extent of the wound, and
partly from the restlessness of the animal, a wide and dei;)) fissure takes
place, wliich opens every time the horse bends his knee, and the sides of
the chap <jfrowin|j^ at the same time, the wound becomes deei)er and wider,
and is extremely difficult to heal. The best mode of treatment is to cut
away the sides and edges of the fisssure to its full depth, thereby convert
ing it into one simple wound, which may be healed with little difficulty.
When the joint is opened the treatment must be conducted on very differ-
ent principles from that of an ordinary wound; whereas, in the latter case,
fomentations and poultices are very pro]ier, in order to cleanse the wound,
and to keep down inflammation. When the joint is opened, these; measures
are to be avoided, as they increase irritation, by keeping open tlie joint, and
encouraging the flow of synovia (joint-oil), and the entrance of the air.
In a case of open joint, our principal endeavor must be to close the joint
with all possible despatch ; but even with judicious treatment our chances
of success will materially depend on one or two circumstances, viz., the size
of the wound, the cavity oj)ened, and tlie fact as to whether inflammation is
already set up in the joint or not. If the latter be the case, our chances
of success are very slight, for the joint will, in all probability, beci^ne an-
chylosed or stiff. We may in great measure ascertain the existence of
inflammation by the animal j)lacing the limb in a bent position, and keep-
ing it in motion by pawing from uneasiness. There are various methods
of closing an o[)en joint. A simple, and often a very effective one, is by
means of a solution of bichloride of mercury in a solution of spirits
of wine, and applied to the wound several times a day by inoans of a fea-
ther, till the .synovia ceases to flow. Another is the application of the
hot iron. The object in both these modes is to coagulate the synovia, so
as to form a temporary plug to the joint, till nature has time to close it
more permanently. If either of these m(^tliods are adopted, it will not do
to apply a poultice afterwards, as stated in the text as this would Avasb
256 THE LEG SPLINT.
:^HE LEG.
The part of the limb between the knee and the fetlock consists
of three bones — a large one before, called the cannon or shank,
and two smaller or siMnt bones behind (see N, Fig. 1).
The smaller bones are placed behind the larger ones on either
side. They are united to the larger bone by a ligamentous sub-
stance. They reach from' one-half to two-thirds of the length
of the shank-bone, and, through their whole extent, are united
to it by this substance ; but, from the animal being worked too
soon, or too violently, inflammation ensues — bony matter is de-
posited in the room of the ligamentous, and a bony union takes
place instead of the natural one. There is no doubt that the
ease of motion is somewhat lessened by this substitution of bone,
but other elastic principles are probably called into more power-
ful action, and the value of the horse is not perceptibly impaired,
although it is hard to say what secret injury may be done to the
neighboring joints, and the cause of which, the lameness not
appearing until a distant period, is not suspected.
In this process, however, mischief does often immediately ex-
tend to the neighboring parts. The disposition to deposit bone
reaches beyond the space between the larger and smaller bones
of the leg, and a tumor, first callous, and afterwards bony, is
found, with part of its base resting on the line of union betwe(?n
these bones. This is called a
SPLINT.
The splint is invariably found on the outside of the small bones
and generally on the inside of the leg (c. Fig. 41). The inner
bone receives the whole weight transmitted to the small bone of
the knee ; and the absurd practice of many smiths of raising the
outer heel of the shoe to an extravagant degree, throws still
more of the weight of the horse on the inner splint-bone.
Bony tumors occasionally appear on other parts of the shank
bone, being the consequence of violent blows or other external
injuries, and are commonly called splints.
away the plug which we have sought to form. Another method of treat-
ment is to apply compresses of bandages and paste, letting them continue
on for a length of time, so as to close the joint mechanically. Over these
bandages we may apply linseed poultices with advantage, as by so doing
we keep down inflammation without washing coagulatefl synovia from the
wound. By this means we may succeed even in formidable wounds, if in-
flammation has not been previously set up in the joint. It is very desirable
that the horse should keep the limb in a straight position ; lying down
should therefore be avoided, and it is often necessary to support the ani
aial in slings.
SPLINT SPEEDY CUT 257
When the splint of either sort is forming, the horse is frequently
lame, for the periosteum or membrane covering the bone is pain-
fully stretched ; but when this membrane has accommodated it-
self to the tumor that extended it, the lameness subsides, and al-
together disappears, unless the splint be in a situation in which it
interferes with the action of some tendon or ligament, or in the
'mmcdiate neighborhood of a joint. Pressing upon a Hgament or
tendon, it may cause inflammation of those substances ; or, being
close to a joint, it may interfere with its action. Splints, then,
do not necessarily cause unsoundness, and may not lessen in the
slightest degree the action or value of the horse. All depends on
their situation.
The treatment of splints^ if it is worth while to meddle with
them, is exceedingly simple. The hair should be closely shaved
oft^ round the tumor ; a little strong mercurial ointment rubbed
in for two days ; and this followed by an active blister. If the
splint is of recent formation, it will generally yield to this, or to
a second blister. Should it, however, resist these applications, it
not unli'equently happens, that it will afterwards, and at no great
distance of time, begin rapidly to lessen, and quite disappear.
There is also a natural process by which the greater part of splints
disappear when the horse grows old.
The hydriodate of potash, made into an ointment with lard,
and a small quantity of mercurial ointment being added, will
fi'equently cause the disappearance of a splint of either sort.=^
Speedy Cut. — The inside of the leg, immediately under the
knee, and extending to the head of the inner splint-bone, is sub-
ject to injury from what is termed the s.peedy cut. A horse with
high action, and in the fast trot, violently strikes this part, either
with his hoof or the edge of the shoe. Sometimes bony enlarge-
ment is the result ; at others, great heat and tenderness ; and the
'oain from the blow seems occasionally to be so great, that the
Horse drops as if he were shot. The only remedy is to take care
that no part of the shoe projects beyond the foot ; and to let the
inner side of the shoe — except the country is very deep, or the
horse used for hunting — have but one nail, and that near the toe.
This part of the hoof, being unfettered with nails, will expand
when it comes in contact with the ground, and contract when in
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — The best remedy for splints is unquestionably
subctitaceous periosteotomy, an operation which consists in making a smaU
incision through the skin at the lower part of the splint, and passing up a
small knife made for the purpose under the skin, and so dividing the peri-
osteum, as the membrane which covers the bone is termed. This relieves
the tension, and thus puts a stop to the irritation, and its consequence, the
bony deposition. A small seton is left in the wound for a fortnight, which
keeps it open and produces some counter irritation.
258 SPRAIN OF THE BAGK-SINEWS.
air and relieved from the pressure of the weight ol the body ; and,
although this contraction is to no great extent, it will be sufficient
to carry the foot harmlessly by the leg. Care should likewise be
taken that the shoe is of equal thickness at the heel and the toe.
and that the bearing is equal on both sides.
Tied in Below the Knee. — Immediately under the knee, is
one of those ligamentous rings by which the tendons are so use-
fully bound down and secured ; but if the hinder bone of the
knee, the trapezium, described at p. 250, is not sufficiently prom-
inent, this ring will confine the flexor tendons of the foot too
tightly, and the leg will be very deficient in depth under the knee.
This is called being tied in beioiv the knee (b, Fig. 41). Every
horseman recognizes it as a most serious defect. It is scarcely
compatible with speed, and most assuredly not with continuance.
Such a horse cannot be ridden far and fast, without serious sprain
of the back sinews. There are few more serious defects than this
tying-in of the tendons immediately below the knee. The fore-
leg may be narrow in front, but it must be deep at the side, in
order to render the horse valuable ; for then only Avill the tendons
have free action, and the muscular force be exerted in the most
advantageous direction. There are few good race-horses whose
legs are not deep below the knee. If there are exceptions, it is
because their exertion, although violent, is but of short continuance.
In a perfect leg, and towards its lower part, there should be
three distinct and perfect projections visible to the eye, as well as
perceptible by the finger — the sides of the shank-bone being the
most forward of the three ; next, the suspensory ligament ; and,
hindermost of all, the flexor tendons. When these are not to be
distinctly seen or felt, or there is considerable thickening about
them and between them {d, Fig. 41), and the leg is round instead
of flat and deep, there has been what is commonly, but improp-
erly, called^^
SPRAIN OF THE BACK-SINEWS.
These tendons are enclosed in a sheath of dense cellular sub-
stance, in order to confine them in their situation, and to defend
them from injury, Between the tendon and the sheath, there is
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — We cannot agree with the author when he says
that there are few good race-horses but what are deep in the leg below the
knee. Very many first class race-horses have very faulty fore-legs, being
slight and tottering below the knee. It is well known to trainers that such
legs often stand their work very well, for race horses require strength rather
In'the extensors than in the flexors of the limb. Their action should be long
and low, not high and round, which high withers and strong flexor musclea
are calculated to produce. Thus what would be a grievous fault in almost
every other kind of horse, is not, with a horse kept purely for the turf
SPRAIN OF THE BACK-SINEWS 259
a mucous fluid to prevent friction ; but when tlie horse has been
over-worked, or put to sudden or violent exertion, the tendon
presses upon the dehcate membrane hning the sheath, and in-
flammation is produced. A difi^erent fluid is then thro^vn out,
which coagulates, and adhesions are formed between the tendon
and the sheath, and the motion of the limb is more difficult and
painful. At other times, from violent or long-continued exertion,
some of the fibres which confine the tendons are ruptured. A
slight injury of this nature is called a sprain of the back-sinews
or tendons ; and, when it is more serious, the horse is said to have
broken down. It should be remembered, however, that the ten-
don can never be sprained, because it is inelastic and incapable
of extension ; and the tendon, or its sheath, are scarcely ever
ruptured, even in what is called breaking down. The first injury
is confined to inflammation of the sheath, or rupture of a few of
the attaching fibres. This inflammation, however, is often very
great, the pain intense, and the lameness excessive. The anguish
expressed at every bending of the limb, and the local swelling
and heat, will clearly indicate the seat of injury.
In every serious afiection of this kind, care should be taken
that the local inflammation does not produce general disturbance
of the system ; and, therefore, the horse should be bled and phys-
icked. The bleeding may be at the toe, by which an important
local, as well as general, eflect will be produced. The vessels of
the heart will be relieved, while fever will be prevented. [For
directions for bleeding at the toe, see Art. " Bleeding," p. 190.]
As a local application, no hot farrier's oil should come near the
part, but the leg should be well fomented with warm water two
or three times in the day, and half an hour at each time. Be-
tween the fomentations, the leg should be enclosed in a poultice
of linseed-meal. Any herb that pleases the owner may be added
to the fomentation, or vinegar or Goulard's extract to the poultice ;
for the beneficial effect of both depends simply on the warmth of
the water and the moisture of the poultice. All stimulating ap-
plications will infallibly aggravate the mischief.
The horse beginning to put his foot better to the ground, and
to bear pressure on the part, and the heat having disappeared, the
object to be accomplished is changed. Recurrence of the mflam-
mation must be prevented, the enlargement must be got rid of,
and the parts must be strengthened. The two latter purposes
cannot be better effected than by using an elastic bandage-, — one
of thin flannel will be the best. This will sustain and support
the limb, while by few means are the absorbents sooner induced
to take up the effused coagulable matter of which the swelling is
composed, than by moderate pressure. If the bandage is kept
wet with vinegar — to each pint of which a quarter of a pint of
260 SPRAIN OF THE BACK-SINEWS.
spirit of wine has been added — the skin will be slightly stimu-
lated and contracted, and the cold produced by the constant evap
oration will tend to subdue the remaining and deep-seated inflam
mation. This bandage should be daily tightened in proportion as
the parts are capable of bearing increased pressure, and the treat
rnent should be persisted in for a fortnight. If, at the expiration
of that period, there is no swelling, tenderness, or heat, the horse
may gradually, and very cautiously, be put to his usual work,
►Should there, however, remain the slightest lameness or con-
siderable enlargement, the leg must be blistered, and, indeed, it
would seldom be bad practice to blister after every case of severe
sprain, for the inflammation may lie deep in the sheath of the
tendons, and the part once sprained may long remain weak, and
subject to renewed injury, not only from unusual, but even ordi-
nary exertion. If a blister is resorted to, time should be given
for it to produce its gradual and full effect, and the horse should
be afterwards turned out for one or two months. We must here
be permitted to repeat, that a blister should never be used while
any heat or tenderness remains about the part, otherwise the
slightest injury may be, and often is, converted into incurable
lameness.
Very severe sprains, or much oftener, sprains badly treated,
may require the application of the cautery. If from long-con-
tinued inflammation the structure of the part is materially
altered — if the swelling is becoming callous, or the skin is thick
ened and prevents the free motion of the limb, no stimulus short
of the heated iron will be sufficient to rouse the absorbents to
remove the injurious deposit. The firing should be applied in
straight lines, because the skin, contracting by the application
of the cautery, and gradually regaining its elastic nature, will
thus form the best bandage over the weakened part. It should
likewise be as deep as it can be applied without penetrating the
skin. Here, even more particularly than in the blister, time
should be given for the full action of the firing. Many weeks
pass away before it is perfectly accomplished ; and, after firing,
the horse should have at least a six months', and it would be
better if he could be given a twelve months' run at grass. ^
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — In the original description of the anatomy of
these parts in the text there are one or two omissions which it is necessary
to supply. The office of these tendons is two-fold, viz., to flex the limb and
also to sustain a great portion of the animal's weight. They therefore act
both as sinews and as ligaments. In the latter office they ate greatly as-
sisted by a strong ligamentous substance which is attached to the common
bone above, and to the perforans tendon below, for which, indeed, it forms
a sheath. In those strains of the tendons where the enlargement takes
place, just under the knee, this ligament is the seat of mischief; and the
effect is, if not early subduyd, to cause a contraction of the smews, and con-
VVIND-GALLS. 201
In examining a horse for the purchase, the closest attention
should be paid to the appearance of the flex or tendons. Li
there is any thickening of the substance around them, it shows
that the horse has been strained, and is not sound. He has
been patched up for awhile, but will fail again when severe
exertion is required from him.
WIND-GALLS.
In the neighborhood of the fetlock there are occasionally found
considerable enlargements, oftener on the hind-leg than the fore-
one, which are denominated, ivind-galls, (e. Fig. 41). Between
the tendons and other parts, and wherever the tendons are ex-
posed to pressure or friction, and particularly about their ex-
tremities, little bags or sacs are placed, containing and suffering
to ooze slowly from them a mucous fluid to lubricate (make
slippery) the parts. From undue pressure, and that most fre-
sequently produce first a straiglit or knuckling, and afterwards an over
shot fetlock, so that the animal is rendered useless, and requires, in order
to restore him to any degree of usefulness, the performance of an opera-
tion denominated
JDiuision of the Flexor tendons, the purpose of which is actually to
lengthen the sinews, and thus restore the fetlock to its original position.
The operation is performed midway between the knee and the fetlock,
there being there no sheath of any consequence, and no synovial cavity to
to be opened. The tendons being divided recede to the extent of from one
to two inches, which space is, iu the course of a month, filled up with new
tendinous substance thrown out from the divided extremities of the
sinews.
In the ordinary strains of the flexor tendons the seat of injury is usually
either midway between the knee and the fetlock, or somewhat nearer the
latter joint than the former. There is every possible variety as to the
amount of injury, varying from a slight lameness and a trivial enlargement
to a very considerable swelling, and excessive pain, inflammation, and
lameness. It has been doubted whether the sinews themselves are actually
enlarged, many supposing that the swelling is confined to their sheathy in-
vestments. The writer, however, is assured from numerous dissections,
as well as from the operation before alluded to of dividing the sinews, that
they actually become both inflamed and enlarged.
When the lameness and enlargement are excessive, the mischief is de-
nominatea in racing stables a break-down ; but in such instances this serious
mischief is nearly always preceded by a slight strain, which is allowed to
pass either unobserved or neglected, for we often find that no men are so
careless and neglectful in this respect as those who are intrusted with the
most valuable of all horses.
In these very severe cases the most energetic measures should be
adopted, such as copious bleeding from the arm, repeated if necessary once
or twice ; constant warm fomentations for some hours at a time ; physic,
and after some days, cold applications to the leg, continued without inter-
mission. By such treatment, the writer has succeeded in restoring the
animal to hunting work, when strained to such a degree as to be incapable
of standbg on the leg for a week.
262 WIND-GALLS.
quently caused by violent action and straining of the tendor;s,
or, often, from some predisposition about the horse, these little
sacs are injured. They take on inflammation, and sometimes
become large and hardened. There are few horses perfectly free
from them. When they first appear, and until the inflamma-
tion subsides, they may be accompanied by some degree of
lameness ; but otherwise, except when they attain a great size,
they do not interfere with the action of the animal, or cause any
considerable unsoundness. The farriers used to suppose that
they contained wind — hence their name, wind-galls ; and hence
the practice of opening them, by which dreadful inflammation
was often produced, and many a valuable horse destroyed. It
IS not uncommon for wind-galls entirely to disappear in aged
horses.
A slight wind-gall will scarcely be subjected to treatment ;
but if these tumors are numerous and large, and seem to impede
the motion of the limb, they may be attacked first by bandage.
The rollers should be of flannel, and soft pads should be placed
on each of the enlargements, and bound down tightly upon
them. The bandage should also be wetted with the lotion
recommended for sprain of the back-smews. The wind-gall will
often diminish or disappear by this treatment, but will too fre-
quently return when the horse is again hardly worked. A blis-
ter is a more efiectual, but too often temporary remedy. Wind-
galls will return with the renewal of work. Firing is still more
certain, if the tumors are sufficiently large and annoying to jus-
tify our having recourse to measures so severe ; for it will not
only effect the immediate absorption of the fluid, and the reduc-
tion of the swelling, but, by contracting the skin, will act as a
permanent bandage, and therefore prevent the reappearance of
the tumor. The iodine and mercurial ointments have occasion-
ally been used with advantage in the proportion of three parts
of the former to two of the latter.^
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Numerous {.lissections of these wind-galls; have
enabled us to give a different explanation from that stated in the text.
They appear to be of two kinds, those situated between the suspensory-
ligaments and the flexor tendons, and which are the most connnon, and
those formed between the suspensor}'^ ligaments and the bone in front, in
each case immediately above the fetlock joint. Now the former wind-
falls consist in an extension of the investment of the sheath of the tiexor
perforans formed for it by the perforatus, and the latter a distension of the
capsular ligaments of the joint itself In each a synovial cavity is effected,
and consequently the wind-gall cannot be opened without considerable dan-
ger. They rarely occasion lameness unless attended with considerable
inflammation or ossification of the neighboring parts, or a solidifi'^ation of
the synovia (joint oil). When this is the case the treatment advis«^.^ i^ the
text should he adopted. ^
THE PASTERNS.
2C3
THE PASTERNS
Fig. 81.
X t
r ?>
a The shank-bone.
b The upper and larger pastern-bone.
c The sessamoid-bone.
d The lower or smaller pastern-bone.
e The navicular or shuttle-bone.
/The coffin-bone, or bone of the foot.
§• The suspensory ligament, inserted into the sessamoid-bone.
fi A continuation of the suspensory ligament, inserted into the an aller pastern-
bone.
i The small inelastic ligament, tying down the sessamoid-bone to the larger
pastern-bone.
k A long ligament reaching from the pastern-bone to the knee.
I The extensor tendon inserted into both the pasterns and the coffin-bone.
m The tendon of the performing flexor inserted into the coffin-bone, after haviag
passed over the navicular bone.
n The seat of the navicular joint lameness.
o The inner or sensible frog.
p The cleft of the horny frog.
q A ligament uniting the navicular bone to the smaller pastern.
r A ligament uniting the navicular bone to the coffin-bone.
s The sensible sole, between the coffin-bone and th-^ horny sole.
t The horny sole.
7i The crust or wall of the foot.
V The sensible laminae to which the crust is attached.
7C The coronary ring of the crust.
X The covering of the coronary ligament from which the crust is secreted.
•z Place of bleeding at the toe.
264 THE PASTERNS.
At the back of the shank just below the knee, and in the space
between the sphnt bones, is the susiJenwrTj ligament, admirably
adapted to prevent concussion. It originates from the head of
the shank-bone, and is inserted in the sessamoids. The pasterns
(see Fig. 37) are united to the shank in an oblique direction, dif-
fering in degree in the different breeds of horses, and in each adapt-
ed to the purpose for which that breed was designed. The weight
falls upon the pastern in the direction of the shank-bone, and the
pastern being set on obliquely, a portion of that weight must oe
communicated to the sessamoids. Much concussion is saved by
the yielding of the pasterns, in consequence of their oblique direc-
tion ; and the concussion which would be produced by that por-
tion of weight which falls on the sessamoid bones is completely
destroyed, for there is no bone underneath to receive it. They
are suspended by this ligament — an elastAc ligament, which
gradually yields to, and is lengthened by, the force impressed
upon it, and in this gradual yielding and lengthening, materially
lessening, or generally preventing, all painful or dangerous con-
cussion.
The length and obliquity of the pastern vary in the different
breeds of horses, and on it depends the elastic action of the animal,
and the easiness of his paces. The pastern must be long in pro-
portion to its obliquity, or the fetlock will be too close to the
ground, and, in rapid action, come violently into contact with it.
In proportion as the pastern is oblique or slanting, two conse-
quences will follow, less weight will be thrown on the pastern,
and more on the sessamoid, and, in that proportion, concussion
will be prevented.
Every advantage, however, has, to a certain extent, its corre-
sponding disadvantage. The long, slanting pastern has less
strength, and will be more subject to strains.
The long and slanting pastern is advantageous in the race-
horse, from the springiness of action and greater extent of stride
by which it is accompanied. A less degree of it is given in the
nunter who is to unite continuance of exertion with ease of pace.
For the hackney there should be sufficient obliquity to give pleas-
antness of going, but not enough to endanger continuance and
strength. In the cart-horse the pasterns are short and upright.
Except a horse for general purposes, and particularly for riding,
is very hardly used, a little too much obliquity is a far less evil
than a pastern too upright. While the jolting of the upright pas-
tern is an insufferable nuisance to the rider, it is injurious and
most unsafe to the horse, and produces many diseases in the feet
and legs, and particularly ringbone, ossification of the cartilage*
and contracted feet.
SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT ^FETLOCK GPuOGGINESS. 266
INJURIES TO THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT.
The suspensory ligament is sometimes strained and even rup-
tured by extraordinary exertion. The sessamoids, which in their
natural state are suspended by it, and from which- function its
name is derived, are in the latter case let down, and the fetlock
almost touches the ground. This is generally mistaken for rup-
ture of the flexor tendon ; but one circumstance will sufficiently
demonstrate that it is the suspensory ligament which is concerned,
viz. : that the horse is able to bend his foot. Rupture of this lig
ament is a bad, and almost desperate case. The horse is frequently
lame for life, and never becomes perfectly sound. Keeping him
altogether quiet, bandaging the leg, and putting on a high-heeled
shoe, will afibrd the most probable means of relief.
The common injury to this ligament is sprain, indicated by
lameness, and swelling, and heat, more or less severe in propor-
tion as the neighboring parts are involved. This will sometimes
yield to rest and cooling treatment ; but if the cape is obstinate,
*t will be necessary to have recourse to firing.
THE FETLOCK.
The fetlock-joint is a very complicated one, and frr^m the stress
which is laid on it, and its being the principal seat of motion be-
low the knee, it is particularly subject to injury. There are not
many cases of sprain of the back-sinew that are not ar^corapanied
by inflammation of the ligaments of this joint ; and numerous
supposed cases of sprain higher up are simple affection? of the fet-
lock. It requires a great deal of care, and some experience, to
distinguish the one from the other. The heat about the part, and
the point at which the horse least endures the pressure of the
finger, will be the principal guides. Occasionally, by the appli-
cation of cooling lotions, the inflammation may be subdued, but,
at other times, the horse sutlers dreadfully, and is unable to .stand
A serious affection of the fetlock-joint demands treatment more
prompt and severe than that of the sheaths of the tendons.
GROGGINESS.
The peculiar knuckling of the fetlock-joint, and the tottering ol
the whole of the fore-leg, known by the name of grogginess, and
which is so often seen in old and over- worked horses, is seldom an
affection of either the fetlock or the pastern-joints simply. In
deed it is difficult to fix on any particular joint, unless it is that
.which is deep in the foot, and where the flexor tendon runs over
L
266 CUTTING THE PASTERNS.
the navicular bone. It seems oftenest to be a want of power in
the ligaments of the joints generally, produced by frequent and
severe sprains, or by ill-judged and cruel exertion. Professor
Stewart very truly says, that "it is common among all kinds of
fast workers, and long journeys at a fast pace will make almost
any horse groggy. Bad shoeing and want of stable care may
help to increase, but never can alone produce grogginess. It is
one of the evils of excessive work." In the majority of cases it
admits of no remedy.*
CUTTLN-G.
The inside of the fetlock is often bruised by the shoe or the hoof
of the opposite foot. Many expedients used to be tried to remove
this ; the inside heel has been raised and lowered, and the out-
side raised and lowered ; and sometimes one operation has suc-
ceeded, and sometimes the contrary ; and there was no point so
involved in obscurity, or so destitute of principles to guide the
practitioner. The most successful remedy, and that which in the
great majority of cases supersedes all others, is Mr. Turner's shoe,
of equal thickness from heel to toe, and having but one nail, and
that near the toe on the inside of the shoe ; care being taken that
the shoe shall not extend beyond the edge of the crust, and that
the crust shall be rasped a little at the quarters.
There are some defects, however, in the natural form of the
horse, which are the causes of cutting, and which no contrivance
will remedy ; as when the legs are placed too near to each other,
or when the feet are turned inward or outward. A horse with
these defects should be carefully examined at the inside of the fet-
lock, and if there are any sore or callous places from cutting,
there will be sufficient reason for rejecting the animal. Some
horses will cut only when they are fatigued or lame, and old ;
many colts will cut before they arrive at their full strength.!
THE PASTERNS.
A consideration of the pasterns will throw more light upon this
and other diseases of the extremities.
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — The term grogc/lncss is applied by horsemen to
slight lameness, which goes off with exercise, and whicli is shown in the sta-
ble by the animal pointing the affected foot, 'f he seat of tlie disease is the
navicular joint, and it is altogether miconnected witli that knuckling of the
fetlock wiiich is often seen in horses much worked, and which appears to be
owing to weakness of the sinews, principally of the extensors.
f Note by Mr. Spooiier. — This evil is sometimes removed by shoeing the
horse very thin on the inside, or even giving him a three-quarter slioe, the
tendency of which plan is to make the horse carry his feet wider apart ; but.
in some cases the very opposite plan is found the best
THE PASTERNS.
267
The iipjoer pasteim "bone (5, Fig. 37, and a, in Fig, 38, and b,
m Fig. 39,) receives the lower puUey-Uke head of the shank-bone,
and forms a hinge-joint admitting only of bending and extension,
but not of side motion ; it Hkewise forms a joint with the sessa-
moid-bones. Its lower head has two rounded protuberances,
which are received into corresponding depressions in the lower
pastern. On either side, above the pastern-joint, are roughened
projections for the attachment of very strong ligaments, both in
capsular ligaments, and many cross ligaments, which render the
joint between the two pasterns sufficiently secure.
Fig. 38. Fig. 39.
Fig. 38.
a The upper pastern.
b The lower pastern.
c The navicular bone.
The cofHn-bone.
Fig. 39.
a The sessamoid-bone.
b The upper pastern.
c The lower pastern.
d The navicular bone.
e The coffin-bone, with the horny laminas.
The loiver pastern {d, Fig. 37, and b, in the first figure, and c,
ill the second in this cut,) is a short and thick bone, with its larger
Lead downward. Its upper head has tAvo depressions to receive the
Fig. 40. protuberances on the lower head of the upper
bone, bearing some resemblance to a pully,
but not so decidedly as the lower head of the
shank-bone. Its lower head resembles that
6M\T''^li!"\/ of the other pastern, and has also two prom-
inences, somewhat resembling a pulley, by
which it forms a joint with the colfiin-bone ;
and a depression in front, corresponding with
a projection in the coffin-bone. There are
also two slight depressions behind, receiving
eminences of the navicular bone. Neither
of these joints admits of any lateral motion.
The ligaments of this joint, both the capsu-
lar and the cross ones, are, like those of the
pastern-joint, exceedingly strong. The ten-
don of the extensor muscle is inserted into
26S SPRAIN OF THE COFFIN-JOINT RINGBONE.
the fore-part, both of the upper and lower pastern-bone&, as
well as mto the upper part of the coiFin-bone (/, Fig. o7) ;
and at the back of these bones the suspensory ligament is
expanded and inserted, while a portion of it goes over the ibre-
part of the upper pastern to reach the extensor tendon. These
attachments hi liront of the bones i:re seen in P'ig. 40, in which ci
represents the lower part of the shank-bone ; b the sessamoid-
bones ; c the upper pastern ; d the lower pastern ; and e the
coffin-bone ; f are tlie branches of the suspensory ligaments going
to unite with the extensor tendon ; g the long extensor tendon ; h
Lgaments connecting the two pastern-bones together ; and i the
lateral cartilages of the foot.
SPRAIN OF THE COFFIIS'-JOINT.
The proof of this is when the lameness is sudden, and the heal
and tenderness are principally felt round the coronet. Bleeding
at the toe, physic, fomentation, and blisters are the usual means
adopted. This lameness is not easily removed, even by a blister ;
and if removed, like sprains of the fetlock and of the back sinews,
it is apt to return, and finally produce a great deal of disorgani-
zation and mischief in the foot. Sprain of the coffin-jointsome-
times becomes a very serious affair. Not being always attended
by any external swelling, and being detected only by heat round
the coronet, the seat of the lameness is often overlooked by the
groom and the farrier ; and the disease is suftered to become con-
firmed before its nature is discovered.
From violent or repeated sprains of the pastern or coffin-joints^
or extension of the ligaments attached to other parts of the
pastern-bones, inflammation takes place in the periosteum, and
bony matter is formed, which often rapidly increases, and is re-
cognized by the name of =^
RINGBONE.
Ringbone is is a deposit of bony matter in one of the pasterns,
and usually near the joint. It rapidly spreads, and involves not
only the pastern-bones, but the cartilages of .the foot, and spread-
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Sprain of the coffin-joint is extremely rare, the
joint being so weU secured from injury by the horny box in which it is
cased. Its hgaments are, however, occasionally strained, which may be
detected by heat at the coronet and tenderness, when the joint is wrenched
laterally. When these symptoms are absent, we may safely conclude the
disease exists elsewhere. It is not this, but the navicular disease, which is
often mistaken for shoulder lameness. This disease, when it does occur
:)ften occasions ossifications of, and near, the side cartilages of the foot.
RINGBONE.
mg around tlie pasterns and cartilages
thus derives its name. Wiien the first\]
de])osit is on the lower pastern, and on
both sides of it, and produced by violent
aiflammation of the ligaments of the
joints, it is recognized by a shght en-
largement, or bony tumor on each side
of the loot, and just above the coronet,
(See /, Fig. 41.) Horses with short
upright joints, and with small feet and
high action, are oftenest, as may be sup-
posed, the subjects of this disease, which
is the consequence either of concussion
or sprain of the pastern-joints. It is
also more frequent in the hind foot than
the fore, because, from the violent action
of the hind legs in propelling the horse
forward, the pasterns are more subject
to legamentary injury behind than be-
fore : yet the lameness is not so great
there, because the disease is confined
principally to the ligaments, and the
bones have not been injured by con-
cussion ; while from the position of the
fore limbs, there will generally be in
them injury of the bones to be added
to that of the ligaments. In its early
stage, and when recognized only by a
bony enlargement on both sides of the
pastern-joint, or in some few cases on
one side only, the lameness is not very
considerable, and it is not impossible to
remove the disease by active blistering,
or by the application of the cautery ;
but there is so much wear and tear in
this part of the animal, that the inflam-
mation and the disposition to the for-
mation of bone rapidly spread. The
pasterns first become connected together
by bone instead of ligament, and thence
results what is called an anchylosed
or fixed joint. From this joint the dis-
ease proceeds to the cartilages of the foot,
and to the union between the lower pas-
tern, and the coffin and navicular bones.
The motion cf these parts likewise is
Fig. 41.
270 RINGBONE.
impeded or lost, and the whole of the foot becomes one mass
of spongy bone. From a disposition to spread, and at first around
the paste rn-joint, which is situated just above the coronet, the
disease has acquired the name of ringbone.*
We have introduced a bird's-eye view of some of the principal
lamenesses to which the fore extremities of the horse are sub-
ject.
At « is a representation of the capped hock, oi enlargement of
the joint of the elbow.
h is the tying-in of the leg below the knee.
c is the most frequent situation of splint on the side of
the shank-bone, and not producing lameness after its first forma-
tion, because it does not interfere wtih the motion of the knee,
nor injure the supensory ligament.
d is the situation and appearance of the enlargement accom-
panying sprain of the back sinews. This, however, is an
aggravated case ; and the sprain may be great, and the lame-
ness distressing, without all this swelling.
e is the place of wind-gall.
• / gives the appearance of ringbone when it first appears on
the side of the pastern, about the joint, and where there is
naturally some prominence of bone.
g is the situation of sand-crack in the fore-leg.
h the situation of mallenders.
* Note hy Mr. Sjiooncr. — This disease, po termed because it constituted
bony growth round the pastern-bones, is i>f two kinds, which are distin-
guislied by horsemen as true and false ringbones. 'J'he former occurs at
the pastern joint, and generally arises from strain of these ligaments ; but
the latter consists in ossification of tiie cartilages of *l^e sides of the foot,
which become enlarged, as well as converted into Done. This is less fre-
quently the consequence of strains than the other disease, and it is oftener
found with heavy cartdiorses than with lighter liorses. Indeed, with many
horses there seems a predispositin to change their cartilaginous strucure
into bone. The exciting cause of these false ringbones is concussion, pro-
duced by the weight of the animal and the hardness of the road or pave-
ment. Thus, on the London stones the disease is very common ; for the
same reason, it is (he fore limbs where the disease occurs, in nine cases out
of ten. Indeed, we have found that all ringbones are more common in the
fore feet than in the hind ones.
Tiie best treatment for ringbones of either kind is, after the inflammation
has been in great measure removed by cooling applications, to fire the part,
or ol her wise well rub in the iodide of mercury ointment, washing ofi' the
effects on the following day, and thus repeating it again and again. We
have by such means succeeded in removing the lameness, diminishing the
enlargement, and restoring the animal, in many cases, to a state of useful-
(less.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE HIND LEGS.
THE HAUNCH.
The haunch (see 0, p. Fig. 1, and Fig. 33,) is composed of
three bones. The first is the iHum, principally concerned in the
formation of the haunch. Its extended branches behind the
flanks are prominent in every horse. Wheii they are more than
usually wide, the animal is said to be ragged-ldpped. A branch
runs up to the spine at the commencement of the sacral vertebrae
(E), and here the haunch-bones are firmly united with the
bones of the spine. The ischium, or hip-bone, is behind and
below the ilium. Its tuberosities or prominences are seen under
the tail (Fig. 1). The pubis unites with the two former below
and behind.
From the loins to the setting-on of the tail a line sliould be
carried on almost straight, or rounded only in a slight degree.
Thus the haunch-bones will be most oblique, and will produce a
corresponding obliquity, or slanting direction, in the thigh-bone — a
direction in which, as stated when the fore legs were described,
the muscles act with most advantage. This direction of the
haunch is characteristic of the thorough-bred horse ; and by the
degree in which it is found, we judge to a considerable extent of
the breeding of the animal. If the bones at D and E, (Fig. 1,)
take a somewhat arched form, as they do in the cart-horse, it is
evident that the haunch-bone 0 would be more upright. The
thigh-bone P would likewise be so. The stifle Q. would not be
so far under the body, and the power of the horse would be con-
siderably impaired. The oblique direction of the haunch and
thigh-bovies, produced by the stiaightness of the line of the spine,
does not, as is commonly supposed, afibrd increased surface for
the attachment of muscles, but places the muscles in a direction
to act with great advantage. It is in the advantageous direction,
quite as much as in the bulk of the muscle, that the strength of
the horse consists.
iJ72 THE THIGH.
Widtli of liaunch is a point of great consequence, for it evi
dently affords more room for the attacjiment of muscles ; and
even th)ugli it should be so wide as to subject the horse to the
charg^e of being ragged-hipped, and may somewhat offend the
eye, it will not often be any detriment to action. If the loins
are broad and the horse well ribbed home, the protuberances of
the hip-bones can scarcely be too far apart. Many a ragged-
hipped horse has possessed both fleetncss and strength, while but
few that were narrow across the haunch could boast of the latter
quality.
The only portion of these bones exposed to injury or fracture
are the prominences of the haunch. A fall or blow may chip off
or disunite a portion of them, and, if so, there are no means of
forcibly bringing the disunited parts together again, and retain-
ing them in their natural position. The power of nature, how-
ever, will gradually unite them, but that union will be at-
tended by deformity and lameness. A charge, or very strong
adhesive plaster, across the haunch may be useful, as helping, in
gome slight degree, to support the parts, and hold them together.
[See "charge" in list of medicines.]
THE THIGH.
In. the loAver and fore part of the hip-bones is a deep cavity or
cup to receive the head of the thigh-bone. The thigh-bone is
both the largest and strongest in the frame. Its lower extremity is
complicated in its form. It consists of two prominences, which are
received into corresponding depressions in the next bone, and a
hollow in front, in which the bone of the laiee or stifle plays as
over a perfect pully.
The muscles of the hinder extremity are more powerful than those
in any other part of the frame, and they are covered by a strong
tendinous coat or membrane, intended to confine them in their
places. Another, thicker and firmer, lies below, and is intended
to tighten and strengthen the first. It is represented at a in
Fig. 42, raised and turned back. For practical purposes, and
therefore for the purposes of this abridgment, the names of the
muscles of the hinder parts — to identify the localities of injuries
and diseases — is all that is necessary, and is all therefore that wiU
06 given.
MUSCLES OF THE THIGH.
cm OF THE MUSCLES, ETC., OF THE INSIDE OF THE THIGH
273
h
a Inner tendinous coat raised and turned back.
b The rectus, or straight muscle.
c The vastus, or great muscle.
d The sartorius, or tailor's muscle.
e The gracilis muscle.
f The pectineus muscle.
h The extensor pedis, or extender of the foot
i The flexor metatarsi, or bender of the leg.
k The poplitceus muscle.
/ The peroiifeus muscle.
Ki A portion of j in the next cut.
71 Inside view of the flexor, or perforatus of the foot.
o The flexor perforatus, or perforating flexor of the foot
p The course of the principal artery.
q Blood-vessels belonging to the groin.
r Tlie large cutaneous vein.
s The princi pal nerves on the posterior part of the inside of the thigh
t Principal nerves of the fore part of the inside of the thigh.
u The ligamentous bands confining the tendons at the bending of the Lc-ik
18
274
MUSCLES OF THE THIGH.
We now turn to some of the muscles, &c., that are evident to
the eye on the outside of the thigh.
CUT OF THE MUSCLES, ETC., OF THE OUTSIDE OF THE THIGIr
Fig. 43.
^'^.^
c The great glutceus muscle.
e Biceps femoris, or two-headed muscle.
/ Is a continuation of the membrane seen at a, in the preceding cut.
t Glutasus externus.
j A powerful muscle to extend the hock.
k A slender muscle arising from the head of the fibula, its tendon unitmg wiUb
that of the perforating muscle.
m The peronseus muscle.
n Extensor pedis, or extendor of the foot.
o Flexor pedis, or bender of the foot.
p Gives the course of the anterior arteries.
0 Gives the course of the principal nerves.
STIFLE. 275
The Os Femoris, or Thigh Bone (see P, Fig. 1), is long and
cylindrical, taking an oblique direction from above, downwards,
and from behind, forwards. At its upper extremities, and pro-
jecting from the body, is a thick flattened neck, terminating in a
large smooth hemispherical head, adapted to a hollow, in the su-
perior point of the haunch.
This bone is cominonly called the Round Bone. It has, in
some rare instances, been dislocated and fractured. It is much
oftener sprained, but not so frequently as the groom or farrier
imagines. There is nothing peculiar in the lameness to detect
injury of this part, except, that the horse will drag his leg aftei
him. Injury of the round bone will be principally discovered by
heat and tenderness in the situation of the 'oint.
A part so deeply situated is treated with Ufficnlty. Fomen-
tions should at first be used to abate the inflammation, and, aftei
that, an active blister should be applied. Strains of this joint
are not always immediately relieved, and the muscles of the limb
in some cases waste considerably : it therefore may be necessary
to repeat the blister, while absolute rest should accompany every
stage of the treatment. It may even be requisite to fire the part,
— or, as a last resort, a charge may be placed over the joint, and
the horse turned out for two or three months.*
THE STIFLE.
The stifle joint and the patella (answering to the knee-pan m
the human subject) are seen at p. 45, Fig. 1.
The stifle joint is not often subject to sprain. The heat and
tenderness will guide to the seat of injury. Occasionally, disloca-
tion of the patella has occurred, and the horse drags the injured
limb after him, or rests it on the fetlock ; the aid of a veteri-
nary surgeon is here requisite. The muscles of the inside of
the thigh have sometimes been sprained. This may be detected
by diffused heat, or heat on the inside of the thigh above the stifle.
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — This disease is so extremely rare that we have
eeldom met with an instance. The joint is so strong, so firmly secured, and
so well protected, that it is almost impossible to become injm'ed without
dislocation occurring. Unless we can detect heat or tenderness about the
part, we are by no means justified in supposing that the round bone is the
seat of injury. For, although it used to be the case that all obscure lame-
nesses in the hind extremity were referred to some supposed disease in this
joint, we are now well assured by post mortem examinations that in these ob-
scure lamenesses the seat of disease is the hock joint.
When the neighborhood of the hip joint is injured, there is external tender-
ness, evinced on pressure, and the mischief is produced by external causas
276
HIND LEGS.
CUT OF THE HAUNCH AND HIND LEGS.
44.
Rest, fomentations, bleeding, and physic, will be the proper means
of cure.*
The lower bone of the
thigh is double. The larger
portion, in front, extending
from the stifle to the hock,
is called the Tibia. The
smaller bone, or fibula, be-
hind (see U, Fig. 1), reaches
not more than a third of the
way down. It is united to
the shank-bone, like the
splint-bone, by a cartilagin-
ous substance, which is soon
changed into a bony one. Of
the use of these little bones
we cannot speak.
The lower bone of the
thigh forms an angle with
the upper one, being the re-
verse of that which exists
between the upper bone and
the pelvis. In proportion to
the acuteness of the angle
between these two bones, and
the degree consequently in
which the stifle is brought
under the horse, will be the
direction given to the mus
cles favorable to their power-
ful action. [But, to prevent
any misapprehension as to
the external form of the parts
which indicates what is here
laid down as the proper di-
rections of these bones, see
the remarks on the Haunch
in the beginning of this
chapter. — Am. Ed.]
There is much difference
in this in different horses,
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — This joint and its connections are much more
frequently the seat of disease than the joint above. From its situation, it i3
rather exposed to blows from the horse running through a narrow gateway^
and thus striking his stifle against the post. Swelling, and heat, and ten-
derness, will point out the injured part, in addition to which the horse will
DISEASES OF THE HOCK. 277
-nd the construction of this part of the frame is a matter worthy
of more regard than is generally paid to it.
This part of the thigh should likewise be long. In proportion
to the length of the muscle is the degree of contraction of which
it is capable ; and also in proportion to the contraction of the
muscle is the extent of motion in the limb ; but it is still more
necessary that this part of the thigh should have considerable
muscle, in order that strength may be added to such extent oi
compass of motion. Much endurance would not be expected from
a horse with a thin arm. A horse with thin and lanky thighs
will not possess the strength wliich considerable exertion would
sometimes require.
THOROUGH-PIK
Mention has been made of wind-galls and their treatment.
A similar enlargement is found above the hock, between the ten-
dons of the flexor of the foot and the extensor of the hock. As
from its situation it must necessarily project on both sides of the
hock, in the form of a round swelling, it is called a thowugh-
fin, a Fig. 44. It is an indication of considerable work, but is
rarely attended by lameness. The mode of treatment must re-
semble that for wind-galls. Although thorough-pin cannot, per-
haps, be pronounced to be unsoundness, it behoves the buyer to
examine well a horse that is disfigured by it, and to ascertain
whether undue work may not have injured him in other respects. "^
THE HOCK.
This is a most important joint, occasionally the evident, and
much oftener the unsuspected seat of lameness, and the proper
etep very short with the affected limb, being unable to extend it. The lat-
ter symptom will be also present when the ligaments of this joint have been
strained, which, though very unfrequent, is yet occasionally the case.
The treatment in these cases consists in applying fomentations and cooling
applications to the part affected, until the inflnmmation is subdued; which,
if severe, may be farther assisted by bleeding from the vein inside the thigh,
and so relieving the vessels in the neighborhood of the joint. When the iu ■
flammation is subdued, a blister on the joint will be desirable in cases or
strains, but will rarely be required when a blow is the cause of injury.
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — The usual seat of thorough-pins is below, and
in advance of the point of the hock, and it consists of distension of the cap-
sular ligament at this part, and often a giving way or rupture of its connec-
tions. It precisely resembles bog-spavin, which occurs at the lower and
front part of the same joint. These affections may occur independently, but
more frequently are found together. Though seldom productive of lame-
ness, a weakness and stiffness of the part is often the consequence. The
best treatment is either the application of the firing-iron, or the repeated
rubbmg in of the ointment of oidine and mercury. A seton over the part
has been found useful
278
THE HOCK.
formation of which is essentially connected with the value of the
horse. It answers to the ancle in the human being.
Fiff.. 45.
a. The fibia.
b. The astragalus.
c. Os calchis, or bone of the heel.
d. Os euboides, or cube-formed bone.
e. The larger cuneifora, or wedge-spaped bone.
f. The two smaller wedge-shaped bones.
fi-. The shank -bone.
a. The splint-bones.
ENLARGEMENT OF THE HOCK. 279
These bones are all connected together by very strong liga-
ments which prevent dislocation, but allow a slight degree of mo-
tion between them, and the surfaces which are opposed to each
other are thickly covered by elastic cartilage.
Much more depends, than they who are not well accustomed
to horses imagine, on the length of the os calcis or projection of
the hock. In proportion to the length of this bone will two pur-
poses be effected. The line of direction will be more advantage-
ous, for it will be nearer to a perpendicular, and the arm of the
lever to which the power is applied will be lengthened, and thus
mechanical advantage will be gained to an almost incredible ex-
tent. The slightest lengthening of the point of the hock will
wonderfully tell in the course of a day's work, and therefore it is
that the character of the os calcis is of such immense importance.
The line of direction of the legs beneath the hocks should not
be disregarded. The leg should descend perpendicularly to the
fetlock. The weight and stress will thus be equally diffused, not
only over the whole of the hock, but also the pasterns and the
foot. Some horses have their hocks closer than usual to each
other. The legs take a divergo-nt direction outward, and the toes
also are turned outward. These horses are said to be cat- or
cow-hocked. They are generally supposed to possess considera-
ble speed. But this advantage is more than counterbalanced by
many evils. The increased contraction of the muscles is an ex-
penditure of animal power ; and, as already stated, the weight
and the concussion being so unequally distributed by this forma-
tion of the limbs, some part must be over-strained and over- work-
ed, and injury must ensue. On this account it is that the cow-
hocked horse is more subject than others to thorough-pin and spa-
vin ; and is so disposed to curbs, that these hocks are denominated
by horsemen curby hocks. The mischief extends even farther
than this. Such a horse is peculiarly liable to wind-gall, sprain
of the fetlock, cutting, and laiuckling.
A slight inclination to this form in a strong powerful horse
may not be very objectionable, but a horse decidedly cow-hocked
should never be selected.
ENLARGEMENT OF THE HOCK.
First, there is inflammation, or spraiii of the hock-joint gene-
rally, arising from sudden violent concussion, by some check at
speed, or overweight, and attended with enlargement of the whole
joint, and great tenderness and lameness. This, however, like
other diffused inflammations, is not so untractable as an intense
one of a more circumscribed nature, and by rest and fomentation,
880 CURB.
or, perchance, firing, tlie limb recovers its action, and the horse
becomes fit for ordinary work.
The swelling, however, does not always subside. Enlarge-
ment, spread over the whole of the hock-joint, remains. A horse
with an enlarged hock must always be regarded with suspicion.
In truth, he is unsound. The parts-, altered in structure, must
be, to a certain degree, weakened. The animal may discharge
his usual work during a long period, without return of lameness ;
but if one of those emergencies should occur when all his ener-
gies require to be exerted, the disorganised and weakened part
will fail.
CURB.
There are often injuries of particular parts of the hock-joint.
Curb is an affection of this kind. It is an enlargement at the
back of the hock, three or four inches below its point. It is rep-
resented at d, Fig. 44, and is either a strain of the ring-like liga-
ment which binds the tendons in their place, or of the sheath of
the tendons ; oftener, however, of the ligament than of the
sheath. Any sudden action of the limb of more than usual vio-
lence may produce it, and therefore horses are found to ' throw
out curbs' after a hardly-contested race, an extraordinary leap,
a severe gallop over heavy ground, or a sudden check in the gal-
lop. Young horses are particularly liable to it, and horses that
are coiv-hocked (vide Fig. 44), — whose hocks and legs resemble
those of the cow, the hocks being turned inward, and the legs
forming a considerable angle outwards. This is intelligible
enough ; for in hocks so formed, the annular ligament must be
continually on the stretch, in order to confine the tendon.
Curbs are generally accompanied by considerable lameness at
their first appearance, but the swelling is not always great.
They are best detected by observing the leg sideway.
The first object in attempting the cure is to abate inflamma-
tion, and this will be most readily accomplished by cold evapo-
rating lotions frequantly applied to the part. Equal portions of
spirit of wine, water, and vinegar, will afford an excellent appli-
cation. It will be almost impossible to keep a bandage on. If
the heat and lameness are considerable, it will be prudent to give
a dose of physic, and to bleed from the subcutaneous vein, whose
course is represented at r. Fig. 42 ; and whether the injury is of
the annular ligament, or the sheath of the tendon, more active
means will be necessary to perfect the cure. Either a liquid
blister should be rubbed on the part, consisting of a vinous or
turpentine tincture of cantharides, and this daily applied until
some considerable swelling takes place ; or, what is th^ prefer
BOG SPAVIN. 281
aWe plan, the hair should be cut off, and the part blistered aa
Boon as the heat has been subdued. The blister should be re-
peated until the swelling has disappeared, and the horse goes
sound. In severe cases it may be necessary to fire ; but a fair
trial, however, should be given to milder measures. If the iron
is used, it should be applied in straight lines.
There are few lamenesses in which the absolute and long-con-
tinued rest is more requisite. It leaves the parts materially weak-
ened, and, if the horse is soon put to work again, the lameness
will frequently return. No horse that has had curbs, should be
put even to ordinary work in less than a month after the appa-
rent cure ; and, even then, he should very gradually resume his
former habits.
A horse with a curb is manifestly unsound. A horse with the
vestige of curb, should be regarded with much suspicion, or gene-
rally condemned as unsound.
Curb is also an hereditary complaint, and therefore a horse
that has once suffered from it should always be regarded with
suspicion, especially if either of the parents has exhibited it.=^
BOG SPAVIN.
The hock is plentifully supplied with reservoirs of mucus, to
lubricate (make slippery) the different portions of this compli-
* Note hy Ifr. Spooner. — The seat of this injury is usually the flexor
tendon of the leg, as it passes through a sheath at the back of the hock. It
therefore resembles a strain of the back sinews, as they are commonly
called, although the injury is seldom so severe or so difficult to be cured.
There are many degrees as to the amount and extent of the injury and
the corresponding lameness. It is by far the best plan to take a horse out
of work immediately on his showing lameness, as by that means the cure can
be more expeditiously and perfectly effected ; and there is much less en-
largement left afterwards than when a horse is patched up by the applica-
cation of stimulants, and worked on, thereby renewing the strain ao-ain and
again. After the inflammation has been quite subdued by the means pointed
out in the text, we have found that the firing-iron effects the most perfect
cure, and secures the animal, in nine cases out of ten, from a return of the
lameness. The marks of the iron, in cases of curbs, need not be great,
and never operate to the animal's disadvantage. We have always found
that a horse which has been fired for a curb, will realize as much, or more,
than another which has thrown out a curb, but has not been fired for it
We have also frequently found that a horse fired for a curb has remained
BouniJ, while in the course of a twelvemonth he has thrown out a curb on
the other hock, even though he had been fired with a view of preventing it,
showing that, though firing may act as a cure, it does not act as a pre-
ventative.
In the examination of horses for soundness, we have not hesitated to
pass a horse with a curb, requiring, however, a special warranty that
should the curb cause lameness within a reasonable time, the seller shaU
be responsible.
282 BOG SPAVIN.
cated joint. Some of these are found on the inside of the joint,
which could not be represented in Fig. 45. From over exertion
of the joint, they become inflamed, and considerably enlarged.
They are wind-galls of the hock. The subcutaneous vein passes
over the inside of the hock, and over some of these enlarged
mucous reservoirs, and is compressed between them and the
external integument — ^the course of the blood is partially ar
rested, and a portion of the vein below the' impediment, anrf
between it and the next valve, is distended, and causes the sofi
tumor on the inside of the hock, called Bog or Blood sjjavin.
This is a very serious disease, attended with no great, but
often permanent lameness, and too apt to return when the en-
largement has subsided under medical treatment. It must be
considered as decided unsoundness. In a horse for slow draught,
it is scarcely worth while even to attack it. And in one des-
tined to more rapid action, the probability of a relapse should
not be forgotten, when the chances of success and the expenses
of treatment are calculated.
The cause of the disease — ^the enlarged mucous sack or cap-
sule— lies deep, and is with difficulty operated upon. Uniform
pressure would sometimes cause the absorption of the fluid con-
tained in cysts or bags like these, but in a joint of such exten
sive motion as the hock, it is difficult, or almost impossible, to
confine the pressure on the precise spot at which it is required.
Could it be made to bear on the enlarged bag, it would likewise
press on the vein, and to a greater degree hinder the passage of
the blood, and increase the swelling below the obstruction. The
old and absurd method of passing a ligature above and below
the enlarged portion of the vein, and then dissecting out the
tumor, is not, in the advanced stage of veterinary science, prac-
tised by any surgeon who regards his reputation. The only
method of relief which holds out any promise even of temporary
success, IS exciting considerable inflammation on the skin, and
thus rousing the deeper-seated absorbents to carry away the
fluid eftused in the enlarged bag. For this purpose, blisters or
firing may be tried : but in the majority of cases, the disease
will bid defiance to all appliances, or will return and baffle our
hopes when we had seemed to be accomplishing our object.
A horse with bog spavin will do for ordinary work. He may
draw in a cart, or trot fairly in a lighter carriage, with little detri-
ment to his utility ; but he will never do for hard or rapid work.*
_ * Note hy Mr. Spooner. — Our observations under the head of thorough-
pins equally apply here ; only that bog spavins are generally more serious,
the capsular ligament having a larger amount of surface at the lower part
of the hock than at the upper It must not be forgotten that it is the joint
itself that is affected, and not the parts exterior to it.
BONE SPAVIN. 283
BONE SPAVIN.
A still more formidable disease raiilvs under the name of
Spavin, and is an affection of the bones of the hock-joint. It
has been stated that the bones of the leg, the shank-bone, g,
Fig. 45, and the two small splint-bones behind, h, support thelowei
layer of the bones of the hock. The cube-bone, d, rests prin-
cipally on the shanlv-bone, and in a slight degree on the outer
splint-bone. The middle wedge-bone,/, rests entirely upon the
shank-bone, and the smaller wedge-bone presses (not seen in
the cut) in a very sliiiht degree on the shank-bone, but princi
paliy, or almost entirely, on the inner splint-bone. Then the
splint-bones sustain a very unequal degree of concussion and
weight. Not only is the inner one placed more under the body,
and nearer the centre of gravity, but it has almost the Avhole of
tire weight and concussion communicated to the smaller cunei-
form bone carried on it. It is not therefore to be wondered at
that the mner splint-bone, or its ligaments, or the substance
which connects it with the shanli-bone should receive injury,
particularly in young horses, before the limbs have become
properly knit. The smith frequently greatly increases this ten-
dency, by raising the outer heel higher than the inner one, to
prevent cutting (interfering).
The weight and concussion bemg thrown principally on the
mner splint-bone, produce inflammation of the cartilaginous
substance that unites it to the shank-bone. In consequence of
it, the cartilage is absorbed, and bone deposited ; the union be-
tween the splint-bone and the shank becomes bony, instead of
cartilaginous ; the degree of elastic action between them is
destroyed, and there is formed a splint of the hind leg. As in
the fore leg, the disposition to Ibrm bony matter having com-
menced, and the cause which produced it continuing to act,
bone continues to be deposited, and it generally appears in the
form of a tumor, where the head of the splint-bone is united
with the shank, and in front of that union. It is seen at c,
Pig. 44. This is called bone spavin. Inflammation of the
ligaments of any of the small bones of the hock, proceeding to
bony tumor, would equally class under the name of spavin ; but,
commonly, the disease commences on the precise spot that has
been described.
While spavin is forming, there is always lameness, and that
frequently to a very great degree : but when the membrane of
the bone has accommodated itself to the tumor that extended it,
the lameness subsides or disappears, or depends upon the degree
in wliich the bony deposit interferes with the motion of the
284 BONE SPAVIN.
joint. It is well known to horsemen, that many a hunter, with
spavm that would cause his rejection by a veterinary surg-eon,
stands his work without lameness. Horses with exceedingly
Large spavins, are often seen that are only slightly lame, or
that merely have a stiffness in their gait at first starting, but
which gradually goes off after a little motion ; while others,
with the bony tumor comparatively small, have the lameness
so great as to destroy the usefulness of the horse. There is
always this peculiarity in the lameness of spavin, that it abates,
and sometimes disappears, on exercise ; and, therefore, a horse,
with regard to which there is any suspicion of this affection,
should be examined when first in the morning it is taken from
the stable.
If the spavin continues to increase, the bony deposit first
spreads over the lower wedge-bones, then the larger wedge-
bones, and even to the cuboid bones on the other side, [see
jFig. 45.] Up to this point, it may not produce much lameness,
because there is very little motion in these parts of the joint.
But when it extends to the union of the tibia and astragalus,
in which is the chief motion of the hock, the lameness becomes
severe, and the horse becomes nearly or quite useless.
Spavined horses are generally capable of slow work and often
improve on the farm. For fast work, and for work that must
be regularly performed, spavined horses are not well calculated ;
for this lameness behind produces great difficulty in rising, and
the consciousness that he will not be able to rise without painful
effort occasionally prevents the horse from lying down at all ;
and the animal that cannot rest well cannot long travel far or
fast.
The treatment of spavin is simple enough, but far from being
always efiectual. The owner of the horse will neither consult
his own interest, nor the dictates of humanity, if he sufiers the
chisel and mallet, or the gimlet, or the pointed iron, or arse-
nic, to be used ; yet measures of considerable severity must be
resorted to. Repeated blisters will usually cause either the
absorption of the bony deposit, or the abatement or removal of
the inflammation of the ligaments, or, as a last resource, the
heated iron may be appHed.^
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — Bone spavin, as stated in the text, is one of
the most serious by which the horse is affected. In the majoiity of cases
it must be confessed that treatment does not succeed*in removing lameness
When the disease is a simple ossification, on or below the small bones of
the hock, the lameness may generally be removed ; but it is more fre-
quently the case that the disease extends itself between the small bones
of the hock, causing ulceration of the synovial membrane and cartilage
forming the articulating surfaces, and even extending to the substance of
CAPPED HOCK. 285
The account of the diseases of the hock is not yet completed.
It is well known that the horse is frequently subject to lameness
behind, when no ostensible cause for it can be Ibund, and there
•is no external heat or enlargement to indicate the seat of il . It
is often pronounced an aflection of the stifle, or of the round
bone ; or, if there is a stiffness about the hock, the commence-
ment of spavin. Yet in the latter case, the joint may be of its
natural size and neither heat nor tenderness perceptible ; and
months and years elapse without any appearance of spavin.
Repeated dissections have shown that m these cases of incurable
lameness behind, where there are no indications, during life, to
point out the seat of it, it is occasioned by injuries to the deli-
cate and sensible membranes with which the upper and lower
wedge-bones are invested. Ulceration of the synovial mem-
brane between the upper and lower wedge-shaped bones some-
times takes place, and the bones themselves become carious oi
ulcerated.
CAPPED HOCK.
The point of the hock is sometimes swelled. A soft, fluctuat
ing tumor appears on it. This is an enlargement of one of the
mucous bags of which mention has been made, and that sur-
rounds the insertion of the tendons into the point of the hock.
It is seldom accompanied by lameness, and yet it is a some-
the bones themselves. When such is the nature of the case, treatment
will, to a great extent, prove unavailing. The amount of enlargement that
may exist, therefore, offers no criterion as to the greater or lesser serious
ness of the case, for a large exostosis may occur without this ulceration,
which latter may exist in some instances with very little enlargement, and,
in others, none whatever. Indeed, as stated in the text, in the greater
number of cases of lameness of the hind extremities, where no cause is
externally perceptible, the seat of injury is the hock. In the majority of
cases, the synovial surfaces of the small bones of the hock are affected, in
others the larger articulation between the tibia and astragalus is the seat
of mischief, the synovial membrane and cartilage being similarly affected.
With regard to the treatment of these hock cases, as we before ob-
served, the result is extremely uncertain and unsatisfactory. If any ex-
ternal inflammation is present, we cannot do better than commence by
abstracting blood from tlie vein above, and use cooling applications to the
hock ; after which we may resort either to the blister, the seton, or the
iron. The first is the milder remedy, and if resorted to, should be repeated
several times. With regard to the.seton, and the iron, we have both suc-
ceeded and failed with each. It may be urged in favor of the seton that
the marks and blemishes of the iron are avoided.
In otherwise incurable lameness of tlie hock, the operation of neu-
rotomy has been adopted with success, excising the nerve on the inside only
a few inches above the hock. The merit of this operation is principally due
to Professor Spooner, of the Royal Veterinary College of Loudon, who
was ;he first to perform and introduce it.
286 MALLENDERS AND SALLENDERS.
what serious business, for it is usually produced by blows and
mostly by the injuries which the horse inflicts upon himself in the
act of kicking : therefore it is that a horse with a capped hock is
very properly regarded with a suspicious eye. The whole of the
hock should be carefully examined, in order to discover whether
there are other marks of violence, and the previous iiistory of the
animal should be carefully inquired into. Does he kick in har-
ness or in the stall, or has he been lying on a thin bed, or on no
bed at all ; and thus may the hock have been bruised, and the
swelling produced ?
It is exceedingly difficult to apply a bandage over a capped
hock ; and puncturing the tumor, or passing a seton through it,
would be a most injudicious practice. Blisters, or iodine, repeated
as often as may be necessary, are the best means to be employed.
Occasionally the tumor will spontaneously disappear ; but at other
times it will attain a large size, or assume a callous structure, that
will bid defiance to all the means that can be employed.^
MALLENDERS AND SALLENDERS.
On the inside of the hock, or a little below it, as well as at the
oend of the knee {h, Fig. 41), there is occasionally a surfy erup-
tion, called mallenders in the fore-leg, and saUenders in the hind-
leg. They seldom produce lameness ; but if no means are taken
to get rid of them, a discharge proceeds from them which it is af-
terwards difficult to stop. They usually indicate bad stable man-
agement.
A diuretic ball should be occasionally given, and an ointment
of sugar-of-lead and tar, with treble the quantity of lard, rubbed
over the part. Should this fail, a weak mercurial ointment may
be used. Iodine has here also been useful.
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — The actual seat of this injuiy is between the
skin and the tendons inserted in, and passing over, the point of the hock.
The skiu is very loose at this part, and, to facilitate the motions of the hock,
there is much cellular membrane. A capped hock is a serous tumor or ab-
scess ; that is, the parts are inflamed and irritated from blows, and serum is-
thrown out between the skin and the cellular membrane, and the tumor is
circumscribed. The vice of kicking against the stall-post is, in nearly every
case, the cause of this disease. We sliould endeavor to remove the swelling
by cooling measures, followed by a blister, or the application of iodine oint-
ment : but if these means fail, and the tumor is large, we may pass a seton
through it with impunity, for there is no joint or tendinous sheath opened
The seton should be kept in until the discharge becomes slightly purulent,
or otherwise the tumnr will soon fill again with. serum.
SWELLED LEGS. 287
SWELLED LEGS
The fore-legs, but oftener the hind ones, and especially in coarse
hoises, are sometimes subject to considerable enlargement. Oc-
casionaily, when the horse does not seem to labor under any other
disease, and sometimes from an apparent shifting of disease from
other parts, the hind-legs suddenly swell to an enormous degree
from the hock, and almost from the stifle to the fetlock, attended
by a greater or less degree of heat, and tenderness of the skin, and
sometimes excessive and peculiar lameness. The pulse likewise
becomes quick and hard, and the horse evidently labors under
considerable fever. It is acute inflammation of the cellular sub-
stance of the legs, and that most sudden in its attack, and most
violent in its degree, and therefore attended by the effusion of a
considerable quantity of fluid into the cellular memibrane. It oc-
curs in young horses, and in those which are over-fed and little
exercised. Fomentations, diuretics, or purgatives, or, if there is
much fever, a moderate bleeding will often relieve the distention
almost as suddenly as it appeared.
Sometimes the legs are swelled without lameness. At other
times there is a, great degree of stiffness and pain. Occasionally
they become tremendously swollen in a single night, and exhibit
great tenderness. Many horses, if suflered to remain several days
without exercise, will have swelled legs. If the case is neglected,
abscesses appear in various parts of the legs ; the heels are at-
tacked by grease, and, if proper measures are not adopted, the
horse has an enlarged leg for life.
The cure, when the case has not been too long neglected, is
sufficiently plain. Physic or diuretics, or both, must be had re-
curse to. Mild cases will generally yield to their influence ; but,
if the animal has been neglected, the treatment must be decisive.
If the horse is m high condition, these should be preceded or ac-
companied by bleeding ; but if there are any symptoms of debility,
bleeding would only increase the want of tone in the vessels.
Horses taken from grass and brought into close stables verj
speedily have swelled legs, because the difference of food and in-
crease of nutriment rapidly increase the quantity of the circulating
fluid, while the want of exercise takes away the means by which
it might be got rid of. The remedy here is sufficiently plain.
Swelled legs, however, may proceed from general debility. They
may be the consequences of starvation, or disease that has con-
siderably weakened the animal ; and these parts, being farthest
from the centre of circulation, are the first to show the loss of
power by the accumulation of fluid in them. Here the means of
cure would be to increase the general strength, with which the
288 GREASE.
extremities would sympathize. Mild diuretics and tonics would
therefore be evidently indicated.
Horses in the spring and fall are subject to swelled legs. Tho
powers of the constitution are principally employed in providing a
new coat for the animal, and the extremities have not their share
of vital influence. Mingled cordials and diuretics are indicated
here — the diuretic to lessen the quantity of the circulating fluid,
and the cordial to invigorate the frame.
Swelled legs are often teasing in horses that are in tolerable or
good health : but where the work is somewhat irregular, the cure
consists in giving more equal exercise, walking the horse out daily
when the usual work is not required, and using plenty of friction
in the form of hand-rubbing. Bandages have a greater and more
durable eflect, for nothing tends more to support the capillary ves-
sels, and rouse the action of the absorbents, than moderate pres-
sure. Hay-bands will form a good bandage for the agricultural
horse, and their effect will probably be increased by previously
dipping them in water.
The physic, or the diuretic ball may occasionally be used, but
very sparingly : and only when they are absolutely required. In
the hands of the owner of the horse, or the veterinary surgeon,
they may be employed with benefit ; but in those of the carter or
the groom they will do far more harm than good. The frequent
and undue stimulus of the urinary organs by the diuretic ball, will
be too often followed by speedy and incurable debility. If the
swelling bids defiance to exercise, and friction, and bandage, the
aid of the diuretic may be resorted to, but never until these
have failed, unless there is an evident tendency to humor or
grease.
GREASE.*
Swelled legs, although distinct from grease, is a disease that is
apt to degenerate into it. G-rease is a specific inflammation of
the skin of the heels, sometimes of the fore-feet, but oftener of the
hinder ones. It is noj; a contagious disease, as some have asserted,
although when it once appears in a stable it frequently attacks
almost every horse in it. Bad stable management is the true
cause of it.
There is a peculiarity about the skin of the heel of the horse.
In its healthy state there is a secretion of greasy matter from it, in
order to prevent excoriation and chapping, and the skin is soft and
pliable. Too often, however, from bad management, the secre-
tion of this greasy raiatter is stopped, and the skin of the heel be-
comes red, and dry, and scurfy. The joint still continuing to bo
* A variety of this is termed " Scratches" in the United States. — Am. Ed
GREASE. 2d 9
extended and flexed, cracks of the skin begin to appear, and these,
if neglected, rapidly extend, and the heel becomes a mass of sore-
ness, ulceration, and fungus.
The distance of the heel from the centre of circulation, and the
exposure and changes to which the part is subjected, render it a
matter of little wonder that it is frequently attacked by inflam-
mation.
Grease is a local complaint. It is produced principally by
causes that act locally, and it is most successfully treated hy lo-
cal applications. Diuretics and purgatives may be useful in abat-
ing iuliammation ; but the grand object is to get rid of the in-
flammatory action which exists in the skin of the heel, and to
heal the wounds, and remedy the mischief which it has oc-
casioned.
The first appeaaance of grease is usually a dry and scurfy state
of the skin ot" the heel, with redness, heat, and itchiness. The
heel should be well but gently washed with soap and water, and
as much of the scurf detached as is easily removable. An oint-
ment, composed of one part plum, diacet. and seven of adeps suilla;
will usually supple, and cool, and heal the part.
When cracks appear, the mode of treatment will depend on
their extent and depth. If they are but slight, a lotion, composed
plumbi sulph. 3ij. et aluminis 3iiij., dissolved in a pint of water,
will often speedily dry them up, and close them. There is some-
times considerable caprice in the application of this lotion, which
has induced Professor Morton to have recourse to alumen et tere-
binthinus vulgaris one part each, and adeps suillse three parts, made
into an ointment.
If the cracks are deep, with an ichorous discharge and consider-
able lameness, it will be necessary to poultice the heel. A poul-
tice of linseed meal will be generally effective, unless the discharge
is thin and oflensive, when an ounce of finely-powdered charcoal
should be mixed with the linseed meal ; or a poultice of carrots,
boiled soft and mashed. The efficacy of a carrot-poultice is sel-
dom sufficiently appreciated in cases like this.
When the inflammation and pain have evidently subsided, and
the sores discharge good matter, the calamine ointment may be
applied with advantage ; and the cure will generally be quickened
if a very diluted vitriolic or alum solution is applied.
The best medicine will consist of nfild aloetic balls ; gentle diu-
retics being given towards the close of the treatment.
After the chaps or cracks have healed, the legs will sometimes
continue gorged and swelled. A flannel bandage, evenly applied
over the whole of the swelled part, will be very serviceable ; or,
should the season admit of it, a run at grass, particularly spring
grass, "should be allowed. A blister is inadmissible, trom the dan
19 M
290 GREASE.
ger of bringing back the inflammation of the skin, and the dis-
charge from it ; but the actual cautery, special care being taken
not to penetrate the skin, may occasionally be resorted to.
In some cases the cracks are not confined to the centre of the
heels, but spread over them, and extend on the fetlock, and even
up the leg, while the legs are exceedingly swelled, and there is a
watery discharge from the cracks, and an apparent oozing through
the skin at other places. The legs are exceedingly tender and
sometimes hot, and there is an appearance which the farrier thinks
very decisive as to the state of the disease, and which the better
informed man should not overlook — tlie heels smoke — the skin is
so hot, that the watery fluid partly evaporates as it runs from the
cracks or oozes through the skin.
There will be great danger in suddenly stopping this discharge.
Inflammation of a more important part has rapidly succeeded to
the injudicious attempt. The local application should be directed
to the abatement of the inflammation. The poultices just referred
to should be diligently used night and day, and especially the
carrot-poultice ; and when the heat, and tenderness, and stiffness
of motion have diminished, astringent lotions may be applied —
either the alum lotion, or a strong decoction of oak-bark, changed,
or used alternately, but not mixed. The cracks should likewise
be dressed Avith the ointment above-mentioned ; and, the moment
the horse can bear it, a flannel bandage should be put on, reach-
ing from the coronet to three or four inches above the swelling.
The medicine should be confined to mild diuretics, mixed with
one-third part of cordial mash ; or, if the horse is gross, and the
inflammation runs high, a dose of physic may be given. If the
horse is strong, and fall of flesh, physic should always precede
and sometimes supercede the diuretics. In cases of much debil-
ity, diuretics, with aromatics or tonics, will be preferable.
The feeding should likewise vary with the case, but with these
rules, which admit of no exception, that green meat should be
given, and more especially carrots, when they are not too expen-
sive, and mashes, if the horse will eat them, and never the full
allowance of corn.
Walking exercise should be resorted to as soon as the horse is
able to bear it, and this by degrees may be increased to a gentle
trot.
From, bad stable management at first, and neglect during the
disease, a yet worse kind of grease occasionally appears. The
.ilceration extends over the skin of the heal and the fetlock, and a
fungus springs from the surface of both, highly sensible, bleeding
nt the slightest touch, and interspersed with scabs. By degrees,
portions of the fungus begin to be covered with a horny substance
protruding in the form of knobs, and collected together in bunches.
GREASE. 291
These are known by the name of grajjes. A foetid and very pc
cuHar exudation proceeds from nearly the whole of the unnatural
substance. The horse evidently suilers much, and is gradually
worn down by the discharge. The assistance of a veterinary sur-
geon is here hidispensable.
Some horses are more subject to grease than others, particu-
larly draft horses, both heavy and light, but especially the former,
and if they have no degree of blood in them. It was the experi-
ence of this which partly contributed to the gradual change ol
coach and other draught horses to those of a lighter breed. In
the great majority of cases, grease arises from mismanagement
and neglect.
Want of exercise, high feeding and want of exercise, want of
cleanliness, and dirty stables are among the causes of it. The
absurd practice of washing the feet and legs of horses when they
come from their work, and either carelessly spongnig them down
afterwards, or leaving them to dry as they may, is, however, the
most common origin of grease.
AVhen the horse is warmed by his work, and xne heels share
in the warmth, the momentary cold of washing may noi be inju-
rious, if the animal is immediately rubbed dry ; yet even this
would be better avoided : but to wash out the heeis, and then
leave them partially dry or perfectly wet, and suiiering from the
extreme cold that is produced by evaporation from a moist and
wet surface, is the most absurd, dangerous, and injurious practice
that can be imagined. It is worse when the post-horse or the
plough-horse is plunged up to his belly in the river or pond,
immediately after his work. The owner is little aware how
many cases of inflammation of the lungs, and bowels, and feet,
and heels follow. After they have been suffered to stand for
twenty minutes in the stable, during which time the horse-keeper
or the carter may be employed in taking care of the harness, oi
carriage, or begiiming to dress the horse, the greater part of the
dirt which had collected about the heels may be got rid of with
a dry brush ; and the rest will disappear a quarter of an hour
afterwards under the operation of a second brushing. The trouble
will not be great, and the heels will not be chilled and subject to
inflammation.
Their has been some dispute as to the propriety of cutting the
hair from the heels. Custom has very properly retained the bail
on our farm- horses. Nature would not have given it, had it not
been useful. It guards the heel from being injured by the in-
equalities of the ploughed field ; it prevents the dirt in which the
heels are constantly enveloped, from reaching and caking on,
and irritating the skin ; it hinders the usual moisture which is
mixed with the clay and mould from rcaching the skin, and it
292 GE.EASE.
preserves an equal temperature in the parts. If the hair is suf-
fered to remain on the heels of the farm-horses, there is greater
necessity for brushing and hand-rubbing the heels, and never
washing them.
Fashion and utility have removed the hair from the heels of
our hackney and carriage horses. When the horse is carefully
tended after his work is over, and his legs quickly and completely
dried, the less hair he has about them the better, for then both
the skin and the hair can be made perfectly dry before evapora-
tion begins, or proceeds so far as to deprive the legs of their
heat.^
Note by Mr. Spooner. — In the treatment of this disease and those anal-
agous cases of humors or swellings of the legs by which it is preceded,
blood-letting will be generally desirable, with a dose of physic ; for it is
while the system is under the cooling effects of these depletive agents that
local oxeJKsures are attended with the greatest benefit. Poultices either of
linsep^l meal or carrots, may be applied, and astringent lotions added to
them so as to remove the irritation, and check the discharge at the samo
time.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE FOOT.
a The external crnst
eeen at the quarter.
b The coronary rhig.
c The Httle horny
plates lining the crust.
d The same contin-
ued over the bars.
e e The two concave
surfaces of the inside of
the horny frog.
/ That vi^hich exter-
nally is the cleft of the
frog.
g The bars.
\ The rounded part
of the heels, belonging
to the frog.
This cut exhibits, in as satisfactory
an-l structure of the base of the foot.
manner, the mechanism
Fig. 47.
a a The frog.
h The sole.
c c The bars.
d. d The crast.
Ttie toot is composed of the horny box that covers the extrem-
ities of llic horse, and the contents of that box. The hoof or box
is <'omj)i).<L'd of the crust or wall, the coronary ring and band, the
bius.. Liie horny laminse, the sole, and the horny frog.
294 THE CRUST OR WALL OF THE HOOP.
THE CRUST OR WALL OF THE HOOF.
The crust, or ivall, is that portion which is seen when the foot is
placed on the ground, and reaches from the termination of the hair
to the ground. It is deepest in front, where it is called the toe,
measuring there about three inches and a half in depth, (see Fig
48,) shallower at the sides, which are denominated the quarters,
and of least extent behind, where it is seldom more than an inch
and a half in height, and is termed the heel. The crust in the
healthy foot presents a flat and narrow surface to the ground,
ascending obliquely backAvards, and possessing different degrees
of obliquity in different horses. In a sound hoof the proper
degree of obliquity is calculated at forty-five degrees, or the
fourth part of a semicircle, at the front of the foot. When the
obliquity is greater than this, it indicates undue flatness of the
solo, and the crust is said to have "fallen in." If the obliquity
is very much increased, the sole projects, and is said too be pum-
iced or convex.
If the foot is more upright, or forms a greater angle than forty-
five degrees, it indicates much contraction, and a sole too concave ;
and this difference of obliquity is often so great, that the convex-
ity or concavity of the sole may be affirmed without the trouble
of raising the foot for the purpose of examination.
It is of some importance to observe where the depth of the crust
appears rapidly or slowly to decrease from the front to the heel.
If the decrease is little, and even at the heel the crust is high
and deep, this indicates a foot liable to contraction, sand-crack,
thrush, and inflammation. The pasterns are upright, the paces
of that horse are not pleasant. On the other hand, if the crust
rapidly diminishes in depth and the heels are low, this is accom-
panied by too great slanting of the pastern, and disposition to
sprain in the back sinew. The foot, generally, is liable to be
weak and flat, and bruised, and there is more tendency to the
frequent, but obscure lameness, of which there will presently
be occasion to treat — the navicular-joint disease.
The crust is composed of numerous horny fibres, connected
together by an elastic membranous substance, and extending
from the coronet to the base of the hoof. It differs materially
in its texture, its elasticity, its growth, and its occasional brit-
tleness according to the state in which it is kept, and the cir-
cumstances that are acting upon it.
The outside of the hoof should be smooth and level. Protu-
berances or rings round the crust indicate that the horse has had
inflammation in the teet, and that to such a degree, as to produce
an unequal growth of horn, and probably to leave some injurioug
THE 'JORONET 2^^^t
consequences in the internal part of the foot. If there is a depres-
sion or hollow iu front of the foot, it betrays a sinking of the
coffin-bone, and a flat or pumiced sole. If there is a hollow at
the quarters, it is the worse system of bad contraction.
The thickness of the crust, in the front of the foot, is rather
more than half an inch ; it becomes gradually thinner towards
the quarters and heels, but this often varies to a considerable
extent. In some hoofs, it is not more than half the above thick-
ness. If however there is not, in the majority of horses, more
than half an inch for nail-hold at the toe, and not so much at the
quralers, it will not appear surprising that these horses are occa-
sionally wounded in shoeing, and especially as some of them are
very unmanageable while undergoing this process.
While the crust becomes thinner towards both quarters, it is
more so at the inner quarter than at the outer, because more
weight is thrown upon it than upon the outer. It is more under
the horse. It is under the inner splint-bone, on which so much
more of the weight rests than on the outer ; and, being thinner,
it is able to expand more. Its elasticity is called m^re into play,
and concussion and injury are avoided. When the expansion
of the quarters is prevented by their being nailed to an unbend-
ing shoe, the inner quarter suffers most. Corns are oftenest
found there ; contraction begins there ; sand-crack is seated
there. Nature meant that this should be the most yielding part,
in order to obviate concussion, because on it the weight is prin-
cipally thrown, and therefore when its power of yielding is taken
away it must be the first to suffer.
A careful observer will likewise perceive that the inner quarter
is higher than the outer. While it is thin to yield to the shock,
its increased surface gives it sufficient strength.
On account of its thinness, and the additional weight which it
bears, the inner heel wear saway quicker than the outer ; a cir-
cumstance that should never be forgotten by the smith. His ob-
ject is to give a plane and level bearing to the whole of the crust. '
To accomplish this, it will be often scarcely necessary to remove
any thing from the inner heel, for this has already been done by
the wear of the foot. If he forgets this, as he too often seems to
do, and cuts away with his knife or his buttress an equal portion
all round, he leaves the inner or weaker quarter lower than the
outer ; he throws an uneven bearing upon it ; and produces corns
and sand-cracks and splints, which a little care and common sense
might have avoided.
296 THE BARS.
THE CORONET, OR CORONARY RING.
The crust does not vary much in thickness until near the top
where it rapidly gets thin. It is in a manner scooped or hollowed
Fi^. 48. o^t- ^^ likewise changes its color and consis
tence, and seems almost like a continuation of
the skin, but is easily separated from it by mu-
ceration, (steeping or soaking in a fluid,) or by
disease. The upper and thin part is called the
coronary ring, x Fig. 37. It extends round the
upper portion of the hoofs, and receives, within
it, or covers, a thickened or bulbous prolongation
of the skin, called the coronary ligament (see b,
in the accompanying cut). This prolongation ol
the sKiii — it is nothing more — is thicldy supplied with blood-ves-
sels. It is almost a mesh of blood-vessels connected together b\
fibrous texture, and many of them are employed in secreting oi
forming the crust or wall of the foot. Hence it is, that in sand-
crack, quitor, and other diseases in which strips of the crust are
destroyed, it is so long in being renewed, or groichig doivn. It
must proceed from the coronary ligament, and so gradually creep
down the foot with the natural growth or lengthening of the
horn, of which, as in the human nail, a supply is slowly given to
answer to the wear and tear of the part.
THE BARS.
At the back part of the foot the wall of the hoof, instead of
continuing round and forming a circle, is suddenly bent in as in
Fig. 47, where d represents the base of the crust, and e its inflec-
tion or bending at the heel. The bars are, in fact, a continuation
of the crust, forming an acute angle, and meeting at a point at
the toe of the frog — see a, b, and c, in Fig. 47, and the inside of
the bars, like the inside of the crust, (see Fig. 46.) presents a con-
tinuance of the horny leaves, showing that it is a part of the same
substance, and helping to discharge the same office.
It needs only the slightest consideration of the cut, or of the
natural hoof, to show the importance of the bars. The arch
which these form on either side, between the frog and the quar-
ters, is admirably contrived both to admit of, and to limit to its
proper extent, the expansion of the foot. When the foot is
placed on the ground, and the weight of the animal is thrown on
the leaves of the inside of the bars, these arches will shorten and
widen, in order to admit of the expansion of the quarters — ^the bow
returning to its natural curve, and powerfully assisting the foot in
THE HORNY LAMIN.'E THE SOLE. 297
rejr'"^iniii? its usual form. It cau also be conceived that these
ha IS must form a powerful protection against the contraction, or
wiri/iix in, of the quarters. A moment's inspection (,I,^ Fig. 4G)
will show that, if the bars are taken away, there will be nothing
to resist the contraction or falling in of the quarters, when* the foot
is exposed to any disease, or bad management, that would induce
it to contract. One moment's observation of tliem will also ren-
der evident the security which they afford to the frog (/), and
the effectual protection which they give to the lateral portions of
the foot.
Then appears the necessity of passing lightly over them, and
leaving prominent, when the foot is pared ibr shoeing, that which
so many smiths cut perfectly away. They imagine that it gives
a more open appearance to the foot of the horse. Horses shod for
the purpose of sale, have usually the bars removed with this
view ; and the smiths in the neighborhood of tlie metropolis and
large towns, shoeing for dealers, too often habitually pursue, with
regard to all their customers, the injurious practice of removing
the bars. The horny frog, deprived of its guard, will speedily
contract, and become elevated and thrusliy ; and the whole of the
heel, having lost the power of reaction which the curve between
the bar c and the crust d gave it (vide Fig. 47.), will speedily
fall in.
THE HORNY LAMINAE, OR LEAVES.
The inside of the crust is covered by thin horny leaves (c. Fig
46), extending all round it, and reaching from the coronary ring
to the toe. They are about five hundred in number, broadest at
their base, and terminating in the most delicate expansion of horn.
They not a little resemble the inner surface of a musluooiii. In
front, they run in a direction from the coronet to the toe, and
towards the quarters they are more slanting from behind forwards
They correspond, as will be presently sliown, with similar carti
laginous and fleshy leaves on the surface of the coffin-bone, and
form a beautiful elastic body, by which the whole weight of the
horse is supported.
THE SOLE
Is under, and occupies the greater portion of the concave and
elastic surface of the foot (see b, Fig. 47), extending trom the
crust to the bars and frog. It is not so thick as the crust, because,
notwithstanding its situation, it does not support so much weight
as the crust ; and because it was intended to expand, in order to
prevent concussion, when, by the descent of the bone of the foot,
298 THE FROG,
th(! weight was thrown upon it. It is not so brittle as the crust,
and it is more elastic than it. It is thickest at the toe (see /, Ficr
37), because the first and principal stress is thrown on that part
The coffin-bone, /, is driven forward and downward in that direc-
tion. It is likewise thicker where it unites with the crust than it
is towards the centre, for a similar and evident reason, because
there the weight is first and prnicipally thrown.
In a state of nature it is, to a certain degree, hollow. The
reason of this is plain. It is intended to descend or yield with
the weight of the horse, and by that gradual descent or yielding,
most materially lessen the shock which would result from the
sudden action of the weight of the animal in rapid and violent
exercise ; and this descent can only be given by a hollow sole.
A flat sole, already pressing upon the ground, could not be brought
lower ; nor could the functions of the frog be then discharged ;
nor would the foot have so secure a hold. Then if the sole is
naturally hollow, and hollow because it must descend, the smith
should not interi'ere with this important action. When the foot
will bear it, he must pare out sufficient of the horn to preserve
the proper concavity ; also a small portion at the toe and near the
crust, and cutting deeper towards the centre. He must put on a
shoe which shall not prevent the descent of the sole, and which
not only shall not press upon it, but shall leave sufficient room
between it and the sole to admit of this descent. If the sole is
pressed upon by the coffin-bone during the lengthening of the
elastic laminae, and the shoe will not permit its descent, the sen-
sible part between the coffin-bone and the horn will necessarily
be bruised, and inflammation and lameness will ensue. It is
from this cause, that if a stone insinuates itself between the shoe
and the sole, it produces so much lameness. Of the too great
concavity of the sole, or the want of concavity in it, we shall
treat when we arrive at diseases of the foot.
THE FROG.
In the space between the bars, and accurately filling it, is tnc
FROG. It is a triangular portion of horn, projecting from the so^e,
almost on a level with the crust, and covering and defending a
soft and elastic substance called the sensible frog. Its s/.a]);* all
are familiar with. It is firmly united to the sole, but is p.. i i-;-T':y
distinct from it. It is softer and far more elastic. It dischar..:-!-
various duties besides the one above named. It comes in cont.i.'t
with the ground and prevents the horse from slipping, especially
when the heel comes first to the ground, as in galloping. It as-
sists materially in the expansion of the foot. To discharge these
various duties, it must come in contact with the ground, and in
■"HE COFFIN-BONE. 299
the unshod horse is always so. The practice of cutting much of
it away in shoeing, is therefore highly improper.
The rough and detached parts should be cut off at each shoe-
ing, and the substance of the frog itself, so as to bring it just
above or within the level of the slice. It will then, in the de-
scent of the sole, when the weight of the horse is thrown upon
it in the putting down of the foot, descend likewise, and pressing
upon the ground, do its duty ; while it will be defended from the
wear, and bruise, and injury that it would receive if it came upon
the ground with the first and full sliock of the weight. This will
be the proper guide to the smith in shoeing, and to the proprietor
in the direction which he gives.
THE COFFIN-BONE.
The Ulterior part of the foot must now be considered. The
lower pastern, a small portion of which (see d, Fig. 37) is con-
tained in the horny box, has been already described, p. 267 — Be-
neath it, and altogether inclosed in the hoof, is the coffin-bone, or
proper bone of the foot, (see /, Fig. 37, and d, Fig. 38). It is
fitted to, and fills the fore part of the hoof, occupying about half
of it. It is of a light and spongy structure (see d, Fig. 38), and
filled with numerous minute foramina (holes or pores). Through
these pass the blood-vessels and nerves of the foot, which are ne-
cessarily numerous, considering the important and various secre
tions there carrying on, and the circulation through the foot which
could not possibly be kept up if these vessels did not run through
the substance of the bone. Considering the manner in which
this bone is inclosed in the horny box, and yet the important sur-
faces around and below it that are to be nourished with blood, the
circulation which is thus carried on within the very body of the
bone is one of the most beautiful provisions of nature that is to
be found in the whole frame. No inconvenience can arise from
occasional or constant pressure, but the bone allows free passage
to the blood, and protects it from every possible obstruction.
Its shape and position within the foot will be seen by inspect-
ing Fig. 37.
On the front and sides of the coffin-bone are laminae or leaves
— cartilaginous fleshy plates — running down between the horny
leaves of the crust. The substance which connects these leave
with the coffin-bone is highly elastic — and necessarily so — as
while the horse is at rest, his whole weight is supported by them.
This has been proved by experiment. The sole, bars, and frog
were removed from the foot of a horse, and yet as he stood, the
coffin-hone did not in the slightest degree descend. But when
th« .horse is moving, both sets of leaves — those of the coffin-bone
300 THE SENSIBLE SOLE FROG NAVICULAR BONE.
and the superior portion of the crust, gradually lengthen, and
suffer the coffin-bone to press on the sole. The sole then descends,
and in descending, expands ; and so, by an admirable mechanism,
the violent shock which would be produced by the pressure of
such a weight as that of the horse, and the velocity with which
it descends, is lessened or destroyed, and the complicated apparatus
oi^ the foot remains uninjured.
THE SENSIBLE SOLE.
Between the coffin-bone and the horny sole is situated the sen-
sible sole, (Fig", 37,) formed above of a substance of a ligamentous
or tendinous nature, and below of a cuticular or skin-like sub
stance, plentifully supplied with blood-vessels. It was placed
between the coffin-bone and the sole, by its yielding structure to
assist in preventing concussion, and also to form a supply of horn
for the sole. It extends beyond the coffin-bone, but not at all
under the frog. Leaving a space for the frog, it proceeds over
the bars, and there is covered by some laminae, to unite with those
that have been described, page 293, as found in the bars. It is
here likewise thicker, and more elastic, and by its elasticity is
evidently assisting in obviating concussion. It is supplied with
nervous fibres, and is highly sensible, as the slightest experience
in horses Avill evince. The lameness which ensues from tlie pres-
sure of a stone, or of the shoe, on the sole is caused by inilamma-
tion of the sensible sole. Corns result from bruise and inflamma-
tion of the sensible sole, between the crust and the bar.
THE SENSIBLE FROG.
The coffin-bone does not occupy more than one-half of the
hoof The posterior part is filled by a soft mass, partly ligament-
ous, and partly tendinous (o. Fig. 37). Its shape below corres-
ponds with the cavities of the horny frog ; in front it is attached
to the inferior part of the coffin-bone ; and farther back, it ad-
heres to the lower part of the cartilages of the heels, where they
begin to form the rounded protuberances that constitute the heei
of the foot. It occupies the whole of the back part of the foot
above the horny frog and between the cartilages. Running im-
mediately above the frog, and along the greater part of it, we
find the perforans flexor tendon, which passes over the naviculai^
bone, e, Fig. 37, and is inserted into the heel of the coffin-bone
THE NAVICULAR-BONE
Is placed behind and beneath the lower pastern-bone, and behina
and above the heel of the coffin-bone, e, Fig. 37, so that it forms
THE CARTILAGES OF THE FOOl. 30 1
a joint with both bones, and answers a very important office in
streuirthening the union between these parts, in receiving a por-
tion of the weight which is thrown on the lower pastern and in
enabhng the flexor tendon to act with more advantage. Suppos-
ing that this tendon were inserted into the coffin-bone without the
intervention of the navicular bone, it Avould act at great mechan-
ical disadvantage in bending the pastern, for it is inserted near
the end of the coffin-bone, and the weight, concentrated about
the middle of the bone, is far ofi^, and requires a great power to
raise it ; but when the navicular-bone is interposed, the centre of
motion becomes the posterior edge of that bone, where it is in
contact with the tendon, and then it will be seen that the distance
of the power from the centre of motion is nearly or quite the
same as the weight, and very great expenditure of muscular
power will be saved. In the one case, the power must be at least
double the weight, in the other they will be nearly equal ; and
also the angle at which the tendon is inserted, is considerably
more advantageous. Perhaps this is the principal use of the na
vicular-bone ; yet at the same time we are aware of the benefit
which accrues (see Fig. 37) i'rom a portion of the weight bemg
taken from the coffin-bone, and thrown on the navicular-bone,
and from it on the tendon, and the tendon resting on the elastic
frog underneath.
THE CARTILAGES OF THE FOOT.
There is a groove extending along the upper part of the coffin-
bone and on either side, except at the protuberance Avhich re-
ceives the extensor tendon e, Fig. 37, occupied by cartilage, wliich,
like the crust, is convex outwards and concave inwards. It ex-
tends to the veiy posterior part of the foot, rising about the quar-
ters half an inch or more above the hoof, and diminishing in
height forward and backward. These cartilages occupy a greater
portion of the foot than does the coffin-bone, as will be seen in
Fig. 40, where they are represented as extending far behind the
coffin-bone. They are held in their situation not merely by this
groove, but by other connections with the coffin-bone, the navi-
cular bone, and the flexor tendon, and are thus perfectly secured.
Below are other cartilages connected with the under edges of
the former, and on either side of the frog.
Between these cartilages is the sensible frog, filling up the
whole of the space, and answering several important purposes.
CHAPTER iV.
THE DISEASES OF THE FOOT.
Of these there is a long list. 1 hat will not be wondered at by
those who have duly considered the complicated structure of the
foot, the duty it has to perform, and the injuries to which it is ex-
posed. It will be proper to commence with that which is the
cause of many other diseases of the foot, and connected with al-
most all.
INFLAMMATION OF THE FOOT, OR ACUTE FOUNDER.
The sensible lamineb, or fleshy plates on the front and sides of
the cofiin-bone, being replete with blood-vessels, are, like every
other vascular (filled with blood-vessels) part, liable to inflamma-
tion, from its usual causes, and particularly from the violence with
which, in rapid and long-continued action, these parts are strained
and bruised. When battered and bruised by severe races or
journeys, it will be no wonder if inflammation of" the over- worked
parts should ensue ; and the occurrence of it may probably be
produced, and the disease aggravated by the too prevalent absurd
mode of treating the animal. If a horse that has been ridden oi
driven hard is suflered to stand in the cold, or if his feet are wash-
ed and not speedily dried, he is very likely to have " fever in the
feet." There is no more fruitful source of inflammation in the
human being, or the brute, than these sudden changes of temper-
ature. This has been explained as it regards grease, but it bears
mor^ immediately on the point now under consideration. The
danger is not confined to change from heat to cold. Sudden
transition from cold to heat is as injurious, and therefore it is that
so many horses, after having been ridden far in frost and snow,
and placed immediately in a hot stable, and littered up to the
knees, are attacked by this malady.
Sometimes there is a sudden change of inflammation from one
organ to another. A horse may have labored for several days
under evident inflammation of the lungs ; all at once that will
Bdbside, and the disease will appear in the feet, or inflammation
INFLAMMATION OF THE FOOT. 303
of the feet may follow similar affections in the boAvels or the eyes.
In cases of severe indainniation of the lungs, it may not be bad
practice to remove the slices and poultice the feet.
To the attentive observer the symptons are clearly marked, and
yet there is no disease so often overlooked by the groom and the
carter, and even by the veterinary surgeon. The disease may as-
sume an acute or chronic form. The earlie.;l .-yinptoms of fever
in the feet are fidgetiness, frequent shifting Oi i \q fore-legs, but
no pawing, much less any attempt to reach the belly with the
hind-feet. The pulse is quickened, the flanks heaving, the nos-
trils red, and the horse, by his anxious countenance, and possibly
moaning, indicating great pain. Presently he looks about his lit-
ter, as if preparing to lie down, but he does not do so immedi-
ately ; he continues to shift his weight from foot to foot ; he is
afraid to draw his feet sufficiently under him for the purpose of
lying down : but at length he drops. The circumstance of his
lying down at an early period of the disease will sufficiently dis-
tinguish inflammation of the feet from that of the lungs, in which
the horse obstinately persists in standing until he drops from mere
exhaustion. His quietness when down will distinguish it from
colic or inflammation of the bowels, in both of which the horse is
up and down, and frequently rolling and kicking when down.
When the grievance is in the feet, the horse experiences so much
relief, from getting rid of the weight painfully distending the in-
flamed and highly sensible laminae, that he is glad to lie as long
as he can. He will likewise, as clearly as in inflammation of the
lungs or bowels, point out the seat of disease by looking at the
part. His muzzle will often rest on the feet or the affected foot.
He must be inattentive who is not aware of what all this indi-
cates.
If the feet are now examined, they will be found evidently hot,
The patient will express pain if they are slightly rapped with a
hammer, and the artery at the pastern will throb violently. No
great time will now pass, if the disease is suffered to pursue its
course, before he will be perfectly unable to rise ; or, if he is
forced to get up, and one foot is lifted, he will stand with difficul-
ty on the other, or perhaps drop at once from intensity of pain.
The treatment will resemble that of other inflammations, with
such diflerences as the situation of the disease may suggest.
Bleeding is indispensable ; and that to its fullest extent. If the
disease is confined to the fore-feet, four quarts of blood should be
taken as soon as possible from the toe of each at the situation
pointed out, fig. z, page 263, and in the manner already described ;
care being taken to open the artery as well as the vein. The
feet may likewise be put into warm water, to quicken the flow
of the blood, and increase the quantity abstracted. Poultices of
304 INFLAMMATION OF THE FOOT.
jnseed meal, made very soft, should cover the whole of the foot
and pastern, and be frequently renewed, which will promote eva
poration from the neighboring parts, and possibly through the
pores of the hoof, nnd by softening and rendering supple the hoof,
will relieve its painful pressure on the swelled and tender parts
beneath. More fully to accomplish this last purpose, the shoe
should be removed, tho sole pared as thin as possible, and the
crust, and particularly the quarters, well rasped. All this must
be done gently, and with a great deal of patience, for the poor ani-
mal can scarcely bear his feet to be meddled with. There used
to be occasional doubt as to the administration of physic, Irom fear
of metastasis (shilting) of inflammation which has sometimes oc-
curred, and been generally fatal. When, however, there is so
much danger of losing the patient from the original attack, we
nmst run the risk of the other. Sedative and cooling medicines
should be diligently administered, consisting of digitalis, nitre,
and emetic tartar.
If no amendment is observed, three quarts of blood should be
taken from each foot on the following day. In extreme cases, a
third bleeding of two quarts may be justifiable, and, instead of
the poultice, clothes kept wet with water in which nitre has been
dissolved mvinediately before, and in the proportion of an ounce
of nitre to a pound of water, may be wrapped round the feet.
About the third day a blister may be tried, taking in the whole
of the pastern and the coronet ; but a cradle miust previously be
put on the neck of the horse, and the feet must be covered after
the blister, or they will probably be sadly blemished. The horse
should be kept on mash diet, unless green meat can be procured
for him ; and even that should not be given too liberally, nor
should he, in the slightest degree, be coaxed to eat. When he
appears to be recovering, his getting on his feet should not be hur-
ried. It should be left perfectly to his own discretion ; nor should
even walking exercise be permitted until he stands firm on his
feet. When that is the case, and the season will permit, two
months' run at grass will be very serviceable.
It is not always, however, or often, that inflammation of the
feet is thus easily subdued ; and, if it is subdued, it sometimes
leaves after it some fearful consequences. The loss of the hoof is
not an unfrequent one. About six or seven days from the first
attack, a slight separation will begin to appear between the
coronet and the hoof. This should be carefully attended to, for
the separated horn will never again unite with the parts beneath,
but the disunion will extend, and the hoof will be lost. It is
true that a ncAV hoof will be formed, but it will be smaller in
size and weaker than the first, and will rarely stand hard work.
When this separation is observed, it will be a malter of calcula-
CHRONIC FOUNDER PUMICED FEET. 805
tion with the proprietor of the horse whether he will suffer the
medical treatment to proceed.*
CHRONIC FOUNDER.
Tliis is a species of founder, insidious in its attack, and des-
tructive to the horse. It is a milder form of the preceding dis-
ease. There is lameness, but it is not so severe as in the former
case. The horse stands as usual. The crust is warm, and that
warmth is constant, but it is not often probably greater than in
a state of health. The surest symptoms is the action of the ani-
mal. It is diametrically opposite to that in the navicular disease.
The horse throws as much of his weight as he can, on the poste-
rior parts of his feet.
T lie treatment should be similar to that recommended for the
acute disease — blood-letting, soultices, fomentations, and blisters,
and the last much sooner and much more frequently than in the
former disease.
PUMICED FEET.
The sensible and horny little plates which were elongated and
partially separated during the intensity of the inflammation of
founder, will not always perfectly unite again, or will have lost
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Laminitls, or inflammation of the lamince of the
feet (or acute founder), though often occasioned by long-continued exertion
on the hard road, is not produced by galloping on the turf, and, indeed,
scarcely ever affects race-horses. Heavier breeds are more liable, and par
ticularly when the feet are weak in proportion to the weight of the animal.
When horses work on soft ground, the sole and the frog bear some propor-
tion of the weight, but on the hard road the shoe alone conies in contact
with the ground, and consequently the crust and the laminae bear the whole
of the weight, and thus are exposed to inflammatory action from this cause.
Some relief, however, is obtained by the feet being alternately in the air and
on the ground ; but when horses are confined many days in a standing pos-
ture, as on board ship, the laminae are almost constantly on the stretch ;
this disease, therefore, very frequently follows a voyage, and has often at-
tacked troop-horses, particularly Avhen the voyage lias been rough and of
undue continuance. When, however, laminitis suspenses as a seconilary
disease, the prior disorder afi'ects a similar tissue as the otlier ; thus it is
when pleurisy is succeeded with laminitis, both the pleura and the laminae
being fibrous tissues and of the same character. Such likew^ise is the case
when acute rheumatism is the prior disease.
With regard to treatment, the most energetic measures must be aaopred,
as advised in the text. It is not however judicious to bleed a second time
in the feet, but better to repeat the bleeding from the arm.s or the coronets.
When a blister is applied its effects should be washed oft' the following day,
by doing which it can be repeated several times. Bleeding, however, is tho
sheet-anchor, and there is generally a capability of bearing a large deph-
tion., 20
80'; PUMICED FEET.
much of their elasticity, and the coffin-bone, no longer fully sup
ported by them, presses upon the sole, and the sole becomes flat
tened, or convex, from this unnatural weight, and the horse ac-
quires a PUMICED FOOT. This will also happen when the anima,
is used too soon after an attack of inflammation of the feet, and
before the laminae have reigained sufficient strength to support
the weight of the horse, or to contract again by their elastic
power when they have yielded to the weight. When the coffin-
bone is thus thrown on the sole, and renders it pumiced, the
crust at the front of the hoof will ''fall in,'" leaving a kind of
hollow about the middle of it.
Pumiced feet, especially in horses with large, wide feet, are
frequently produced without this acute inflammation. Undue
work, and especially much battering of the feet on the pavement,
will extend and sprain these laminae so much, that they will not
have the power to contract, and thus the coffin-bone will be
thrown backward on the sole. A very important law of nature
will unfortunately soon be active here. When pressure is ap-
plied to any part, the absorbents become busy in removing it ; so,
when the coffin-bone begins to press upon the sole, the sole be-
comes thin from the increased wear and tear to which it is sub-
jected by contact with the ground, and also because these absorb-
ents are rapidly taking it away.
This is one of the diseases of the feet for which there is no
cure. No skill is competent to efiect a reunion between the sep-
Lici.ccd liesny and horny laminae, or to restore to them tHe
strength and elasticity of which they have been deprived, or to
take up that hard, horny substance which speedily fills the space
between the crust and the receding coffin-bone.
All that can be done in the way of palliation is by shoeing.
Nothing must press on the projecting and pumiced part. If the
projection is not considerable, a thick bar-shoe is the best thing
that can be applied ; but should this sole have much descended,
a shoe with a very wide web, bevelled off^ so as not to press on
the part, may be used. These means of relief, however, are only
temporary, the disease will proceed ; and, at no great distance
of time, the horse will be useless. *"
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — "When this disease follo-ws that previously
treated of in tlie preceding article, the horse is rendered completely unser-
viceable, the laminae become disorganized, the coffin-bone separates from
the crust and descends on the sensible sole, which, unable to bear the pres-
sure, becomes bruised and diseased, and in fact the horse is incurably lame.
When, however, a convex foot is gradual in its approach, and the sole be-
comes pumiced by degrees, there is some palliation to be offered ; in such
instances there is usually a weak foot previously, giving a predisposition to
the disease. In this case likewise the toe of the bone recedes from the
crust, a horny substance is thrown out between them, which is however of
nONTRACTION. 307
CONTRACTION.
Fig:. 47, will give a fair idea of the young and healthy foot,
approaching nearly to a circle, and of which the quarters form
the widest part, and the inner quarter (this is the near foot)
rather wider than the outer. This shape is not long preserved
in many horses, but the foot increases in length, and narrows in
the quarters, and particularly at the heel, and the frog is dimin-
ished in width, and the sole becomes more concave, and the
heels higher, and 'lameness, or at least a shortened and feeling
action, ensues.
It must be premised that there is a great deal more horror of
contracted heels than there is occasion for. Many persons reject
a horse at once if the quarters are luiring in ; but the fact is,
that although this is an unnatural form of the hoof, it is slow of
growth, and nature kindly makes that provision for the slowly
altered form of the hoof which she does in similar cases — she ao
commodates the parts to the change of form. As the hoof draws
in, t]ie parts beneath, and particularly the coffin-bone, and espe-
cially the heels of that bone, diminish ; or, after all, it is more a
change of form than of capacity. As the foot lengthens in pro-
portion as it narrows, so does the coffin-bone, and it is as perfectly
adjusted as before to the box in which it is placed. Its laminae
are in as intimate and perfect union with those of the crust as
before the hoof had begun to change. On this account it is that
many horses, with very contracted feet, are perfectly sound, and
no horse should be rejected merely because he has contraction.
He should undoubtedly be examined more carefully, and with
considerable suspicion ; but if he has good action, and is other-
wise unexceptionable, there is no reason that the purchase should
not be made. A horse Avith contracted feet, if he goes sound, is
better than another with open but weak heels.
The opinion is perfectly erroneous that contraction is the ne-
no use as a support ; the front of the foot, usually the strongest, now be-
comes the weakest, and the horse goes mostly upon his heels. A cure being
out of the question, we must endeavor to palliate as best we can, and this
we shall do by means of shoeing. A bar-shoe should be nailed on, well
hollowed out, so as not to press on the sole in the slightest degree, and a
rim of leather should be put under the shoe to diminish concussion, but
should not extend over the sole. The bar should be put on so as to be
within the eighth of an inch from the frog, by which means pressure only
will be given it when the foot is on the ground, and it will thus be enabled
to support a moderate share of the superincumbent weiijht, and so relieve
the crust of it. The hoof should be frequently anointed with a mixture of
tar and grease, and if the horse is rested for some time the coronets may be
Blistered
308 CONTRACTIOH.
cessaiy consequence of shoeing. There can be no doubt tiiat an
inflexible iron ring being nailed to the foot prevents, to a very
considerable degree, the descent of the sole and the expansion of
the heels below ; and it is likewise probable, that when the ex
pansion of the heels is prevented they often begin to contract.
But here, as before stated, nature makes provision for the change.
Some gentlemen who are careful of their horses have driven them
twenty years, and principally over the rough pavement of" towns,
without a day's lameness. Shoeing may be a necessary evil, but
it is not the evil which many speculative persons have supposed
it, and notwithstanding its effects, the foot ordinarily lasts longer
than the legs ; nay, horsemen tell us that one pair of good feet is
worth two pairs of legs.
There is nothing in the appearance of the feet which would
enable us to decide when contraction is or is not destructive to
the usefulness of the animal ; his mamier of going, and his capa-
bility for work, must be our guides. Lameness usually accom-
panies the beginning of contraction ; it is the invariable attendant
on rapid contraction, but it does not always exist when the ivir-
ing in is slow, or of long standing.
A very excellent writer, particularly when treating of the foot
of the horse, Mr. Blaine, has given us a long and correct list of
the causes of injurious contraction, and most of them are, fortu-
nately, under the control of the owner of the animal. He places
at the head of them, neglect of j)aring. The hoof is continually
growing, the crust is lengthening, and the sole is thickening.
This is a provision for the wear and tear of the foot in an unshod
state ; but when it is protected by a shoe, and none of the horn
-can be worn away by coming in contact with the ground, and the
growth of horn continues, the hoof grows high, and the sole gets
thick, and, in consequence of this, the descent of the sole and the
expansion of the heels are prevented, and contraction is the re-
sult. The smith might lessen, if not prevent the evil, by care-
fully thinning the sole and lowering the heels at each shoeing ;
but the first of these is a matter of considerable labor, aad the
second could not be done efiectually without being accompanied
by the first, and therefore they are both neglected. Owners
should often stand by and see that this is properly done.
Wearing the shoes too long, especially when nails are placed
nearer than they should be to the quarters to make the shoes
hold, is another cause of contraction. There is no rule which
admits of so little exception as that, once in about every three
weeks, the growth of horn which the natural wear of the foot
cannot get rid of, should be pared away — the toe should be
shortened in most feet — the sole should be thinned, and the heels
lowered Every one who has carefully observed the shape of the
CONTRACTION. 30&
horse's foot, must have S(3eu that in proportion to its height oi
neglected growth, it contracts and closes round the coronet. A
low-lieeled horse might have other serious defects, of which it
will be our duty to speak, but he has seldom a contracted
foot.
Another source of contraction is the want of natural moisture.
The hoof of tlie stable-horse kept from moisture becomes dry and
unelastic, and, consequently, is rendered more subject to this dis-
ease. Hence the propriety of stopping the feet where there is
the least tendency to contraction. The intelligent and careliil
groom will not omit it a single night. Cow-dung, with a small
portion of clay to give it consistence, is a common and very good
stopping. A better one is a piece of thick felt, cut to the shape
of the sole, and soaked in water. The common stopping of tar
and grease is peculiarly objectionable, for it closes the pores of
the feet, and ultimately increases the dryness and brittleness
Avhich it was designed to remedy.
Thrushes aid sometimes in producing contraction, but they are
much oftener the consequence than the cause.
The removal of the bars takes away a main impediment
to contraction. Their use in assisting the expansion of the foot
has been already stated, and should a disposition to contraction
be produced by any other cause, the cutting away of the bars
would hasten and aggravate the evil ; but the loss of the bar
would not of itself produce contraction.
The contraction, hoAvever, that is connected with permanent
lameness, although increased by the circumstances which we
have mentioned, usually derives its origin from a different source,
and from one that acts violently and suddenly. Inflammation
of the little plates covering the cofHn-bone is the most usual
cause ; and a degree of inflammation not sufficiently intense to
be characterized as acute founder, but quickly leading to sad re-
sults, may and does spring from causes almost unsuspected.
Something may depend upon the breed. Blood-horses are partic-
ularly liable to contraction. Not only is the foot naturally small,
but it is disposed to become narrower at the heels. On the other
hand, the broad, flat foot of the cart-horse is subject to diseases
enough, but contraction is seldom one of the number. In horses
of equal blood, not a little seems to depend upon the color, and
the dark chestnut is proverbially prone to contraction.
Whatever is the cause of that rapid contraction or narrowing
of the heels which is accompanied by severe lameness, the symp-
toms may oe easily distinguished. While standing in the stable,
the horse will point with, or place forward, the contracted foot ;
or il both feet are affected, he will alternately place one before
the- other. When he is taken out of the stable, his step will \^
310 CONTRACTION.
peculiarly short and quick, and the feet will be placed gently and
tenderly on the ground, or scarcely lifted from it in the walk or
the trot. It would seem as if the slightest irregularity of sur-
face would throw the animal down, and so it threatens to do, for
he is constantly tripping and stumbling. If the fore-feet are care-
fully observed, one or both of them will be narrowed across the
quarters and towards the heels. In a few cases, the whole of the,
ibot appears to be contracted and shrunk ; but in the majority
of instances, while the heels are narrower, the foot is longer.
The contraction appears sometimes in both heels : at other times
in the inner heel only ; or, if both are affected, the inner one is
%uired in the most, either from the coronet to the base of the
foot, or only or principally at the coronet — oftener near the
base of the foot — but in most cases the hollow being greatest
about mid- way between the coronet and the bottom of the foot.
This irregularity on contraction, and uncertainty as to the place
of it, prove that it is some internal disorganization, the seat of
which varies with the portion of the attachment between the
hoof and the foot that was principally strained or injured. In
every recent case, the contracted part will be hotter than the rest
of the foot, and the sole will, in the majority of cases, be unnatu-
rally concave.
Of the treatment of contraction attended with lameness, little
that is satisfactory can be said. There have been various me-
chanical contrivances, such as clips of a peculiar form, and a
jointed shoe, which, when the foot was softened, was gradually
pressed asunder at the heels by a screw ; but all have proved of
no avail, for the disease speedily returned Avhen the ordinary shoe
was again applied to enable the horse to work, and work was
required of him.
If the action of the horse is not materially impaired, it is bet-
ter to let the contraction alone, be it as great as it will. If the
contraction has evidently produced considerable lameness, the
owner of the horse will have to calculate between his value, if
cured, the expense of the cure, and the probability of failure.
The medical treatment should alone be undertaken by a skilful
veterinary surgeon, and it will principally consist in abating any
inflammation that may exist, by local bleeding and physic,
paring the sole to the utmost extent that it will bear ; rasphi.o
the quarters as deeply as can be, without their being too much
weakened, or the coronary ring (see h, Fig. 37), injured ; rasp-
ing deeply Ukewise at the toe, and perhaps scoring at the toe
The horse is afterwards made to stand during the day in we\
clay, placed in one of the stalls. He is at night moved intc
another stall, and his feet bound up thickly in wet cloths ; or he
is turned out into wet pasturage, with tips, or, if possible, with-
NAVICULAR DISEASE. 311
out them, and his feet are frequently pared out, and the quarters
lightly rasped. In five or six months the horn will generally have
growii down, when he may be taken up, and shod with shoes un-
attached by nails on the inner side of the foot, and put to gentle
work. The foot will be found very considerably enlarged, and
the oviaier will, perhaps, think that the cure is accomplished.
The horse may, possibly, for a time stand very gentle work, and
the inner side of the foot being left at liberty, its natural expan-
sive process may be resumed : the internal part of the foot, how-
ever, has not been healthily filled up with the expansion of the
crust. If that expansion has been effected IbrAvard on the quar-
ters, the crust will no longer be in contact with the lengthened
and narrowed heels of the coffin-bone. There will not be the
natural adhesion and strength, and a very slight cause, or even
the very habit of contraction, will, in spite of all care and the
freedom of the imier quarter, in very many instances, cause the
foot to wire in again as badly as before.*
THE NAVICULAR-JOINT DISEASE.
Many horses with well-formed and open feet become sadly and
permanently lame, and veterinary surgeons have been puzzled to
discover the cause. The farrier has had his convenient explana-
tion "the shoulder ;" but the scientific practitioner may not have
been able to discover an ostensible cause of lameness in the whole
limb. There is no one accustomed to horses who does not recol-
lect an instance of this.
By reference to e. Fig. 37, it will be seen that, behind and
beneath the lower pastern-bone, and behind and above the heel
of the coffin-bone, is a small bone called the navicular or shuttle-
bone. It is so placed as to strengthen the union between the
lower pastern and the coffin-bone, and to enable the flexor tendon,
which passes over it in order to be inserted into the bottom of
the coffin-bone, to act with more advantage. It forms a kind
of joint with that tendon. There is a great deal of weight
thrown on the navicular-bone, and from the navicular-bone on
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — A vast amount of error has been writter: in
various books with regard to the subject of contraction. For our own
Darts, we believe that it is in the greater number of instances the conse-
-^i^ence rather than the cause of himeness; and the dissection of a great
number of diseased feet, has assured us that when Uimeness is present
there is disease of the navicular-joint, of the pressure of which tliere cannot
be better proof than the symptom of pointing alluded to in the text. It
is quite true that some horses will point from gait or habit, without any dis-
ease being present ; but when lameness exists, and the horse also points,
we may take the latter symptom as presumptive evidence that the case is
umi of navicular-joint disease.
312 NAVICULAR DISEASE.
the tendon ; and there is a great deal of motion oi play bo
tween them in the bending and extension of the pasterns.
It is very easy to conceive that, from sudden concussion, or
trom rapid and overstrained motion, and that, perljaps, after the
animal has been sometime a trest, and the parts have not
adapted themselves lor motion, there may be too much play
between the bone and the tendon — the delicate membrane
which covers tlie bone, or the cartilage of the bone, may be
bruised, and inflamed, and destroyed ; that all the painful ellects
of an inflamed and opened joint may ensue, and the horse be
irrecoverably lame. Numerous dissections have shown that this
joint, formed by the tendon and the bone, has been the frequent,
and the almost invariable, seat of these obscure lamenesses.
The membrane covering the cartilage of the bone has been
found in an ulcerated state ; the cartilage has been ulcerated
and eaten away ; the bone has become carious or decayed, and
bony adhesions have taken place between the navicular and
the pastern and the coffin-bones, and this part of the foot has
often become completely disorganized and useless. This joint is
probably the seat of lameness, not only in well-formed feet, but
in those which become lame after contraction.
The cure of navicular disease is difficult and uncertain. The
first and all-important point is, the removal of the inflammation
in this very susceptible membrane. Local bleeding, poulticing,
and physic will be our principal resources. If there is contrac-
tion, this must, if possible, be removed by the means already
pointed out. If there is no contraction, it Mdll nevertheless be
prudent to get rid of all surrounding pressure, and to unfetter, as
much as possible, the inside heel of the coffin-bone, by paring
the sole and rasping the quarters, and using the shoe without
nails on the inner quarter, and applying cold poultices to the
coronet and the whole of the foot. This is a case, however,
which must be turned over to the veterinary surgeon, for he
alone, from his knowledge of the anatomy of the foot, and the
precise seat of the disease, is competent to treat it. If attacked
on its earliest appeara,nce, and before ulceration of the mem-
brane of the joint has taken place, it m.ay be radically cured :
but ulceration of the membrane will be with difficulty healed,
and decay of the bone will for ever remain.
Blistering the coronet will often assist in promoting a cure bj7
diverting the inflammation to another part, and it will materially
qui-'.ken the growth of the horn. A seton passed through the
frog by a skilful operator, and approacliing as nearly as possible
to the seat of disease, has been serviceable.
Neurotomy (see p. 86) may be profitably resorted to in this
disease, but if the lameness is extreme, either with or withoyt
NOTE BY MR. SPOONER. 3li
contraction, and especially if there is heat about the foot, the
operation is dangerous. There is, probably, ulceration of the
membrane — possibly, decay of the bone ; and the additional
friction to which the parts would be subjected, by the freer ao
tion of the horse, the sense of pain being removed, would cause
that ulceration or decay to proceed more rapidly until the fool
would be completely disorganized, or the tendon would be gradu-
ally worn through by rubbing against the roughened surface ol"
the bone.*"
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Navicular-joint disease is one of the most fre
quent lamenesses by which the horse is afflicted, and one of the most insidi
ous and incurable. It sometimes comes on suddenly from a sudden jar or
strain, and then the lameness is often very severe, and there is no contraction
previous to the lameness, although afterwards, from the pointing of the foot,
and the consequent absence of the usual weight upon it, contraction is sure
to follow, mure frequently, however, this disease is gradual in its approach,
the horse points previous to the lameness, and, if the foot is attentively exam-
ined, contraction in some degree will be discovered. Thus the symptoms
are Lameness, Pointing, and Contraction, each of which demands separate
consideration, in order that we may understand the true nature of this very
deceptive disease, and the more so as it has not been treated at much length
in the text.
The Lameness. — The degree of lameness in navicular disease admits of a
variety of shades. In some cases we find it manifested the first hundred
yards only ; in some it may continue for a mile or two and then go off; in
others, again, it may continue throughout a journey, but not so severely as at
first. This circumstance is common to some otlier lamenesses, but not so
uniformly the case as in navicular disease. So important a symptom is it
that, on ascertaining its existence, it of itself leads us strongly to suspect the
nature of the lameness. It is customary to say of a groggy horse, '■ Oh ! he
will go sound enough when he gets a little warm." This peculiarity, which
is common to many lamenesses, but more particularly to tiie navicular dis-
ease, is ascribed to the attention of the horse being called away from the in-
jured part : this in a great measure is the case, but we must add that, in the
disease in question, the secretion of synovia becomes increased by exercise,
and the horse is enabled so to dispose his weight as to rest but very lightly
on the injured joint. In some cases the lameness is so slight that the utmost
tact of the practitioner is required to detect it : or the horse may show it on
the stones and go sound on gravel. Should the horse be slightly lame in
both feet the difficulty is still greater, and he may go a long time in this state
before the owner thinks him actually lame. VHien both feet are thua
equally aflected, however, the action of the horse becomes altered in propor-
tion to the extent of mischief; he no longer bends the knee with the same
freedom as before, his action becomes shorter, the heels of the foot scarcely
touch the ground, and the shoe will exhibit the toe almost worn away, whilst
the heels continue undiminished in thickness. These circumstances, whether
one leg or both be affected, will at all times materially assist our diagnosis.
After the disease has existed in both feet for a considerable period, the horse
brings his hind-legs under his body, and makes them sustain the greater
part of his weight, and in the stable he almost constantly lies down.
PoinfAng. — We should be cautious of giving an opinion of the cause of
lameness until we have seen the horse in the stable, where, if there be any
doubt of the matter, we should leave him for a while undisturbed. In many
N
314 NOTE BY MR. SPOONER.
cases, on asking the question, "Does the horse point ?" the groom will reply
" Oh yes, he has done so for a long time." Tlie ascertainment of the length
of this time will inform us how long the disease has been coming on. In
other cases, on asking the same question, we are told he never points. The
former reply we may generally depend on, but the latter we must never
trust to ; for, unless the lame foot is thrust out nearly a yard in front of the
other, the groom does not consider that the horse points. In a case of this
sort (supposing all the time that it is one of navicular disease,) we shall
probably find, on noticing the horse, that tlie affected foot is advanced in some
degree beyond the otlier, that there is very little weight resting on it, and
none whatever on the heels. In navicular disease the horse always, or at
least in ninety-nine cases in a hundred, points, either little or much, although
it may be unnoticed by the attendants ; it is, indeed, one of the most striking
characteristics of the disease. We must not, however, always conclude that
because a horse pcnnts he must necessarily have the disease, although in the
majority of instances we may expect its approach, either early or late ; but
some horses have been known to point for years without going lame : either
the horse lias pointed from habit, or the alteration of structure in the foot
may be sufhcient to occasion pointing, and yet by careful treatment prevent-
ed from being so bad as to produce lameness. Some persons, having wit-
nessed a case in which a horse may have pointed for a lengtliened period
without being lame, immediately conclude that it is of no consequence, thus
confidently drawing an inference from the narrow limits of their own expe-
rience, and allowing it to influence their conduct. We may, however, safely
aver that pointing, if a habit, is, at best, a wretched bad one, having so much
the semblance of disease ; and from its so frequently being the precursor
of lameness, it materially lessens the value of an animal.
If a horse is lame and points, must we necessarily conclude that he has
navicular disease? No; he may point from corns or from other injury at
the posterior part of the foot, but then this pointing is ditlerent from tliat of
navicular disease. In the latter the foot is generally set out straight; in the
former it is not extended so far, but the heels are more elevated. In the
former, the animal having put his foot in the easiest position, turns his atten-
tion to other objects, whilst in the latter the solicitude of the horse is evidently
directed more continually to the part, and if a horse points from corns, the
lameness and pain are unusually severe.
Contraction. — This is a symptom that, either generally or partially, we
usually find attenchng navicular disease. It is, however, by no means uni-
versally the case ; indeed we occasionally find navicular lameness without
any contraction, and, on the other hand, quite as frequently extensive con-
traction without any lameness whatever. Contraction is more frequently the
consequence than the cause of lameness, arising, as it does most commonly,
from resting or favoring the foot which the lameness induces. There are dif-
ferent sorts as Avell as different degrees of contraction. Putting aside the
natural oblong narrow mule's-shape foot, which often exists through life un
attended v/ith lameness, we may have the heels drawn in, the crust and bars
approaching with scarcely any space in the coinmissures, and the frog much
diminished, hard, dry, and preternaturally elevated. In other cases the con-
traction may be only on one side, or the foot may appear altogether free
from.conttaction, which may be only found to exist by comparing it with the
other foot. There are other cases in which there may be no apparent con
traction, and yet the parts are by no means in a natural or proper position
the horny sole is preternaturally arched and thick, and the consequence is
the navicular joint is driven up higher in the horny box, and instead of hav
ing a comparatively flat and elastic surface to repose on, it has a hard ui
yielding ridge formed by the commissures.
« NOTE BY I\TTl, SPOONER. 315
Having given the leading symptoms attending the disease, it wouM be
•well perhaps, here to mention tiie morbid aj)pearince.s of the joint wliich ac-
company tliem, and which post-mortem exainiiiatitnis of the mahidy in its
different stages, exhibit. Among some morbid specimens in my possession
one merely shows a slight indentation on the ridge of the navicular-bone, and
*vhen recent the corresponding portion of the smew was loughened. The
horse had pointed a long time prior to his death, and was lame for a mile or
so on tirst going oif.
Another specimen exhibits holes in the navicular-bone somewhat like a ca-
i'ious tooth, together with very diminutive bone deposits on different parts
of the. surface of the bone. Tlie mare to which it had belonged had been
lame for several years in both feet, wliich were much contracted, and got
gradually worse until she was otdy tit to go to plough.
Another case developes still greater disease on both navicular-bones,
■which are ulcerated in a great degree, and present also numerous long spiculi
on their corticular surface, besides which there is an ossitication of the infe-
rior cartilage, so that although the bones have been boiled the navicular-
bone rests securely on the ossified parts, which must therefore have materi-
ally saved the diseased tendon. The bones had belonged to a very old horse
and favorite hunter, that had been lame for many years, and had conse-
quently been u--ed for agricultural labor.
Another morbid specimen is that of the feet of an old horse that had been
groggy for some years. The navicular bones in both feet were closely united
to the riexor tendons, and on tearing them apart the fibres of the sinew were
lacerated ; the greater part of the posterior surface of these bones was de-
nuded of cartilage, and presented a rough appearance, and the bones them-
selves Avere situated higher up in the hoof tlian natural, asbuming a morf
vertical or less horizontal position. Although this was the position of the
bones, yet the foot by a common observer would have been pronounced
well-shaped ; the sole, however, I found enormously thick.
From a review of the various circumstances which attend the domestica-
tion of the horse, we may, 1 think, justly conclude that most of them operate
in inducing the disease in question. The foot in its natural state has a cUs-
position to contract when at rest, and expand when pressed upon. In a
weak foot there is a greater tendency to spread than contract, but in a strong
one we may consider these two antagonist principles as equivalent to each
other. When, however, the horse becomes domesticated, every means is
used to aid the contraction and to neutralize the disposition to expansion.
The shoe is nailed to the foot when the latter is in its most contracted state,
and the horse is confined in a stall the greater part of the day. On a
sudden he is taken out of the stable, and, without having prepared his joints
and limbs by preliminary exercise, he is driven as fast as he can trot for the
space of an hour or upwards, on the hard roatl, and then during the remain-
der of the twenty-four hours consigned to the stable. What is the result of
this unnatural system ? By the joint eifects of the shoe, hot litter, an'
standing in the stable so long, the foot so contracts that the sole is dr' a
upwards, and with it the navicular-bone, which thus, as we have befo- no-
ticed, has a hard unyielding substance to rest upon ; and the joint saving
been in a quiescent state for many hours, there is probably a dimini^hed se
cretion of synovia (joint oil). In this unprepared state the feet are batterea
on the hard road,* and the result is in many cases a bruise of the synovial
membrane, which may either be sufficient to produce sudden and severe
lameness, or so moderate as to occasion the slightest lameness only.
* The reader will bear in mind that Mr. Spooner speaks of the Iwd metal roads of
England. Our roads, hard only >fvhen they are dry, do not produce these effects in a a<?
groat degree.— Am. Ed.
316 NOTE BY MR. SPOONEP. »
So far as my experience goes, horses used for racing are not so often af
fecttd as others, and this circuuistance must, I think, be attributed to the
fact of their taking a great deal of exercise on the soft ground, where the
various parts of tlie feet meet the soil. ^I'liey are not taken out of the stable
and compelled to proceed at once with speed, but even during severe train-
ing are hrst walked for a considerable period before they take their gallops,
which thus gradually prepares the joints for the severer exertions they are
about to perform. Hunters, too, as we have before remarked, although ex-
posed to sudden concussions and severe exertions, more perhaps than any
other horses, are yet much more exempt from the disease than horses used
on the road. How is this, but because they take much walking exercise
every day, and particularly on the day of hunting, befcjre their severe exer-
tions commence, and these exertions are taken, in great measure, on the soft
soil, where the frog, bars, and sole all meet the ground, and greatly assist in
diminishing concussion and preserving the feet in a healthy state. It is a
fact, too, that few will gainsay who have made extensive observations, that
when hunters are affected with navicular disease, it is much more frequently
than with other horses, attended by sudden and acute lameness: the horse
goes out perfectly sound and comes home dead lame.
From these circumstance:; we are disposed to draw the following conclu-
sions : —
First — That navicular lameness may be produced suddenly by a bruise
on the synovial membrane, without any predisposing cause existing, but
that this is by no means frequent.
Secondly — That well-bred horses with strong feet are most subject to the
disease.
Thirdly — That the lameness is usually preceded by an alteration in the
structure of the foot, whereby the navicular-bone is somewhat displaced, and
has a hard unyielding surface to rest on instead of an elastic cushion.
Fourthly — That this contraction may be either apparent or obscure.
Fifthly — That in feet thus contracted the lameness itself is yet produced
by a sudden bruise.
Sixthly — That contraction is not a direct cause of lameness itself, although
usually considered so by authors, inasmuch as the dissection of morbid feet
clearly developes the disease elsewhere ; but that, although not an exciting
cause, it is yet a predisposing agent.
Seventhly — That contraction is more frequently a consequence than a
cause of lameness, being produced by any circumstance that induces the
horse to abstain from bearing his weight upon the foot.
Treatment. — In endeavoring to cure the navicular disease, much, indeed
almost everything, will depend on the length of time the horse has been
lame. If the lameness came on suddenly, and but a short time has elapsed,
we may then set about our treatment with a reasonable prospect of success ;
but if, on the other hand, the mischief has been slowly coming on, and pre-
ceded by pointing for sonre time, we may then afford some palliation, but a
permanent cure we are seldom able to accomplish. In seeking a remedy
our endeavors should be directed, first, to the removal of the inflammation
in the joint ; and, secondly, to the restoration of the various parts of the
foot to their natural and proper position. If the injury has been suddenly
produced our treatment will be principally confined to antiphlogistic
measures.
The shoe being removed, the foot must be pared out and the sole thinned,
more particularly that part opposite the navicular joint ; the commissures
should also be well cut out and thinned. This being done the foot must be
bled freely from the toe ; four quarts of blood may be taken, and the foot
ahould then be placed in a linseed-meal poultice, or one made of bran ^nd
SAND-CKACK. 317
meal Hie poultice should be wetted several times and changed once s
day, and the bleeding may be repeated in the course of a few days, if re-
quired. The poultice is to be continued for eight or ten days, and then,
•wheii tlie utmost benefit has been derived from it that it is capable of
affording, we may have recourse to counter irritation.
The importance of venesection in every case of navicular disease must
be apparent to every one, for there can be no case requiring treatment but
what must be attended with some degree of inflammation, and in some
cases the injury may be confined to inflammation alone. Where we have
reason to infer that such is the case we may indeed confine our treatment to
the bleeding and poulticing. The benefit of poultice is inferior only to
blood letting. It softens the horn, changing it from a hard, dry, and almost
inelastic substance, to a soft, yielding, and elastic material. The degree of
paring that may be necessary must depend upon the alteration of structure
that has taken place in the foot.
Having pushed our antiphlogistic (tending to reduce inflammation) treat-
ment as far as we well can, we may next seek the aid of counter-irritation.
Shall we blister the coronet, or insert a frog seton? The latter is, I think,
111 every respect preferable ; we create artificial inflammation and suppura-
tion very near the seat of the disease, and we may keep this up almost aa
long as we please ; a month, however, of active suppuration is generally long
enough. The only objection to the seton is that the horse must be kept in
the stable ; he cannot be turned out, or into a soft, moist place during the
time it remains in the foot. Before the seton is inserted, a shoe sliould be
placed on the foot, nailed on the outside quarter only, which will much
assist the expansion of the foot. By the judicious employment of the treat-
ment we have recommended, varied or modified according to the nature
of the case, we may in many instances eftect a cure ; but a love of truth
obliges us to cotifess, that in a majority of cases, taking them as they come,
no treatment will succeed. In chronic cases of navicular disease, in which
there is no probability of effecting a cure, and but little of relieving the ani-
mal to any considerable extent, we have to determine whether we shall
work the animal. lame (if he is able to work at all), or remove sensation
from the feet by the operation of neurotomy. It is a matter of much con-
sequence that when a horse is submitted to the preceding course of treat-
ment, every chance should be given it by allowing a long rest, viz., from
two to four months.
SAND-CRACK.
This, as its name imports, is a C7'ack or division of the hoof
from above downward, and into which sand and dirt are too apt
to insinuate themselves. It is so called, because it most fre-
quently occurs in sandy districts, the heat of the sand applied to
the feet giving them a disposition to crack. It occurs ])oth in
the fore and the hind feet. In the fore feet it is usually found
in the inner quarter (see g, Fig. 41), but occasionally in the outer
quarter, because there is the principal stress or effort towards
expansion in the foot, and the inner quarter is weaker than the
outer. In the hind feet the crack is almost invariably found in
the front, because in the digging of the toe into the ground in the
act of drawing, the principal stress is in front.
This is a most serious defect. It indicates a brittleness of the
318 SAND-CRACK.
crust, sometimes natural, but ofteiier the consequeiwe of mis
management or disease, whicll, in spite of every means adopted^
will probably be the source of future annoyance. On a hoof
that has once been thus divided, no dependence can be placed,
unless, by great care, the natural suppleness of the horn has
been restored and is retained.
Sand-crack may happen in an instant, from a false step or
over-exertion, and therefore a horse, although he may spring a
sand-crack within an hour after the purchase, cannot be returned
on that account.
The crack sometimes does not penetrate through the horn. It
then causes no lameness ; nevertheless, it must not be neglected.
It shows that there is brittleness, which should induce the pur-
chaser to pause : and, if proper means are not taken, it will
generally soon penetrate to the quick. It should be pared or
rasped lairly out, and if the paring or rasping has been deep
the foot should be strengthened by a coating of pitch, with coarse
tape bound over it, and a second coating of pitch covering this.
If tiie crack has penetrated through the crust, and lameness
has ensued, the case is more serious. It must be carefully ex-
amined, in order to ascertain that no dirt or sand has got into
it ; the edges must be more considerably thinned, and if any
fungus (proud-flesh) is begimiing to protrude through the crack,
and is imprisoned there, it must be destroyed by the application
of the butyr (chloride) of antimony. This is preferable to the
cautery (hot-iron) because the edges of the horn will not be
thickened or roughened, and thus become a source of after-irri-
tation. The firing iron must then be run deeply across, above,
and below the crack ; a pledget of dry tow being placed in the
crack, in and over it, and the whole bound down as tightly as
possible. On the third day the part should be examined, and
the caustic again applied, if necessary : but if the crack is dry,
and defended by a hard horny crust, the sooner the pitch plaster
is put on the better.
The most serious case is, when, from tread or neglect, the
coronet is divided. The growth of horn proceeds from the
coronary ligament, and unless this ligament is sound, the horn
will grow down disunited. The method to be here adopted, is
to run the back of the firing-iron over the coronet where it is
divided. Some inflammation will ensue ; and when the scab
produced by the cautery peels o^, as it will in a few days,
the division will be obliterated, and sound and united horn
will grow down. When there is sufficient horn above the
crack, a horizontal line should be drawn with a firing-iron
between the sound horn and the crack. The connexion between
the sound part and the crack will thus be prevented, and the
TREAD AND OVER-REACH. 31 9
1.JW horn will gradually and safely descend, but the horse should
not be used until sufficient horn has grown down iairly to isolate
the crack. When the horn is divided at the coronet, it will be
five or six months before it will grow fairly down, and not
before that, should the animal be used even for ordinary work.
When, however, the horn is grown an inch from the coronet,
the horse may be turned out — the foot being well defended by
the pitch plaster, and that renewed as often as it becomes loose
— a bar-shoe being worn, chambered so as not to press upon the
hoof immediately under the crack, and that shoe being taken
of!', the sole pared out, and any bulbous projection of new horn
being removed once in every three weeks.
To remedy the undue brittleness of the hoof, there is no better
application than that recommended in page 304, the sole beii:ig
covered at the same time with the common cow-dmrg, or felt
stopping. =^
TREAD AIS'D OVER-REACH.
Under these terms are comprised bruises and wounds of the
coronet, inflicted by the other feet.
A TREAD is said to have taken place, when the inside of the
coronet of one hind foot is struck by the calkin of the shoe of
the other, and a bruised or contused wound is inflicted.
A tread, or wound of the coronet, must never be neglected,
lest gravel should insinuate itself into the wound, and form deep
ulcerations, called sinuses or inpes, and whicli constitute quittor.
Although some mildly stimulating caustic may be occasionally
required, the caustic, too frequently used by farriers, should be
carefully avoided, not only lest quittor should be formed, but lest
the coronary ligament should be so injured as to be afterwards
mcapable of secreting perfect horn. When properly treated, a
tread is seldom productive of much injury. If the dirt is well
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — When lameness attends sand-crack, it is owing
to the crack extending from the horn to the quick above. If the horse is
worked on, this injury is repeated again and again until the coronary sub-
stance becomes so injured as to produce a false quarter. When a horse
throws out a sand-crack ho must be rested a month or more in order to
effect a cure, to do which effectually the foot should be poulticed for a
w^eek in order to encourage the growth of horn, and the coronet for the
same reason may be stimulated. In the course of a month the sound horn
will be gi'own down for the space of a quarter of an inch, and then, and
not till then, the tiring-iron should be drawn transversely above the crack,
so as to cut off the communication between the fissure and the sound horn
above, which will gradually grow down. A plaster of pitch or shoe-
maker's wax may then be placed on the crack, and a strap fastened round
the loot, 80 as to prevent too much motion taking place. A bar-shoe is indis-
pensable, in order that the weak quarter may be secured from the pressure.
320 FALSE QUARTER.
washed out of it, and a pledget of tow, dipped in Friar's balsam
bound over the wound, it will in the majority of cases, speed
dy heal. Should the bruise be extensive, or the wound deep, a poul-
tice maybe applied for one or two days, and then the Friar's bal-
sam, or digestive ointment. Sometimes a soft tumour will form on
the part, which will be quickly brought to suppuration by a poul-
tice ; and when the matter has run out, the ulcer will heal by the
application of the Friar's balsam, or a weak solution of blue vitrol.
An OVER-REACH is a tread upon the heel of the coronet of the
fore foot by the shoe of the corresponding hind foot, and either
inflicted by the toe, or by the inner edge of the inside of the
shoe. The preventive treatment is the bevelling, or rounding
off, of the inside edge or rim of the hind shoes. The cure is, the
cutting away of the loose parts, the application of Friar's bal-
sam, and protection from the dirt.
Some horses, particularly young ones, overreach so as to
strike the toes of the hind shoes against the fore ones, which is
termed clinking. Keeping up the head of the horse does some-
thing to prevent tliis ; but the smith may do more by shortening
the toe of the hind shoes, and having the web broad. When
they are too long, they are apt to De torn off — when too narrow,
the hind foot may bruise the sole of the fore one, or may be
locked fast between the branches of the fore shoe.
FALSE QUARTER.
If the coronary ligament, by which the horn of the crust is
secreted, is divided by some cut or bruise, or eaten through by
any caustic, there will occasionally be a division in the horn as
it grows down, either in the form of a permanent sand-crack, or
one portion of the horn overlapping the other. It occasionally
follows neglected sand-crack, or it may be the consequence of
quitter. This is exteriorly an evident fissure in the horn, and
extending from the coronet to the sole, but not always pene-
trating to the laminae. It is a very serious defect, and exceed-
ingly difficult to remedy ; for occasionally, if the horse is over
weighted or hurried on his journey, the fissure will open and
bleed, and very serious inconvenience and lameness may ensue.
Grit and dirt may insinuate itself into the aperture, and pene-
trate to the sensible laminse. Inflammation will almost of ne-
cessity be produced ; and much mischief will be effected. While
the energies of the animal are not severely taxed, he may not ex-
perience much inconvenience or pain ; but the slightest exertion
will cause the fissure to expand, and painful lameness to follow
The coronary ligament must be restored to its perfect statC;
or at least to the discharge of its perfect function. Much dange'
QUITTOR. 321
would attend the application of the caustic in order to eficct
this. A blister is rarely sufficiently active : but the application,
not too severely, of a heated flat or rounded iron to the coronet
at the injured part aflbrds the best chance of success — the edges
of the horn on either side of the crack being thinned, the hoof
supported, and the separated parts held together by a firm
encasement of pitch, as described vi^hen speaking of the treat-
ment of sand-crack. The coronet must be examined at least
once in every fortnight, in order to ascertain whether the desired
union has taken place ; and, as a palliative during the treatment
of the case, or if the treatment should be unsuccessful, a bar-
shoe may be used, and care taken that there be no bearhig at
or immediately under the separation of the horn. This will be
best effected, v/hen the crust is thick and the quarters strong,
by paring off a little of the bottom of the crust at the part, so
that it will not touch the shoe ; but if the foot is weak, an in-
dentation or hollow should be made in the shoe. Strain or con-
cussion on the immediate part will thus be avoided, and, in
sudden or violent exertion, the crack will not be so likely to
extend upward to the coronet, when whole and sound hern has
beo-un to be formed there.
QUITTOR.
This has been described as being the result of neglected or bad
tread or over-reach ; but it may be the consequence of any wound
in the foot, and in any part of the foot. In the natural process
Df ulceration, matter is thrown out from the wound. It precedes
the actual healing of the part. The matter which is secreted in
wounds of the foot is usually pent up there, and, increasing in
quantity, and urging its way in every direction, it forces the littlt*
fleshy plates of the coffin-bone, from the horny ones of the crust
or the horny sole from the fleshy sole, or even eats deeply, into the
mternal parts of the foot. These pipes or sinuses run in every
direction, and constitute the essence of quittor.
If it arises from a wound in the bottom of the foot, the aper
ture may speedily close up, and the matter which continues to be
secreted is confined within, separating the horny from the fleshy
lole, until it forces its way upward and appears at the coronet
(usually at the quarter) and there slowly oozes out. The open-
ing and the quantity of matter discharged are so small, that al-
though over a great part of the quarter and sole the horn may
have separated from the coffin-bone, and the matter may have
penetrated even under the cartilages and ligaments, and into the
:;offiH-joint, but little mischief would be suspected by an unexpe-
21 n
322 QUITTOR.
rienced person. The pressure of the matter wherever it has gone
has formed ulcerations that are indisposed to heal, and that re-
quire the application of strong and painful stimulants to induce
them to heal ; and, worse than this, the horn, once separated Irom
the sensible parts beneath, will never again unite with them,
duittor may occur in both the fore and the hind feet.
It may be necessary to remove much of the horny sole, which
will be speedily reproduced when the fleshy surface beneath can
be brought to a healthy condition ; but if much of the horn at
the quarters must be taken away, five or six months may proba-
bly elapse before it will be sufficiently grown down agani to ren-
der the horse useful.
Measures of considerable severity are indispensable. The ap-
plication of some caustic will alone produce a healthy action on
the ulcerated surfaces ; but on the ground of interest and of hu-
manity, we protest against that brutal practice, or at least the
extent to which it is carried, and is pursued by many ignorant
smiths, of coring out, or deeply destroying the healthy as well as
the diseased parts — and parts which no process will again restore.
When any portion of the bone can be felt by the probe, the
chances of success are diminished, and the owner and the opera-
tor should pause. When the joints are exposed, the case is hope-
less, although, in a great many instances, the bones and the joints
are exposed by the remedy and not by the disease. One hint
may not be necessary to the practitioner, but it may guide the
determination and hopes of the owner ; if, when a probe is intro
duced into the fistulous on the coronet, the direction of the sinu-
ses or 'pii:)es is backward, there is much probability that a perfect
cure may be effected ; but if the direction of the sinuses is for-
ward, the cure is at best doubtful. In the first instance, there is
neither bone nor joint to be injured ; in the other, the more im-
portant parts of the foot are in danger, and the principal action
and concussion are found.
Neglected bruises of the sole sometimes lay the foundation for
quittor. When the foot is flat, it is very liable to be bruised if
the horse is ridden fast over a rough and stony road ; or, a small
stone, insinuating itself between the shoe and the sole, or con-
hned by the curvature of the shoe, will frequently lame the horse.
The heat and tenderness of the part, the occasional redness of the
horn, and the absence of puncture, will clearly mark the bruise.
The sole must then be thinned, and particularly over the bruised
part, and, in neglected cases, it must be pared even to the quick,
in order to ascertain whether the inflammation has run on to
suppuration. Bleeding at the toe will be clearly indicated ; and
poultices, and such other means as have either been described
under " Inflammation of the Feet," or will be pointed out undej
QUITTOR. 323
the next head. The principal causes of bruises ot the foot are
leaving the sole too much exposed by means of a narrow- webbed
shoe, or the smith paring out tlie sole too closely, or the pressure
of the shoe on the sole, or the introduction of gravel or stones
between the shoe and the sole.
Th author subjoins the mode of cure in this disease, as it has
been practised by two veterinary surgeons. They are both ex-
cellent, and, so far as can well be the case, satisfactory.
Mr. Percival says: — " The ordinary mode of cure consists in
the introduction of caustic into the sinus ; and so long as the car-
tilage preserves its integrity — by which I mean, is free from de
cay — this is perhaps the most prompt and eflectual mode of pro-
ceeding. The farrier's practice is to mix about half a drachm of
corrosive sublimate in powder with twice or thrice the quantity
of Hour, and make them into a paste with water. This he takes
up by little at a time with the point of his probe, and works it
about into the sinus until the paste appears rising in the orifice
above. After this is done, he commonly has the horse walked
about for an hour or two, or even sent to slow work again, which
produces a still more effectual solution of the caustic, at the same
time that it tends greatly to its uniform and thorough diffusion
into every recess and winding of the sinus. The consequence of
this sharp caustic dressing is a general slough from the sinus.
Ever}' part of its interior surface is destroyed, and the dead par-
ticle? become agglutinated, and cast off along with the discharges
in the form of a dark, firm curdled mass, which the farrier calls
the core ; and so it commonly proves, for granulations follow close
behind it, and fill up the sinus."
The other mode of treatment is that of Mr. Newport, a surgeon
of long standing : — " After the shoe has been removed, thin the
sole until it will yield to the pressure of the thumb ; then cut the
under parts of the wall in an oblique direction from the heel to
the anterior part, immediately under the seat of complaint, and
only as far as it extends, and rasp the side of the wall thin enough
to give way to the pressure of the over-distended parts, and put
on a bar-shoe rather elevated from the frog. Ascertain with
a probe the direction of the sinuses, and introduce into them
a satMratecl solution of sulijliate of zinc, by means of a small
syringe. Place over this dressing the common poultice, or the
turpentine ointment, and renew the application every twenty-four
hours. I have frequently found three or four such applications
complete a cure. I should recommend that when the probe is
introduced, in order to ascertain the progress of cure, that it be
gently and carefully used, otherwise it may break down the new-
formed lymph. I have found the solution very raluable, where
324 WOUNDS OF THE CRUST AND SOLE.
the synovial fluid (joint-oil) has escaped, but not to he if the in-
flammation of the parts is great." =^
PRICK OE, WOUND IN THE SOLE OR CRUST.
This is the most frequent cause of quittor. It is evident that
the sole is very liable to be wounded by nails, pieces of glass, or
even sharp flints. Every part of the foot is subject to injuries of
this description. The usual place at which these wounds are
found, is in the hollow between the bars and the frog, or in the
i'rog itself. In the fore-feet the injury will be generally recognized
on the inner quarter, and on the hind-feet near the toe. In fact,
these are the thinnest parts of the fore and hind-feet. Much more
frequently the laminae are wounded by the nail in shoeing ; or if
the nail does not penetrate through the internal surface of the
crust, it is driven so close to it that it presses upon the fleshy parts
beneath, and causes irritation and inflammation, and at length
ulceration. When a horse becomes suddenly lame, after the legs
have been carefully examined, and no cause of lameness appears
in them, the shoe should be taken off". In many cases the oftend-
mg substance will be immediately detected, or the additional heat
felt in some part of the foot will point out the seat of injury ; or,
if the crust is rapped with the hammer all round, the flinching of
the horse will discover it ; or pressure with the pincers will ren-
der it evident.
When the shoe is removed for this examination, the smith
should never be permitted to wrench it off', but each nail should
be drawn separately, and examined as it is draAvn, when some
moisture appearing upon it will not unfrequently reveal the spot
at which matter has been thrown out.
Sudden lameness occurring within two or three days after the
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — This disease is much less common than it used
to be, in consequence of the improvement in shoeing and the discontinuance
of calkin (calks). It is generally caused by a tread or an external bruise, the
injury inflicted being deep-seated. It is also often produced by a festered
corn, the matter from which having no depending opening, spreads upwards
between the horn and the bone, and forms sinuses about the coronet in differ-
ent directions, and under and within the cartilages of the foot. With regard
to the cure, the first thing is to poultice well, after which an injection of the
solution of sulphate of zinc will often effect a cure. In other cases it is neces-
sary to lay open the sinuses or insert setons, bringing them out in some de-
pending position. We have successfully inserted setons at the coronet, bring
ing them out severally at the heels and the bars of the foot. When the car-
tilage is in a state of caries, it is desirable to produce a slough by means of
corrosive sublimate. By the adoption of these remedial measures, a cure cao
generally be effected ; for our own part, we have scarcely ever yet met with
a case of quittor which we have been unable to cure, th-- ugh sometimes the
treatment has been very protracted and troublesome.
VVOUNDii OF THE CUUST AND SOLE. 325
horse has been shod, will lead to the suspicion that the smith has
been in fault ; yet no one who considers the thinness of the crust,
and the difficulty of shoeing many feet, will blame him for some-
times pricking the animal. His fault will consist in concealing
or denying that of which he will almost always be aware at the
time of shoeing, from the flinching of the horse, or the dead sound,
or the peculiar resistance that may be noticed in the driving of
the nail.
When the seat of mischief is ascertained, the sole should be
thinned round it, and at the nail -hole, or the puncture, it should
be pared to the quick. The escape of some matter will now
probably tell the nature of the injury, and remove its consequen-
ces. If it be puncture of the sole effected by some nail, or any
similar body, picked up on the road, all that will be necessary is
a little to enlarge the opening, and then to place on it a fledget
of tow dipped in Friar's balsam, and over that a little common
stopping. If there is much heat and lameness, a poultice should
be applied.
A puncture near the centre of the sole is most dangerous, from
its liability to wound the flexor tendon where it is inserted in the
coffin-bone, from which much action is required ; or it may e vren
penetrate the joint between the navicular and coffin-bone.
If pricked by a nail, the treatment above described will usually
soon effect a cure. It may, however, be prudent to keep the loot
stopped for a few days. If the accident has been neglected, and
matter begins to be formed, and to be pent up, and to press on the
neighboring parts, and the horse evidently suffers extreme pain,
and is sometimes scarcely able to put his foot to the ground, and
much matter is poured out when the opening is enlarged, further
precautions must be adopted. The fact must be recollected that
the living and dead horn will never unite, and every portion of
the horny sole that has separated from the fleshy sole above must
be removed. The separation onust be folloived as far as it
reaches. Much of the success of the treatment depends on this.
No small strip or edge of separated horn must be suffered to press
upon any part of the wound. The exposed fleshy sole must then
be touched, but not too severely, with the butyr (chloride) of an-
timony, some soft and dry tow being spread on the part, the foot
stopped, and a poultice placed over all if the foot seems to require
it. On the following day a thin pellicle of horn will frequently
be founc' over a part or the whole of the wound. This should be,
yet very lightly, again touched with the caustic ; but if there is
an appearance of fungus sprouting from the exposed surface, the
application of the butyr must be more severe, the tow being again
placed over it, so as to afford considerable yet uniform pressure.
Many days do not often elapse before the new horn covers the
64b CORNS.
whole of the wound. In these exten-sive openings the Friar's
balsam will not always be successful, but the cure must be effect-
ed by the judicious and never-too-severe use of the caustic. Bleed-
ing at the toe, and physic, will be resorted to as useful auxiliaries
when much inflammation arises.
CORNS.
In the angle between the bars {c, Fig. 47) and the quarters,
the horn of the sole has sometimes a red appearance, and is more
spongy and softer than at any other part. The horse flinches
when this portion of the horn is pressed upon, and occasional or
permanent lameness is produced. This disease of the foot is
termed corns : bearing this resemblance to the corn of the human
being, that it is produced by pressure, and is a cause of lameness.
When corns are neglected, so much inflammation is produced in
that part of the sensible sole, that suppuration follows, and to
that, quittor succeeds, and the matter either undermines the homy
sole, or is discharged at the coronet.
The pressure hereby produced manifests itself in various ways.
When the foot becomes contracted, the part of the sole inclosed
between the external crust that is wiring in, and the bars that
are opposing that contraction (see Fig. 47), is placed in a kind
of vice, and becomes inflamed ; hence it is rare to see a con-
tracted foot without corns. When the shoe is suffered to remain
on too long, it becomes embedded in the heel of the foot : the ex-
ternal crust grows down on the outside of it, and the bearing is
thrown on this angular portion of the sole. No part of the
sole can bear continued pressure, and inflammation and corns
are the result. From the length of wear, the shoe sometimes be-
comes loosened at the heels, and gravel insinuates itself between
the shoe and the crust, and accumulates in this angle, and some-
limes seriously wounds it.
The bars are too frequently cut away, and then the heel of the
shoe must be bevelled inward, in order to answer to this absurd
and injurious shaping of the foot. By this slanting direction of
the heel of the shoe inward, an unnatural disposition to contrac-
tion is given, and the sole must suffer in two ways, — in being
pressed upon by the shoe, and squeezed betw^een the outer crust
and the external portion of the bar. The shoe is often made un-
necessarily narrow at the heels, by which this angle, seemingly
less disposed to bear pressure than any other part of the foot, is
exposed to accidental bruises. If, in the paring out of the foot,
the smith should leave the bars prominent, he too frequently neg-
lects to pare away the horn in the angle between the bars and
the external crust ; or if he cuts away the bars, he scarcely
CORNS. 327
touches the horn at this point ; and thus, before the horse has
been shod a fortnijrht, the shoe rests on this angle, and produces
corns. The use of a shoe for the fore feet, thickened at the heels,
IS, and especially in weak feet, a source of corns, from the undue
bearing there is on the heels, and the concussion to which they
are subject.
Corns are most frequent and serious m horses with thin horn
and fiat soles, and low weak heels. They do not often occur in
the outside heel. It is of a stronger construction than the inside
one. The method adopted by shoeing-smiths to ascertain the
existence of corn by the pain evinced when they pinch the bar
and crust with their irons, is very fallacious. If the horn is
naturally thin, the horse will shrink under no great pressure al-
though he has no corn, and occasionally the bars are so strong as
not to give way under any pressure.
The cure of old corns is difficult ; for as all shoeing has some
tendency to produce pressure here, the habit of throwing out this
diseased horn is difficult to get rid of when once contracted ; re-
cent corns, however, will yield to good shoeing.
The first thing to be done is well to pare out the angle between
the crust and the bars. Two objects are answered by this : the
extent of the disease will be ascertained, and one cause of it re-
moved. A very small drawing-knife must be used for this pur-
pose. The corn must be pired out to the very bottom, taking
care not to wound the sole. It may then be discovered whether
there is any effusion of blood or matter underneath. If this is
suspected, an opening must be made through the horn, the mat-
ter evacuated, the separated horn taken away, the course and
extent of the sinuses explored, and the treatment recommended
for quittor adopted. Should there be no collection of fluid, the
butyr of antimony should be applied over the whole extent of the
corn, after the horn has been thinned as closely as possible. The
object of this is to stimulate the sole to throw out more healthy
horn. In bad cases a bar-shoe may be put on, so chambered,
that there shall be no pressure on the diseased part. This may
be worn for one or two shoeings, but not constantly, for there
are few frogs that would bear the constant pressure of the bar-
shoe ; and the want of pressure on the heel, generally occasioned
by their use, would produce a softened and bulbous state of the
heels, that would of itself be an inevitable source of lameness.
The cause of corn is a most important subject of inquiry, and
which a careful examination of the foot and the shoe will easily
discover. The cause being ascertained, the effect may, to a great
extent, be afterwards removed. Turning out to grass, after the
horn is a little grown, first with a bar-shoe, and afterwards with
the shoe fettered on one side, or vith tips, will often be service-
328 THRUSH
able. A horse that has once had corns to any considerable ex-
tent should, at every shoeing, have the seat of corn well pared
out, and the butyr of antimony applied. The seated shoe (here-
after to be descriDed) should be used, with a web sufficiently
thick to cover the place of corn, and extending as far back as it
can be made to do without injury to the Irog.
Low weak heeis shoald be rarely touched with the knife, or
anything more be done to them than lightly to rasp them, in
order to give them a level surface. Where corns exist of any
consequence, they are a disgrace to the smith, the groom, and to
the owner.
THRUSH.
This is a discharge of offensive matter from the cleft of the
frog. It is inflammation of the lower surface of the sensible frog,
and during which pus is secreted together with, or instead of
horn. When the trog is in its sound state, the cleft sinks but a
little way into it ; but when it becomes contracted or otherwise
diseased, it extends m length, and penetrates even to the sensible
horn within, and through this unnaturally deepened fissure the
thrushy discharge proceeds. A very full and fleshy state of the
body may be a predisposing cause of thrush, but the immediate
and grand cause is moisture. This should never be forgotten, for
it will lead a great way towards the proper treatment of the dis-
ease. If the feet are habitually covered with any moist applica-
tion— ^his standing so much on his own dung is a fair example —
thrush will inevitably appear. It is caused by anything that in-
terferes with the healthy structure and action of the frog. We
find it in the hinder feet oftener and worse than in the fore, be-
cause in our stable management the hinder feet are too much
exposed to the pernicious eiiects of the dung and the urine, moist-
ening, or as it were macerating, and at the same time irritating
them.
In the fore-feet, thrushes are usually connected with contrac-
tion. We have stated that they are both the cause and the
effect of contraction. The pressure on the frog from the wiring
in of the heels will produce pain and inflammation ; and the
inflammation, by the increased heat and suspended function of
the part, will dispose to contraction. Horses of all ages, and in
almost all situations, are subject to thrush. The unshod colt is
frequently thus diseased.
Thrushes are net always accompanied by lameness. In a great
"many cases the appearance of the foot is scarcely, or not at all
altered, and the disease can only be detected by close examina-
tion, or the peculiar smell of the discharge. The frog may not
THRUSH. 329
appear to be rendered in the slightest degree tender by it, and
therefore the horse may not be considered by many as un^'^uiid.
Every disease, however, should be considered as legal unsound-
ness, and especially a disease which, although not attended with
present detriment, must not be neglected, for it will eventually
injure and lame the horse.
Tlie progress of a neglected thrush, although sometimes slow,
is sure. The frog begins to contract in size — it becomes rough,
ragged, brittle, tender — the discharge is more copious and more
offensive — the horn gradually disappears — a mass of hardened
mucus usurps its place — this easily peels off, and the sensible frog
remains exposed — the horse cannot bear it to be touched — fun-
gous granulations spring from it — they spread around — the sole-
becomes under-run, and canker steals over the greater part of
the foot.
If a young colt, fat and full of blood, has a bad thrush, with
much discharge, it will be prudent to accompany the attempt at
cure by a dose of physic or a course of diuretics. A few diuretics
may not be injurious when we are endeavoring to dry up thrush
in older horses.
There are many recipes to stop a running thrush. Almost
every application of an astringent, but not of too caustic nature,
will have the effect. The common ^Egyptiacum (vinegar boiled
with honey and verdigris) is a good liniment ; but the most
effectual and the safest — drying up the discharge speediJy, but
not suddenly — is a paste composed of blue vitriol, tar, and
lard, in proportions according to the virulence of the canker. A
pledget of tow, covered with it, should be introduced as deeply
as possible, yet without force, into the cleft of the frog every
night, and removed in the morning before the horse goes to work.
Attention should at the sam.e time, as in other diseases of the
foot, be paid to the apparent cause of the complaint, and that
3ause should be carefully obviated or removed. Before ths
application of the paste, the frog should be examined, and every
loose part of the horn or hardened discharge removed ; and if
much of the frog is then exposed, a larger and wider piece of tow,
covered with the paste, may be placed over it, in addition to the
pledget introduced into the cleft of the frog. It will be neces-
sary to preserve the frog moist while the cure is in progress, and
this may be done by filling the feet with tow, covered by com-
mon stopping, or using the felt pad, likewise covered with it.
Turning out, would be prejudicial rather than of benefit to
thrushy feet, except the dressing is continued, and the feet do-
fended from moisture.
330 CANKER.
JAN-KER
Is a separation of the horn from the sensible part of the foot, and
the sprouting of the fungous matter (proud-flesh) instead of it, oc-
cupying a portion or even the whole of the sole and frog. It is
the occasional consequence of bruise, puncture, corn, quittor, and
thrush, and is exceedingly difficult to cure. It is more fre-
quently the consequence of neglected thrush than of any other
disease of the foot, or rather it is thrush involving the frog, the
bars, and the sole, and making the foot in one mass of rank
putrefaction.
It is often found in, and is almost peculiar to, the heavy breed of
cart-horses, and partly resulting from constitutional predisposition.
Horses with white legs and thick skins, and much hair upon
their legs — the very character of many dray-horses — are subject
to canker, especially if they have an attack of grease, or their
heels are habitually thick and greasy. The disposition to canker
is certainly hereditary.
Altliough canker is a disease most difficult to remove, it is
easily prevented. Attention to the punctures to which these
heavy horses, with their clubbed feet and brittle hoofs, are more
than any others subject in shoeing, and to the bruises and
treads on the coronet, to which, from their awkwardness and
weight, they are so liable, and the greasy heels which a very
slight degree of negligence will produce in them, and the stopping
of the thrushes, which are so apt in them to run on to the sepa-
ration of the horn from the sensible frog, will most materially
lessen the number of cankered feet.
The cure of canker is the business of the veterinary surgeon,
and a most painful and tedious business it is. The principles
on which he proceeds are, first of all, to remove the extraneous
fungous growth ; and for this purpose he will need the aid of
the knife and the caustic, or the cautery, for he should cut
away every portion of horn which is in the slightest degree sep-
arated from the sensible parts beneath. He will have to dis-
courage the growth of fresh fungus, and to bring the foot into
that state in which it will again secrete healthy horn. A
slight and daily application of the chloride of antimony, and
that not where the new horn is forming, but on the surface
which continues to be diseased, and accompanied by as firm but
equal pressure as can be made — the careful avoidance of the
slightest degree of moisture — the horse being exercised or worked
in the mill, or wherever the foot will not be exposed to wet,
and that exercise adopted as early as possible, and even from
the begiiming, if the malady is confined to the sole and frog —
OSSIFICATION WEAKNESS OF THE FOOT. 331
these means will succeed, if the disease is capable of cure. It
is proper to resort to neurotomy, if the means of cure are per-
sisted in. Medicine is not of much avail in the cure of canker,
but as it sometimes alternates with other diseases, a course of
alteratives or diuretics may be administered, when the cure is
nearly completed.
OSSIFICATION OF THE CARTILAGES.
The cartilages embedded in the heels of the feet from bruises,
sprains, &c., are subject to inflammation, and the result of that
inflammation is that the cartilages are absorbed, and bone sub-
stituted in their stead. This is common in heavy draught-horses,
particularly as they are used on paved streets.
No evident inflammation of the foot, or great, or perhaps even
perceptible lameness, accompanies this change ; a mere slight
degree of stiffiiess may have been observed, which, in a horse of
more rapid pace,-w^ould have been lameness. Even when the
change is completed, there is not in many cases anything more
than a slight increase of stiflhess, little or not at all interfering
with the usefulness of the horse. When this altered structure
appears in the lighter horse, the lameness is more decided, and
means should be taken to arrest the progress of the change.
These are blisters or firing ; but, after the parts have become
bony, no operation will restore the cartilage. Some benefit, how-
ever, will be derived from the use of leather soles. Advantage
has resulted from bar-shoes in conjunction with leather.
Connected with ringbone the lameness may be very great
This has been spoken of in page 268.
WEAKNESS OF THE FOOT.
This is more accurately a bad formation, than a disease ; often,
indeed, the result of disease, but in many instances the natural
construction of the foot. The term, tveak foot is familiar to every
horseman, and the consequence is too severely felt by all who
have to do with horses. In the slanting of the crust from the
coronet to the toe, a less angle is almost invariably formed,
amounting probably to not more than forty instead of forty-five
degrees ; and, after the horse has been worked for one or two
years the line is not straight, but a little indented or hollow,
midway between the coronet and the toe. This has been des-
cribed as the accompaniment of pumiced feet, but it is often seen
in weak feet, that, although they might become pumiced by
severity of work, do not otherwise have the sole convex. The
crust is not only less oblique than '.t ought to be, but it has not
332 WEAKNESS 02^ THE FOOT.
the smooth, even appearance of the good foot. The surface is
sometimes irregularly roughened, but it is much oftener rough-
ened in circles or rings. The form of the crust likewise presents
too much the appearance of a cone ; the bottom of the foot is
unnaturally wide in proportion to the coronet ; and the whole of
the foot is generally, but not always larger than it should be.
When the foot is lifted, it will often present a round and cir-
ular appearance, with a fullness of frog, and would mislead the
inexperienced, and indeed be considered as almost the perfection
of structure ; but, being examined more closely, many glaring
defects will be seen. The sole is flat, and the smith finds that
it will bear little or no paring. The bars are small in size. They
are not cut away by the smith, but they can be scarcely said to
have any existence. The heels are low, so low that the very
coronet seems almost to touch the ground ; and the crust, if ex-
amined, appears scarcely thick enough to hold the nails.
Horses with these feet can never stand much work. They
will be subject to corns, to bruises of the sole, to convexity of the
sole, to punctures in nailing, to breaking away of the crust, to
inflammation of the foot, and to sprain and injury of the pastern,
and the fetlock, and the flexor tendon.
These feet admit of little improvement. Shoeing as seldom
as may be, and with a light yet wide concave web ; little or no
paring at the time of shoeing, and as little violent work as pos-
sible, and especi;Uy on rough roads, may protract for a long
period the evil day^ but he who buys a horse with these feet will
sooner or later have cause to repent his bargain.
CHAPTER XVI.
FRACTURES.
AccroENTS of this description are not of unirequent occurrence,
biit when they do happen it is not always that the mischief can
be repaired ; occasionally however, and much more frequently
than is generally imagined, the life of a valuable animal might
be saved if the owner, or the veterinary surgeon, would take a
little trouble, and the patient is fairly tractable, and that, in the
majority of cases, he will soon become, with kind treatment.
With the exception of accidents that occur in casting the ani-
imal for certain operations, and his struggles during the opera-
tion, the causes of Fracture are usually blows, kicks, or falls,
and the lesion may be considered as mnple, confined to one bone,
and not protruding through the skin — or compound, the bone or
bones protruding through the skin — or complicated, where the
bone is broken or splintered in more than one direction. The
duty of the veterinary surgeon resolves itself into the replacing
of the displaced bones in their natural position, the keeping of
them in that position, the healing of the integument, and the
taking of such measures as will prevent any untoward circum-
stances from afterwards occurring.
In the greater number of cases of fracture, it will be necessary
to place the horse under considerable restraint, or even to sus-
pend or sling him.
Fig. 49 contains a view of the suspensory apparatus used by
Mr. Percivall. A broad piece of sail-cloth, furnished with two
breechings, and two breast-girths, is placed under the animal's
belly, and, by means of ropes and pulleys attached to a cross
beam above, he is elevated or lowered as circumstances may
require. It will seldom be necessary to lift the patient quite off
the ground, and the horse will be quietest, and most at his ease,
when his feet are suffered just to touch it. The head is confined
by two collar ropes, and the head-stall well padded. Many
horses may plunge about and be difficult to manage at first,
but generally speaking, it is not long ere they become perfectly
Dassive.
334
FK,AOTURES.
The use of the different buckles and straps which are attached
to the sail-cloth will be evident on inspection. If the horse
exhibits more than usual uneasiness, other ropes may be attached
to the corners of the sail-cloth. This will aflbrd considerable
relief to the patient, as well as add to the security of the band-
Fig. 49.
^i;
i*p«n
^^Vv^
In many cases the fracture, although a simple one, may be
visible on the slightest inspection ; in others, there may be
merely a suspicion of its existence. In detecting it, will be
exhibited the skill and humanity of the educated surgeon, or the
recklessness and brutality of the ignorant pretender.
Heat, swelling, tenderness, fearfulness of the slightest motion,
crepitus, (crackling) and especially change of the natural position
of the limb, are the most frequent indications of the fracture.
The probability of reunion of the parts depends upon the depth
of the wound connected with the fracture — the contusion of the
soft parts in the immediate neighborhood of it — the blood-vessels,
arterial or venous, that have been wounded — the nearness of
some large joint to which the inflammation may be communi-
cated— dislocation of the extremities of the fractured joint — in-
juries of the periosteum — the existence of sinuses, caries, or ne
FRACTURE OF THE SKULL, NASAL BONES, JAW-BONE. 335
crosis, (diseased bones), or the fracture being compound, oi
broken into numerous spicules or splinters.
In a horse that is full of flesh, the cure of fracture is difficult ,
likewise in an old or worn-out horse — or when tlie part is inac-
cessible to the hand or to instruments — or when separation has
taken place between the parts that were beginning to unite — or
when the surrounding tissues have been or are losing their vital,
ity — or when the patient is already afflicted with any old or
permanent disease.
It may be useful briefly to review the various seats of fracture-
Fracture OF THE SKULL. — Fracturc of the skull is generally
accompanied by stupidity, convulsive motions of the head or
limbs, laborious breathing, and a staggering walk. The eyes are
almost or quite closed, the head is carried low, and the lower lip
hangs down. There are various instances on record of a portion
of the depressed bone being removed and the animal recovering ;
and in some instances, a reunion of the depressed bones has taken
place, leaving a permanent depression of the outer surface of the
skull.
Fracture of the nasal bones. — This will sometimes occur
from falling, or be produced by a kick from another horse, or the
brutality of the attendant or the rider. A fracture of this kind
is generally accompanied by a laceration of the membrane of the
nose, aiid considerable hemorrhage, (flow of blood,) which, how
ever, may generally be arrested by the ajoplication of cold water.
The fractured portion of bone is usually depressed, and, the space
for breathing being diminished, difficulty of respiration occurs.
If there is fracture of the nasal bones, with depression, and
only a little way from the central arch and the section between
the nostrils, a slightly curved steel rod may be cautiously intro-
iuced into the passage, and the depressed portions carefully raised.
If this cannot be effected, the trephine must be applied a little
above or below the fracture, and the elevator, or steel rod, be in
troduced through the aperture. If the fracture is in any other
part of the bone, it will be impossible to reach it with the eleva-
tor, for the turbinated bones are in the way. The trephine must
then be resorted to in the first instance. The wound, if there is
any, must be covered, and a compress kept on it.
The superiop. maxillaf^y, or upper jaw-bone, will occasion-
ally be fractured. Mr. Cartwright had a case in which it was
fractured by a kick at the situation where it unites with the iac-
rymal and malar bones. He applied the trephine, and removed
many small pieces of bone. The wound was then covered by
adhesive plaster, and in a month the parts were healed.
Mr. Clayworth speaks of a mare which, being ridden almost
at speed, fell and fractured the upper ja*w, three inches above the
336 FRACTURE OF THE SPINE, RIBS.
corner incisors. The front teeth and jaw were turned Hke a hook,
completely within the lower ones. She was cast, a balling iron
put into her mouth, and the surgeon, exerting considerable force,
pulled the teeth outward into their former and proper situation.
She was then tied up, so that she could not rub her muzzle against
anything, and was well led with bean-meal, and linseed tea
Much inflammation ensued, but it gradually subsided, and, at the
expiration of the sixth week, the mouth was quite liealed, and
scarcely a vestige of the fracture remained.
The MAXILLARY BONE, OR LOWER JAW, is morc subject to frac-
ture, and particularly in its branches between the tushes and the
lower teeth, and at the symphysis (union by cartilage) between
the two branches of the jaw. Its position, its length, and the
small quantity of muscle that covers it, especially anteriorly, are
among the causes of its fracture, and the same circumstances
combine to render a reunion of the divided parts more easy to be
accomplished. Mr. Blaine relates that, in a fracture of the lower
jaw, he succeeded by making a strong leather frame that exactly
encased the whole jaw. The author of this volume has effected
the same object by similar means.
In the majority of these cases of simple fracture, a cure might
be effected, or should, at least, be attempted, by means of well-
adapted bandages around the muzzle, confined by straps. It will
always be prudent to call in veterinary aid, and it is absolutely
necessary in case of compound fracture of the lower jaw.
Fracture of the spine. — This accident, fortunately for the
liorse, is not of frequent occurrence, but it has been uniformly
fatal. It sometimes happens in the act of falling, as in leaping
a wide ditch ; but it oftener occurs while a horse is struggling
during a painful operation. It is generally sufficiently evident
while the horse is on the ground. Either a snap is heard, indi-
cative of the fracture, or the struggles of the hind-limbs suddenly
and altogether cease. In a few cases, the animal has been able
to get up and walk to his stable ; in others, the existence of the
tracture has not been apparent for several hours : showing that
the vertebra3, although fractured, may remain in their place for
a certain period of time. The bone that is broken, is usually one
of the posterior dorsal or anterior lumbar vertebrae. There is no
satisfactory case on record of reunion of the fractured parts.
Fracture of the ribs. — These fractures are not always easily
recognized. Those that are covered by the scapula (shoulder-
blade) may exist for a long time without being detected, and those
that, are situated posteriorly are so thickly covered by muscles as
to render the detection of the injury almost impossible.
The ordinary causes of fracture are kicks and blows, or falls.
The fractures are generally about their middle, and, in the true
FRACTURE OF THE PELVIS, TAIL, LIMBS. 337
ribs, commonly oblique. They are occasionally broken into splin-
ters, and if tliosc splinters are directed inward, they may seriously
wound the pleura or lungs. In order most certainly to detect the
situation and extent of these fractures, it may be necessary to
trace the rib through its whole extent, and, should there be any
irregularity, to press firmly upon it above and below in order to
ascertain the nature and extent of the injury.
If fracture is detected, it is not often that much essential good
can be done. If there is little or no displacement, a broad roller
should be tightly drawn round the chest, in order to prevent as
much as possible the motion of the ribs in the act of breathing,
and to throw the labor on the diaphragm and the abdominal
muscles until tlie ti:actured parts are united. If the fractured
parts )jTotrucle outwards, a firm compress must be placed upon
them. Ii they are depressed, it will always be advisable to place
a firm bandage over the seat of fracture, although, perhaps, there
may be scarcely the possibility of elevating them to any consid-
erable degree. Should much irritation be the consequence of the
nature or direction of the fracture, prqper means must be adopted
to allay the coiisititutional disturbance that may be produced.
General or local bleedij,igs will be most serviceable.
Fracture of ihe pelvis. — This is not of frequent occurrence,
on account of the thickness of the soft parts which surround the
pelvis, and protect it from injury, but it is of a serious character
when it does take place, on account of the violence which must
have been necessary to produce it. The usual cases are falls from
a considerable height, or heavy blows on the pelvis. The injury
may have reference to the internal or external portion of the pel-
vis. In the first case, the danger may not be discovered until ir-
reparable mischief is produced. When it is chiefly external, the
altered appearance of the hip speaks for itself It is rarely in our
power to aflbrd any assistance in cases like this, except when there
are fractured portions of the bone that may be partially or entirely
removed, or the projecting spine of the ilium is only partially
fractured.
Fracture of the tail. — This accident is not of frequent oc-
currence, except from accidental entanglement, or the application
of brute force. The fracture is easily recognized, frequently by
the eye and always by the fingers. If the tail is not amputat(?d,
a cord passed over a pulley, and with a small weight attached to
it, will bring the separated bones again into apposition, and in
about a month the natural cartilage of the part will be sufficiently
reinstated.
Fractures of the limbs. — These, fortunately, are of rare oc-
currence in the horse, for although their divided edges might
be easily brought again into apposition, it would be almost in«-
22 O
338 FRACTURE OF THE SHOULDER, ARM, ELBOW.
possible to retain them in it, for the slightest motion would dis-
place them. A rapid survey of each may not, however, be alto-
gether useless.
Fracture of the shoulder. — The author is not aware of
the successful treatment of this accident by any English veteri«
nary surgeon.
It is not at all times easy to discover the existence and precise
situation of fracture of the humerus. The lameness is very great
— the animal will not bear at all upon the broken limb — he will
drag it along the ground — he will move slowly and with difficulty,
and his progression will consist of a succession of short leaps The
hfting of the foot will give very great pain. If he is roughly han-
dled, he will sometimes rear, or throw himself suddenly down. By
careful application of the hand, a crepitus (crackling sound) will
more or less distinctly be heard.
Fracture of the arm. — This accident is not of unfrequent oc-
currence. It commonly takes an oblique direction, and is usually
first discovered by the displacement of the limb. Mr. Gloag, of
the 10th Hussars, gives an interesting account of a case that oc-
curred in his practice. " An entire black cart-horse was grazing
in a field, into which some mares were accidentally turned. One
of them kicked him severely a little above the knee. He, howev-
er, contrived to get home, and being carefully examined, there was
found a simple fracture of the radius, about an inch and a half
above the knee. The ends of the fractured bone could be heard
distinctly grating against each other, both in advancing the leg
and turning it sideway from the body. He was immediately
placed in a sling not completely elevated from the ground, but in
which he could occasionally relieve himself by standing. The leg
was well bathed with warm water, and the ends of the bone
brought as true to their position as possible. Some thin slips of
green wood were then immersed in boiling Avater until they would
readily bend to the shape of the knee, and they were tied round
the joint, reaching about nine inches above and six below the knee,
the ends of them being tied round with tow.
A fortnight afterwards he became very troublesome, knocking his
foot on the ground, and when, at the expiration of the sixth week,
he was taken from the slings, there was a considerable bony de-
posit above the knee. This, however, gradually subsided as
the horse regained his strength, and, with the exception of turn-
ing the leg a little outwards, he is as useful as ever for common
purposes."
Fracture of the elbow. — This is far more exposed to danger
than the two last bones, and is oftener fractured. The fracture is
generally an oblique one, and about two-thirds froip. the summit
of the limb. It is immediately detected by the altered action, and
FRACTURE OF THE ^EMUE, PATELLA, TIBL^, HOCK. 339
different appearance of the limb. It is not so difficult of reduc-
tion as either the humerus or the scapula, Avhen the fracture is
towards the middle of the bone. A great quantity of tow satu-
rated with pitch must he placed around the elbow, and confined
with firm adhesive plasters, the ground being hollowed away in
the front of the injured leg, so that no pressure shall be made by
that toot.
Fracture of the femur. — Considering the masses of muscle
that surround this bone, and the immense weight which it sup-
ports, it would naturally be deemed impossible to reduce a real
fracture of the femur. If the divided bones are ever united, it is
a consequence of the simple repose of the parts, and their tendency
to unite.
Fracture of the patella. — This does occasionally, though
very seldom, occur. It is usually the consequence of violent
kicks, or blows, and if this singular bone is once disunited,
no power can bring the divided portions of the bone together
again.
Fracture of the tiblv. — This affection is of more frequent oc-
currence, and of more serious consequence, than we were accus
tomed to imagine it to be.
Mr. J. S. Mayer gives an interesting account of the successful
treatment of a case of fracture of the tibia. The simplicity of the
process will, we trust, encourage many another veterinary surgeon
to follow his example.
" A horse received a blow on the tibia ot" the near leg ; but little
notice was taken of it for two or three days. When, however,
we were called in to examine him, we found the tibia to be ob-
liquely fractured about midway between the hock and the stifle,
and a small wound existmg on the inside of the leg. It was set
in the following manner : — The leg, from the stifle down to the
hock, was well covered with an adhesive compound ; it was then
wrapped round with fine tow, upon which another layer of the
same adhesive mixture was laid, the whole being well splinted
and bandaged up, so as to render what was a slightly compound
fracture a simple one. The local inflammation and sympathetic
fever that supervened were kept down by antiphlogistic measures.
At the end of six weeks the bandages and splints were removed,
and readjusted in a similar way as before, and at the termination
of three months from the time of the accident he was discharged,
cured, the splints being wholly taken off, and merely an adhesive
stay kept on the leg. The horse is now at work and quite
sound, there being merely a little thickening, where the callus is
formed."
Fracture of the hock. — This is not of frequent occurrence,
but verv difficult to treat, from the almost impossibility of finding
340 FRACTURE OF THE CANNON, SESAMOID BONES, ETC.
means to retain the bone in its situation. A case, however, some-
what simple in its nature, occurred in the practice of Mr. Cart-
wright. A colt, leaping at some rails, got his leg between them,
and, unable to extricate himself, hung over on the other side.
After being liberated it appeared, on examination, that there was
a simple horizontal Iracture of the whole of the os calcis about
the middle. A splint was contrived so as to reach from the mid-
dle of the tibia to that of the cannon bone, and this was applied
to the front of the leg, keeping the hock from its usual motion,
and relaxing the muscles inserted into the os calcis. Underneath
this splint a charge was applied about the part, in order to form
a level surface for the splint to rest upon. The whole was bound
together by proper adhesive bandages, and he was ordered to be
Kept quiet in the stable, but not to be slung. In about two months
the hock was fired and became perfectly sound.
Fracture of the cannon or shank bone. — This is of more
frequent occurrence than that of any other bone, on account ol
the length of the leg, and the danger to which it is exposed
There is rarely any difficulty in detecting its situation, but there
IS sometimes a great deal in bringing the divided edges oi" the
bone again into apposition. A kind of windlass, or a power
equal to it, is occasionally necessary to produce sufficient exten-
sion in order to effect the desired purpose : but the divided edges
being brought into apposition are retained there by the force of
the muscles above. Splints reaching from the foot to above the
Kiiee should then be applied. The horse should be racked up
during a fortnight, after which, if the case is going on well, the
animal may oflen be turned out.
In cases of compound fracture the wounds should be carefully
attended to : but Mr. Percivall says that he knows one or two
old practitioners, who are in the habit of treating these cases in
a very summary and generally successful manner. They employ
such common support, with splints and tow and bandages, as
the case seems to require, and then the animal with his leg
bound up is turned out, if the season permits ; otherwise he is
placed in a yard or box, where there is not much straw to in-
commode his movements. The animal will take care not to
impose too much weight on his fractured limb ; and, provided
the parts are well secured, nature will generally perform the
rest.
Fracture of the sesamoid bones. — There are but two
instances of this on record.
Fracture of the upper pastep^n. — Thick and strong, and
movable as this bone seems to be, it is occasionally fractured. This
has been the consequence of a violent effort by the horse to save
himself from falling, when he has stumbled, — it has happened
FRACTURE OF THE LOWER PASTERN. 341
when he has been incautiously permitted to run down a steep
descent — and has occurred when a horse has been travelling on
the best road, and at no great pace.
The existence of fracture in this bone is, generally speaking,
easily detected. The injured foot is, as lightly as possible, per-
mitted to come in contact with the ground. As little weight as
may be is thrown on it, or, if the animal is compelled to use it,
the fetlock is bent down nearly to the ground, and the toe isf
turned upward. If the foot is turned sideways a crackling
sound is generally heard, though this is not always the case.
The probability of success in the treatment of this fracture,
depends on its being a simple or compound one. If it runs
laterally across the bgne, it may be readily and successfully
treated — if it extends to the joints above and below, it will
probably terminate in anchylosis (bony union), and if the bone
is shivered, as it too frequently is, into various parts, there would
scarcely seem the possibility of a successful treatment of the
case. The instances, however, are numerous in which the case
terminates successfully. Hurtrel d'Arboval recommends that a
bandage steeped in some adhesive matter should be applied from
the coronet to the middle of the leg. On this some wet paste-
board is to be moulded, enveloped afterwards in a linen ban-
dage. A small splint is now to be applied before and behind
and on each side, and the hollow places are filled with tow, in
order to give them an equal bearing. If this does not appear
to be sufficiently secure, other splints, thicker and broader, are
placed over those extending to the knee or the hock.
The case related by M. Levrat was treated in this way. It
will be comparatively seldom that it will be necessary to suspend
the patient. The animal, under the treatment of M. Levrat,
kept his foot in the air for nearly three weeks. At the end of
that period he now and then tried to rest his toe on the litter.
Six weeks after the accident, he began to throw some weight on
the foot ; and a few days afterwards he was able to go to a pond,
about fifty paces from his stable, and where, of his own accord,
he took a foot-bath for nearly an hour at a time. At the expir-
ation of another month he was mounted, and went well at a
walking pace ; he was, however, still lame when he was trotted.
Fracture of the loavePv. pastern. — Although this bone is
much shorter than the upper pastern, there are several instances
of fracture of it. The fractures of this bone are commonly
longitudinal, and often extend from the larger pastern to the
coffin-bone. It is frequently splintered, the splinters takmir this
longitudinal direction. Hutrel d'Arboval relates three cases of
this, and in one of them the bone was splintered into four pieces.
Ir several instances, however, this bone has been separated into
:J42 FRACTURE OF THE COFFIN-BONE, NAVICULAR BONE.
eight or ten distinct pieces. When the fracture of the bone is
neither compound nor complicated, it may be perfectly reduced
by proper bandaging, and, in fact, there have been cases, in
which union has taken place with slight assistance from art be-
yond the application of a few bandages.
Fracture of the coffin-bone. — This is an accident of very
rare occurrence, and difficult to distinguish from other causes
of lameness. The animal halts very considerably — the foot is
hot and tender — the pain seems to be exceedingly great, and
none of the ordinary causes of lameness are perceived. Accord-
ing to Hurtrel D'Arboval, it is not so serious an accident as has
been represented. The fractured portions cannot be displaced,
and in a vascular bone like this, the union of the divided
parts will be readily effected.
Fracture of the navicular bone has been sufficiently con-
sidered under the article "Navicular Joint Disease," p. 311.
CHAPTER XVII.
ON SHOEING, ETC.
Tjcce period when the shoe began to be nailed to the foot of the
horse is unceitain. WilHam the Norman introduced it into our
country.
Far more than is generally imagined, do the comfort and
health of tne horse, and the safety of his rider, depend upon shoe-
In taking off the old shoe, the clenches of the nails should al-
ways be carefully raised or filed off; and, where the foot is ten-
der, or the horse is to be examined for lameness, each nail should
be partly punched out.
The edges of the crust are then to be rasped to detect whether
any stubs remain in the nail-holes, and to remove the crust into
which dirt and gravel have insinuated themselves.
Next comes the important process of paring out, with regard
to which it is almost impossible to lay down any specific rules.
This, however, is undoubted, that far more injury has been done
by the neglect of paring, than by carrying it to too great an ex-
tent. The act of paring is a work of much more labor than the
proprietor of the horse often imagines. The smith, except he is
overlooked, will frequently give himself as little trouble about it
as he can ; and that portion of horn which, in the unshod foot,
would be worn away by contact with the ground, is suffered to
accumulate month after month, until the elasticity of the sole j'^
destroyed, and it can no longer descend, and its other functions
are impeded, and foundation is laid for corn, and contraction, and
navicular disease, and inflammation. That portion of horn
should be left on the foot, which will defend the internal parts
from being bruised, and yet suffer the external sole to descend
How is this to be ascertained ? The strong pressure of the thumb
of the smith will be the best guide. The buttress, that most de-
structive of all instruments, being, except on very jmrticular oc-
casions, banished from every respectable forge, the smith sets to
work with his drawing-knife, and removes the growth of horn,
until the sole will yield, although in the slightest possible degree,
344 SHOEING.
to the strong pressure of his thumb. The proper thickness of
horn will then remain.
The quantity of horn to be removed, in order to leave the pro-
per degree of thickness, will vary with different feet. From the
nrong foot, a great deal must be taken. From the concave foot,
the horn may be removed until the sole will yield to a moderate
pressure. From the flat foot, little needs be pared ; while the
pumiced foot should be deprived of nothing but the ragged parts.
The crust should be reduced to a perfect level all round, but
left a little higher than the sole, or the sole will be bruised by its
pressure on the edge of the seating.
The heels will require considerable attention. From the stress
which is thrown on the inner heel, and from the weakness of the
quarter there, the horn usually wears away considerably fastei
than it would on the outer one, and if an equal portion of horn
were pared from it, it would be left lower than the outer heel.
The smith should therefore accommodate his paring to the com-
parative wear of the heels, and be exceedingly careful to leave
them precisely level.
The portion of the heels between the inflection of the bar and
the frog should scarcely be touched — at least, the ragged and de-
tached parts alone should be cut away. The foot may not look
so fair and open, but it will last longer without contraction.
The bar, likewise, should be left fully prominent, not only at
its first inflection, but as it runs down the side of the frog. The
heel of the shoe is designed to rest partly on the heel of the foot
and partly on the bar, for reasons that have been already stated.
If the bar is weak, the growth of it should be encouraged ; and
it should be scarcely touched when the horse is shod, unless it
has attained a level with the crust.
It will also be apparent, that the horn between the crust and
the bar should be carefully pared out. Every horseman has ob-
served the relief which is given to the animal lame with corns,
when this angle is well thinned.
The degree of paring to which the frog must, be subjected, will
depend on its prominence, and on the shape of the foot. The
principle has already been stated, that it must be left so far pro-
jecting and prominent, that it shall be just within and above the
lower surface of the shoe ; it will then descend with the sole suf-
ficiently to discharge the functions that have been attributed to it.
If it is lower, it will be bruised and injured ; if it is higher, it
cannot come in contact with the ground, and thus be enabled to
do its duty. The ragged parts must be removed, and especially
tnose occasioned by thrush, but the degree of paring must depend
entirely on the principle just stated.
SHOEING. 345
PUTTING ON THE SHOE,
The shoe should accurately fit the size of the foot ; if too small,
and the foot is rasped down to fit the shoe, the crust is thinned
where it receives the nail, and the danger of puncture, and of
pressure upon the sole, is increased ; and a foot so artificially di
minished in size, will soon grow over the shoe, to the hazard of
considerable or permanent lameness.
The shoe should be properly bevelled off, that the dirt, gravel,
&c., wJiich gets between it and the foot may be shaken out.
The web of the shoe is likewise of that thickness, that when
the foot is properly pared, the prominent part of the frog shall lie
just within and above its ground surface, so that in the descent
of the sole, the frog shall come sufficiently on the ground to en-
able it to act as a wedge, and to expand the quarters, while it is
defended from the wear and injury it would receive, if it came
on the ground with the first and full shock of the weight.
The nail-holes are, on the ground side, placed as near the outer
edge of the shoe as they can safely be, and brought out near the
inner edge of the seating. The nails thus take a direction in-
wards, resembling that of the crust itself, and have firmer hold,
and the weight of the horse being thrown on a flat surface, con-
traction is not so likely to be produced.
It is expedient not only that the foot and gro and surface of the
shoe should be most accurately level, but that the crust should be
exactly smoothed and fitted to the shoe. Much skill and time
are necessary to do this perfectly with the drawing-knife. The
smith has adopted a method of more quickly, and more accurately
adapting the shoe to the foot. He pares the crust as level as he
can, and then he brings the shoe to a heat somewhat below a red
heat, and applies it to the foot, and detects any little elevations
by the deeper color of the burned horn. This practice has been
much inveighed against ; but it is the abuse, and not the use of
the thing which is to be condemned. If the shoe is not too hot,
nor held too long on the foot, an accuracy of adjustment is thus
obtained, which the knife would be long in producing, or would
not produce at all. If, however, the shoe is made to burn its way
to its seat, with little or no previous preparation of the foot, the
heat must be injurious both to the sensible and insensible parts of
the foot.
The heels of the shoe should be examined as to their proper
width. Whatever is the custom of shoeing the horses of dealers,
and the too prevalent practice in the metropolis of giving the foot
an open appearance, although the posterior part of it is thereby
exposed to injury, nothing is more certain than that, in the horse
346 CALKI]\S CLIPS.
destined for road- work, the heels, and particularly the seat of com,
can scarcely be too well covered. Part of the shoe projecting
externally can be of no possible good, but will prove an occasional
5ource of mischief, and especially in a heavy country. A shoe,
ihe web of which projects inward as far as it can without touch-
ing the frog, afibrds protection to the»angle between the bars and
he crust.
Of the manner of attaching the shoe to the foot the owner can
scarcely be a competent judge ; he can only take care that the
shoe itself shall not be heavier than the work requires — that, foi
work a little hard the shoe shall still be light, with a bit of steel
welded into the toe — that the nails shall be as small, and as few,
and as far from the lieels as may be consistent with the security
of the shoe ; and that, for light work at least, the shoe shall not
be driven on so closely and firmly as is often done, nor the points
of the nails b*^ brought out so high up as is generally practised.
CALKI]S^S.*
There are few cases in which the use of calkins (a turning up
or elevation of the heel) can be admissible in the fore-feet, except
in frosty weather, when it may in some degree prevent unpleasant
or dangerous slipping. If, however, calkins are used, they should
be placed on both sides. If the outer heel only is raised with the
calkin, as is too often the case, the weight cannot be thrown evenly
on the foot, and undue straining and injury of some part of the
foot or of the leg must be the necessary consequence.
CLIPS.
These are portions of the upper edge of the shoe, hammered
)ut, and turned up so as to ^brace the lower part of the crust
and which is usually pared out a little, in order to receive the
clip. They are very useful, as more securely attaching the shop
to the foot, and relieving the crust from that stress upon the nail«
which wo«ild otherwise be injurious. A clip at the toe is almos*
necessary in every draught-horse, and absolutely so in the horse
of heavy draught, in order to prevent the shoe from being loos-
ened or torn off by the pressure which is thrown upon the toe in
the act oi drawing. A clip on the outside of each shoe, at the
beginning of the quarters, will give security to it. Clips are like-
wise necessary on the shoes of all heavy hors'es, and of all other?
who are dis]oosed to stamp, or violently paw with their feet, ant
'dius incur the danger of di&plachig the shoe ; but they are evils
* Called " calks," or vulgarly, "corks," in the XJ. S. — Am. Ed
THE HINDER SHOE DrFFERENT KINDS OF FIIOES. 347
inasmuch as they press upon the crust as it grows down, and they
should only be used when circumstances absolutely require them.
In the hunter's shoe they are not required at the sides. One at
the toe is sufficient.
THE HINDER SHOE.
In forming the hinder shoes it should be remembered that
the hind limbs are the principal instruments in progression, and
that in every act of progression, except the walk, the toe is the
point on Avhich the whole frame of the animal turns, and from
which it is propelled. This part, then, should be strengthened
as much as possible ; and, therefore, the hinder shoes are made
broader at the toe than the fore ones. Another good effect is
produced by this, that, the hinder foot being shortened, there is
less danger of over-reaching, forging, or clinking, and especially
if the shoe is wider on the foot surface than on the ground one.
The shoe is thus made to slope inward, and is a little within the
toe of the crust.
The shape of the hinder foot is somewhat different from that of
the fore foot. It is straighter in the quarters, and the shoe must
have the same form. For carriage- and draught- horses generally
calkins may be put on the heels, because the animal will be thus
enabled to dig his toe more firmly into the ground, and urge him
self forward, and throw his weight into the collar with greater
advantage : but the calkins must not be too high, and they must
be of an equal height on each heel, otherwise, as has been stated
with regard to the fore feet, the weight will not be • fairly dis-
tributed over the foot, and some part of the foot or the leg will
materially suffer. The nails in the hinder shoe may be placed
nearer "fo the heel than in the fore shoe, because, from the com-
paratively little weight and concussion thrown on the hinder feet,
there is not so much danger of contraction.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHOES.
The shoe must vary in substance and weight with the kind of
foot, and the nature of the work. A weak foot should never
wear a heavy shoe, nor any foot a shoe that will last longer than
a month. Here, perhaps, we may ^e permitted to caution the
horse-proprietor against having his .attle shod by contract, un-
less he binds his farrier or veterinary surgeon to remove the shoes
once at least in every month ; for if the contractor, by a heavy
shoe, and a little steel, can cause five or six weeks to intervene
between the shoeings, he will do so, although the feet of the
horse must necessarily suffer. The shoe should never be heavier
348
THE CONCAVE SEATED SHOE.
than the work requires, for an ounce or two in the weight of the
shoe will sadly tell at the end of a hard day's work. Th.s is
acknowledged in the hunting-shoe, which is narrower and lighter
than that of the hackney, although the foot of the hackney is
smaller than that of the hunter. It is more decidedly acknowl-
edged in the racer, who wears a shoe only sufficiently thick .to
prevent it from bending when it is used.
THE CONCAVE SEATED SHOE.
A cut is subjoined of a shoe which is useful and valuable for
general purposes. It is employed in many of our best forges, and
promises gradually to supersede the flat and the simple concave
shoe, although it must, in many respects, yield to the unilateral shoe.
It presents a perfectly flat surface to the ground, in order to
give as many points of bearing as possible, except that, on the
outer edge, there is a groove oi fuller, in which the nail-holes aie
punched, so that, sinking into the fuller, their heads project but
a little way, and are soon worn down level with the shoe.
Fig. 50.
The web of this shoe is of the same thickness throughout, froip
the toe to the heel ; and it is sufficiently wide to guard the sole
THE UNILATERAL SHOE. 349
from bruises, and, as much so as the frog will permit, to cover
the seat of corn.
On the foot side it is seated. The outer part of it is accurately
flat, and of the width of the crust, and designed to support the
crust, for by it the whole weight of the horse is sustained.
Towards the heel this flattened part is wider and occupies the
whole breadth of the web, in order to support the heel of the
crust and its reflected part — the bar ; thus, while it defends the
tiorn included within this angle from injury, it gives that equal
pressure from the bar and the crust, which is the best preventive
against corns, and a powerful obstacle to contraction.
It is fastened to the foot by nine nails — five on the outside, and
four on the inner side of the shoe ; those on the outside extend-
ing a little farther down towards the heel, because the outside
heel is thicker and stronger, and there is more nail-hold ; the last
nail on the inner quarter being farther from the heel, on account
of the weakness of that quarter. For feet not too large, and
where moderate work only is required from the horse, four nails
on the outside, and three on the inside, will be sufficient ; and
the last nail being far from the heels, will allow more expansion
there.
The inside part of the web is bevelled off, or rendered concave,
that it may not press upon the sole. Notwithstanding the shoe,
the sole does, although to a very inconsiderable extent, descend
when the foot of the horse is put on the ground. It is unable
to bear constant or even occasional pressure, and if it came in
contact with the shoe, the sensible sole between it and the coffin-
bone would be bruised, and lameness would ensue. Many of out
horses, from too early and undue work, have the natural concave
sole flattened, and the disposition to descend, and the degree of
descent, are thereby increased. The concave shoe prevents, even
in this case, the possibility of much injury, because the sole can
never descend in the degree in which the shoe is or may be
bevelled. A shoe bevelled still farther is necessary to protect
the projecting or pumiced foot.
THE UNILATERAL, OR OIS'E SIDE N'AILED SHOE.
This is a material improvement in the art of shoeing, for
which we are indebted to Mr. Turner.
What was the state of the foot of the horse a few years ago ?
An unyielding iron hoof was attached to it by four nails in each
quarter, and the consequence was, that in nine cases out of ten
the foot underwent a very considerable alteration in its form and
in its usefulness. Before it had attained its full developement —
before the animal was five years old, there was, in a great many
350
THE mSTILATERAJ. SHOE.
.cases, an evident contraction of the hoof. There was an altera-
tion in the manner of going. The step was shortened, the sole
was hollowed, the frog was diseased, the general elasticity of the
foot was destroyed — ^there was a disorganization of the whole
horny cavity, and the value of the horse was materially dimin-
ished. What was the grand cause of this ? It was the restraint
f the shoe. The firm attachment of it to the foot by nails in
ach quarter, and the consequent strain to which the quarters
and every part of the foot were exposed, produced a necessary
tendency to contraction, from which sprang almost all the mala-
dies to which the foot of the horse is subject.
The unilateral shoe has this great advantage : it is identified
with the grand principle of the expansibility of the horse's foo+
and of removing or preventing the worst ailments to which the
foot of the horse is liable. It can be truly stated of this shoe,
that while it affords to the whole organ an iron defence equal to
the common shoe, it permits, what the common shoe never did or
can do, the perfect liberty of the foot.
We are enabled to present our readers with the last improve-
ment of the unilateral shoe.
Fig. 51.
-*rtJ?N»
The above cut gives a view of the outer side of the off' or
right unilateral shoe. The respective situations of the five nails
will be observed ; the distance of the last from the heel, and the
proper situatxons at which they emerge from the crust. The two
clips will likewise be seen — one in the front of the foot, and the
o^hor p the side between the last and second nail.
THE HUNTING SHOE. 351
Fig. 52 gives a view of the inner side of tlie imilateral shoe.
The two nails near the toe are in the situation in which Mr. Tur-
ner directs that they should be placed, and behind them is no
other attachment, between the shoe and the crust. The portion
of the crust which is rasped off" from the inner surface of the
shoe, is now, we believe, not often removed from the side of the
foot ; it has an unpleasant appearance, and the rasping is some-
what unnecessary. The heel of this shoe exhibits the method
which Mr. Turner has adopted, and with considerable success,
for the cure of corns ; he cuts away a portion of the ground sur
face at the heel, and injurious compression or concussion is ren-
dered in a manner impossible.
Fig. 52.
There can be no doubt that this one-sided nailing has been
exceedingly useful. It has, in many a case that threatened a
serious termination, restored the elasticity of the foot, and enabled
it to discharge its natural functions. It has also restored to the
foot, even in bad cases, a great deal of its natural formation, and
enabled the horse to discharge his duty with more ease and
pleasure to himself, and greater security to his rider.
THE HUNTING SHOE.
The hunter's shoe is different from that commonly used, in form
as well as in weight. It is not so much bevelled off as the com-
mon concave-seated shoe. Sufficient space alone is left for the in-
troduction of a picker between the shoe and the sole, otherwise,
in going over hea\'^r ground, the clay would insinuate itself, and by
o52 THE BAR-SHOE TIPS.
its tenacity loosen, and even tear off the shoe. The heels like-
wise are somewhat shorter, that they may not be torn off by the
toe of the hiud-feet when galloping fast, and the outer heel is fre-
quently but injudiciously turned up to prevent slipping. If calk-
ins are necessary both heels should have an equal bearing.
THE BAR-SHOE.
A bar-shoe is often exceedingly useful. It is the continuation
of the common shoe round the heels, and by means of it the
pressure may be taken off from some tender part of the foot, and
thrown on another which is better able to bear it, or more widely
and equally diffused over the whole foot. It is principally re-
sorted to in cases of corn, the seat of which it perfectly covers —
in pumiced feet, the soles of which may be thus elevated above
the ground and secured from pressure, — in sand-crack, when the
pressure may be removed from the fissure, and thrown on either
side of it, and in thrushes, when the frog is tender, or is become
cankered, and requires to be frequently dressed, and the dressing
can by this means alone be retained. In these cases the bar-shoe
is an excellent contrivance, if worn only for one or two shoeings.
or as long as the disease requires it to be worn, but it must be
left off as soon as i*t can be dispensed with. If it is used for the
protection of a diseased foot, however, it may be chambered and
laid off the frog, it will soon become flattened upon it ; or if the
pressure of it is thrown on the frog in order to relieve the sand-
crack or the corn, that frog must be very strong and healthy
which can long bear the great and continued pressure. More
mischief is often produced in the frog than previously existed in the
part that was relieved. It will be plain that in the use of the
bar-shoe for corn or sand-crack, the crust and the frog should be
precisely on a level ; the bar also should be the widest part of the
shoe, in order to afford as extended bearing as possible on the frog
and therefore less likely to be injurious. Bar-shoes are evidently
not safe in frosty weather. They are never safe when much
speed is required from the horse, and they are apt to be wrenched
off in a heavy, clayey country.
TIPS.
Tips are short shoes, reaching only half round the foot, and
worn while the horse is at grass, in order to prevent the crust
being torn by the occasional hardness of the ground, or the paw-
ing of the animal. The quarters at the same time being free, the
foot disposed to contract has a chance of expanding and regaining
its natural shape.
THE EXPANDING SHOE FELT OR LEATHER SOLES. 353
THE EXPANDING SHOE.
Our subject would not be complete if we did not describe tho
supposed expanding- shoe, although it is now almost entirely out
of use. It is either seated or concave like the common shoe, with
a joint at the toe, by which the natural expansion of the foot is
said to be permitted, and the injurious consequences of shoeing
prevented. There is, however, this radical defect in the jointed
shoe, that the nails occupy the same situation as in the common
shoe, and prevent, as they do, the gradual expansion of the sides
and quarters, and allow only of the hinge-like motion at the toe.
It is a most imperfect accommodation of the expansion of the foot
to the action of its internal parts, and even this accommodation
is afforded in the slightest possible degree, if it is afforded at all.
Either the nails fix the sides and quarters as in the common shoe,
and then the joint at the toe is useless : or, if that joint merely
opens like a hinge, the nail-holes near the toe can no longer cor-
respond with those in the quarters^ which are unequally expand-
ing at every point. There will be more stress on tlje crust at
these holes, which will not only enlarge them and destroy the
fixed attachment of the shoe to the hoof, but often tear away por-
tions of the crust. This shoe, in order to answer the intended
purpose, should consist of many joints, running along the sides
and quarters, which would make it too complicated and expensive
and frail for general use.
While the shoe is to be attached to the foot by nails, we must
be content with the concave-seated or unilateral one, taking care
to place the nail-holes so far from the heels, and particularly from
the inner heel, as the state of the foot and the nature of the work
will admit ; and where the country is not too heavy nor the worl
too severe, omitting all but two on the imier side of the foot.
FELT OR LEATHER SOLES.
When the foot is bruised or inflamed, the concussion or shock
produced by the hard contact of the elastic iron with the ground
gives the animal much pain, and aggravates the injury or disease.
A strip of felt or leather is, therefore, sometimes placed between
the seating of the shoe and the crust, which, from its want of
elasticity, deadens or materially lessens the vibration or shock, and
the horse treads more freely and is evidently relieved. This is a good
contrivance while the inflammation or tenderness of the foot con-
tinues, but a very bad practice if constantly adopted. The
nails cannot be driven so surely or securrly when this sub-
stance is mterposed between the shoe and the foot. The contrac-
23
354 FELT OR LEATHER SOLES.
tion and swelling of the felt or leather from the effect of moisture
or dryness will soon render the attachment of the shoe less firm —
there will be too much play upon the nails — ^the nail-holes will en-
large, and the crust will be broken away.
After wounds or extensive bruises of the sole, or where the sole
is thin and flat and tender, it is sometimes covered with a piece
f leather, fitted to the sole, and nailed on with the shoe. This
may be allowed as a temporary defence of the foot ; but there is
the same objection to its permanent use for the insecurity of
fastening, and the strain on the crust, and the frequent chipping
of it. There are also these additional inconveniences, that if the
hollow between the sole and the leather is filled with stopping
and tow, it is exceedingly difficult to introduce them so evenly
and accurately as not to produce partial or injurious pressure. A
few days' work will almost invariably so derange the padding, as
to cause unequal pressure. The long contact of the sole with
stopping of almost every kind, will produce not a healthy, elastic
horn, but that of a scaly, spongy nature — and if the hollow is not
thus filled, gravel and dirt will insinuate themselves, and eat into
and injure ihe foot.^
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — [Mr. Spooner's note contains nothing not given
more fully in the text. After some remarks on the diversities of opinion on
the subject of shoeing, he expresses the following opinions :] Some horses
have so strong a development of the horny structure of the foot, that a con-
siderable portion requires to be removed at each shoeing, whilst others re-
quire, if it were possible, horn to be added, for in them the wear is gieater
than the growth. Some horses have a tendency to high heels, others to low
ones ; some require the toe of the foot to be/educed every month, in others
there is not a particle to spare. In some horses the frog is so large and
gross that it requires considerable paring, in others it can only be very care-
fully removed. We find the sole in some horses so thin and flat, that the
shoe must be seated considerably to prevent its pressing on the sole, whilst
in others the sole is so strong and concave, that it is a matter of indifference
whether the shoe is seated at all, except for the purpose of rendering it
lighter. With this endless diversity in horses' feet, how is it possible to lay
down any fixed plan for shoeing all horses alike ? All that can be done is to
take an average foot, and consider what sort of shoe is best suited for it,
and so alter or modify such shoe as to adapt it to other feet according to
their peculiarities.
There is no better shoe for a saddle or light harness horse on the road
5han one of moderate weight, rather less than an inch in breadth, seated on
ilie foot surfiice, with five nails on the outside quarter and toe, and two or
•-hree on the inside and near the toe. A clip at the toe and another at the
mter quarter Avill be a useful addition; and if the shoe is required to be
'.ight, then one or even two nails may be dispensed with. By means of
such a slioe the foot will be secured from contraction, and the inside heel in
great measure from corns. The shoe should be of equal tliickness at the
heel as at the toe, and the web should be narrower at the former than the
latter situation. If the heels of the foot are very low, it will be prudent to
make the heels of the shoe somewhat thicker than the toe, and vice versfti
STOPPING THE FEET. 356
STOPPING THE FEET.
The general habit of stopping the feet requires some consider-
ation. It is a very good or very bad practice, according to cir-
cumstances. When the sole is flat and thin it should be
omitted, except on the evening before shoeing, and then the
application of a little moisture may render the paring of the foot
saler and more easy. If it were oftener used it would soften the
foot, and not only increase the tendency to descent, but the occa-
sional occurrence of lameness from pebbles or irregularities of
the road.
Professor Stewart gives* a valuable account of the proper
application of stopping. "Farm horses seldom require any
stopping. Their feet receive sufficient moisture in the fields, or,
if they do not get much, they do not need much. Cart-horses
used in the town should be stopped once a week, or oftener dur-
ing winter, and every second night in the hot weeks of summer
Groggy horses, and all those with high heels, concave shoes, or
hot and tender feet, or an exuberance of horn, require stopping
almost every night. When neglected, esjwcialiy in dry weather,
the sole becomes hard and rigid, and the horse goes lame, or
becomes lame if he were not so before."
One of two substances, or a m.ixture of both, is generally used
for stopping the feet — clay and cow-dung. ' The clay used alone
is too hard, and dries too rapidly. Many horses have been lamed
by it. If it is used in the stable, it should always be removed
before the horse goes to work. It may, perhaps, be applied to
the feet of heavy draught-horses, for it will work out before
much mischief is done.
Cow-dung is softer than the clay, and it has this good prop-
erty, that it rarely or never becomes too hard or dry. For ordi-
nary work, a mixture of equal parts of clay and cow-dung will
be the best applicq,tion ; either of them, however, must be
applied with a great deal of caution, where there is any dispo
sition to thrush. Tow used alone, or with a small quantity of
tar, will often be serviceable.
If the sole is inclined to be flat, it will be desirable to make the shoe some
what broader in the web, unless a leather sole is used, which for such fee
is extremely useful, — indeed a leather sole is at all times desirable during'
the summer season. It secures the sole from injury from stones, and
saves many a fall and broken knee; it materially lessens concussion, dimin-
ishes both the wear of the horn and of the shoe, and keeps applied to the
sole a stoppini^ of grease and tar spread on tow, which preserves the 'norn
in a moist and healthy state. It is objectionable for hunters by rendering
the shoes more liable to cast ; and if required, on account of lameness, for
horses going on the soft ground, it should be merely a narrow rim of leather
between the bearing part of the shoe and the foot.
356
THE S .NDAL.
In the better kind of stables, a felt pad is trequently used. It
keeps the foot cool and moist, and is very useful, when the sole
has a tendency to become flat. For the concave sole, tow would
be preferable.
THE SANDAL.
The shoe is sometimes displayed when the horse is going at
an ordinary pace, and more frequently during hunting ; and no
person who is a sportsman needs to be told in what a vexatious
predicament every one feels himself who happens to loose a shoe
in the middle of a chase, or just as the hounds are getting clear
away with their fox over the open coiintry.
Mr. Percivall has invented a sanda] which occupies a very
small space in the pocket, can be buckled on the foot in less
than two minutes, and will serve as a perfect substitute for
the lost one, on the road, or in the field ; or may be used for
the race-horse when travelling from one course to another ; or
may be truly serviceable in cases of diseased feet that may re-
quire at the same time exercise and daily dressing. The follow-
ing is a short sketch of the horse sandal.
Fig. 53.
Toe Clasp -„,,,
II*
Hinge "'-^-■
Toe-Clip
Toe Clasp
Hinge
Toe-CUp
Heel Clip -
Middle Bar
Side Bar
Heel Clip
Rings
From an inspection of the above cut, it will be seen that the
shoe, or iron part of the sandal, consists of three prhicipal
parts, to which the others are appendages ; which are, the ti'p
THE SANDAL.
357
so called from its resemblance to the horse-shoe of that name ;
the middle bar, the broad part proceeding backward from the
tip ; and the side bars, or branches of the middle bar, extending
to the heels of the hoof. The aj^pendages are, the toe-clasp,
the part projecting, from the front of the tip, and which moves
by a hinge upon the toe-clip, which toe-clasp is furnished with
two iro/i loops. The heel-clip)S are two clips at the heels of
the side bars, which correspond to the toe-clip ; the latter em-
bracing the toe of the crust, whilst the former embrace its
heels. Through the heel-clips run the rings, which move and
act like a hinge, and are double, for the purpose of admitting
both the straps. In the plate, the right ring only is represented ;
the left being omitted, the better to show the heel-clip. The
straps, which are composed of web, consist of a hoof-strap and a
heel and coronet-strap.
The Jioof-strap is furnished with a buckle, whose office it is tc
bind the shoe to the hoof; for which purpose it is passed throu^
the lower rings, and both loops of the shoe, and is made to en-
circle the hoof twice.
The Jceel and coronet-strap is furnished with two pads and
two sliding loops ; one, a movable pad, reposes on the heel, to
defend that part from the pressure and friction of the strap ;
the other, a pad attached to the strap near the buckle affords a
Fig. 54.
similar defence, to the coronet in front. The heel-strap runs
through the upper rings, crosses the heel, and encircles thf»
358 TO MANAGE A FALLEN HORSE.
coronet ; and its office is to keep the heels of the shoe closely
applied to the hoof, and to prevent them from sliding forward.
In the application of the sandal, the foot is taken up with
one hand, and the shoe slipped upon it with the other. With
the same hand, the shoe is retained in its place, while the foot
is gradually let down to rest on the ground. As soon as this
is done, the straps are drawn as tight as possible, and buckled.
Fig. 54, on the preceding page, represents an accurate delinea-
tion of the sandal, when properly fastened to the foot.
TO MANAGE A FALLEN HORSE
Horses occasionally fall from bad riding, or bad shoeing, or over-
reaching, or an awkward way of setting on the saddle. The head,
the neck, the knees, the back, or the legs will oilenest suffer. It
is often difficult to get the animal on his legs again, especially if
he is old, or exhausted, or injured by the fall. The principal ob-
ject is, to support the head, and to render it a fixed point from
which the muscles may act in supporting the body.
If the horse is in harness, it is seldom that he can rise until he
is freed from the shafts and traces. The first thing is to secure
the head, and to keep it down, that he may not beat himself
against the ground. Next, the parts of the harness connected
with the carriage must be unbuckled — the carriage must then be
backed a little way, so that he may have room to rise. If neces-
sary, the traces must betaken ofi^; and after the horse gets up, he
must be steadied a little, until he collects himself.
CHAPTER XVIII.
OPERATIONS.
These belong more to the veterinary surgeon than to the pro-
prietor of the horse, but a short account of the manner of conduct-
ing the principal ones should not be omitted.
It is frequently necessary to bind the human patient, and in no
painful or dangerous operation should this be omitted. It is more
necessary to bind the horse, who is not under the control of reason,
and whose struggles may not only be injurious to himself, but dan-
gerous to the operator.
The trevis is a machine indispensable in every continental forge ;
even the quietest horses are there put into it to be shod.
The side-line is a very simple and useful method of confining
the horse, and placing him in sufficient subjection, for the opera-
tions of docking, nicking, and slight firing. The long line of the
hobbles, or a common cart-rope, with a noose at the end, is fastened
on the pastern of the hind- leg that is not to be operated on. The
rope attached to it is then brought over the neck and round the
withers, and there tied to the portion that comes from the leg.
The leg may thus be drawn so far forward that, while the horse
evidently cannot kick with that leg, he is disarmed of the other
for he would not have sufficient support under him, if he attempt
ed to raise it : neither can he easily use his fore-legs ; or, if he at
tempts it, one of them may be lifted up, and then he becomes
nearly poAverless. If necessary, the aid of the twitch, or the bar-
nacles, may be resorted to.
For every minor operation, and even for many that are of more
importance, this mode of restraint is sufficient, especially if the
operator has active and determined assistants ; and we confess
that we are no friends to the casting of horses, if it can possibly
be prevented. When both legs are included in the hobble, or
rope — as in another way of using the side-line — the horse may
appear to be more secute ; but there is greater danger of his falling
in his violent struggles during the operation.
For castrating and severe firing, the animal must be thrown.
The safety of the horse, and of the operator, will require the use
360 OPERATIONS.
of the improved hobbles, by which any leg may be released from
confinemeiit, and returned to it at pleasure ; and, when the opera-
tion is ended, the whole of the legs may be set at liberty at once,
without danger. The method of putting the legs as closely to-
gether as possible before the pull — the necessity of the assistants
all pulling together — and the power which one man standing at
the head, and firmly holding the snaffle-bridle, and another at the
haunch, pushing the horse when he is beginning to fall, have in
bringing him on the proper side, and on the very spot on which
he is intended to lie, need not to be described. It will generally
be found most convenient to throw the patients on the off side,
turning them over when it is required. This, however, is a
method of securing the horse to which we repeat that we are not
partial, and to which we should not resort, except necessity com-
pelled ; for in the fact of falling, and in the struggles after
falling, many accidents have occurred, both to the horse and to
the surgeon.
Among the minor methods of restraint, but sufficient for many
purposes, are the twitch and the barnacles. The former consists
of a noose passed through a hole at the end of a strong stick, and
in which the muzzle is inclosed. The stick being turned round,
the muzzle is securely retained, while the horse suffers considerable
pain frorai the pressure — sufficiently great, indeed, to render him
comparatively inattentive to that which is produced by the oper-
ation ; at the same time he is afraid to struggle, for every motion
increases the agony caused by the twitch, or the assistant has power
to increase it by giving an additional turn to the stick.
The degree of pain produced by the application of the twitch
should never be forgotten or unnecessarily increased. In no case
should it be resorted to when milder measures would have the de-
sired effect. Grooms and horse-keepers are too much in the habit
of having recourse to it when they have a somewhat troublesome
horse to manage. The degree of useless torture which is thus in-
flicted in large establishments is dreadful : and the temper of many
a horse is too frequently completely spoiled.
The barnacles are the handles of the pincers placed over and
inclosing the muzzle, and which, being compressed by the assist-
ant, give pain almost equal to that of the twitch. These may
appear to be barbarous modes of enforcing submission, but they
are absolutely indispensable. In a few instances the blindfolding
of the horse terrifies him into submission ; but this is not to be
depended upon. The twitch should be resorted to when the
least resistance is ofiered ; and when that, as it occasionally does,
renders the horse m.ore violent, recourse must be had to the side-
line or the hobbles.
In the pamful examination of the fore-leg or foot while on the
BLEEDING. 361
ground, the other foot should be held up by an assistant ; or, if
his aid is required in an operation, the knee may be fully bent,
and the pastern tied up to the arm. When the hind-leg is to be
examined in the same way, the fore-leg on that side should be held
or fastened up.^
BLEEDING.
The operation of bleeding has been alroady describ ;d (p. 166),
but we would remind our readers of the necessity, in e\ ery case of
acute inflammation, of making a large orifice, and abstracting the
blood as rapidly as possible, for the constitution will thus be the
more speedily and beneficially affected.
The change which takes place in the blood after it is drawn
from the vein, is diligently noticed by many practitioners, and is
certainly deserving of some attention. The blood coagulates soon
after it is taken from the vein. The coagulable part is composed
of two substances : that which gives color to the blood, and that
in which the red particles float. These, by degrees, separate from
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — For the operations of nerving, firing, and many
others, where it is necessary to be exact, we prefer casting the horse, as we
have him then completely in our own power ; whereas, by the other re-
straints, the operator is, in a great measure, at the mercy of the animal, whi^
can effectually resist if he pleases. Besides which, in a case of lameness,
there is great danger of injury arising from the plunging of the animal. If a
soft bed is made, with dung at the bottom and straw at the top, there is but
little risk in casting. During the last nineteen years, in many hundreds of
operations, we have only met with two cases of injury from casting, and these
were in very old horses, whose spines proved to be anchylosed or set, and
were thus much more liable to fracture. Where the object is to perform an
otherwise painful operation without the infliction of pain, the use of sulphuric
ether or of chloroform may be had recourse to. It is unnecessary to trace
the history of these substances, so much having been of late written on the
subject. The writer has used both with success, but the chloroform is pref
erable from its greater strength. The horse, however, requires a large quan-
tity before the powers of sensation are temporarily destroyed, viz., from two
to four ounces. It may be applied by a simple sponge, but better by means
of apparatus, by which expiration is permitted, and at tlie same time suffi
cient air admitted to prevent dangerous effects following. The chloroform
may be administered while the horse is in a standing position, and in some
cases he will quietly fall or lie down ; but as, in other instances, he will re-
sist with determination, and stand even after sensation Is gone, it is the bet-
ter plan, in order to save the chloroform, and shorten the time during which
the horse is under its influence, to cast the animal first, when the chloroform
can be immediately applied, and the operation commenced as soon as sensa-
tion is removed. Or the chloroform can be applied when the horse is in a
standing position, and the hobbles affixed at the same time, when, by means
of the latter, the animal can be quietly thrown as soon as the former beguis
o act. This method will effect a saving of time. The use of chloroform is
more suitable for short operations, such as nerving or castration, and the r»
oioval of tumors, than for those occupying considerable time.
P
302 BLISTERING.
each othei, and the red particles sink to the bottom. If the coag-
ulation takes place slowly, the red particles have more time to
sink through the fluid, and there appears on the top a thick, yel-
'owish, adhesive substance, called the buffy coat. The slowness
of the coagulation and the thickness of buffy coat are indicative of
inflammation, and of the degree of inflammation.
In a healthy state of the system the coagulation is more rapid,
the red particles have not time to fall through, and the buffy coal
is thin. M'^hen the horse is exhausted, and the system nearly
broken up, the blood will sometimes not coagulate, but be of one
uniform black color and loose texture. When the blood runs
down the side of the vessel in which it is received, the coagula-
tion will be very imperfect. When it is drawn in a full stream,
it coagulates slowly, and when procured from a smaller orifice, the
coagulation is more rapid. Every circumstance affecting the co-
agulation and appearance of the blood, the pulse, and the general
symptoms, should be most attentively regarded.
BLISTERING.
We have spoken of the effect of blisters, when treating of
Ine various diseases to which they are applicable. The principle
on which they act is, that no two intense inflammations can exist
in neighboring parts, or perhaps in the system, at the same time.
Blisters have likewise the property of increasing the activity
of the neighboring vessels : thus we blister to bring the tumor of
strangles more speedily to a head — to rouse the absorbents gen-
erally to more energetic action, and cause the disappearance of
(lumors, and even callous and bony substances.
The judgment of the practitioner will decide whether the de-
'ired effect will be best produced by a sudden and violent action,
or by the continuance of one of a milder character. Inflamma-
tion should be met by active blisters ; old enlargements and swell
ings will be most certainly removed by milder stimulants — by the
process which farriers call siveating down.
There is no better or more effectual blister than an ointment
composed of one part of powdered Spanish flies and four of lard
and one of resin. The lard and the resiu should be melted to-
gether, and the powdered flies afterwards added. The best liquid
or sweating bhster is an infusion of the fly in spirit of turpentine,
and that lowered with neat's foot oil, according to the degree of
activity required.
In preparing the horse for blistering, the hair should be clipped
or shaved as closely as possible, and the ointment thoroughly
rubbed in. Much fault is often found with the ointment if the
BLIS'i'EKlNG. 3G3
blister does not rise, but the failure is generally to be attributed
to the idleness of the operator.
The head of the horse should be tied up during the first two
days ; except that, when the sides are blistered, the body-clothe?
may be so contrived as to prevent the animal from nibbling and
blemishing the part, or blistering his muzzle. At the expiration
of twenty-four hours, a little olive or neat's loot oil should be ap-
plied over the blister, which will considerably lessen the pain and
supple the part, and prevent cracks in the skin that may be diffi-
cult to heal. The oil should be applied morning and night, until
the scabs peel off. When they begin to loosen, a lather of soap
and water applied with a sponge may hasten their removal, but
no violence must be used.
Every particle of litter should be carefully removed from the
stall, lor the sharp ends of the straw coming in contact with a
part rendered so tender and irritable by the blister, will cause a
very great annoyance to the animal. After the second day the
horse may be suffered to lie down ; but the possibility of blem-
ishing himself should be prevented by a cradle or wooden neck-
lace, consisting of round strips of wood, strung together, reaching
from the lower jaw to the chest, and preventing him from suffi-
ciently turning or bending his head to get at the blistered part.
A blister thus treated wdll rarely produce the slightest blemish.
When the scabs are all removed, the blister may be repeated, if the
jase should appear to require it, or the horse may be turned out.
In inflammations which threaten life, a blister can scarcely be
too active or extensive. In inflammation of the lungs, it should
reach over the whole of the sides, and the greater part of the
brisket, for, should a portion of the fly be absorbed, and produce
'itrangury (inflammation, or spasmodic afiection of the neck of
the bladder,) even this new irritation may assist in subduing the
first and more dangerous one. In blistering, however, for injuries
or diseases of the legs or feet, some caution is necessary. When
speaking of the treatment of sprain of the back-sinews, p, 260,
it was stated, that " a blister should never be used M^iiie any heat
or tenderness remained about the part," for we should then add
to the superficial inflammation, instead of abating the deeper-
seated one, and enlargements of the limb and extensive ulcera-
tions might follow, which would render the horse perfectly unser-
viceable. When there is a tendency to grease, a blister is a
dangerous thing, and has often aggravated the disease. In win-
ter, the inflammation of the skin produced by bUstering is apt to
degenerate into grease ; therefore, if it should be necessary to
blister the horse during that season, great care must be taken th?.-*,
he is not exposed to cold, and, particularly, that a current of coid
air does not come upon the legs.
364 FIRING.
The inhuman practice of hlistering all round at the same tinio,
and perhaps high on the legs, cannot be too strongly reprobated.
Many a valuable horse has been lost through the excessive gen-
eral irritation which this has produced, or its violent effect on tho
urinary organs ; and that has been particularly the case, when
corrosive sublimate has entered into the composition of the blister.
If strangury should appear, the horse should be plentifully
supplied with linseed tea, which is thus best prepared — a gallon
of boiling water is thrown on half a pound of linseed ; the infu-
sion suffered to stand until nearly cold, and the clean mucilaginous
fluid then poured off. Three-quarters of a pound of Epsom salts
should also be given, dissolved in a quart of water, and, alter that,
a ball every six hours, containing opium and camphor, with lin-
seed meal and treacle.
Half a pound or a pound of good mustard powder, made into
a paste with boiling water, and applied hot, will often produce as
good a blister as cantharides. It is a preferable one, when, as in
inflammation of the kidneys, the effect of cantharides on the uri-
nary organs is feared. Hartshorn is not so effectual. Tincture
of croton makes an active liquid blister, and so do some of the
preparations of iodine.*
FIRING.
Whatever seeming cruelty may attend this operation, it is in
many cases indispensable. The principle on which we have re-
course to it is similar to that which justifies the use of a blister —
by producing superhcial inflammation we may be enabled to get
rid of a deeper-seated one, or we may excite the absorbents to
* Note by Mr. Spookier. — There has been a vast deal of puffing and hum-
bug mixed up with the subject of blistering : — ointments and hniments have
been sold under various captivating titles, and professing to be so amiable
in their effects, as to require no tying up of the horse's head when the ani-
mal is submitted to the operation. Now, it should be borne in miml, that
the effect of a blister being to stimulate violently the sensitive cutis and
cause it to throw up the scarf skin in the form of bladders, this cannot be
accomplished without pain and irritation. Of- course, if fiom the weakness
of the application a lesser effect is produced, the irritation is so much the
less. Cantharides is the base of nearly all blisters, and its action is pretty
oaucli the same, whether applied in the usual blistering ointment or in some
anguent of peculiar and astonishing efficacy, distinguished alike for the most
opposite virtues, — combining the strength of the lion with the mildness of
'he dove. It is a fact that nine horses out of ten will not attempt to blem-
ish themselves; and it is the knowledge of this fact that induces the puffers
of these blisters to state that the animal does not require his head to be tied
up. The careful veterinary surgeon will, however, use proper precautions
in all cases, though only one in ten may actually require it. The writer has
Known a horse tear up the stones under his feet from the irritation pi oduced
by James's blistex-
FIRING. 366
remove an unnatural bony or other tumor. It raises more intense
fcXtcrnal inflaininatiou than we can produce by any other means.
It may be truly said to be the most powerful agent that we have
a1 our disposal. Humanity, however, will dictate, that on account
ol" the inllammation which it excites, and the pain it inflicts, it
should only be had recourse to when milder means rarely succeed.
Some practitioners blister immediately after firing. As a gen-
eral usage it is highly to be reprobated. It is wanton and useless
cruelty. It may be required in bony tumors of considerable ex-
tent, and long standing, anJ. interfering materially with the ac-
tion of the neighboring joint. Spavin accompanied by much
lameness, and ring-bone spi ^ading round the coronet and involv-
ing the side cartilages or the pastern joint, may justify it. The
inflammation is rendered m^re intense, and of considerably longer
duration. In old affections' of the round bone it may be admitted,
but no excuse can be made for it in slighter cases of sprain or
weakness, or staleness.
On the day after the o^ieration, it will be prudent gently
to rub some neat's foot oil, or lard, over the wound. This will
soften the skin, and render it less likely to separate or ulcerate. A
bandage would add to the irritation of the part. Any cracks of
the skin, or ulcerations that may ensue, must be treated with the
calamine ointment.
It will be evident that there is an advantage derived from
firing to which a blister can have no pretension. The skin, par-
tially destroyed by the iron, is reinstated and healed, not merely
by the formation of some new matter filling up the vacuity, but
by the gradual drawing together and closing of the separated
edges. The skin, therefore, is lessened in surface. It is tight-
ened over the part, and it acts, as just described, as a salutary
and permanent bandage. Of the effect of pressure in removing
enlargements of every kind, as well as giving strength to the part
to which it is applied, we Lave repeatedly spoken ; and it is far
from bL'ing the least valuable effect of the operation of firing,
that, by contracting the skin, it affords a salutary, equable, and
permanent pressure. For whatever reason the horse is fired, he
shoukl, if possible, be turned out, or soiled in a loose box, for three
or four months at least. The full effect intended to result from
the external irritation is not soon produced, and the benefit de-
rived from pressure proceeds still more slowly.
The firing in every case should be either in longitudinal or par-
allel lines. On the back sinews, the fetlocks, and the coronet,
this is peculiarly requisite, for thus only will the skin contract so
as to form the greatest and most equable pressure. The lines
should be about half an inch from each other.*"
* Note by Mr. /S^ooner.-^Notwithstaading its seeming cruelty, it cannot
366 SETONS.
SETONS
Are pieces of tape or cord, passed, by means of an instrument re-
sembling a large needle, either through abscesses, or tlio base of
ulcers with deep sinuses, or between the skin and the muscular
or other substances beneath. They are retained there by the
nds being tied together, or by a knot at each end. The tape is
moved in the wound twice or thrice in the day, and occasionally
wetted with spirit of turpentine, or some acrid fluid, in order to
increase the inflammation which it produces, or the discharge
which is intended to be established.
In abscesses, such as occur in the withers or the poll, and when
passed from the summit to the very bottom of the swelling, setons
are highly useful, by discharging the purulent fluid, (pus or matter),
and suffering any fresh quantity of it that may be secreted to
flow out ; and, by the degree of inflammation which they excite
on the interior of the tumor, stimulating it to throw out healthy
granulations which gradually occupy and fill the hollow. In deep
fistulous wounds they are indispensable, for except some channel
is made through which the matter may flow from the bottom of the
wound, it will continue to penetrate deeper into the part, and the
healing process will never be accomplished. On these accounts,
a seton passed through the base of the ulcer in poll-evil and fis-
tulous withers is of so much benefit.
Setons are sometimes useful by promoting a discharge in the
neigiiborhood of an inflamed part, and thus diverting and carry-
ing away a portion of the fluids which distend or overload the
vessels of that part : thus a seton is placed with considerable ad-
vantage in the cheek, when the eyes are much inflamed. We
confess, however, that we prefer a rowel under the jaw.
With this view, and to excite a new and different inflamma-
tion in the neighborhood of a part already inflamed, and espe-
cially so deeply seated and so difficult to be reached as the navic-
ular joint, a seton has occasionally been used with manifest ben-
efit, but we must peremptorily object to the indiscriminate use
of the frog-seton for almost every disease of the frog or the foot.
In inflammations of extensive organs, setons afford only feeble
aid. Their action is too circumscribed. In inflammation of the
chest or the intestines, a rowel is preferable to a seton ; and a
blister is far better than any of them.
be denied that this operation often succeeds when all the other methods of
cure have failed. We have little or nothing to add as to the mode of per-
forming tiie operation, onl\' that we prefer the lines to be made in the
oblique or feather forn:i, simply because it is as effectual as the perpendicu-
lar tiring, as regards the bandage, and leaves a lesser blemish as the lineu
become covered by the hair growing from above.
nocKmo. 367
On the principle of exciting the absorbents to action for the
removal of tumors, as spavin or splent, a blister is quicker in
its action, and far more effectual than any seton Firing is still
more uselul.=^
DOCKING.
The shortening of the tail of the horse is an operation which
"ashion and the convenience of the rider require to be performed
)n most of these animals.
The operation is simple. That joint is searched for which is
;he nearest to the desired length of tail. The hair is then turned
ap, and tied round with tape for an inch or two above this joint,
and that which lies immediately upon this joint is cut oft^. The
horse is fettered with the side-line, and then the veterinary sur-
geon with his docking-machine, or the farmer with his carving-
knife and mallet, cuts through the tail at one stroke.
The bleeding which ensues is rarely injurious, but as it would
occasionally continue some hours and weaken the animal, it is
customary to stop it by the application of a hot iron.
A large hole is made in the centre of the iron, that the bone
may not be seared, which would exfoliate (scale off) if it were
burned with any severity, or drop off at the joint above, and thus
shorten the dock. The iron rests on the muscular parts round
the bone, and is brought into contact with the bleeding vessels,
and very speedily stops the bleeding. Care should 'be taken that
the iron is not too hot — and that it is not held too long or too
forcibly on the part, for many m.ore horses would be destroyed by
severe application of the cautery, than by the bleeding being left
to its own course.
Powdered resin sprinkled on the stump, or indeed any other
application, is worse than useless. It causes unnecessary irrita-
tion, and sometimes extensive ulceration ; but if the simple iron
is moderately applied, the horse may go to work immediately
after the operation, and no dressing will be afterwards required
If a slight bleeding should occur after the cautery, it is much
better to let it alone than to run the risk of inflammation or
locked-jaw, by re-applying the iron with greater severity.
Some farmers dock their colts a few days after they are drop-
ped. This is a commendable custom on the score of humanity
No colt was ever lost by it ; and neither the growth of the haii
nor the beauty of the tail, is in the least impaired.
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — We are more favorable than our author to the
3se of setons ; they are equally effectual and far more cleanly than rowels,
and a deep-seated and continued action may be kept up with little or do
pain to the animal. They are often preferable to other methods of treat-
ment for diseases of the hocks, and we have found the use of the frog seton,
in many instances, extremely beneficial.
368 NICKING.
NICKING.
This barbarous operation was once sanctioned by fashion, and
the breeder and the dealer even now are sometimes tempted to
inflict the torture of it in order to obtain a ready sale for their
Cults. It is not, however, practised to the extent that it used to
be, nor attended by so many circumstances of cruelty.
The operation is thus performed. The side-line is put on the
horse, or some persons deem it more prudent to cast him, and
that precaution we should be disposed to recommend. The hair
at the end of the tail is securely tied together, for the purpose of
afterwards attaching a weight to it. The operator then grasps
the tail in his hand, and, lifting it up, feels for the centre of one
of the bones — the prominences at the extremities will guide him
— from two to four inches from the root of the tail, according to
the size of the horse. He then, with a sharp knife, divides the
muscles deeply from the edge of the tail on one side to the centre,
and, continuing the incision across the bone of the tail, he makes
it as deep on the other side. One continued incision, steadily
yet rapidly made, will accomplish all this. If it is a blood-horse
.that is operated on, this will be sufficient. For a hunter, two
mcisions are usually made, the second being about two inches
below the first, and likewise as nearly as possible in the centre
of one of the bones.
On a hackney, or cocktail, a third incision is made ; for fashion
has decided that his tail shall be still more elevated and curved
Two incisions only are made in the tail of a mare, and the second
not very deep.
When the second incision is made, some fibres of the muscles
between the first and second will project into the wound, and
must be removed by a pair of curved scissors. The same must
be done with the projecting portions from between the secona
and third incisions. The wound should then be carefully ex-
amined, in order to ascertain that the muscles have been equally
divided on each side, otherwise the tail will be carried awry.
This being done, pledgets of tow must be introduced deeply into
each incision, and confined, but not too tightly, by a bandage.
A very profuse bleeding will alone justify any tightness of band-
age, and the ill consequences that have resulted from nicking are
mainly attributable to the unnecessary force that is used in con-
fining tlTJise pledgets. Even if the bleeding, immediately aftei
the operation, should have been very great, the roller must be
loosened in two or three hours, otherwise swelling and inflamma-
tion, and even death, may possibly ensue. Twenty-four hours
after the operation, the bandage must be quite removed ; and
NICKING. 369
then, all that is necessary, so far as the healing of the incisions
is concerned, is to keep them clean.
The wounds must remain open, and that can only be accom-
plished by forcibly keeping the tail curved back during two or
three weeks. For this purpose a cord, one or two feet in length,
is affixed to the end of the hair, which terminates in another
divided cord, each division going over a pully on either side of
the back of the stall. A weight is hung at either extremity suf-
ficient to keep the incisions properly open, and regulated by the
degree in which this is wished to be accomplished. The animal
will thus be retained in an uneasy position, although, after the
first two or three days, probably not of acute pain. It is barbar-
ous to increase this uneasiness or pain by affixing too great a
weight to the cords ; for it should be remembered that the proper
elevated curve is given to the tail, not by the weight of keeping
it in a certain position for a considerable time, but by the depth
of the first incisions, and the degree in which the w^ounds are
kept open.
The dock should, not — for the first three or four days — be
brought higher than the back. Dangerous irritation and inflam-
mation would probably be produced. It may, after that, be
gradually raised to an elevation of forty-five degrees. The horse
should be taken out of the pulleys, and gently exercised once or
twice every day ; but the pulleys pannot finally be dispensed
with until a fortnight after the wounds have healed, because
the process of contraction, or the approach of the divided parts,
goes on for some time after the skin is perfect over the incisions,
and the tail would thus sink below the desired elevation.
If the tail has not been unnecessarily extended by enormous
weights, no bad consequences will usually follow ; but if consid-
erable inflammation should ensue, the tail must be taken from
the pulley and diligently fomented with simple warm water, and
a dose of physic given. Locked-jaw has in some rare instances
followed, unaer which the horse generally perishes. The best
means of cure in the early state of this disease is to amputate the
tail at the joint above the highest incision. In order to prevent
the hair from coming ofl^, it sliouid be unplaited and combed out
every fourth or fifth day.
P
24
CHAPTER XIL
THE VICES AND DISAGREEABLE OR DANGEROUS HABITS
OF THE HORSE.
The horse lias many excellent qualities, but he has Hkewise
defects, and these occasionally amounting to vices. Some of
them may be attributed to natural temper, for the human being
scarcely discovers more peculiarities of habit and disposition than
does the horse. The majority of them, however, as perhaps iu
the human being, are the consequences of a faulty education.
Their early instructor has been ignorant and brutal, and they
have become obstinate and vicious.
RESTIVENESS.
At the head of all the vices of the horse is PwESTIVEness, the
most annoying and the most dangerous of all. It is the produce
of bad temper and v^^orse education ; and, like all other habits
founded on nature and stamped by education, it is inveterate.
Whether it appears in the form of kicking, or rearing, plunging,
or bolting, or in any way that threatens danger to the rider or
the horse, it rarely admits of cure. A determined rider may to
a certain extent subjugate the animal ; or the horse may have
nis favorites, or form his attachments, and with some particular
person he may be comparatively or perfectly manageable ; but
others cannot long depend upon him, and even his master is not
always sure of him. It is a rule, that admits of very few ex;-
ceptions, that he neither displays his wisdom nor consults his
safety, who attempts to conquer a restive horse.
BACKING OR GIBBING.*
One of the first kinds of restiveness, taking them in alphabeti
cal order, is backing or gibbing. These are so closely allied that
we hardly know how to separate them. Some horses have the
* Termed " balking" in the United States, and the horse accustomed te
It is said to be " balky." — Am. Ed
GIBBING. 371
habit of backing at first starting, and that more from playfulness
than desire of mischief A moderate application of the whip
will usually be efiectual. Others, even after starting, exhibit
considerable obstinacy and viciousness. This is frequently the
efiect of bad breaking. Either the shoulder of the horse had
been wrung when he was first put to the collar, or he had been
foolishly accustomed to be started in the break U2>hill, and,
therefore, all his work coming upon him at once, he gradually
acquired this dangerous habit.
A hasty and passionate breaker will often make a really good-
tempered young horse an inveterate gibber. Every young horse
is at first shy of the collar. If he is too quickly forced to throw
his weight into it, he will possibly take a dislike to it, that will
oocasionally show itself in the form of gibbing as long as he
lives. The judicious horse-breaker will resort to no severity,
even if the colt should go out several times without even touch-
ing collar. The example of his companion will ultimately induce
him to take it voluntarily and effectually.
xA large and heavy stone should be put behind the wheel be-
fore starting, when the horse, finding it more difficult to back
than to go forward, will gradually forget this unpleasant trick.
It will likewise be of advantage as often as it can be managed,
so to start that the horse shall have to back up-hill. The diffi
culty of accomplishing this will soon make him readily go for-
ward. A little coaxing, or leading, or moderate flagellation, wili
assist in accomplishing the cure.
When, however, a horse, thinking he has had enough of work,
or has been improperly checked or corrected, or begimiing to feel
the pamful pressure of the collar, swerves, and gibs, and backs,
it is a more serious matter. Persuasion should first be tried ; and,
afterwards, reasonable coercion, but no cruelty : for the brutality
which is often exercised to compel a gibbing horse to throw him-
self habitually into the collar, never yet accomplished the purpose.
The horse, may, perhaps, be whipped into motion ; but if he
has once begun to gib, he will have recourse to it again whenever
any circumstance displeases or annoys him, and the habit will be
so rapidly and completely formed, that he will become insensible
to all severity.
Sometimes a horse not often accustomed to gib, betrays a relu
tance to move, or a determination not to move. Before resorting
to severity, the cause, if practicable, should be ascertained. The
horse may be overtaxed, his withers may be wrung, or he may
be insupportably galled or pained by the harness. These things
should be examined into, and, if possible, rectified ; for, under
such circumstances, cruelty may produce obstinacy and vice, but
not willingf obediencf
372 BITING CHEEK OF THE BIT IN THE MOUTH.
They who are accustomed to horses know what seemingly
trivial circumstances occasionally produce this vice. A horse,
whose shoulders are raw, or have frequently been so, will not
start with a cold collar. When the collar has acquired the
warmth of the parts on which it presses, the animal will go with-
out reluctance. Some determined gibbers have been reformed by
constantly wearing a false collar, or strip of cloth round the
shoulders, so that the coldness of the usual collar should never be
felt ; and others have been cured of gibbing by keeping the collar
on night and day, for the animal is not able to lie down completely
at full length, which the tired horse is always glad to do.
When a horse gibs, not at starting, but while doing his work, it
has sometimes been useful to line the collar with cloth instead
of leather ; the perspiration is readily absorbed, the substance
which presses on the shoulder is softer, and it may be far more
accurately eased off at a tender place.
BITING.
This is either the consequence of natural ferocity, or a habit
acquired from the foolish and teasing play of grooms and stable-
boys. When a horse is tickled and pinched by thoughtless
and mischievous youths, he will first pretend to bite his tor-
mentors ; by degrees he will proceed farther, and actually bite
them, and very soon after that, he will be the first to challenge
to the combat, and, without provocation, seize some opportunity
to gripe the incautious tormentor. At length, as the love of
mischief is a propensity too easily acquired, this war, half play-
ful and half in earnest, becomes habitual to him, and degen-
erates into absolute viciousness.
It is seldom that anything can be done in the way of cure.
Kindness will aggravate the evil, and no degree of severity
will correct it. "I have seen," says Professor Stewart, " bilers
punished until they trembled in every joint, and were ready to
drop, but have never in any case known them cured by this
treatment, or by any other. The lash is forgotten in an hour,
and the horse is as ready and determined to repeat the offence
as before. He appears unable to resist the temptation, and in
its worst form biting is a species of insanity."
Prevention, however, is in the power of every proprietor of
horses. While he insists on gentle and humane treatment of
his cattle, he should systematically forbid this horse-play.
GETTING THE CHEEK OF THE BIT INTO THE MOUTH.
Some horses that are disposed to be mischievous try to do
this, and are very expert at it. They soon find what advantage
KICKING. 373
it gives them over their driver, who by this manoeuvre loses al-
most all command. Harsh treatment is here completely out of
the question. 4.11 that can he done, is, by some mechanical
contrivance, to render the thing difficult or impossible, and this
may be managed by fastening a round piece of leather on the
inside of the cheek of the bit.
KICKING.
This, as a vice, is another consequence of the culpable habit
of grooms and stable-boys of teasing the horse. That which is
at first an indication of annoyance at the pinching and tickling
of the groom, and without any design to injure, gradually be-
comes the expression of anger, and the effort to do mischief.
The horse likewise too soon recognizes the least appearance of
timidity, and takes advantage of the discovery. There is no
cure for this vice ; and he cannot be justified who keeps a kick-
ing horse in his stable.
Some horses acquire, from mere irritability and fidgetiness, a
habit of kicking at the stall or the bail, and particularly at
night. The neighboring horses are disturbed, and the kicker
gets swelled hocks, or some more serious injury. This is also
a habit very difficult to correct if suffered to become established
Mares are far more subject to it than horses.
Before the habit is inveterately established, a thorn-bush or a
piece of furze fastened against the partition or post will some-
times effect a cure. When the horse finds that he is pretty
severely pricked, he will not long continue to punish himself In
confirmed cases it may be necessary to have recourse to the log,
but the legs are often not a little bruised by it. A rather long
and heavy piece of wood attached to a chain has been buckled
above the hock, so as to reach about half-way down the leg.
When the horse attempts to kick violently, his leg will re-
ceive a severe blow : this, and the repetition of it, may, after
a time, teach him to be quiet.
A much more serious vice is kicking in harness. From the
least annoyance about the rump or quarters, some horses will
kick at a most violent rate, and destroy the bottom ol the chaise,
and endanger the limbs of the driver. Those that are fidgety
in the stable are most apt to do this. If the reins should per-
chance get under the tail, the violence of the kicker will often
be most outrageous ; and while the animal presses down his
tail so tightly that it is almost impossible to extricate the reins,
he continues to plunge until he has demolished everything behind
him.
This is a vice standing foremost in point of danger, and wnich
374 UNSTEADINESS WHILE BEING MOUNTED REARING,
no treatment will always conquer. It will be altogether in vain
to try coercion. If the shafts are very strong and without flaw,
or if they are plated with iron underneath, and a stout kicking-
Btrap resorted to which will barely allow the horse the proper
use of his hind limbs in progression, but not permit him to raise
them sufficiently for the purpose of kicking, he may be pre-
sented from doing mischief; or if he is harnessed to a heavy
cart, and thus confined, his efforts to lash out will be restrained :
but it is frequently a very unpleasant thing to witness these
attempts, though ineffectual, to demolish the vehicle, for the
shafts or the kicking-strap may possibly break, and extreme dan-
ger may ensue. A horse that has once begun to kick, whatever
may have been the original cause of it, can never be depended
upon again, and he will be very unwise who ventures behind
him. The man, however, who must come within reach of a
kicker should come as close to him as possible. The blow maj
thus become a push, and seldom is injurious.
UNSTEADINESS WHILE BEING MOUNTED.
When this merely amounts to eagerness to start — very un
pleasant, indeed, at times, for many a rider has been thrown
from his seat before he was fairly fixed in it — it may be
remedied by an active and good horseman. We have known
many instances in which, while the elderly, and inactive, and
fearful man has been making more than one ineftectual attempt
to vault into the saddle, the horse has been dancing about to his
annoyance and danger ; but the animal had no sooner been trans-
ferred to the management of a younger and more agile rider
than he became perfectly subdued. Severity will here, more
decidedly than in any other case, do harm. The rider should be
fearless — he should carelessly and confidently approach the horse,
mount at the first effort, and then restrain him for a while ;
patting him, and not suffering him to proceed until he becomes
perfectly quiet. Horses of this kind should not be too highly
fed, and should have sufficient daily exercise.
When the difficulty of mounting arises, not from eagerness to
start, but unwillingness to be ridden, the sooner that horse is
disposed of the better. He may be conquered by a skilful and
determined horseman ; but even he will not succeed without
frequent and dangerous contests that will mar all the pleasure
of the ride.
REARING.
This sometimes results from playfulness, carried indeed, to an
unpleasant and dangerous extent ; but it is oftener a desperate
RUNNING AWAY ^VICIOUS TO CLEAN. 375
and occasionally successful effort to unhorse the rider, and con so.
queutly a vice. The horse that has twice decidedly and danger
ously reared, should never be trusted again, unless, indeed, it was
the fault of the rider, who had been using a deep curb and a
sharp bit. Some of the best horses will contend against these
and then rearing may be immediately and permanently cured by
using a snaffle-bridle alone.
The horse-breaker's remedy, that of pulling the horse back-
ward on a soft piece of ground, should be practised by reckless
and brutal fellows alone. Many horses have been injured in the
spine, and others have broken their necks, by being thus suddenly
pulled over ; while even the fellow who fears no danger, is not
always able to extricate himself from the falling horse. If rear-
ing proceeds from vice, and is unjjrovoked by the bruising and
laceration of the mouth, it fully partakes of the inveteracy which
attends the other divisions of restiveness.
RUISTNING AWAY.
Some headstrong horses will occasionally endeavor to bolt with
the best rider. Others with their wonted sagacity endeavor thus
to dislodge the timid or unskilful one. Some are hard to hold.
or bolt only during the excitement of the chase ; others will run
away, prompted by a vicious propensity alone. There is no cer-
tain cure here. The method which affords any probabil-
ity of success is, to ride such a horse with a strong curb and
sharp bit ; to have him always firmly in hand ; and, if he will
run away, and the place will admit of it, to give him (sparing
neither curb, whip, nor spur) a great deal more rumiing than he
likes.
VICIOUS TO CLEAN.
It would scarcely be credited to what an extent this exists in
some horses that are otherwise perfectly quiet. It is only at great
hazard that they can be cleansed at all. The origin of this m
probably some maltreatment. There is, however, a great differ-
ence in the sensibility of the skin in different horses. Some seem
as if they could scarcely be made to feel the whip, while others
cannot bear a fly to light on them without an expression of an-
noyance. In young horses the skin is peculiarly delicate. If
they have been curried with a broken comb, or hardly rubbed
with an uneven brush, the recollection of the torture they have
felt makes them impatient, and even vicious, during every suc-
ceeding operation of the kind. Many grooms, likewise, seem to
delight in producmg these exhibitions of uneasiness and vice :
376 VICIOUS TO SHOE.
although, when they are carried a little too far, and at the liaz
ard of the limbs of the groom, the animals that have been almost
tutored into these expressions of irritation are brutally kicked and
punished.
This, however, is a vice that may be conquered. If the horse
is dressed with a lighter hand, and wisped rather than brushed,
and the places where the skin is most sensitive are avoided as
much as thorough cleanliness will allow, he will gradually lose
the recollection of former ill-treatment, and become tractable and
quiet.*
VICIOUS TO SHOE.
The correction of this is more peculiarly the business of the
smith ; yet the master should diligently concern himself with it,
for it is oftener the consequence of injudicious or bae usage than
of natural vice. It may be expected that there will be some dif
ficulty in shoeing a horse for the first few times. It is an opera-
tion that gives him a little uneasiness. The man to whom he is
most accustomed should go with him to the forge ; and if anothei
and steady horse is shod before him, he may be induced more
readily to submit. It cannot be denied that, after the habit of
resisting this necessary operation is formed, force may sometimes
be necessary to reduce our rebellious servant to obedience ; but
we unhesitatingly affirm that the majority of horses vicious to
shoe are rendered so by harsh usage, and by the pain of correc-
tion being added to the uneasiness of shoeing. It should be a
rule in every forge that no smith should be permitted to strike a
horse, much less to twitch or to gag him, without the master-far-
rier's order ; and that a young horse should never be twitched or
struck. There are few horses that may not be gradually ren-
dered manageable for this purpose by mildness and firmness in
the operator. They will soon understand that no harm is meant,
and they will not forget their usual habit of obedience ; but if
the remembrance of corporal punishment is connected with shoe-
ing, they will always be fidgety, and occasionally dangerous. t
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — In some instances the skin is so irritable that
the horse really endures a great deal of misery ever}' time he is cleaned,
besides expending a great deal of muscular exertion needlessly. The rem-
edy for this is very simple ; instead of being currycombed and wiped, he
should be simply washed over with warm water on his coming in warm
from a journey, then gently scraped and covered with a rug. The warmth
of the body will very soon dry the skin.
f Note by Mr. Spooner. — ^This is certainly a very bad vice, and one, in-
deed, that very materially diminishes the value of the horse, for it is a habit
that generally gets worse at each time of shoeing, ft is not so much the
kicking of the horse that is to be feared, but the animal will bear his whole
SWALLOWING WITHOUT GRINDING. 377
SWALLOWING WITHOUT GRINDING.
Horses have many unpleasant habits in the stable and on the
road, which cannot be said to amount to vice, but which mate-
rially lessen their value.
Some greedy horses habitually swallow their grain without
properly grinding it, and the power of digestion not being ade-
quate to the dissolving of the husk, no nutriment is extracted,
and the oats are voided whole. This is particularly the case
when horses of unequal appetite feed from the same manger.
The greedy one, in his eagerness to get more then his share, bolts
a portion of his grain whole. If the farmer, without considerable
inconvenience, could contrive that every horse shall have his
separate division of the manger, the one of smaller appetite and
slower feed would have the opportunity of grinding at his leisure,
without the fear of the greater share being stolen by his neigh-
boi-.
Some horses, however, are naturally greedy feeders, and will
not, even when alone, allow themselves time to chew or grind
their grain. In consequence of this they carry but little flesh,
and are not equal to severe work. If the rack was supplied with
hay when the grain was put into the manger, they will continue
to eat on, and their stomachs will become distended with half-
chewed and indigestible food. In consequence of this they v/ill
be incapable of considerable exertion for a long time after feed-
ing, and, occasionally, dangerous symptoms of staggers will
occur.
The remedy is, not to let such horses fast too long. The nose-
bag should be the companion of every considerable journey.
The food should likewise be of such a nature that it cannot be
rapidly bolted. Chaff should be plentifully mixed with the grain,
and, in some cases, and especially in horses of slow work, it should,
with the grain, constitute the whole of the food. This will be
treated on more at large under the article "Feeding."
In every case of this kind the teeth should be carefully exam-
ined. Some of them may be unduly lengthened, particularly the
first of the grinders : or they may be ragged at the edges, and
may abrade and wound the cheek. In the first place the horse
cannot properly masticate his food ; in the latter he will not ,
weight on the foot required to be shod, so that the smith is unable to lift it
up, or afterwards to support it ; besides which the animal will keep continu
ally kicking or endeavoring to get the foot away, to the imminent dangei
of the limbs of the unfortunate operative. This deplorable and vicious habit
is greatly increased, if not altogether produced, by rough usage at the early
shoeings, and it generally gets worse at each time of shoeing, so that the
horse is often rendered at last completely worthless
378 CRIB-BITING.
for these animals, as too often happens in sore-throat, would rathei
starve than put themselves to much pain.
CRIB-BITING.
This is a very unpleasant habit, and a considerable defect, al-
though riot so serious a one as some have represented. The horse
lays hold of the manger Avith his teeth, violently extends his neck,
and then, after some convulsive action of the throat, a slight
grunting is heard, accompanied by a sucking or drawing in of
air. It is not an eflbrt at simple eructation, arising from indiges-
tion. It is the inhalation of air. It is that which takes place
with all kinds of diet, and when the stomach is empty as well as
when it is full.
The effects of crib-biting are plain enough. The teeth are in-
jured and worn away, and that, in an old horse, to a very serious
degree. A considerable quantity of grain is often lost, for the
horse will frequently crib with his mouth full of it, and the
greater part will fall over the edge of the manger. Much
saliva escapes while the manger is thus forcibly held, the loss of
which must be of serious detriment in impairing the digestion.
The crib-biting horse is notoriously more subject to colic than
other horses, and to a species difficult of treatment and frequently
dangerous. Although many a crib-biter is stout and strong, and
capable of all ordinary work, these horses do not generally carry
so much flesh as others, and have not their endurance. On these
accounts crib-biting has very properly been decided to be un-
soundness We must not look to the state of the disease at the
time of purchase. The question is, does it exist at all ? A case
was tried before Lord Tenterden, and thus decided ; "a horse
with crib-biting is unsound."
It is one of those tricks which are exceedingly contagious.
Every companion of a crib-biter in the same stables is likely to
acquire the habit, and it is the most inveterate of all habits.
The edge of the manger will in vain be lined with iron, or with
sheej)-skin, or with sheep-skin covered with tar or aloes, or
any other unpleasant substance. In defiance of the annoyance
which these may occasion, the horse will persist in the attack on
his manger. A strap buckled tightly round the neck, by compress-
ing the wind-pipe, is the best means of preventing the possibility
of this trick ; but the strap must be constantly worn, and its
pressure is too apt to produce a worse affection, viz., an irritation
ai the windpipe, which terminates in roaring.
Some have recommended turning out for five or six months ;
but this has never succeeded except with a young horse, and then
rarely. The old crib-biter will employ the gate for the same
WIND-SUCKING CUTTING. 379
/
purpose as the edpe of his manger, and we have often seen him
galloping- across a field lor the mere object of having a gripe at
a rail. Medicine will be altogether thrown away in this case.
The only remedy is a muzzle, with bars across the bottom ;
sufficiently wide to enable the animal to pick up his corn and to
pull his hay, but not to grasp the edge of the manger. If this is
worn for a considerable period, the horse may be tired of attempt-
ing that which he cannot accomplish, and for a while forget the
habit, but in a majority of cases, the desire of crib-biting will re
turn with the power of gratifying it.
The causes of crib-biting are various, and some of them beyond
the control of the proprietor of the horse. It is often the result
of imitation ; but it is more frequently the consequence of idle-
ness. The high-fed and spirited horse must be in mischief if he
is not usefully employed. Sometimes, but we believe not often,
it is produced by partial starvation, whether in a bad straw-yard,
or from unpalatable food. An occasional cause of crib-biting is
the frequent custom of grooms, even when the weather is not
severe, of dressing them in the stable. The horse either catches
at the edge of the manger, or at that of the partition on each
side, if he has been turned, and thus he forms the habit of laying
hold of these substances on every occasion.
WIND-SUCK1N"G.
This bears a close analogy to crib-biting. It arises from the
same causes ; the same purpose is accomplished ; and the same
results follow. The horse stands with his neck bent ; his head
drawn inward ; his lips alternately a little opened and then
closed, and a noise is heard as if he were sucking. If we may
judge from the same comparative want of condition and the flat-
ulence which we have described under the last head, either some
portion of wind enters the stomach, or there is an injurious loss
of saliva. This diminishes the value of the horse almost as much
as crib-biting ; it is as contagious, and it is as inveterate. The
only remedies, and they will seldom avail, are tying the head up,
except when the horse is feeding, or putting on a muzzle with
sharp spikes towards the neck, and which will prick him when-
ever he attempts to rein his head in for the purpose of wind-
sucking,
CUTTING.
Of this habit, mention has been made at page 266 ; and we
would advise the owner of a cutting horse, without trying any
previous experiments of raising or lowering the heels, to put on
380 NOT LYING DOWN OVERREACH PAWING.
the cutting foot a shoe of even thickness from heel to toe, not pro
jectins: ID the shghtest degree be5^ond the crust, and the crust it
self" being rasped a little at the quarters. The shoe should be fas-
tened as usual, on the outside, but with only one nail on the in
side, and that almost close to the toe. The principle on which
this shoe acts, has been explained at page 350
N^OT LYING DOWN.
It not uncommonly happens that a horse will seldom or never
lie down in the stable. He sometimes continues in apparent
good health, and feeds and works well ; but generally his legs
swell, or he becomes fatigued sooner than another horse. If it
is impossible to let him loose in the saddle, or to put him into a
spare box, we know not what is to be done. No means, gentle or
cruel, will force him to lie down. The secret is that he is tied
up, and either has never dared to lie down through fear of the
confinement of the halter, or he has been cast in the night and
severely injured. If he can be suffered to range the stable, or
have a comfortable box in which he may be loose, he will usually
lie down the first night. Some few horses, however, will lie
down in the stable, and not in a loose box. A fresh, well made
bed, will generally tempt the tired horse to refresh himself with
sleep.*
OVERREACH.
This unpleasant noise, known also by the term "clicking,"
arises from the toe of the hind-foot knocking against the shoe of
the fore-foot. The consequences of it, and the treatment of the
wounds resulting from it, have been sufficently given on page 320
If the animal is young, the action of the horse may be materi-
ally improved ; otherwise nothing can be done, except to keep the
toe of the hind foot as short and as round as it can safely be, and
to bevel off and round the toe of the shoe, like that which has
been worn off by a stumbling horse, and perhaps, to lower the
heel of the fore-foot a little.
PAWING.
Some hot and irritable horses are restless even in the stable,
and paw frequently and violently. Their litter is destroyed, the
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — It should not be forgotten that the basis of sup-
port afforded by the four extremities is so considerable in the horse, that he
is able to sleep in a standing position, and we have known some horses pre-
serve their health, strength, and condition, although they have never been
Known to lie down. At the same time, it must be confessed that an anima!
that will quietly lie down and take his rest, generally preserves his condi
tion, and is better fitted for exertion.
QUIDDING ROLLING SHYING. 381
floor of the stable broken up, the shoes worn out, the feet bruised,
and the legs sometimes sprained. If this habit does not exist to
any great extent, yet the stable never looks well. Shackles are
the only remedy, with a chain sufficiently long to enable the horse
to shift his posture, or move in his stall ; but these must be taken
off at night, otherwise the animal will seldom lie down. Ex-
cept, however, the horse possesses peculiar value, it will be better
to dispose of him at once, than to submit to the danger and incon-
venience that he may occasion.
QUIDDING.
A horse will sometimes partly chew his hay, and suffer it to
drop from his mouth. If this does not proceed from irregular
teeth, which it will be the business of the veterinary surgeon to
rasp down, it will be found to be connected with sore-throat, and
then the horse, will exhibit some other symptoms of indisposition,
and particularly, the swallowing of water will be accompanied by
a peculiar gulping effort. In this case, the disease (catarrh, with
Bore-throat) must be attacked, and the quidding will cease.
ROLLING.
This is a very pleasant and perfectly safe amusement for a
horse at grass, but cannot be indulged in the stable without the
chance of his being dangerously entangled with the collar-rein
(halter) and being cast. Yet, although the horse is cast, and
bruised, and hali-strangled, he will roll again on the following
night and continue to do so as long as he lives. The only remedy
is not a very pleasant one lor the horse, nor always quite safe ;
yet it must be had recourse to, if the habit of rolling is inveter-
ate. " The horse," says Mr. Castley, " should be tied with length
enough of halter to lie down, but not to allow of his head resting
on the ground ; because, in order to roll over, a horse is obliged
to place his head quite down upon the ground." *
SHYING.
We have briefly treated of the cause of this vice at page 66,
and observed that while it is often the result of cowardice, or
playfulness, or want of work, it is at other times the consequence
of a defect of sight. It has been remarked, and we believe very
truly, that shying is oftener a vice of half or quarter-bred horses,
than of those who have in them more of the genuine racing blood.
In the tieatment of shying, is it of great importance to distin-
guish between that which is the consequence of defective sight.
382 SHYING.
and wliat results from fear, or newness of objects, or mere affec-
tation or skittishness. For the first, the nature of which we have
explained at page 66, every allowance must be made, and care
must be taken that the fear of correction is not associated with the
imagined existence of some terrifying object. The severe use of
the whip and the spur cannot do good here, and are likely to ag-
gravate the vice ten-fold. A word half encouraging and half
scolding, with a slight pressure of the heel, or a slight touch of
the spur, will tell the horse that there was nothing to fear, and
will give him confidence in his rider on a future occasion.
The shying from skittishness or affectation is quite a different
affair, and must be conquered : but how ? Severity is altogether
out of place. If he is forced into contact with the object by dint
of correction, the dread of punishment will afterwards be associ-
ated with that object, and, on the next occasion, his startings will
be more frequent and more dangerous. The way to cure him is
to go on, turning as little as possible out of the road, giving a
harsh word or two, and a gentle touch with the spur, and then
taking no more notice of the matter. After a few times, what-
ever may have been the object which he chose to select as the
pretended cause of aflright, he will pass it almost without notice.
In page 243, under the head "breaking in," we described how
the colt may be cured of the habit of shying from fear or newness
of objects-; and, if he then is accustomed as much as possible to
the objects among which his services will be required, he will not
possess this annoying vice when he grows to maturer age.
It is now generally admitted by all riding-masters and colt-
breakers, that a great deal more is to be effected by lenient than
by harsh treatment. Rewards are found to operate more benefi-
cially than punishments ; and therefore the most scientific and
practised riding-masters adopt methods based upon the former.
Let us not be understood to mean that the animal is to receive
any encouragement to shy ; for by no other expression can be
characterized that erroneous and foolish practice of patting the
horse, or "making much of him," either just before or during the
time he evinces shyness. The former is bad, because it draws the
attention of the animal to the object he dreads ; the latter if
worse, because it fills him with the impression either that the ob-
ject itself is really terrific, or that he has acted right in shying at
it, and ought to do so again.
Whether we are approaching the frightful object, or the horse
is actually shying, " we should let him alone" — " we should take
no notice whatever of him" — neither letting him perceive that
we are aware that we are advancing towards anything he dis-
likes ; nor do more Avith him, while in the act of shying, than is
necessary for due restraint with a steady hand upon the rein. We
SLIPPING THE HALTEB, 383
may depend upon it, tliat battling on our part will only serve to
augment affright and arouse resistance on his, and that the most
judicious course we can pursue is to persevere in mild forbearant
usage.
Skying on coming out of the stable is a habit that can rarely
or never be cured. It proceeds from the remembrance of some
ill-usage or hurt which the animal has received in the act of pro-
ceeding from the stable, such as striking his head against a low
-door- way, or entangling the harness.
When the cure, however, is early attempted, it may be so far
overcome that it will be unattended with danger or difficulty.
The horse should be bridled when led out or in. He should be
held short and tight by the head, that he may feel he has not lib-
erty to make a leap, and this of itself is often sufficient to restrain
him. Punishment, or a threat of punishment, Vv^ill be highly im-
proper. It is only timid or high-spirited horses that acquire this
habit, and rough usage invariably increases their agitation and
terror. =^
SLIPPING THE COLLAR OR, HALTER.
This is a trick at which many horses are so clever, that scarcely
a night passes without their getting loose. It is a very serious
habit, for it enables the horse sometimes to gorge himself with
food, to the imminent danger of staggers ; or it exposes him, as he
* Note hy Mr. Spooncr. — This %dce or habit — for it ranges between the
one and the other — exists in every variety of degree. There are more horses
that shy than do not: when the practice exists in a shght degree, it is a mat-
ter of no consequence, but when the animal, instead of merely looking at the
object of alarm and dwelling a little in his pace as he approaches it, stops
suddenly, or turns round, or swerves considerably, the habit becomes a dan-
gerous vice, and is exceedingly objectionable. There is more affectation
than real fear about this habit, the horse making use of every unusual ob-
ject as an excuse for the indulgence of his skittishness, or his obstinacy.
There are often some strange eccentricities connected with it. Horses will
often pass a frightful object without the least fear ; but if, perchance, there
is a puddle in the road, or a stick of tiuiber lying beside it, imagination ap-
pears to paint the object in the most hideous colors or portentous forms.
Horses shy most in the country, where there are but few objects to meet ;
and they rarely exhibit this propensity in the crowded streets of the metro-
polis. The objects are there far too numerous to allow an excuse for shying,
or would soon weary them of the habit ; indeed tl e very best method of
curing the vice is to use the animal in crowded streets. Though shying is
often connected with impei'fect vision, it is I'arely produced by actual disease,
and, therefore, its existence does not augur unsound eyes. Too great con-
vexity of the eye is certainly often connected with shying, so that objects are
refracted too quickly, and thus are imperfectly painted on the retina.
Shying horses are frequently made much worse by rough usage ; instead
of which they should always be treated with gentleness and firmncPB, which
eystem, in many iLstances, wiU succeed in effecting a cure.
384 TRIPPING WEAVING.
wanders about, to be kicked and injured by the other horses, wliile
his restlessness will often keep the whole team awake. If the web
of the halter, being first accurately fitted to his neck, is suflered
to slip only one way, or a strap is attached to the halter and
buckled round the neck, but not sufficiently tight to be of serious
inconvenience, the power of slipping the collar will be taken
away.
TRIPPING.
He must be a skilful practitioner or a mere pretender who
promises to remedy this habit. If it arises from a heavy fore-hand,
and the fore-legs being too much under the horse, no one can al-
ter the natural frame of the animal : if it proceeds from tender-
ness of the foot, grogginess, or old lameness, these ailments are
seldom cured. Also if it is to be traced to habitual carelessness
and idleness, no whipping will rouse the drone. A known stum-
bler should never be ridden, or driven by any one who values his
safety or his life. A tight hand or a strong-bearing rein are pre-
cautions that should not be neglected, although they are generally
of little avail ; for the inveterate stumbler will rarely be able to
save, himself, and this tight rein may sooner and farther precipi-
tate the rider. If, after a trip, the horse suddenly starts forward,
and endeavors to break into a short trot or canter, the rider or
driver may be assured that others before him have fruitlessly en-
deavored to remedy the nuisance.
If the stumbler has the foot kept as short, and the toe pared as
close as safety will permit, and the shoe is rounded at the toe, or
has that shape given to it which it naturally acquires in a fort-
night from the peculiar action of such a horse, the animal may
not stumble quite so much ; or if the disease which produced the
habit can be alleviated, some trifling good may be done, but in
almost every case a stumbler should be got rid of, or put to slow
and heavy work. If the latter alternative is adopted, he may trip
as m.uch as he pleases, for the weight of the load and the motion
of the other horses will keep him upon his legs.
WEAVING
This consists in a motion of the head, neck, and body, from side
to side, like the shuttle of a weaver passing through the web, and
hence the name which is given to this peculiar, and incessant, and
unpleasant action. It indicates an impatient, irritable temper,
and a disliite to the confinement of the stable. A horse that is
thus incessantly on the fret will seldom carry flesh, or be safe to
ride or drive. There is no cure for it, but the close tying-up of
the animal, or at least allowing him but one loose rein, except a*,
feeding-time.
CHAPTER XX.
THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE HORSE.
This is a most important part of our subject, even as it re-
gards the farmer, although there are comparatively few glaring
errors in the treatment of the agricultural horse ; but it comes
more especially home to the gentleman, who is too often, and
too implicitly, under the guidance of an idle, and ignorant, and
designing groom.
We will arrange the most important points of general man-
agement under the following heads : —
AIR.
The breathing of pure air is necessary to the existence and
the health of man and beast. It is comparatively lately that
this has been admitted even in the management of our best sta-
bles. They have been close, and hot, and foul, instead of airy,
and cool, and wholesome.
• The stable should be as large, compared with the number of
horses that it is destined to contain, as circumstances will allow.
A stable for six horses should not be less than forty feet in length,
and thirteen or fourteen feet wide.^ If there is no loft above, the
inside of the roof should always be plastered in order to prevent
direct currents of air and occasional droppings from broken tiles.
The heated and foul air should escape, and cool and pure air be
admitted, by elevation of the central tiles ; or by large tubes car-
ried through the roof, with caps a little above them, to prevent
the beating in of the rain ; or by gratings placed high up in th<f
walls. These latter apertures should be as far above the horses
as they can conveniently be placed, by which means all injuri-
ous draught will be prevented.
If there is a loft above the stable, the ceiling should be plas-
tered, in order to prevent the foul air from penetrating to the
hay above, and injuring both its taste and its wholesomeness ;
* It will be borne in mind that the iiuthor is speaking of the clos4»
itone or brick stables of England, — Am. Ed.
25 Q
dS6 AIR.
and no openings should be allowed above the racks, through
which the hay may be thrown into them ; for they will permit
the foul air to ascend to the provender, and also in the act of
filling the rack, and while the horse is eagerly gazing upward
for his food, a grass seed may fall into the eye, and produce con-
siderable infiammation. At other times, when the careless groom
has left open the trap-door, a stream of cold air beats down on
the head of the horse.
The stable with a loft over it should never be less than twelve
feet high, and proper ventilation should be secured, either -by
tubes carried through the roof, or by gratings close to the ceil-
ing. These gratings or openings should be enlarged or con-
tracted by means of a covering or shutter, so that spring, sum-
mer, and autumn, the stable may possess nearly the same tem-
perature with the open air, and in winter a temperature of net
more than ten degrees above that of the external atmosphere.
A hot stable has, in the mind of the groom, been long connected
with a glossy coat. The latter, it is thought, cannot be obtained
without tlie Ibrmer.
To this we should reply, that in winter a thin, glossy coat is
not desirable. Nature gives to every animal a warmer clothing
when the cold weather approaches. The horse — the agricul-
tural horse especially — acquires a thicker and a lengthened coat,
in order to defend him from the surrounding cold. Man puts
on an additional and a warmer covering, and his comfort is in-
creased and his health preserved by it. He who knows any-
thing of the farmer's horse, or cares about his enjoyment, will
not object to a coat a little longer, and a little roughened when
the wintry wind blows bleak. The coat, however, needs not to b^
So long as to be unsightly ; and warm clothing, even in a cool stable,
will, with plenty of honest grooming, keep the hair sufficiently
smooth an'^ giossy to satisfy the most fastidious. The over-heated
air of a io»e stable saves much of this grooming, and therefore
the id^ attendant unscrupulously sacrifices the health and safety
of ^ e horse. When we have presently to treat of the hair
ail I skin of the horse, this will be placed in a somiewhat diirerent
point of view.
If the stable is close, the air will not only be hot, but foul.
The breathing of every animal contaminates it ; and when,
in the course of the night, with every aperture stopped, it passes
again and again through the lungs, the blood cannot undergo its
proper and healthy change ; digestion will not be so perfectly per-
formed, and all tlie functions of life are injured. Let the owner
of a valuable horse think of his passing twenty or tvveiity-two
out of the twenty-four hours in this debilitating atmosphere !
Nature does wonders in enabling every animal to accommodate
AIR— L- ITER. 387
itself to the situation in which it is placed, and the horse that
lives in the stable-oven suffers less from it than w^ould scarcely
be conceived possible ; but he does not, and cannot, possess the
power and the hardihood which he would acquire under other
circumstances.
The air oi' the improperly close and heated stable is still fur-
ther contaminated by the urine and dung, which rapidly ferment
there, and give out stimulating and unwholesome vapors. When
a person first enters an ill-managed stable, and especially early]
hi the morning, he is annoyed, not only by the heat of the con-
fined air, but by a pungent smell, resembling hartshorn ; and can
he be surprised at the inflammation of the eyes, and the chronic
cough, and the disease of the lungs, by which the animal, who
has been all night shut up in this vitiated atmosphere, is often
attacked ; or if glanders and farcy should occasionally break out
m such stables ? It has been ascertained by chemical experi-
ment that the urine of the horse contains in it an exceedingly
large quantity of hartshorn ; 'and not only so, but that, influenced
by the heat of a crowded stable, and possibly by other decompo-
sitions that are going forward at the same time, this ammoniacal
vapor begins to be rapidly given out almost immediately after
the urine is voided.
When disease begins to appear among the inhabitants of these
ill-ventilated places, is it wonderful that it should rapidly spread
among them, and, that the plague-spot should be, as it were,
placed on the door of such a stable ? When distemper appears
in spring or in autumn, it is in very many cases to be traced to
such a pest-house. It is peculiarly fatal there. The horses be-
longing to a small establishment, and rationally treated, have it
comparatively seldom, or have it lightly ; but among the inmates
of a crowded stable it is sure to display itself, and there it is most
fatal. The experience of every veterinary surgeon, and of every
large proprietor of horses, will corroborate this statement.
Every stable should possess within itself" a certain degree of
ventilation. The cost of this would be trifling, and its saving in
the preservation of valuable animals may be immense. The
apertures need not be large, and the whole may be so contrived
that no direct current of air shall fall on the horse.
A gentleman's stable should never be without a thermometer.
The temperature should seldom exceed 70^ in the summer, or sink
below 40 or 50 ' in the winter.
LITTER.
Having spoken of the vapor of hartshorn, which is so rapidly
and so nientil'ully given out Ironi the urine of a horse in a heated
388 LIGHT.
stable, we next take into consideration the subject of litter. The
first caution is frequently to remove it. The early extrication of
gas shows the rapid putrefaction of the urine ; and the conse-
quence of which will be the rapid putrefaction of the litter that
has been moistened by it. Everything hastening to decomposition
should be carefully removed where life and health are to be pre-
served. The litter that has been much wetted or at all softened
oy the urine, and is beginning to decay, should be swept away
every morning ; the greater part of the remainder may then be
piled under the manger ; a little being left to prevent the painful
and injurious pressure of the feet on the hard pavement during
the day. The soiled and soaked portion of that whicii was left
should be removed at night. In the better kind of stables, how-
ever, the stalls should be completely emptied every morning.
No heap of fermenthig dung should be suffered to remain dur-
ing the day in the corner or in any part of tiie stable. With re-
gard to tins, the directions of the master should be peremptory.
The stable should be so contrived that the urine shall quickly
run off, and the offensive and injurious vapor from the decom-
posing fluid and the litter will thus be materially lessened, but if
this is effected by means of gutters and a descending floor, the
descent must be barely sufficient to cause the fluid to escape, as
if the toes are kept higher than the heels, it will lead to lame-
ness, and is also a frequent cause of contraction of the foot. Stalls
of this kind certainly do best for mares ; but for horses we much
prefer those with a grating in the centre, and a slight inclination
of the floor on every side towards the middle. A short branch
may communicate with a larger drain, by means of which the
urine may be carried oft^ to a reservoir outside the stable. Traps
are now contrived, and may be procured at little expense, by
means of which neither any offensive smell nor current of air can
pass through the grating.
Humanity and interest, as well as the appearance of the stable,
should induce the proprietor of the horse to place a moderate
quantity of litter under him during the day.^
LIGHT.
This neglected branch of stable-management is of far more
consequence than is generally imagined ; and it is particularly
neglected by those for whom these treatises are principally de-
signed. The farmer's stable is frequently destitute of any glazed
window, and has only a shutter, which is raised in warm weather,
and closed when the weather becomes cold. When the horse is
* It will be remembered the author is speaking of paved floors. — Am. Ed.
GROOMING. 389
in the stable only during a few hours in the day, this is not of so
much consequence, nor of so much, probably, with regard to horses
of slow work ; but to carriage-horses and hackneys, so far, at least,
as the eyes are concerned, a dark stable is little less injurious thaA
a foul and heated one. In order to illustrate this, relerence may
be made to the unpleasant feeling, and the utter impossibility of
seeing distinctly, when a man suddenly emerges from a dark place
into the full blaze of day. The sensation of mingled pain and
giddiness is not soon forgotten ; and some minutes pass before the
eye can accommodate itself to the increased light. If this were
to happen every day, or several times in the day, the sight would
be irreparably injured, or possibly blindness would ensue. Can
we wonder, then, that the horse, taken irom a dark stable into a
glare of light, feeling, probably, as we should do under similar
circumstances, and unable for a considerable time to see anything
around him distinctly, should become a starter, or that the fre
quently repeated violent effect of sudden light should induce in-
flammation of the eye so intense as to terminate in blindness ?
There is, indeed, no doubt that horses kept in dark stables are
frequently notorious starters, and that abominable habit has been
properly traced to this cause.
If plenty of light is admitted, the walls of the stable, and es-
pecially that portion of them which is before the horse's head,
must not be of too glaring a color. The color of the stable should
depend on the quantity of light. Where much can be admitted,
the walls should be of a gray hue. Where darkness would other-
wise prevail, frequent whitewashing may in some degree dissipate
the gloom.
For another reason, it will be evident that the stable should not
possess too glaring a light : it is the resting-place of the horse.
The work of the farmer's horse, indeed, is confined principally to
the day. The hour of exertion having passed, the animal returns
to his stable to feed and to repose, and the latter is as necessary
as the former, in order to prepare him for renewed work. Some-
thing approaching to the dimness of twilight is requisite to induce
the animal to compose himself to sleep. This half-light more
particularly suits horses of heavy work. In the quietness of a
dimly-lighted stable, they obtain repose, aiid accumulate flesh and
fat.
GROOMmG.
Of this, much need not be said to the agriculturist, since cus-
tom, and apparently without ill effect, has allotted so little of the
comb and brush to the farmer's horse. The animal that is worked
all day, and turned out at night, requires httle more to be done
390 GROOMING.
to him than to have the dirt brushed off his limhs. Regular
g-rooming, by rendering his skin more sensible to the alteration of
temperature, and the inclemency of the weather, would be preju-
dicial. The horse that is altogether turned out, needs no groom-
ing. The dandriff, or scurf, which accumulates at the roots of
the hair, is a provision of nature to defend him from the wind
and the cold.
It is to the stabled horse, highly fed, and little or irregularly
worked, that grooming is of so much consequence. Good rubbing
with the brush, or the curry-comb, opens the pores of the skin,
circulates the blood to the extremities of the body, produces free
and healthy perspiration, and stands in the room of exercise. No
horse will carry a fine coat without either unnatural heat or
dressing. They both effect the same purpose ; they both increase
the insensible perspiration : but the first does it at the expense of
health and strength, while the second, at the same time that it
produces a glow on the skin, and a determination of blood to it,
rouses all the energies of the frame. It would be well for the
proprietor of the horse if he were to insist — and to see that his
orders are really obeyed — that the fine coat in which he and his
groom so much delight, is produced by honest rubbing, and not
by a heated stable and thick clothing, and most of all, not by
ist-Tfiulating or injurious spices. The horse should be regularly
^ressed every day, in addition to the grooming that is necessary
after work.
When the weather will permit the horse to be taken out, he
should never be groomed in the stable, unless he is an animal of
peculiar value, or placed for a time under peculiar circumstances.
Without dwelling on the want of cleanliness, when the scurf and
dust that are brushed from the horse lodge in his manger, and
mingle with his food, experience teaches, that if the cold is not
too great, the animal is braced and invigorated to a degree that
cannot be attained in the stable, from being dressed in the open
air. There is no necessity, however, for half the punishment
which many a groom inflicts upon the horse in the act of dressing ;
and particularly on one whose skin is thin and sensible. The
curry-comb should at all times be lightly applied. With many
horses, its use may be almost dispensed with ; and even the brush
needs not to be so hard, nor the points of the bristles so irregular,
as they often are. A soft brush, with a little more weight of the
hand, will be equally eflectual, and a great deal more pleasant to
the horse, A hair-cloth, while it will seldom irritate and tease,
will be almost sufficient with horses that have a thin skin, and
that have not been neglected. After all, it is no slight task to
dress a horse as it ought to be done. It occupies no little time,
and demands considerable patience, as well as dexterity- It will
EXERCISE. 391
be readily ascertained whether a horse has been well dressed by
mbbing him with one of the fingers. A greasy stain will detect
the idleness oi" the groom When, however, tiie horse is chang-
ing his coat, both the curry-comb and the brush should be ;"ised
as lightly as possible.
Whoever would be convinced of the benefit of friction to the
horse's skin, and to the horse generally, needs only to observe the
efiects produced by well hand-rubbing the legs of a tired horse.
While every enlargement subsides, and the painful stiffness dis-
appears, and the legs attain their natural warmth, and become
fine, the animal is evidently and rapidly reviving ; he attacks his
food with appetite, and then quietly lies down to rest.
EXERCISE.
Our observations on this important branch of stable-manage
ment must have only a slight reference to the agricultural horse.
His work is usually regular, and not exhausting. He is neither
predisposed to disease by idleness, nor worn out by excessive ex-
ertion. He, like his master, has enough to do to keep him in
health, and not enough to distress or injure him : on the contrary,
the regularity of his work prolongs life to an extent rarely wit-
nessed in the stable of the gentleman. Our remarks on exercise,
then, must have a general bearing, or have principal reference to
those persons who are in the middle stations oi" liie, and who con-
trive to keep a horse for business or pleasure, but cannot afford to
maintain a servant for the express purpose of looking after it. The
first rule we would lay down is, that every horse should have
daily exercise. The animal that, with the usual stable feeding
stands idle for three or four days, as is the case in many establish
ments, must suffer. He is predisposed to fever-, or to grease, oi
most of all, diseases of the foot ; and if, after three or four day&
of inactivity, he is ridden far and fast, he is almost sure to have
inflammation of the lungs or of the feet.
A gentleman's or a tradesman's horse suffers a great dealmoTe
from idleness than he does from work. A stable-fed horse should
have two hours' exercise every day, if he is to be kept free from
disease. Nothing of extraordinary, or even of ordinary labor, can
be effected on the road or in the field, without sufficient and reg-
ular exercise. It is this alone which can give energy to the sys-
tem, or develope the powers of any animal.
In training the hunter and the race-horse, regular exercise is
the most important of all considerations, however it may be for-
gotten in the usual management of the stable. The exercised
horse will discharge his task, and sometimes a severe one, with
ease and pleasure ; while the idle and neglected one will be
392 FOOD.
laliiriied ere half his labor is accomplished, and, if he is pushed 9
little too far, dangerous inflammation will ensue. How often, nev
erthclcss, does it happen, that the horse which has stood inactive ir
the stable three or four days, is ridden or driven thirty or forty mile."
in the course of a single day I This rest is often purposely given to
prejjare for extra-exertion ; — to lay in a stock of strength for the
performance of the task required of him : and then the owner is
surprised and dissatisfied if the animal is fairly knocked up, or
possibly becomes seriously ill. Nothing is so common and so pre-
posterous, as for a person to buy a horse from a dealer's stable,
where he has' been idly fattened lor sale for many a day, and im-
mediately to give him a long run after the hounds, and then to
complain bitterly, and think that he has been imposed upon, if the
animal is exhausted before the end of the chase, or is compelled
to be led home sufiering from violent inflammation. Regular and
gradually increasing exercise would have made the same horse
appear a treasure to his owner.
Exercise should be somewhat proportioned to the age of the
horse, A young horse requires more than an old one. Nature
has given to young animals of every kind a disposition to activity ,
but the exercise must not be violent. A great deal depends upon
the manner in which it is given. To preserve the temper, and
to promote health, it should be moderate, at least at the beginning
and the termination. The rapid trot, or even the gallop, may be
resorted to in the middle of the exercise, but the horse should be
brought in cool.
FOOD.
The system of manger-feeding is becoming general among farm
ers. There are few horses that do not habitually waste a portion
of their hay ; and by some the greater part is pulled down and
trampled under foot, in order first to cull the sweetest and best
locks, and which could not be done while the hay was enclosed
in the rack. A good feeder will afterwards pick up much of that
which was thrown down ; but some of it must be soiled and ren-
dered disgusting, and, in many cases, one-third of this division of
their food is wasted. JSome of the oats and beans are imperfectly
chewed by all horses, and scarcely at all by hungry and greedy
ones. The appearance of the dung will sufficiently evince this.
The observation of this induced the adoption of manger-feeding..
or of mixing a portion ofchafi'(i. e., cut feed) with the grain and
beans By this means the animal is compelled to chew his food •
he cannot, to any great degree, waste the straw or hay ; the chafl
is too hard and too sharp to be swallowed without sufficient mas-
tication, and while he is forced to grind that down, the oats and
Fooii. 303
beans are jrround with it, and yield more nourishment ; the stom-
ach is more slowly tilled, and therefore acts better on its contents,
and is not so likely to be overloaded ; and the increased qnautity
of saliva thrown out in the lengthened maceration of the ibod,
softens it, and makes it more fit for digestion.
Chafi' may be composed of equal quantities of clov(3r or meadow
hay, and wheaten, oaten, or barley straw, cut into pieces of a
quarter or half an inch in length, and mingled well together ;
the allowance of oats or beans is afterwards added, and mixed with
the chaff. Many farmers very properly bruise the oats or beans.
The whole oat is apt to slip out of the chaff and be lost ; but when
it is bruised, and especially if the chaff is a little wetted, it will
not readily separate ; or, should a portion of it escape the grind-
ers, it will be partly prepared lor digestion by the act of bruising.
The prejudice against bruising the oats is, so far as the farmer's
horse, and the wagon horse, and every horscj of slow draught,
are concerned, altogether unfounded. The quantity of straw in
the chaff will always counteract any supposed purgative quality
in bruised oats. Horses of quicker draught, except they are nat-
urally disposed to scour, will thrive better with bruised than with
whole oats ; for a greater quantity of nutriment will be extracted
from the food, and it will always be easy to apportion the quan-
tity of straw or beans to tlie efiect of the mixture on the bowels
of the horse. The principal alteration that should be made in the
horse of harder and more rapid work, such as the post-horse, and the
stage-coach horse, is to increase the quantity of hay, and diminish
that of straw. Two trusses of hay may be cut with one of straw.
Some gentlemen, in defiance of the prejudice and opposition of
the coachman or the groom, have introduced this mode of ieeding
into the stables of their carriage-horses and hackneys, and with
manifest advantage. There has been no loss of condition or power,
and considerable saving of provender. This system is not, how-
ever, calculated for the hunter or the race-horse. Their food must
lie in smaller bulk, in order that the action of the lungs may not
be impeded by the distention of the stomach ; yet many hunters
have gone well over the field who have been manger-fed, the pro-
portion of grain, however, being materially increased.
For the agricultural and cart-horse, eight pounds of oats and
two of beans should be added to every twenty pounds of chaff.
Thirty-four or thirty-six pounds of the mixture will be suflicieni
for any moderate-sized horse, with fair, or even hard work. The
dray and wagon horse may require forty pounds. Hay in the
rack at night is, in this case, supposed to be omitted altogether
The rack, however, may remain, as occasionally useful for the
sick horse, or to contain tares or other green feed.
Horses are very fond of this provender. The majority of them,
q
394 FOOD.
after having been accustomed to it, will leave the best oats given
to them alone, for the sake of the mingled chaff and grain. We
would, however, caution the farmer not to set apart too much
damaged hay for the manufacture of the chaff. The horse may
be thus induced to eat that which he would otherwise refuse ;
but if the nourishing property of the hay has been impaired, or
it has acquired an injurious principle, the animal will either lose
condition, or become diseased. Much more injury is done by eat-
ing damaged hay or musty oats than is generally imagined.
There will be sufficient saving in the diminished cost of the
provender by the introduction of the straw, and the improved
condition of the horse, without poisoning him with the refuse of
the farm. For old horses, and for those with defective teeth,
chaff is peculiarly useful, and for them the grain should be bro-
ken down as well as the fodder.
While the mixture of chaff with the grain prevents it from
being too rapidly devoured and a portion of it swallowed whole,
and therefore the stomach is not too loaded with that on which,
as containing the most nutiiment, its chief digestive power should
be exerted, yet, on the whole, a grea"^. deal of time is gained by
this mode of feeding, and more is left for rest. When a horse
comes i]i wearied at the close of the day, it occupies, after he has
eaten his grain, two or three hours to clear his rack. On the
system of manger-feeding, the chaff being already cut into small
pieces, and the beans and oats bruised, he is able fully to satisfy
his appetite in an hour and a half Two additional hours are
therefore devoted to rest. This is a circumstance deserving of
much consideration even in the farmer's stable, and of immense
consequeace to the post-master, the stage-coach proprietor, and
the ov/ner of every hard worked horse.
Manger food will be the usual support of the farmer's horse
during the winter, and while at constant or occasional hard
work • but from the middle of April to the end of July, he may
be fed with this mixture in the day and turned out at night, or
he may remain out during every rest-day. A team in constant
employ should not, however, be suffered to be out at night after
the end of July.
The farmer should take care that the pasture is thick and
good ; and that the distance from the yard is not too great, or
the fields too large, otherwise a very considerable portion of time
will be occupied in catching the horse in the morning. He will hke-
wise have to take into consideration the sale he would have for his
hay, and the necessity for sweet and untrodden pasture for his
cattle. On the whole, however, turuino: out in this way, when
cicrumstances wdll admit of it, will be found to be m.ore beneficjaj
for :,he horse, and cheaper than soiling in the yard.
FOOD. 395
The horse of the inferior farmer is sometimes fed on hay or
grass alone, and the animal, although he rarely gets a feed of
grain, maintains himself in tolerable condition, and does the work
that is required of him : but hay and grass alone, however good
ni quality, or in whatever quantity allowed, will not support a
horse under hard work. Other substances containing a large
proportion of nutriment in a smaller compass, have been added.
They shall be briefly enumerated, and an estimate formed of their
comjDarative value.
In almost every part. of Great Britain, Oats have been selected
as that portion of the food which is to aflbrd the principal nour-
ishment. They contain seven hundred and forty-three parts out
of a thousand of the nutritive matter. They should be about or
somewhat less than a year old, heavy, dry, and sweet. New
oats will weigh ten or fifteen per cent, more than old ones ;
but the diflerence consists principally in watery matter, which is
gradually evaporated. New oats are not so readily ground down
by the teeth as old ones. They form a more glutinous mass, dif-
ficult to digest, and, when eaten in considerable quantities, are apt
to occasion colic and even staggers. If they are to be used before
they are from three to five months old, they would be materi-
ally improved by a little kiln-dr}dng. There is no fear for the
horses from simple drying, if the corn was good when it was put
into the kiln. The old oat forms, when chewed, a smooth and
uniform mass, which readily dissolves in the stomach, and yield?
the nourishment which it contains. Perhaps some chemical
change may have been slowly eflected in the old oat, disposing it
to be more readily assimilated. Oats should be plump, bright in
color, and free from unpleasant smell or taste. The musty smell
of wetted or damaged grain is produced by a fungus which grows
upon the seed, and which has an injurious efibct on the urinary
organs, and often on the intestines, producing profuse staling, in-
flammation of the kidneys, colic, and inflammation of" the bowels.
This musty smell is removed by kiln-drying the oat ; but care
is here requisite that too great a degree of heat is not employed.
It should be sufficient to destroy the fungus without injuring the
life of the seed. A considerable improvement would be effected
by cutting the unthrashed oat-straw into chaff, and the expense
of thrashing would be saved. Oat-straw is better than that of
barley, but does not contain so much nutriment as that of wheat
When the horse is fed on hay and oats, the quantity of the oats
must vary with his size and the work to be performed. In win-
ter, four feeds, or from ten to fourteen j)ounds of oats in the day,
will be a fair allowance for a horse of fifteen hands one or two
inches high, and that has moderate work. In summer, half the
quantity, with green food will be sufficient. Those which work
396 FOOD.
on the farm have from ten to fourteen pounds, and the huntei
from twelve to sixteen. There are no efficient and safe substi-
tutes for good oats ; but, on the contrary, we are much incHned
to believe tliat they possess an invigorating property which if
not found in other food.
Oatmeal will form a poultice more stimulating than one com-
posed of linseed- meal alone — or they may be mingled in different
proportions, as circumstances require. In the form of gruel it
constitutes one of the most important articles of diet for the sick
horse — not, indeed, forced upon him, but a pail containing it
being slung in his box, and of which he will soon begin to drink
when water is denied. Few grooms make good gruel ; it is
either not boiled long enough, or a sufficient quantity of oatmeal
has not been used. The proportions should be, a pound of meal
thrown into a gallon of water, and kept constantly stirred until
it boils, and five minutes afterwards.
White-water, made by stirring a pint of oatmeal in a pail of
water, the chill being taken from it, is an excellent beverage foi
the thirsty and tired horse.
Barley is a common food of the horse on various parts of the
Continent, and, until the introduction of the oat, seems to have
constituted almost his only food. It is more nutritious than oats,
containing nine hundred and twenty parts of nutritive matter in
every thousand. There seems, however, to be something neces-
sary besides a great proportion of nutritive matter, in order tc
render any substance wholesome, strengthening, or fattening :
therefore it is that, in many horses that are hardly worked, and.
indeed, in horses generally, barley does not agree with them so
well as oats. They are occasionally subject to inflammatory
complaints, and particularly to surfeit and mange.
When barley is given, the quantity should not exceed a peck
daily. It should always be bruised, and the chaff should consist
of equal quantities of hay and barley-straw, and not cut too short.
If the farmer has a quantity of spotted or unsaleable barley that
he wishes thus to get rid of, he must very gradually accustom his
horses to it, or he will probably produce serious illness among
them. For horses that are recovering from illness, barley, in the
form of malt, is often serviceable, as tempting the appetite and
recruiting the strength. It is best given in mashes — water, con-
siderably below the boiling heat, being poured upon it, and the
vessel or pail kept covered for half an hour.
Grains fresh from the mash-tub, either alone, or mixed with
oats or chaff, or both, may be occasionally given to horses of slow
draught ; they would, however, afibrd very insufficient nourish
ment for horses of quicker or harder work.
Wheat is, in Great Britain, more rarely given than barley
FOOD. 397
i <. contains nine hundred and fifty-five parts of nutritive matter
When farmers have a damaged or unmarketable sample of
wheat, they sometimes give it to their horses, and, benig at first
used in small quantities, they become accustomed to it, and thrive
and work well : it must, however, always be bruised and given
in chaff. Wheat contains a greater portion of gluten, or sticky,
adhesive matter, than any other kind of grain. It is difficult of
digestion, and apt to cake and forms obstructions in the bowels
This will oftener be the case if the horse is suffered to drink much
water soon after feeding upon wheat.
Fermentation, colic, and death, are occasionally the conse-
quence of eating any great quantity of wheat. A horse that is
fed on wheat should have very little hay. The proportion should
not be more than one truss of hay to two of straw. Wheaten
flour, boiled in water to the thickness of starch, is given with good
effect in over-purging, and especially if combined with chalk and
opium.
Bran, or the ground husk of the wheat, used to be frequently
given to sick horses on account of the supposed advantage derived
from its relaxing the bowels. There is no doubt that it does ope-
rate gently on the intestinal canal, and assists in quickening the
passage of its contents, when it is occasionally given ; but it must
not be a constant, or even frequent food. Mr. Ernes attended
three mills at which many horses were kept, and there were al-
ways two or three cases of indigestion from the accumulation of
bran or pollard in the large intestines. Bran may, however, be
useful as an occasional aperient in the form of a mash, but iieviT
should become a regular article of food.
Beans. — These form a striking illustration of the principle,
that the nourishing or strengthening effects of the different arti-
cles of food depend more on some peculiar property which they
possess, or some combination which they form, than on the actual
quantity of nutritive matter. Beans contain but five hundred
and seventy parts of nutritive matter, yet they add materially to
the vigor of the horse. There are many horses that will not
stand hard work without beans being mingled with their food,
and these not horses whose tendency to purge it may be neces-
sary to restrain by the astringency of the bean. There is no
traveller who is not aware of the difference in the spirit and con-
tinuance of his horse whether he allows or denies him beans on
his journey. They afford not merely a temporary stimulus, but
they may be daily used without losing their power, or producing
exhaustion. They are indispensable to the hard- worked coach-
horse. Washy horses could never get through their work with-
out them '; and old horses would often sink under the task im-
posed upon them. They should not be given to the horses whole^
398 FOOD.
or split, but crushed. This will make a material difference ji
the quantity of mitriment that will be extracted. They »*re
sometimes given to turi-horses, but only as an occasional stimu-
lant. Two pounds of beans may, with advantage, be mixed with
the chaff ol the agricultural horse, during the winter. In sum-
mer the quantity of beans should be lessened, or they should be
altogether discontinued. Beans are generally given whole. This
is very absurd : for the young horse whose teeth are strong, sel-
dom requires them ; while the old horse, to whom they are in a
manner necessary, is scarcely able to masticate them, swallows
many of them which he is unable to break, and drops much corn
from his mouth in the ineffectual attempt to crush them. Beans
should not be merely split, but crushed ; tiiey will even then
give sufficient employment to the grinders of the animal. Some
post-masters use chaff with beans instead of oats. With hardly-
worked horses they may possibly be allowed ; but, in general
cases, beans, without oats, would be too binding and stimulating,
and would jiroduce costiveness, and probably megrims or staggers.
Beans should be at least a twelvemonth old before they are
given to the horse, and they should be carefully preserved from
damp and mouldiness, which at least disgust the horse if they do
no other harm, and harbor an insect that destroys the inner pari
of the bean.
The straw of the bean is nutritive and wholesome, and is usu-
ally given to the horses. Its nutritive properties are supposed to
be little inferior to those of oats. The small and plump bean is
generally the best.
Peas are occasionally given. They appear to be in a slight
degree more nourishing than beans, and not so heating. They
contain five hundred and seventy-four parts of nutritive matter.
For horses of slow work they may be used ; but the quantity of
chaff should be increased, and a few oats added. They have
not been found to answer with horses of quick draught. It is
essential that they should be crushed ; otherwise, on accouni of
iheir globular form, they are apt to escape from the teeth, and
many are swallowed whole. Exposed to warmth and moisture
in tiie stomach, they swell considerably, and may painfully and
injuiiously distend it. The peas that are given to horses should
be sound, and at least a twelve-month old.
In some northern counties pea-meal is frequently used, not only
as an excellent food for the horse, but as a rem.edy for diabetes.
LmsEED is sometimes given to sick horses — raw, ground, and
boiled. It is supposed to be useful in cases of catarrh.
Ha^ is most in perfection when it is about a twelve-month old
The horse perhaps would prefer it earlier, but it neither so whole-
some rwr so nutritive, and often has a purgative quality. When
FOOD. 39*J
it is about a year old, it retains or should retain somewhat of its
gieeu color, its aofreeable smell and its pleasant taste. It has un-
dergone the slow process of fermentation, by which the sugar
which it contains is developed, and its nutritive quality is fully
exercised. Old hay becomes dry and tasteless, and innutritive
and unwholesome. After the grass is cut, and the hay stacked,
a slight degree of fermentation takes place in it. This is neces-
sary for the developement of the saccharine principle ; but occa-
sionally it proceeds too far and tlie hay becomes moicbumt, in
wliich state it is injurious, or even poisonous. The horse soon
shoAvs the effect which it has upon him. He has diabetes to a
considerable degree — he becomes hidebound — his strength is
wasted — his thirst is excessive, and he is almost worthless.
Where the system of manger-feeding is not adopted, or where
hay is still allowed at night, and chaff and corn in the day, there
is no error into which the farmer is so apt to fall as to give an un-
due quantity of hay, and that generally of the worst kind. If the
manger system is good, there can be no necessity for hay, or only
for a small quantity of it ; but if the rack is overloaded, the
greedy horse will be eating all night, instead of taking rest —
when the time for the morning feed arrives, his stomach will be
already filled, and he will be less capable of work from the want
of sleep, and from the long-continued distention of the stomach
rendering it impossible for the food to be properly digested.
It is a good practice to sprinkle the hay with Avater in which
salt has been dissolved. It is evidently more palatable to the ani-
mal, who will leave the best unsaltod hay for that of an inferior
quality that has been moistened with brine ; and there can be no
doubt that the salt very materially assists the process of digestion.
The preferable ^ay of salting hay is to sprinkle it over the difler-
ent layers as the rick is formed. From its attraction for water, it
would combine with that excess of moisture which, in wet sea-
sons, is the cause of too rapid and violent fermentation, and of the
hay becoming mowburnt, or the rick catching fire, and it would
become more incorporated with the hay. The only objection Id
its being thus used is, that the color of the hay is not so bright ;
but this will be of little consequence for home consumption.
Of the value of Tares, as forming a portion of the late spring
and summer food of the stabled and agricultural horse, there can
be no doubt. They are cut after the pods are formed, but a con-
siderable time before the seeds are ripe. — They supply a largei
quantity of food for a limited time than almost any other forage-
crop. Tne vicia sativa is the more profitable of the tare. It
is very nutritive, and acts as a gentle aperient. When surfeit-
lumps appear on the skin, and the horse begins to rub himself
against the divisions of the stall, and the legs swell, and the heela
400 FOOD.
threaten to crack, a few tares, cut up with the chaff, or given in-
stead of a portion of the hay, will afford considerable relief Ten
or twelve pounds may be allowed daily, and half that weight of
hay subtracted. It is an erroneous notion, that, given in mode-
rate quantities, they either roughen the coat or lessen the capabi-
lity for hard work.
E-YE Grass affords a valuable article of food, but is inferior to
the tare. It is not so nutritive. It is apt to scour, and, occasion-
ally, and late in the spring, it has- appeared to be injurious to the
horse.
Clover, for soiling the horse, is inferior to the tare and the rye
grass, but nevertheless, is useful when they cannot be obtained.
Clover hay is, perhaps, preferable to meadow hay for chaff. It
will sometimes tempt the sick horse, and may be given with ad-
vantage to those of slow and heavy work : but custom seems
properly to have forbidden it to the hunter and the hackney.
LucERN, where it can be obtained, is preferable even to tares,
and SAINFOIN is superior to lucern. Although they contain but a
small quantity of nutritive matter, it is easily digested, and per-
fectly assimilated. They speedily put both muscle and fat on the
horse that is worn down by labor, and they are almost a speci-
fic for hide-bound. Some farmers have thought so highly of lu-
cern as to substitute it for oats. This may be allowable for the
agricultural horse of slow and not severe work, but he from whom
speedier action is sometimes required, and the horse of all work,
must have a portion of hard meat within him.
The Swedish Turnip is an article of food the value of which
has not been sufficiently appreciated, and particularly for agricul-
tural horses. Although it is far from containing the quantity of
nutritive matter which has been supposed, that which it has
seems to be capable of easy and complete digestion. It should
be sliced with chopped straw, and without hay. It quickly fat-
tens the horse, and produces a smooth glossy coat and a loose
skin. It will be good practice to give it once a day, and that at
night when the work is done.
CaPcRots. — The virtues of this root are not sufficiently knoMTi,
whether as contributing to the strength and endurance of the
sound horse, or the rapid recovery of the sick one. To the
healthy horse they should be given sliced in his chaff. Half a
bushel will be a fair daily allowance. There is little provender
of which the horse is fonder. The following account of the
value of the carrot is not exaggerated. " This root is held in
much esteem. There is none better, nor perhaps so good. When
first given it is slightly diuretic and laxative ; but as the horse
becomes accustomed to it, these effects cease to be produced.
Tiiey also improve the state of the skin. They form a good sub-
FOOD, 401
atitute for grass, and an excellent alterative for horses out of con-
dition. To sick and idle horses they render grain unnecessary.
They are benelicial in all chronic diseases connected with breathing,
and have a marked influence upon chronic cough and broken wind,
rhey are serviceable in diseases of the skin, and in combination
with oats they restore a worn horse much sooner tKan oats alone
Potatoes have been given, and with advantage, in their raw
state, sliced with the chaff; but, where it has been convenient to
boil or steam them, the benefit has been far more evident. Purg-
ing has then rarely ensued, Some have given boiled potatoes
alone, and horses, instead of rejecting them, have soon preferred
them even to the oat ; but it is better to mix them with the usual
manger feed, in the proportion of one pound of potatoes to two
and a half pounds of the other ingredients The use of the po-
tato must depend on its cheapness, and the facility for boiling it.
Half a dozen horses would soon repay the expense of a steaming
boiler in the saving of provender, without taking into the account
their improved condition and capability for work.^ A horse fed
on potatoes should have his quantity of water materially curtailed.
Furze has sometimes been given during the winter months.
There is considerable trouble attending the preparation of it, al-
though its plentifulness and little value for other purposes would,
on a large farm, well repay that trouble. The furze is cut down
at about three or four years' growth ; the green branches of that
and the preceding year are bruised in a mill, and then given to
the horses in the state in which they come from the mill, or cut up
with the chaff. Horses are very fond of it. If twenty pounds
of the furze are given, five pounds of straw, the beans, and three
pounds of the oats, may be withdrawn.
The times of feeding should be as equally divided as con
venience will permit ; and when it is likely that the horse will
be kept longer than usual from home, the nose-bag should in-
variably be taken. The small stomach of the horse is emptied
in a few hours ; and if he is suffered to remain hungry much
beyond his accustomed time, he will afterwards devour his food
so voraciously as to distend the stomach and endanger an attack
of staggers.
WRen extra work is required from the animal, the system of
management is often injudicious, for a double feed is put before
him, and as soon as he has swallowe^it, he is started. It would
De far better to give him a double'Teed on the previous eve-
ning, which would be digested before he is wanted, and then Iv
* Professor Low says that 1 5 lbs. of potatoes yield as much nourishment as
four pounds and a half of oats. Yon Thayer asserts that three bushels are
equal to 112lbs. of hay ; and Curwen, who tried potatoes extensively in the
feeding of horsea says that an acre goes as far as four acres of hay,
26
1-02 WATER.
might set out in the morning after a very small portion of
grain has been given to him, or perhaps only a little hay
One of the most successful methods of enabling a horse to get
well through a long journey, is to give him only a little at a
time while on the road, and at night to indulge him with a
double feed of grain and a full allowance of beans.
Water. — This is a part of stable management little re-
garded by the farmer. He lets his horses loose morning and
ni2"ht, and they go to the nearest pond or brook and drink
their fill, and no harm results, for they obtain that kind of
water which nature designed them to have, in a manner pre-
pared for them by some unknown influence of the atmosphere,
as well as by the deposition of many saline admixtures. The
difference between hard and soft water is known to every one.
In hard water, soap will curdle, vegetables will not boil soft,
and the saccharine matter of the malt cannot be fully ob-
tained in the process of brewing. There is nothing in which
the different effect of hard and soft water is so evident, as in
the stomach and digestive organs of the horse. Hard water,
drawn fresh from the well, will assuredly make the coat of
a horse unaccustomed to it stare, and it will not unfrequently
gripe and otherwise injure him. Instinct or experience has
made even the horse himself conscious of this, for he will
never drink hard water if he has access to soft, and he will
leave the most transparent and pure water of the well for a
river, although the stream may be turbid, and even for the
muddiest pool.*" He is injured, however, not so much by the
hardness of the well-water as by its coldness — particularly by
its coldness in summer, and when it is in many degrees below
the temperature of the atmosphere. The water in the brook
and the pond being warmed by long exposure to the air, as well
as having become soft, the horse drinks freely of it without
danger.
If the horse were watered three times a day, and especially
in summer, he would often be saved from the sad torture of
thirst, and from many a disease. Whoever has observed the
eagerness with which the over-worked horse, hot and .tired,
plunges his muzzle into the pail, and the difficulty of stopping
him until he has drained the last drop, may form some idea of what
he had previously suffereidfend will not wonder at the violent
spasms, and inflammation, and sudden death, that often result.
There is a prejudice in the minds of many persons against tho
* Some trainers have so much fear of hard or strange water, that they
carr^ ■;\'itli them to the different courses the water that the animal has been
accustomed to drink, and that which they know agrees with it.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FEET. 403
horse being fully supplied with water. They think that it injures
his wind, and disables him tor quick and hard work. If he is
galloped, as he too ol'ten is, immediately after drinking, his wind
may be irreparably injured ; but if he were oftener suflered to
satiate his thirst at the intervals of rest, Jie would be happier
and better. It k^a fact unsuspected . by those who have not
carefully observea^he horse, that if he has frequent access to
water, he will not drink so much in the course of the day as
another will do, who, to cool his parched mouth, swallows as
fast as he can, and knows not when to stop.
On a journey a horse should be liberally supplied with water.
When he is a little cooled, tM^o or three quarts may be given to
him, and after that his feed. Before he has finished his corn,
two or three quarts more may be offered. He will take no harm
if this is repeated three or lour times during a long and hot
It is a judicious rule with travellers, that when a horse begins
to refuse his food, he should he pushed no farther that day. It
may, hoAvever, be worth while to try whether this does not pro-
ceed from thirst, as much as from exhaustion, for ini>many in-
stances his appetite and his spirits will return soon after he has
partaken of the refreshing draught.
Management of the Feet. — This is the only division of
stable management that remains to be considered, and one sadly
neglected by the carter and groom. The feet should be care-
fully examined every morning, for the shoes may be loose and
the horse would have been stopped in the middle of his work :
or the clenches may be raised, and endanger the wounding of
his legs ; or the shoe may begin to press upon the sole or the
heel, and bruises of the sole, or corn, may be the result ; and,
the horse having stood so long in the stable, every little increase
of heat in the loot, or lameness, will be more readily detected,
and serious disease may often be prevented.
When the horse comes in at night, and after the harness has
been taken off and stowed away, the heels should be well
brushed out. Hand-rubbing will be preferable to washing,
especially in the agricultural horse, whose heels, covered with
long hair, can scarcely be dried again. If the dirt is suffered to
accumulate in that long liair, the heels will become sore, and
grease will follow ; and if the heliB are washed, and particu-
larly during the winter, grease will result from the coldness
occasioned by the slow evaporation of the moisture. The feet
should be stopped — even the feet of the farmer's horse, if he
remains in the stable. Very little clay should be used in the
stopping, for it will get hard and press upon the sole. Cow-
dung is the best stopping to preserve the feet cool and elastic ; but
•104 MANAGEMENT OF THE FEET.
before the stopping is applied, the picker should be run round
the whole of the foot, between the shoe and the sole, in order to
detect any stone that may have insinuated itself there, or a wound
on any other part of the sole. For the hackney and hunter
stopping is indispensable. After several days' hard work it will
aflbrd very great relief to take the shoes off, having put plenty
of litter under the horse, or to turn him, if possible, into a loose-
box ; and the shoes of every horse, whether hardly worked or
not, should be removed or changed once in every three weeks.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES.
The skin of the liorse consists of three layers. Externally is
the cuticle, epidermis, or scarf-skin, composed of innumerable thin
transparent scales, like those of a fish. They are raised in the
form of pellucid bladders in blistering, and are thrown ofi' in hard,
dry, white scales, in mange and some other diseases. The scarf-
skin is permeated by innumerable pores, for the passage of the
hair, perspiration, and unctuous secretions, and for the inha-
lation of gasses and fluids. It is destitute of nerves and blood-
vessels, is insensible, and its principal use seems to be to protect
the true skin, and to moderate its occasional morbid sensibility.
There is a constant alteration and renewal of every part of it,
but it adheres to the true skin through the medium of the pores,
and also numerous little eminences, or projections, which seem to
be prolongations of the nerves of the skin.
Beneath the cuticle is a thin, soft substance, through which the
pores and eminences of the true skin pass. It is termed the
rete 7micosu')n, from its web-like structure, and its soft mucous
consistence. Its office is to cover the minute vessels and nerves
in their way from the cutis to the cuticle. It is also connected
with the color of the skin.
The cutis, or true skin, lies beneath the rete mucosum. It is
decidedly of a fibrous texture, elastic, but with difficulty lacerated
— exceedingly vascular, and highly sensitive.
The skin answers the double purpose of protection and strength.
Where it is necessary that the parts should be bound and knit
together, it adheres so tightly that we can scarcely raise it. Thus
the bones of the knees and the pasterns and the tendons of the
legs, on which so much stress is frequently thrown, are securely
tied down and kept in their places.
Of its strength we have abundant proof, both in the living and
dead animal.
It is, while the animal is alive, one of the most elastic bodies
with which we are acquainted. It not only perfectly adapts it-
self to the slow growth or decrease of the body, and appears
4:06 THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES.
equally to fit, whether the horse is in the plumpest condition oi
reduced to a skeleton ; but, when a portion of it is distended to an
extraordinary degree, in the most powerful action of the m.uscles,
it, in a moment, again contracts to its usual dimensions.
It is principally indebted for this elasticity to almost innumer-
able minute glands which pour out an oily fluid that softens and
supplies it. When the horse is in health, and every organ dis-
charges its proper functions, a certain quantity of this unctuous
matter is spread over the surface of the skin, and is contained in
all the pores that penetrate its substance; and the skin becomes
pliable, easily raised from the texture beneath, and presenting
that peculiar yielding softness and elasticity which experience
has proved to be the best proofs of the condition, or in other words,
the general health of the animal. Then, too, from the oilness and
soilness of the skin, the hair lies in its natural and proper direc-
tion, and is smooth and glossy. When the system is deranged,
and especially the digestive system, and the vessels concerned in
the nourishment of the animal feebly act, those of the skin evi-
dently sympathize. This oily secretion is no more thrown out ;
the skin loses its pliancy ; it seems to cling to the animal, and we
have that peculiar appearance which we call hide-bound. This,
however, requires attentive consideration.
We observe a horse in the summer. We find him with a thin,
smooth, glossy coat, and his extremities clean and tree almost
from a single rough and misplaced hair. We me-et with him
again towards the winter, when the thermometer has fallen al-
most or quite to the freezing point, and we scarcely recogiwze him
in his thick, rough, coarse, colorless coat, and his legs enveloped
in long, shaggy hair. The health of the horse is, to a certain de-
gree, deranged. He is dull, languid, easily fatigued. He will
break into a sweat with the slightest exertion, and it is almost
imposssble thoroughly to dry him. He may perhaps feed as well
as usual, although that will not generally be the case, but he is
not equal to the demands which we are compelled to make upon
him.
This process goes on for an uncertain time, depending on the
constitution of the animal, until nature has effected a ohangc, and
then he once more rallies ; but a great alteration has taken phice
in him — the hair has lost its soft and glossy cliaracter, and is be-
come dry and staring. The skin ceases to secrete that peculiar
unctuous matter which kept it soft and flexible, and becomes dry
and scaly ; and the exhaients on the surface, having become re-
laxed, are frequently pouring out a profuse perspiration, without
any apparent adequate cause for it.
So passes the approach to winter, and the owner complains
Badly of the appearance of his steed, and, according to the old
HIDE-BOUND. 407
custom, gives him plenty of cordial balls, — perhaps too many of
them, — on the whole not being unserviceable at this critical pe-
riod, yet not productive of a great deal of good. At length the
animal rallies of himself, and although not so strong and full of
spirits as he ought to be, is hardier and more lively than he was,
and able to struggle with the cold of the coming winter.
What a desideratum in the management of the horse would
be a course of treatment that would render all this unnecessary !
The desideratum has been found — a free escape of perspiration, a
moist and softened state of the skin, an evident increase of health,
and capability of enduring fatigue, and working on shorter supply
of food than he could beibre. This is said to be performed by the
clipping and singeing systems.
Mr. Thomas Turner, who was almost one of the earliest advo-
cates of these systems, states that during the months of October
and November an inordinate growth of hair is observed over the
whole surface of the body, and in many horses as early as the be-
ginning of September, and almost invariably prevails, more or
less, in every horse that is not thorough-bred. The debilitating
effects thereby induced are profuse perspira^tion on the least pos-
sible exertion — depression of the animal spirits, and temporary
loss of appetite. The immediate removal of all the superfluous
hair by close clipping, instantly proves so powerful a tonic to the
animal, that he unhesitatingly affirms it to be inferior to none at
present known in our pharmacopseia. Mr. Turner adds, — " Now,
signal as the success of clipping has been, I do entertain a hope,
and am of opinion that, in the majority of instances, it may be
superseded by singeing under certain modifications."
We may not, perhaps, be able satisfactorily to explain the ap-
parently magical effects of clipping and singeing on the general
constitution, and particularly the wind of the horse, or the respi-
ratory functions generally, but there is no doubt of their exist-
ence. An increased tone is given to the system generally ; and
probably, in some way not yet sufficiently developed, the increased
current of the electric fluid may have much to do with it.
HIDE-BOUI^D.
This is not so much a dimhmtion of the cellular or fatty sub-
stance between the skin and the muscles beneath, as it is an al-
teration in the skin itself It is a hardness and unyieldingness
of the skin from the want of the oily matter on its surface and its
substance. It is the diflerence that is presented to the feeling by
well curried and supple leather, and that which has become dry
and unyielding.
The surface of the skin becoming dry and hard, the scales of
408 HIDE -BOUND.
the cuticle are no longer penetrated "by the hair, but separating
themselves in every direction, give that peculiar roughness to the
coat which accompanies want of condition. It betokens impaired
function of the vessels everywhere, and particularly those of the
stomach and bowels. Hide-bound is not so much a disease as a
symptom of disease, and particularly of the digestive organs ; and
our remedies must be applied not so much to the skin — although
we have, in friction and in warmth, most valuable agents in pro-
ducing a healthy condition of the integuments — as to the came
of the hide-bound, and the state of the constitution generally.
Every disease that can affect the general system may produce
this derangement of the functions of the skin. Glanders, when
become constitutional, is strongly indicated by the unthrifty ap-
pearance of the coat. Chronic cough, grease, farcy, and founder,
are accompanied by hide-bound ; and diet too sparing, and not
adequate to the work exacted, is an unfailing source of it. If
the cause is removed, the effect will cease.
Should the cause be obscure, as it frequently is — should the
horse wear an unthrifty coat, and his hide cling to his ribs, with-
out any apparent disease, we shall generally be warranted in
tracing it to sympathy with the actual, although not demonstrable,
suspension of some important secretion or function, either of the
alimentary canal or the respiratory functions. A few mashes, and
a mild dose of physic, are first indicated, and, simple as they ap-
pear to be, they often have a very beneficial effect. The regular
action of the bowels being re-established, that of all the organs
of the frame will speedily follow. If the horse cannot be spared
for physic, alteratives may be administered. There is no better
alterative for hide-bound and an unthrifty coat, than that which
is in common use, pulverized antimony, nitre, and sulphur. The
peculiar effect of the antimony and sulphur, and electric influ-
ence on the skin, with that of the sulphur on the bowels, and
of the nitre on the urinary organs, will be here advantageously
combined.
Should the horse not feed well, and there is no indication of
fever, a slight tonic may be added, as gentian or ginger ; but in
the majority of cases, attended by loss of condition and an un-
thrifty coat, and hide-bound, tonics and aromatics should be care-
fully avoided.
The cause of the impaired action of the vessels being removed,
the powers of nature will generally be sufficient, and had better
be left to themselves. There are not any more dangerous medi-
cines in common use in the stable, and especially in cases like
these, than tonics and cordials. They often arouse to fatal action
a tendency to fever that would otherwise have slept, or they pro-
duce a state of" excitement near akin to fever, and apt to degen-
PORES OF THE SKIN 409
erate into it. By tlie stimulus of a cordial, the secretions may
be suddenly roused, and among them, this unctuous secretion from
the pores of the skin, so necessary to apparent condition ; but the
efiect soon passes over, and a repetition of the stimulus is neces-
sary— the habit is soon formed — the dose must be gradually in-
creased, and in the mean time the animal is kept in a state of
dangerous excitement, by which the powers of nature must be
eventually impaired.
Friction may be employed with advantage in the removal of hide-
bound. It has repeatedly been shown that this is one of the most
efficacious instruments we can use, to call into exercise the sus-
pended energies either of the absorbent or secreting vessels.
Warmth may likewise he had recourse to — not Avarmth of stable,
which has been shown to be so injurious, but warmth arising
from exercise, and the salutary, although inexplicable, influenct
of clippmg and smgeing.
PORES OF THE SKIN.
Besides the openings already mentioned, through which pro-
ceeds the unctuous fluid that supplies and softens the skin, there
are others more numerous, by means of which a vast quantity of
aqueous fluid escapes, and perspiration is carried on.
This process of perspiration is not, however, so far under the
control of medicine as in the human being. ^
We are not aware of any drugs that will certainly produce it.
Warm clothing seems occasionally to effect it, but this is more
in appearance than reality. The insensible perspiration cannot
escape through the mass of clothing, and assumes a visible form.
There are, however, a few medicines, as antimony and sulphur,
that have an evident and very considerable effect on the skin, in
opening its pores and exciting its vessels to action.
Of" the existence of absorbent vessels on the skin, or those
which take up some fluid or substance, and convey it into the
circulation, we have satisfactory proof A horse is even more
easily salivated than the human being. Salivation has been pro-
duced by rubbing a splint with mercurial ointment, previous to
blistering ; and a very few drachms rubbed on the inside of the
thighs, will probably produce a greater efiect than the practitioner
desires.
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Although the same medicines will not pro-
duce this effect, yet those that come under the designation of diffusible
stimulants, will. Thus, a large dose of spirit of nitrous ether will often pro-
duce perspiration; and so, likewise, w^ll the spirit of hartshorn, and even
vinegar.
R
410 MOULTING.
MOULTING.
Twice in the year, the hair of the body of the horso is changed.
The short, fine coat of summer would afford Httle protection
against the winter, and that of the winter would be oppressive
to the animal, if it appeared during the summer. The hair of
the mane and tail remains. The bulbous root of the hair does
not die, but the pulpy matter seems to be removed from the root
of the hair, which, thus deprived of its nourishment, perishes
and droj off, and a new hair springs at its side from the same
bulb. The hair which is produced in the autumn, is evidently
differ vi".£ from that which grows in the spring ; it is coarser,
thick(>:r, and not so glossy as the other. As moulting is a process
extending over the whole of the skin, and requiring a very con-
siderable expenditure of vital power, the health of the animal is
generally afiected at these times. That energy, and nervous vital
influence, which should support the whole of the frame, is to a
great degree determined to the skin, and the animal is languid,
and unequal to much hard work. He perspires greatly wzth
the least unusual exertion, and if he is pressed beyond his strength,
becomes seriously ill.
The treatment which the groom in this case adopts, is most
absurd and dangerous. The horse, from the deranged distribution
of vital power, is disposed to fever, or he labors under a slight
degree of fever, sufficiently indicated by the increased quicknea«
of pulse, redness of nose, and heat of mouth. The lassitude an4
want of appetite which are the accompaniments of this febrD^
state, are mistaken for debility ; and cordials of various kinds
some of them exceedingly stimulating, are unsparingly adminis-
tered. At length, with regard to the hunter, the racer, and even
in the hackney and the carriage-horse, the scissors or the lamp
are introduced, and a new method is established of guarding
agamst this periodical debility, setting at defiance the occasional
exposure to cold, and establishing a degree of health and strength
previously unknown. Friction may be allowed, to assist the fall-
ing off of the old hair, and to loosen the cuticle for the appear-
ance of the new hair, but it is somewhat more gently applied
than it used to be. The curry-comb is in a great measure ban-
ished, and even the brush is not applied too hard or too long.
The old hair is not forced off before the young hair is ready to
take its place.
Nature adapts the coat to the climate and to the season. The
Sheltie has one as long and thick as that of a bear ; and, as the
summer is short and cold in those northern islands, the coat is
cough and shaggy during the whole of the year. In the southern
COLOR. 411
parts sf our country, the short, and light and glossy coat of sum
mer gradually yields to the close and heavy, and warm clothing
of winter. In the deserts of Arabia, where the winter is rarely
cold, the coat remains short and glossy throughout the year.
These are wise and kind provisions of nature, and exoite our ad
miration.*
COLOR.
The color of the hair admits of every variety, and each color
becomes in turn fashionable. Like that of the skin, it is influ-
enced by, or depends on, the mucous mesh- work under the cuticle.
There are comparatively few perfectly white horses now remain-
ing. Tlie majority of white horses are those that have become
so. Light-grey colts begin to grow white before they are five
years old, especially if they have not much dark mixture about
the joints.
Grey horses are of diflerent shades, from the lightest silver to
a dark iron-grey. The silver-grey reminds the observer of the
palfrey, improved by an admixture of Arab blood. He does not
often exceed fourteen hands and a half in height, and is round
carcassed — thin-legged — with oblique pasterns, calculated for a
light carriage, or for a lady's riding — seldom subject to disease —
but not very fleet, or capable of hard work.
The iron-grey is usually a larger horse ; higher in the withers,
deeper and thinner in the carcass, more angular in all his propor-
tions, and in many cases a little too long in the legs. Some of
these greys make good hackneys and hunters, and especially the
Irish horses ; but they are principally used for the carriage. They
have more endurance than the flatness of their chest would pro-
mise ; but their principal defect is their feet, which are liable to
contraction, and yet that contraction not so often accompanied by
lameness as in m.any other horses.
The dappled grey is generally a handsom.er and a better horse
* Note by Mr, Spooner. — We must protest against the idea that a horse
v'ith a long coat, however fed and trained, is in as good condition, or capable
of as great exertion, as a horse with a sleek glossy coat. As M'ell may a
man with a great coat on attempt to run a race with another stripped al-
most to the skin. This fact it is which has led to the now general practice
of clipping or singeing, by which the coats of coarse-skinned horses are re-
moved, and the horses put on a par with sleek skinned animals, without the
necessity of very hot stables, and a long course of preparatory treatment.
The advantages of clipping are great; perspiration is considerably lessened,
the horse is soon brought into condition, and grooming is greatly facilitated,
without unnecessary irritation ; indeed, the quickest method is to wash the
skin while the animal is somewhat warm, with warm water (and soap if ne-
cessary), and then scrape the skin, and throw a horse-cloth on the body,
which, in the coui'se of ten minutes, will be found dry and comfortable.
412 COLOR.
All the angulai points of the iron-grey are filled up, and with
that which not jniy cAds to symmetry, but to use. Whether as
a hackney, or, the larger variety, a carriage-horse, there are few
better, especially since his form lias been so materially improved,
and so much of" his heaviness got rid of, by the free use of foreign
blood. There are not, however, so many dappled greys as there
ased to be, since the bays have been bred with so much care.
The dappled grey, if dark at first, generally retains his color to
old age.
Some of the greys approach to a nutmeg, or even hsij color.
Many of these are handsome, and most of them are hardy.
The roans, of every variety of color and form, are composed of
white mixed with bay, or red, or black. In some it seems to be
a natural mixture of the colors ; in others it appears as if one
color was powdered or sprinkled over another. They are pretty
horses for ladies or light carriages, and many of them easy in
their paces, but they do not usually display much blood, nor are
they celebrated for endurance. If they should have white fore
legs, with white hoofs, they are too often tender-footed, or become
BO with even a little hard work.
The strawberry horse is a mixture of sorrel with white ; usu-
ally handsome and pleasant, but more celebrated for these quali
ties than for strength and endurance.
The pied horse is one that has distinct spots or patches of dif-
ferent colors, but generally of white with some other color. They
are not liked as hackneys, on account of their peculiarity of color,
nor in teams of horses ; but they look well when tolerably matched
in a phaeton or light carriage. Their value must depend on theii
breed. Of themselves they have no peculiar character, except thai
a white leg and foot is as suspicious in them as it is in the roan.
The dun, of the Galloway size, and with considerable blood, is
often attached to the curricle or the plijeton. The larger variety
is a true farmer's or miller's horse, with no great speed or extra-
ordinary strength, yet a good-tempered, good-feeling, good-consti
tutioned, useful horse enough. Varieties of the dun, shaded with
a darker color, or dappled, and with some breeding, and not stand-
ing too high, are beautiful animals, and much sought after lor
light carriages.
The cream-color, of Hanoverian extraction, with his white iris
and red pupil, is appropriated to royal use. Attached to the state-
carriage of the monarch, he is a superb animal. His bulky, yet
perfectly-formed body, his swelling crest, and his proud and loft;y
action, as if conscious of his office, qualify him for the service
that is exacted from him, but we have little experience how far
ne would suit other purposes.
Of the chestnuts there are three varieties — the pale red or the
COLOR. 413
sorrel, usually with some white, either on the face or the legs —
generally lightly made, yet some of them bulky enough for the
heaviest loads. Tlieir color is generally objectionable, and thcv
are supposed to be somewhat deficient in eiubirance.
Tiie light chestnut, with less red and a little more bay or brown,
is considered a preferable animal, especially if he has little or no
white about him ; yet even he, although pleasant to ride, is some-
times irritable, and generally weak. We must except one variety,
the Suiiblk punch ; a heavy horse, and adapted ibr slow work,
but perfect of his kind — whom no labor can daunt, no fatigue
overcome. This is a breed now, imibrtunately, nearly extinct.
The present variety, however crossed, is not equal to the old
Suffolk.
The dark chestnut is as different a horse from the hackney-like
chestnut as can be well imagined ; round in the carcase ; pow-
erful in the quarters, but rather fine in the legs ; possessed of
great endurance, and with a constitution that rarely knows an
ailment, except that the feet are small and disposed to contrac-
tion, and the horse is occasionally of a hot and unmanageable
temper.
Of the bays, there are many varieties, and they include the
very best of our horses of every description. The bright yellow
bay, although very beautiful, and especially if his mane and tail
are black, is the least valuable — the lightness of" his color seems
to give him some tenderness of constitution. The pure bay, with
no white about him, and black from the knees and hocks to the
feet, is the most desirable of all. He has generally a good con-
stitution, and good feet ; and, if his conformation is not faulty,
will turn out a valuable horse for almost eveiy purpose.
The bay-brown has not always so much show and action, buf,
generally, more strength and endurance, and usefulness. He has
greater substance than the lighter bay, and more depth of leg ;
and, if he had the same degree of breeding, he would be as hand-
some and more valuable.
When, however, we arrive at the browns, it is necessary to
examine the degree of breeding. This color is not so fashionable,
and therefore these horses have been considerably neglected.
There are many good ones, and those that are good are val.
uable ; others, probably, are only half or a quarter bred, and
therefore comparatively coarse, yet useful for the saddle and for
harness — for slow Avork, and, occasionally, for that which is more
rapid.
The black-brown is generally more neglected so far as its breed
is concerned, and should be more carefulh' examined. It is val-
uable if it retains the goodness of constitution of the brown and
bay-brown.
414 COLOR.
Of the black, greater care has been taken. The heavy black
of liincolnshire and the midland counties is a noble animal, and
would be almost beyond price if he could be rendered more ac
live. The next in size constitute the majority of our wagon-
horses, and perhaps our best ; and, on a smaller breed, and to
the improvement of which much attention has been devoted,
nany of our cavalry are mounted. A few black thoroug-]i-bred
horses and black hunters are occasionally seen, but the improve-
ment of horses of this color has not been studied, except for the
purposes that have been mentioned. Their peculiar high action,
while not objectionable for draught, and desirable for the parade,
would be unbearable in the roadster. Black horses have been
said to be more subject to vice, disease, and blindness, than those
of any other color. This charge is not true to its full extent ;
but there certainly are a great many worthless black horses in
in every part of the country.
After all, there is an old saying, that a good horse cannot be
a bad color ; and that it is far more necessary to attend to the
conformation and points of the animal than to his color. The
foregoing observations, however, although they admit of many
exceptions, may be useful m guiding to the judicious purchase
of the horse. ^
* Note hj Mr. Spooner. — Color. — We do not consider that the size, con-
formation, and qualitications of hors^es depend so much on the color as the
text would imply. We have found both good and bad horses of every
color, and the only rule we can admit as correct is, that certain colors denote
deficient breeding, ami therefore such animal is not likely to be so good as
he looks, but is probably deficient in bottom or the powers of endurance.
These colors are black, whicli prevails so much with cart-horses, and sorrel,
dun, piebald, ttc. ; the possessors of which come from the north, and possess
no eastern blood. Black horses, unless evidently high bred, are very oftei).
soft and sluggish, with breeding insufficient for their work ; the pedigree of
the majority of them may be dated from the plough-tail, whatever admix-
tures there may have been since. White hair denotes a thin skin, which is
objectionable, when it prevails on the legs of horses, as such animals are
moie disposed to swelled legs and cracked heels than others. Bay horses
with black legs are greatly esteemed, and yet we have known many
determined slugs of this hue. Their constitution is, however, almost inva-
riably good. Chestnut is the prevailing color with our race-horses, and con-
sequently chestnut horses are generally pretty well bred, and possess the
good and bad qualities which obtain most amongst thorough- breds. The
Suffolk cart-norse is also distinguished b}^ his light chestnut color : and it ia
no small recommendation to find that this br^ed has, for several years past<
carried away tlie principal prizes at the animal shows of the Royal Agricul
tural Society of Enghiud.
Gray is a very good color, and one which has become very fashionable
for carriage and phaiton horses during the present reign. Her Majesty's
ponies, as they are still called, although they have increased in height from
thirteen to fifteen hands, are beautiful specimens of this color, and have
rendered the color fashionable for harneiss purposes. These horses have a
SURFEIT. 4 Id
SURFEIT.
Lai-f^e pimples or eruptions often appear suddenly on the skin
of the horse, and especially in the spring of the year. Occasion-
ally they disappear as quickly as they came. (Sometimes they
S^em to be attended with great itching, but at other times, the an-
noyance is comparatively little. When these eruptions have
remained a few days, the cuticle frequently peels ofi", and a small
scaly spot — rarely a sore — is left. This is called a surfeit, from
its resemblance to some eruptions on the skin of the human being
when mdigestible or unwholesome food has been taken. The
surfeit is, in some cases, confined to the neck ; but it ofteuei
spreads over the sides, back, loins, and quarters. The cause is
enveloped in some obscurity. The disease most frequently appears
when the skin is irritable during or after the process of moulting,
or when it sympathizes with any disorder of the stomach. It
has been known to follow the eating of poisonous herbs or mow-
burnt hay, but, much oftener, it is to be traced to exposure to
cold when the skin was previously irritable and the horse heated
by exercise. It has also been attributed to the immoderate drink-
ing of cold water when the animal was hot. It is obstruction of
some of the pores of the skin and swelling of the surrounding sub-
stance, either from primary affection of the skin, or a plethoric
state of the system, or sympathy with the digestive organs.
The state of the patient will sufficiently guide the surgeon as
to the course he should pursue. If there is simple eruption,
without any marked inflammatory action, alteratives should be
resorted to, and particularly those recommended for hide-bound
in page 407. They should be given on several successive nights.
The night is better than the morning, because the warmth of the
stable will cause the antimony and sulphur to act more power-
fully on the skin. The horse should be warmly clothed — half an
considerable admixture of eastern blood, and most of them are immediately
derived from an Arab or a Turkish horse. This, indeed, is the principal or
only use of the eastern horse in this country. It is vain to expect any
miprovement in the speed of our race-horses from foreign admixture, for
every attempt of the kind for some years past has been unsuccessful. The
circular carcase, arched neck, good shoulders and fore legs, high and excel-
lent trotting action, are, however, qualifications which our thorough-breds
cannot supply, and are truly valuable in animals required for gettmg car-
riage-horses. The white Arabian horse is, therefore, the very animal re-
quired for getting phseton horses, and, if put to large mares, are also well
adapted for perpetuating handsome and valuable carriage-horses. There
are also some excellent cart-horses of a gray color ; some of massive propor
tions, and others of moderate size, and more active. The iron grays and
roans are generally cleaner about the legs, and more compact than the
mottled greys.
416 MANGE.
hour's walking exercise should be given, an additional rug thrown
over him — such green feed- as can be procured should be used in
moderate quantities, and the chill should be taken from the
water.
Should the eruption continue or assume a more violent charac-
ter, bleeding and aloes must be had recourse to, but neither
should be carried to any extreme. The physic havnig set, the al-
teratives should again be had recourse to, and attention should
be paid to the comfort and diet of the horse.
If the eruption, after several of these alternative appearan jes
and disappearances, should remain, and the cuticle and the hair
begin extensively to peel off, a worse affection is to be feared, for
surfeit is too apt to precede, or degenerate into, mange. This dis-
order, therefore, must next be considered.
MANGE
Is a pimpled or vesicular eruption. After a while the vesicles
break, or the cuticle and the hair fall off, and there is, as in ob-
stinate surfeit, a bare spot covered with scurf — some fluid oozing
from the skin beneath, and this changing to a scab, which like-
• wise soon peels off, and leaves a wider spot. This process is at-
tended by considerable itching and tenderness, and thickening of
the skin, which soon becomes more or less folded, or puckered.
The mange generally first appears on the neck at the root of" tht;
mane, and its existence may be susnected even before the blotches
appear, and when there is only considerable itchiness of the part,
by the ease with which the short hair at the root of the mane
is plucked out. From the neck it spreads upward to the head,
or downward to the withers and back, and occasionally extends
over the whole carcass of the horse.
One cause of it, although an unfrequent one, has been stated
to be neglected or inveterate surfeit. Several instances are on
record in which poverty of condition, and general neglect of
cleanliness, preceded or produced the most violent mange. A
remark of Mr. Blaine is very important: — "Among the truly
healthy, so far as my experience goes, it never arises spontane-
ously, but it does readily form a spontaneous origin among the
unhealthy." The most common cause is contagion. Amidst the
whole list of diseases to which the horse is exposed, there is not
one more highly contagious than mange. If it once gets into a
stable, it spreads through it, for the slightest contact seems suffi-
cient for the communication of this noisome complaint.
If the same brush and currycomb is used on all the horses, the
propagation of mange is assured ; and horses feeding in the same
pasture with a mangy one rarely escape, from the propensity they
MANGE. 417
have to nibble one another. Mange in cattle has been propagated
to the horse, and from the horse to cattle. There are also some
well-authenticated instances of the same disease being connuuni-
cated from the dog to the horse, but not from the horse to the dog.
Mange has been said to originate in want of cleanliness in the
management of the stable. The comfort and the health of tlic
horse demand the strictest cleanliness. The eyes and the lungy
frequently suffer from the noxious fumes of the purifying dung
and urine ; but, in defiance of common prejudice, there is no au-
thentic instance of mange being the result. Poverty and starva-
tion are fruitful sources of mange, but it does not appear that
filth has much to do with it, although poverty and filth generally
go hand in hand.
The propriety of bleeding in cases of mange depends on the con-
dition of the patient. If mange is the result of poverty, and the
animal is much debilitated, bleeding will increase tlie evil, and
will probably deprive the constitution of the power of rallying.
Physic, however, is indispensable in every case. A mercurial
ball will be preferable to a common aloetic one, as more certain
and effectual in its operation, and the mercury probably having
some influence in mitigating the disease. In this, however,
mange in the horse resembles itch in the human being — medicine
alone will never effect a cure. There must be some local appli-
?,ation. There is this additional similarity — that which is most
ofiectual in curing the itch in the human being must form the
basis of every local application for the cure of mange in the horse
Sulphur is indispensable in every ointment for mange. It is the
sheet-anchor of the veterinary surgeon. In an early and not very
acute state of mange, equal portions of sulphur, turpentine, and
train-oil, gently but well rubbed on the part, will be applied with
advantage. Farriers are fond of the black sulphur, but that which
consists of earthy matter, with the mere dregs of various substan-
ces, cannot be so efTectual as the pure sublimed sulphur. A tol-
erably stout brush, or even a curry-comb, lightly applied, should
be used, in order to remove the dandriH^or scurf", wherever there
is any appearance of mange. After that, the horse' should be
washed with strong soap and water as far as the disease has ex-
tended ; and, when he has been thoroughly dried, the ointment
should be well rubbed in with the naked hand, or with a piece
of flannel. More good will be done by a little of the ointment
being well rubbed in, than by a great deal being smeared over
the part. The rubbing should be daily repeated.
During the application of the ointment, and as soon as the physic
has set, an alterative ball or powder, similar to those recommend-
ed for the other affections of the skin, should be daily given. If,
after some days have passed, no progress should apj-ear to hav*
27 1.
418 MANGE.
been .tiade, half a pound of sulphur should be well mixed with a
pint of oil of tar, or, if thai is not to be obtained, a pint of Barba-
boes tar, and tlie ah'ected parts rubbed, as before. On every fiith
or sixth day, the ointmeni snould be washed off with warm soap
and water. The prop:ress towards cure will thus be ascertained,
and the skin will be cleansed, and its pores opened for the more
effectual application of the ointment.
The horse should be well supplied with nourishing, but not
stimulating food. As much green feed as he will eat should be
given to him, or, what is far better, he should be turned out, ii
the weather is not too cold. It may be useful to add, that, alter
the horse has been once well dressed with either of these liniments,
the danger of contagion ceases. It is necessary, however, to be
assured that every mangy place has been anointed. It will be
prudent to give two or three dressings after the horse has been ap-
parently cured, and to continue the alteratives for ten days or a
fortnight.
The cure being completed, the clothing of the horse should be
well soaked in water, to which a fortieth part of the saturated so-
lution of the chloride of lime has been a Ided ; after which i*
should be washed with soap and water, and again washed ana
soaked in a solution of the chloride of lime. Every part of the
harness should undergo a similar purification. The curry-comb
may be scoured but the brush should be burned. The rack and
manger, and partitions, and every part of the stable which the
horse could possibly have touched, should be well washed with a
hair-broom — a pint of the chloride of lime being added to three
gallons of water. All the wood-work should then be scoured with
soap and water, after which a second washing with the chloride
of lime will render all secure.
Every case of itchiness of the skin should be regarded with sus-
picion. When a horse is seen to rub the root of his tail, or his
head, or neck, against the manger, the parts should be carefully
examined. Some of the hair m^ay have been rubbed or torn otf,
but if the roots remain firmly adherent, and there is only rediirss
and not scurfiness of the skin, it probably is not mange, but only
inflammation of the skin, from too great fulness of blood. A lit-
tle blood should be abstracted — a purgative administered — and
the alteratives given. The mange ointrnxcnt caimot do harm, and
may possibly prevent this heat of the skin from degenerating into
mange, or arrest the progress of mange if it has commenced. If
a scurfiness of the skin should appear on any of the points that
are pressed upon by the collar or harness, the veterinary surgeon
will do right to guard against danger by alterative medicine and
the use of the ointment. =^
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — "We have only tc» remark, that the adniiniatratioti
WARTS VERMIN. 419
WARTS.
These are occasionally found on all parts of the horse. There
are some caustics available, but frequently they must be removed
by an operation. If the root is very small, it may be snipped
asunder, close to the skin, with a pair of scissors, and touched
with the lunar caustic. If the pedicle or stem is somewhat larger,
a ligature of waxed silk should be passed firmly round it, and tight-
ened every day. The source of nutriment being thus removed, the
tumor will, in a short time, die and drop off. If the warts are large,
or in considerable clusters, it will be necessary to cast the horse,
in order to cut them off close to the skin : the root should then
be seared with a red-hot iron. Unless these precautions are used,
the warts will speedily sprout again.
VERMIN.
Both the biped and the quadruped are subject to the visitation
of insects that fasten on the skin, and are a constant nuisance
from the itchiness which they occasion. If the horse, after being
turned out for the winter, is taken up in the spring long and rough
in his coat, and poor in condition, and with evident hide-bound, he
will almost invariably be afflicted with vermin.
In our present imperfect acquaintance with natural history, it
IS difficult to account for the appearance of certain insects, and of
diose alone, on the integument of one animal, while others of an
altogether different character are Ibund on its neighbor. Each
one has a tormentor peculiar to itself.
The vermin of the horse is destroyed by an infusion of tobacco
or a solution of corrosive sublimate, the latter requiring the great-
est caution. The skin being once cleansed of them, an attention
to cleanliness will prevent their reappearance.
of mercurial physic requires extreme caution in this disease. We h:'ve
known horses very low in condition killed by this means, and we doubt tne
necessity of the purge. Topical treatment is the principal remedy, and it i-*
also well to administer sulphur internally at the same time.
There is a disease very much resembling the mange, which we occasionally
meet with. The horse is affected with the most violent itching, and the
hair is often rubbed off, but the skin does not become wrinkled, as in
mange. Though this disease often appears to yield to the same topical
treatment as the mange, yet, in some instances, it is incurable, and continue'
tlirough life.
CHAPTER XXII.
ON SOUNDNESS, AND THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF HORSES.
[This chapter is given nearly entire, as in the original, and in
the remarks on warranty, &c., entire, because it is believed to
give a luminous exposition of what equity in all cases demands
in regard to the matters of which it treats. It constitutes there-
fore the proper basis of amicable settlement between gentlemen,
in all countries, where tlie purchaser of the horse alleges a
violation of warranty ; and the basis of proper adjudication
where an action is commenced for fraud. In some of the
States of the Union, there may be statutes or judicial decisions
which would vary from the English ones cited on the subject of
warranty, fraud, and as to what constitutes unsoundness, — but
probably in most cases, they will be found substantially the
same. — Am. Ed.]
There are few sources of greater annoyance both to the pur-
chaser and the seller of the horse than disputes with regard to
the soundness of the animal.
That horse is sound in whom there is no disease, and no alter-
ation of structure that impairs, or is likely to impair, his natural
usefulness. The horse is unsound that labors under disease, or
has some alteration of structure which docs interfere, or is likely
to interfere, with his natural usefulness.* The term " natural
usefubiess " must be borne in mind. One horse may possess
great speed, but is soon knocked up ; another will work all day,
but cannot be got beyond a snail's pace : a third with a heavy
* Since the publication of our first edition, tliis definition or rule as to
soundness or unsoundness has received very high judicinl sanction. Coates
V. Steplipus, 2 Moody and Robinson, 157, Scholcjield v. Robh, id. 210. We
eJiall adhere to it as our test of soundness or unsoundness tlironghout this
chapter, not forgetting what is said in the following extract from a note to
one of these cases. "As it may now be considered as settled law, that the
breach of a warranty or soundness does not entitle the purchaser to return
the horse, but only to recover the dilference of value of the horse with or
without tlie particrlar unsoundness, the question of temixirary nialadies,
producing no permanent deterioration of the animal, would, generally
speaking, only involve a right to damages merely nominal."
SOUNDNESS RULES FOR PURCHASE. 4:<51
forehand is liable to stumble, and is continually -aitting to
hazard the neck of his rider ; another, with an irritable consti-
tution and a loose, washy form, loses his appetite and beji^ins to
scour if a litte extra work is exacted from him. The term un-
soundness must not be applied to either of these ; it would be
opening far too widely a door to disputation and endless wrang-
ling. The buyer can discern, or ought to know, whether the
form of the horse is that which will render him likely to suit
his purpose, and he should try him sufiiciently to ascertain his
natural strength, endurance, and manner of going. Unsound-
ness, we repeat, has reference only to diseease, or to that al-
teration of structure which is connected with, or will produce
disease, and lessen the usefulness of the animal.
These principles will be best illustrated by a hrief consider-
ation of the usually supposed appearances or causes of unsound-
ness.
Broken knees certainly do not constitute unsoundness, after
tlie wounds are healed, unless they interfere with the action of
the joint ; for the horse may have fallen from mere accident, or
through the fault of the rider, without the slightest damage
more than the blemish. No person, however, would buy a
horse with broken knees, until he has thoroughly tried him, and
satisfied himself as to his form and action.
Capped hocks may be produced by lying on an unevenly
paved stable, with a scanty supply of litter, or by kicking gen-
erally, in neither of which cases would they constitute unsound-
ness, although in the latter they would be an indication of vice ;
but, in the majority of instances, they are the consequence of
sprain, or of latent injury of the hock, and accompanied by
eidargement of it, and would constitute unsoundness. A special
Warranty should always be taken against capped hocks.*'
Contraction is a considerable deviation from the natural form
of the foot, but not necessarily constituting unsoundness. It re-
quires, however, a most careful examination on the part of the
purchaser or veterinary surgeon, in order to ascertain that there
is no heat about the quarter, or ossification of the cartilage —
that the frog, although diminished in size, is not diseased — that
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — Capped hocks. — In nine cases out of ten these
enlargements are occasioned by kicking in the stall, a vice altogether differ-
ent from that of spitefulne^^s, which appears to arise more from restless-
ness than anything else. The swelling consists of an effusion of serum or
water in the cellular bag which is found beneath the skin at the point of
the hock, placed there for the purpose of giving facihty of motion.
It is never occasioned by strains, therefore, although a sad blemish, it
should not be regarded as an unsoundness, unless accompanied with other
indications of disease.
422 SOUNDNESS RULES I'OIl rURCIIASL.
the horse docs not sit'p short and ^o as if tho loot were tender,
and that there is not the sli«!:litest traee of lameness. Unless
these eircunistaiutes, or some ot" them, are detected, a horse must
uot be pronounced to be unsound because his leet arc contracted ;
for many horses with strangely contracted ieet do not suller at
all in their action. A special warranty, however, should be
required where the feet are at all contracted.
Corns manifestly constitute unsoundness. The portion of the
foot in wliich bad corns are situated will not bear the ordinary
pressure of the shoe ; and accidental additional pressure from the
p:r()win«!: down of the horn, or the introduction of dirt or gravel,
will cause serious lameness. They render it necessary to wear
;i tliick and heavy shoe, or a bar-shoe, in order to protect the
weakened and diseased part ; and they are very seldom radically
cured. There may be, however, and frequently is, a dilierence
of o})inion as to the actual existence or character of the corn.
They are sometimes, too, so slight that they do not diminish the
value oi' the horse, and will disappear on the horse being shod
with ordinary skill and care, even without any alteration in the
shoe.
Cough. — This is a disease, and consequently unsoundness.
However slight may be its degree, and of whatever short stand-
ing it may be, althougli it may sometimes scarcely seem to inter
lere with the useiulness of the horse, yet a change of stabling
or slight exposure to wet and cold, or the least over-exertioi/,
may, at other times, cause it to degenerate into many dangerous
comjilaints. A horse, therefore, should never be purchased with
a cough upon him, without a special warranty; or il^ — the
cough not being observed — he is ])urchased under a general war-
ranty, that warranty is thereby broken. It is not law, that a
Jiorse may be returned on breach of the warranty. The seller
is not bounil to take him back, unless he has contracted so to do ;
but he is liable to damages. Lord Ellenborough has completely
decided this matter. "1 have always held," said he, "that a
warranty of sounchiess is broken, if the animal, at the time of
sale, had any infirmity upon him that rendered him less fit for
present service. It is not necessary that the disorder should be
permanent or incurable. While he has a cough, he is unsound,
nlthough tlnit may either be temporary or prove mortal."
Iii deciding on another case, tlie same judge said, " I have al-
ways held it that a cough is a breach of the warranty. On that
understanding I have always acted, and think it quite clear." It
was argued on the other liand that two-thirds of the horses in
liondon had coughs, yet still the judge maintained that the cough
was a breach of warranty. When it was larther argued that the
n(.rse had been hunted tlie day after tho purcliase, and tlie ..ough
SOUNDNESS.
423
mipht have boon inoroasod by ibis, ibo ivi)ly was siiiirnbir, but
decisive. " Tbere is no proof tluit be woiibl bave «>ot well it" ho
had not been bunted." Tbiti doetrine is condnned by Parke, B.,
in tbe fust ease eited in p. 420.
UOAUING, WllKKZlNG, VVlllSTLl N(i, 11 IC H-lU.OWINd , aud (JkUNT-
ING, bein<!^ tbo result ol alteration of structure, or disease in some
of tbe air-passao-es, and interfering- with tbe perfect Ireedcnn of
breatbinfj:, es])ecially wben tbe horse is put on bis s])eed, without
doubt constitute unsoundness. Tbere are decisious to the contra-
ry, which are now universally admitted to be erroneous. J)iU)Ki:N-
wiNi) is still more decidedly unsoundness.*
OiiiiMUTiNc;. — Altli()uj>h some learned judj^es have asserted
that crib-bitinjr is simply a trick or bad habit, it must be re«rarded
as unsoundness. This unnatural suckiu«i; in of the air must, to a
certain dcfrree injure dijxestion. It must disi)osc to colic, and so
interfere with the strenj^th, and usefulness, and health of the horse.
►Some crib-biters are p^ood pfocrs, but they ])robably woubl have
possessed more endurance had they not ac(iuired this habit ; and
it is a iact well established, that, as soon as a horse becomes a
crib-biter, he, in nine cases out of ten, loses condition. In its
very early stance it may be a mere trick — conllrmed, it must have
produced morbid deterioration. The wear of the front tec^tb, iind
tbe occasional breaking- oi" them, make a horse old belbre bistinu\
and sonu^times render it dillicult or impossible lor him to ^n-ji/e.
wben tbe static of tbe animal or the convenience of tbe owner re
quires that he should be turned out.f
* Note bu J\fr. Spoonrr. — Roaring, whr.fzincj, and wlihU'mg inny bo con-
sidered as inodiliculioiH of tlu* sjiine disease, viz., an ohslruction to the pas-
Ra^'c of air to and iVoin i\w lunjjjs ; and as the nature and amount of ihis ob-
struction necessarily varies, so must the noise thereby produced, and which
isconsecpiently expressed by the terms in cpiestion ; all, however, bein;:,' de-
cidedly iDinomuhusa.
Urantinp is the noise whicli many roarers will evince when suddenly
alarmed by a real (»r pretended blow. It is the common liorsedealer's
method of discovering a roarer, but by no means one that can 1)0 tlependcMl
on, as many moderate roarers, particuhirly if they luivo lately become so,
will notL,^runt. With reirard to hii^di-hlowinj.,', we by no means consider it
iin unsoundness, understandinjj; by this term, however, the noise, often very
considerable, which some Ijorses make t)n beinj^ first e.vcited, or put into
motion. 'I'his noise is produced by the false nostrils, which either possess
fi;reater laxity than common, or else it is owinj.^ to the neivousiiess of the
liorse. It bei^ins at once if the horse is excited, and, instead of increasin-,'
with exertion, bke roaring, it diminishes or goes oil". This is, or ought to
be, the proper test of soundness.
Broken loind is of course decided unsoundness, and equally so is thick
w/?if/, or quickened respiration, whi(!h often arise" «Vom consolidation of a
portion of tlie lungs, and sometimes merely from iliickening of the mcm-
iA ane of the air passages.
\ N(ift hv Mr.Spooner. — (Jrihhitinf/hfifi often been the s\ibie(!t of dispute
424 SOUNDNESS.
Curb constitutes unsoundness while it lasts, and perhaps while
the swelling remains, although the inflammation may have sub-
sided ; for a horse that has once thrown out a curb is, for a while
at least, very liable to do so again, to get lame in the same place
on the slightest extra exertion ; or, at all events, he would there
first fail on extraordinary exertion. A horse, however, is not re-
turnable, although he should spring a curb five minutes after the
purchase ; for it is done in a moment, and does not necessarily in-
dicate any previous unsoundness or weakness of the part. =^
Cutting, as rendering a horse liable to serious injury of the
legs, and indicating that he is either weak, or has an awkward-
ness of gait inconsistent with safety, produces, rather than this,
unsoundness. Many horses go lame for a considerable period
after cutting themselves severely ; and others have dropped Irom
the sudden agony, and endangered themselves and their riders.
As some doubt, however, exists on this subject, and as it is a very
material objection to a horse, cutting, when evid nt, should have
its serious consequences provided against by a special warranty.!
Enlarged Glands. — The enlargement of the glands under thf^
jaw has not been so raiuch considered as it ought to have been in
13 to whether it constitutes unsoundness or not, which is not to be wondered at,
seeing that many crib-biters will perform their work for many years without
hindrance or inconvenience. Crib-biting is now, however, regarded as an
unsoundness, on the principle that though at the present time the horse may
be equal to his work, yet, at a future period, it may render him unequal to
its performance, by causing indigestion, loss of flesh, and weakness. It is
better that the question should be thus set at rest, as the value of the ani
mal is very materially diminished by being a crib-biter, which is owing not
80 much to real injury, as to the disagreeable habit, and to the fact that if
the animal is in a stable with other horses, they are very likely to learn the
habit.
Wind-suching must come under the same rules as crib-biting, which re-
sembles it so far as the swallowing of air is concerned, the animal, howeverj
being enabled to do it without the necessity of laying hold of the manger.
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Curb constitutes unsoundness, unless it is well
known that the horse has stood the ordeal of work for some months since
the curb was thrown out, or any treatment adopted for it. As this infor-
mation, however, can seldom be satisfactorily obtained, the possible effects
of a curb should be guarded against by a special warranty.
f Note by Mr. Spooner. — We cannot agree with the text in considering
this an unsoundness. It is a visible defect, and therefore can readily be
observed, and pointed out, and objected to, in proportion to the amount
of the evil which may be very severe and unlikely to be remedied, or
slight, and owing either to improper shoeing, or youth, awkwardness, or
weakness. To consider it, therefore, as an unsoundness, there being neither
alteration of structure nor function, would be to open the door to perpetual
disputes, and render the alr.eady vexed question of soundness still more
vexatious. At the same time, if the cutting is considerable, and evidently
arises from naturally defective action, and is of such a nature as not to ad
jnit of a remedy, we should noi hesitate, in such a case, to pronounce the
animal unsound.
SOUNDNESS. 426
our estimate of the soundness of the horse. Simple catarrh will
occasionally, and severe affection of the chest will generally, be
accompanied by swellinfr of these glands, which does not subside
for a considerable time after the cold or lever has apparently
been cured. To slight enlargements of the glands under the jaw
much attention need not be paid ; but if they are of ccusiderable
size, and especially if they are tender, and the glands at the root
of the ear partake of the enlargement, and the membrane of the
nose is redder than it should be, we should hesitate in pronouncing
that horse to be sound. "We must consider the swelling as a
symptom of disease.
Enlarged Hock. — A horse with enlarged hock is unsound, the
structure of this complicated joint being so materially afiected
that, although the horse may appear for a considerable time to be
capable of ordinary work, he will occasionally fail even in that,
and a few days' hard work will always lame him.*
The Eyes. — That inflammation of the eye of the horse which
usually terminates in blindness of one or both eyes, has the pecu-
liar character of receding or disappearing for a time, once or
twice, or thrice, before it fully runs its course. The eye, after an
attack of inflammation, regains so nearly its former natural bril-
liancy that a person even well acquahited with horses will not
always recognize the traces of former disease. After a time, how-
ever, the inflammation returns, and the result is inevitable. A
horse that has had one attack of this complaint, is long afterwards
unsound, however perfect the eye may seem to be, because he
carries about with him a disease that will probably again break
out, and eventually destroy the sight. AVhether, therefore, he
may be rejected or not, depends on the possibility of proving an
attack of mflammation of the eye, prior to the purchase. Next
to direct evidence of this are appearances about the eye, of which
the veterinary surgeon at least ought not to be ignorant. Allu-
sion has been made to them in page 64. They consist chiefly of
a puckering of the lids towards the inner corner of one or both
eyes — a difference in the size of the eyes, although perhaps only
a slight one, and not discovered except it be looked for — a gloom-
iness of the eye — a dullness of the iris — a little dullness of the
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — The greater number of these cases, arising as
they most frequently do from stniins, we should consider as unsoundness,
even although the probability may be that the horse will stand work with-
out lameness. There is weakness of the part, and a possibility of lame-
ness. There are, however, other ca-;es in which the enlargement may be in
the skin, or immediately under it, or on the outside of the bone, such cases
being often produced by kicks or blows, or other external injuries. There
are many such cases that we should regard as blemishes, but not as un
soimdnesa
426 SOUNDNESS.
transparent pari, ol' the oyo «!;cMU'rjilly — a minute, faint, dusky spot
(loop in tlio eye, and ^(nu'rally with little radiations of wliito liuea
]>ro(U^odiii<>" IVoni it. 1 1" these symplonis, or th(^ majority olthem.
ox.ist(ul at the time of [)iirehase, ihi' animal hail assuredly been
diseased l)erore, and was unsound Slartin;; has been considered
as muMpiivoeal jn'oof. It is usually au indication ol" detective
si^ht, but it is occasionally a trick. Connected, however, with
]\c api>(Niran(H'S just described, it is a very strong" corroborative
prool'.*
Lamkniws, from whatever cause arisiu<2:, is uusouiulness. Jiow-
cvcr temporary it may be, or however ob.scure, there must be dis-
ease which lessens the utility of the liorse, and renders him un-
sound for the time. So says couunon sense, but there are contra-
dictory decisions on the case. " A horse laborin«r under a tempo-
rary injury or hurt, which is capable of bein«>' speedily cured or
removed, is not, according- to Chief Justice Eyre, au unsound
horse ; and where a. warranty is made that such a horse is sound,
it is made without any view to such au injury ; nor is a horse so
circumstanced within the meaning- of the warranty. To vitiate
the warranty, the injury the horse had sustained, or the malady
* Nott' hi/ J\fr.Spooiirr. — All inloiiml ilisoase^i of the oyo, or the ri'iniiiiisi
of snoh iliscasi's, t'oiistitiito unsouuiliu'ss ; and wen ultliouivh no iniscliicr run
be (lisoovni'd at tln^ time ofsalc, yet, if intlaiiuiuition can l)o proved toiiavo
existed pii'viously, and such inllaiiimatioii siihseipiently reours, (ho horse is
returnable. As, Ijowever, it is extreintdy dillicult to obtain sneh proof, the
most particular care should be (aki'u with rej^ard to an exaiuiiiatiim of tho
eyes. Distinetiou. however, imist be made between those streaks or opacpie
spots often seen on the eoriu-a alone, and witlioutthe axis of vision, and wliieb.
invariably arises IVoiu blows or other external injuries, and whieh, alliionii^h
uinountiu!^' to a blemish, iloes not eonstitule unsoiuulness. 'i'lu'ris aie also
occasional speeks deepi^r in tho eye, about the size of a pin's head, oviilently
on tho surface of tho crystalline lens, and not in its body. These false oata-
raets, as tiioy may be called in contraihstinction to true cataracts, are very
frecpaMitly absorbeil, and do not inereaso or injure vision. When, there-
fore, the examiner can satify himself that such is the nature of the spe(>ks in
ipiestion, he will be Jusiitii'd, whilst pointing out their existence, in deciding
in tavor of soundness of the animal.
We cannot by any mi'ans agree with the doctrine implied in the text, that
a blind horse is not returnable. If the horse is warranted-sound.and proves
to be blind, the warranty is broken, and the liorso is returnable. Many
purchasers of horses know no mi>re about a lh)rse than a horse tloes about
them, and eanni>t be supposeil to be eaj>able of diseovi-ring the animal's
liefecls. ami they have a right to C(»nsider tlu> warranty as their prt)teotion,
Tho writer himself remiMubers, many years since, riding a horse twenty
miles on a turnpike road, without knt)wii)g that the aninud was blind. It
was a castM)f amaurosis; the eye was clear and appari>ntly free from dis-
ease, tho animal wei\t safe, straight and well, and he could scarcidy believe
it, the next morning. wlu>n he found that the animal was stone blind.
If, however, the horse is bought without a warranty, (lie tiefect being ap-
ixareut, tho horse is then not returnable on the ground of fraud.
SOIINDNKSS. 487
liiuUn- wliii'li 111' lahovi'd, ou^^lil lo he of a prnnaiu'iil iialiiic, and
not sucli as may arise IVdiu u tciuporary iiijury oi- .•idciil."
Oil the coiilrary, Lord I'^llcuboroii^li says: "I have always
lic'ld, and iit)\v lu)ld, that a warranty ol Hoiiiuliicss is IjioIumi, if
till' auiiiial at tlm tiiiK^ of siilo has any iiiHruiity upon liim which
renders him less lit lor present serviee. It is not necessary that
the disorder should l)e permanent or incnf:il)le. While a horse
lias a eou^^h he is unsound, although it may either be temporary
or may ])rove mortal. The horse in (piestion havinji; been lame at
the time of sale, when ho was warranted to Uo sound, his condi-
tion subse([uently is no (lelenc(^ to the action.* 'V\w diunsioii ot
Mr. liaroii Tarke, already referred to, conllrms this doctrine.
Niu'uoToMY. — A (piestion has arisen how far a horse that has
under«^one the operation of the division of the nerve of the le«r (seo
p. 8G), and has recovered from the lameness with which ho wa3
before alU'ctiui, and stands his work well, may bo considered to boi
Bound. (Jliief Justice Best held such a. horsi^ to b(^ unsound, and
ill our opinion there cannot be a, doubt about tln^ matter. Tho
operation of neurotomy does not remove tlu^ diseasi* causing' tho
lameness, lint only the sensation of pain. A horsti on whom this
operation has been performed may be improved by it — may cease
to be lame — may «••<) W(dl l()r many years; but there is no ccr
tainty of this, and he is unsound, within our defniition, unless na-
ture "i^ave tho iiervo lor no useful J)urpos(^
O.SSll'lCATlON OF TIIH LATKRAL (MKTliwVU i;S constitutes UllSOUud-
!iess, as iiiterferinjj^ witli the natural expansion of the loot,
and, ill horses of ([uick work, almost universally produein;,^
lameness.
PiiMicKD-FooT. — When the union between the horny and seu-
sible lamiine, or little jilates of tlu^ l()ot (see p. IJOT)), is weakcMuul,
and the (Ujllin-bone is letdown, and presses upon the sole, and tho
sole yields to this unnatural wei<;ht, and becomes rounded, and is
brou^j^ht in contact with the ^n'ound, and is bruiscul and injured,
that horse must bo unsound, and unsound forever, because thero
arc no moans by which wo can raise tho coilin-bono a^'^aiu hito
its" place.
(i,uii)i)iN(;. — If th(! mastication of the food ^ivcs pain to the ani-
mal, in conse(]uenco of sonnu'ss of tho mouth or throat, ln5 will
drop it bel()re it is i)erle(ttly chewed. This, as an indicration of
di.sease, constitutes unsoundness, t^uiddin^ sometimes arises from
irre<rularity in the teeth, whi(di wound tin; cheek with thiMr sharp
edjiCos ; or a j)rotrudin^ tooth riMiders it impossible for the horse
to (dos<; his jaws so as to (diew his food tliorou;';lily. (,iuiddin<(
i" unsoundness for the time ; but the unsoundness will cease when
*■ 4 Ciu>ij)l).-ll, '.!r)l, h7/<m VH. lir<Hid<:)i.
428 SOUNDNESS.
the teeth are properly filed, or the soreness or other cause of this
imperfect chewing removed.
(oluiTTOR is manifestly unsoundness.
Ring-bone. — Although when the bony tumor is small, and on
one side only, there is little or no lameness — and there are a few
instances in which a horse with ring-bone has worked for many
years without itti return — yet from the action of the foot, and the
stress upon the part, the inflammation and the formation of bone
may acquire a tendency to spread so rapidly, that we must pro-
nounce the slightest enlargement of the pasterns, or around the
coronet, to be a cause of unsoundness.
Sand-crack is manifestly unsoundness. It may, however, occur
without the slightest warning, and no horse can be rejected on
account of a sand-crack that has sprung after purchase. Its usual
cause is too great brittleness of the crust of the hoof; but there is
no mfallible method of detecting this, or the degree in which it
must exist in order to constitute unsoundness. When the horn
round the bottom of the foot has chipped off so much that only a
skilful smith can fasten the shoe without pricking the horse, or even
when there is a tendency in the horn to chip and break in a much
less degree than this, the horse is unsound, for the brittleness of
the crust is a disease of the part, or it is such an altered structure
of it as to interfere materially with the usefulness of the animal.
k5PAViN. — Bone spavin, comprehending in its largest sense every
bony tumor on the hock, is not necessarily unsoundness. If the
tumor affects in the slightest degree the action of the horse, it is
unsoundness ; — even if it does not, it is seldom safe to pronounce
it otherwise than unsoundness. But it may possibly be (like splint
in the fore-leg) so situated as to have no tendency to affect the ac-
tion. A veterinaiy surgeon consulted on the purchase will nol
always reject a horse because of such a tumor. His evidence on
a question of soundness will depend on the facts. The situation
and history of the tumor may be such as to enable him to give a
decisive opinion in a horse going sound, but not often.
Bog or Blood Spavin is unsoundness, because, although it may
not be productive of lameness at slow work, the rapid and power-
ful action of the hock in quicker motion will produce permanent,
yet jierhaps not considerable lameness, which can scarcely evei
be with certainty removed.=^
Splint. — It depends entirely on the situation of the bony tumor
on the shank-bone, whether it is to be considered as unsoundness.
If it is not in the neighborhood of any joint, so as to interfere with
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Blood-Spavin is certainly unsoundness, unless
extremely slight, although, in the majority of cases, i* does not caus#
lameness.
SOUNDNESS. 429
its action, and if it does not press upon any ligament or tendon, it
may be no cause of unsoundness, although it is often very un-
sightly. In many cases, it may not lessen the capabihty and value
of the animal. This has been treated on at considerable length in
page 256.^
IStringiialt. — This singular and very unpleasant action of the
hind-leg is decidedly an unsoundness. It is an irregular commu-
nication of nervous energy to some muscle of the thigh, observable
when the horse first comes from the stable, and gradually ceasing
on exercise. It has usually been accompanied by a more than
conuuon degree of strength and endurance. It must, however, be
traced to some morbid alteration of structure or function ; and
it rarely or never fails to deteriorate and gradually wear out the
animal.
Thickening of the Back Sinews. — Sufficient attention is not
always paid to the fineness of the legs of the horse. If the flexor
tendons have been sprained, so as to produce considerable thick-
ening of the cellular substance in which their sheaths are envel-
oped, they will long afterwards, or perhaps always, be liable to
sprain, from causes by which they would otherwise be scarcely
aflected. The continuance of any considerable thickness around
the sheaths of the tendons indicates previous violent sprain. This
very thickening will fetter the action of the tendons, and, after
much quick work, will occasionally renew the inflammation and
the lameness ; therefore, such a horse cannot be sound. It requires,
however, a little discrimination to distinguish this from the guin-
miness, or roundness of leg, peculiar to some breeds. There
should be an evident diflerence between the injured leg and the
other, t
Thoroughpin, except it is of great size, is rarely productive of
lameness, and therefore cannot be termed unsoundness ; but as
it is the consequence of hard work, and now and then does produce
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — We do not think the situation of this tumor has
as much to do with the existence of lameness as is generally imagined. The
lameness is occasioned by the tension of the periosteum, or covering of the
bone, which has not had time to accommodate itself to the bony swelling
beneath it. All sphnts, therefore, which evince tenderness on being pressed
should be considered as unsoundness, and, indeed, all splints on horses un
der six years of age should be guarded against by a sufficient warranty
though no lameness or tenderness may exist. In older horses, this precau
tion is unnecessary.
f JVote by Mr. Spooner. — All enlargements of the sinews or ligaments, un
less evidently produced by blows, constitute unsoundness. It is an old but
mistaken idea, that the enhirgement of sprung sinews, as it is termed, exists
in the cellular membrane. It is the substance of the sinews themselves that
becomes thickened.
430 SOUNDNESS
lameness, the hock should be most carefully examined, and there
should be a special warranty against it."^
Thrush. — There are various cases on record of actions on ac-
count of thrushes in horses and the decisions have been much at
variance, or perfectly contradictory Thrush has not been always
considered by legal men as unsoundness. We, however, decided-
ly so consider it ; as being a disease interfering and likely to inter-
fere with the usefulness of the horse. Thrush is inflammation of
the lower surface of the inner or sensible frog — and the secretion
or throwing out of pus — almost invariably accompanied by a
slight degree of tenderness of the frog itself, or of the heel a little
above it, and, if neglected, leading to diminution of the substance
of the frog, and separation of the horn from parts beneath, and
underrunning, and the production of fungus and canker, and, ul-
timately, a diseased state of the foot, destructive of the present,
and dangerous to the future usefulness of the horse, f
WiNDGALLS. — There are few horses perfectly free from wind-
galls, but they do not interfere with the action of the fetlock, or
cause lameness, except when they are numerous or large. They
constitute unsoundness only when they cause lameness, or are so
large and numerous as to render it likely that they will cause it.
Li the purchase of a horse the buyer usually receives, embod-
ied in the receipt, what is termed a warPv,anty. It should be
thus expressed : —
" Received of A. B. forty pounds for a gray mare, warranted only five
years old, sound, free from vice, and quiet to ride or drive.
"£40. " C. D."
A receipt, including merely the word " warranted," extends on
ly to soundness, — " warranted sound" goes no farther ; the age,
freedom from vice, and quietness to ride and drive, should be es
pecially named. This warranty comprises every cause of unsound-
ness that can be detected, or that lurks in the constitution at the
time of sale, and to every vicious habit that the animal has
hitherto shown. To establish a breach of warranty, and to be
enabled to tender a return of the horse and recover the difference
of price, the purchaser must prove that it was unsound or vicious-
y disposed at the time of sale. In case of cough, the horse must
nave been heard to cough immediately after the purchase, or as
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — TJioroughpins, unless they are very slight, ought
to be considered in the same light as Bog Spavin, which they resemble in
their nature though not in situation. They indicate weakness of one of the
most important points in the body, though lameness rarely attends it.
f Note by Mr. Spooner. — We cannot consider thrush as invariably un-
Boundness, as it may often be cured. In bad cases, of long standing, we are
justified in considering it as unsoundness.
SOUNDNESS. 431
he was led home, or as soon as he had entered the stable of the
purchaser. Coughing, even on the following morning, will not be
sufficient ; for it is possible that he might have caught cold by
change of stabling. If he is lame, it must be proved tc arise
from a cause that existed before the animal was in the purchaser's
possession, No price will imply a warranty, or be equivalent to
one ; there must be an express warranty. A fraud must be
proved in the seller, in order that the buyer may be enabled to
return the horse or maintain an action for the price. The war-
ranty should be given at the time of sale. A warranty, or a pro-
mise to warraiit the horse given at any period antecedent to the
sale, is invalid ; for horse-flesh is a very perishable commodity,
and the constitution and usefulness of the animal may undergo
a considerable change in the space of a few days. A warranty
after the sale is invalid, for it is is given without any legal consi-
deration. In order to complete the purchase, there must be a
transfer of the animal, or a memorandum of agreement, or the
payment of the earnest-money. The least sum will suffice for
earnest. No verbal promise to buy or to sell is binding without one
of these. The moment either of these is effected, the legal trans-
fer of property or deliveiy is made, and whatever may happen to
the horse, the seller retains, or is entitled to the money. If the
purchaser exercises any act of ownership, by using the animal
without leave of the vender, or by having any operation per-
formed, or any medicine given to him, he makes him his own.
The warranty of a servant is considered to be binding on the
master.*
If the horse should be afterwards discovered to have been un-
sound at the time of warranty, the buyer may tender a return of
it, and, if it be not taken back, may bring his action for the price ;
but the seller is not bound to rescind the contract, unless he has
agreed so to do.
Although there is no legal compulsion to give immediate no-
tice to the seller of the discovered unsoundness, it will be better
for it to be done. The animal should then be tendered at the
house or stable of the vender. If he refuses to receive him, the
animal may be sent to a livery stable and sold ; and an action
for the difference in price may be brought. The keep, however,
can be recovered only for the time that necessarily intervened
between the tender and the determination of the action. It is not
legally necessary to tender a return of the horse as soon as the
unsoundness is discovered. The animal may be kept for a reaso-
nable time afterwards, and even proper medical means used to re-
* The weight of authority decides that the master is bound hvthe act of
the servant. Lord Kenyon, however, had some doubt on the subject.
432 SOUNDNESS.
'.nove the unsoundness ; but courtesy, and indeed justice, will re
Muire that the notice should be given as soon as possible. Al-
chough It is stated, on the authority of Lord Loughborough, that
•* no length of time elapsed after the sale will alter the nature
of a conU-act originally false," yet it seems to have been once
thought it was necessary to the action to give notice of the un-
soundness in a reasonable time. The cause of action is cer-
tainly complete on breach of the warranty.
It used to be supposed that the buyer had no right to have the
horse medically treated, and that he would waive the warranty
by doing so. The question, however, would be, has he injured
or diminished the value of the horse by this treatment? It will
generally be prudent for him to refrain from all medical treat-
ment, because the means adopted, however skilfully employed,
may have an unfortunate effect, or may be misrepresented by ig-
norant or interested observers.
The purcliaser possibly may like the horse, notwithstanding his
discovered defect, and he may retain, and bring his action for the
lepreciation in value on account of the unsoundness. Few, how-
ever, will do this, because his retaining the horse will cause a
suspicion that the defect was of no great consequence, and will
give rise to much cavil about the quantum of damages, and after
all, very slight damages will probably be obtained. "I take it
to be clear law," says Lord Eldon, " that if a person purchases
a horse that is warranted, and it afterwards turns out that the
horse was unsound at the time of warranty, the buyer may, if he
pleases, keep the horse, and bring an action on the warranty ; in
which he will have a right to recover the difference between the
value of a sound horse, and one with such defects as existed at
the time of warranty ; or he may return the horse, and bring an
action to recover the full money ; but in the latter case, the sel-
ler has a right to expect that the horse shall be returned to him
in the same state he was when sold, and not by any means di-
minished in value ; for if a person keep a warranted article for
any length of time after discovering its defects, and when he re-
turns it, it is in a worse state than it would have been if returned
immediately after such discovery, I think the party can have no
defence to an action for the price of the article on the ground of
non-compliance with the warranty, but must be left to his action
on the warranty to recover the dilference in the value of the ar-
ticle warranted, and its value when sold.*
Where there is no warranty, an action may be brought on the
ground of fraud ; but this is very diihcult to be maintained, and
not often hazarded. It will be necessary to prove that the dealer
blew the defect, and that the purchaser was imposed upon by his
* Curtis V. Hannay, 3 Esp. 83.
SOUNDNESS. 433
false representation, or other fraudulent means. If the defect
was evident to every eye, the purchaser has no remedy — he should
have taken more care ; but if a warranty was given, that extends
to all unsoundness, palpable or concealed. Although a person
should ignorantly or carelessly buy a blind horse, warranted sound,
he may reject it — the warranty is his guard, and prevents him
ii-om so closely examining the horse as he otherwise would have
done ; but il' he buys a blind horse, thinking him to be sound, and
v/ithout a warranty, he has no remedy. Every one ought to ex-
ercise common circumspection and common sense.
A man should have a more perfect knowledge of horses than
falls to the lot of most, and a perfect knowledge of the vender too,
who ventures to buy a horse wit-iout a warranty.
If a persdn buys a horse wai ranted sound, and discovering no
defect in him, and, relying on the warranty, re-selis him, and the
unsoundness is discovered by the second purchaser, and the horse
returned to the first purchaser, or an action commenced against
him, he has his claim on the first seller, and may demand of him
not only the price of the horse, or the difierence in value, but
every expense that may have been incurred.
Absolute exchanges, of one horse for another, or a sum of money
being paid in addition by one of the parties, stand on the same
ground as simple sales. If there is a warranty on either side, and
that is broken, an action may be maintained : if there be no war-
ranty, deceit must be proved.
The trial of horses on sale often leads to disputes. The law is
perfectly clear, but the application of it, as in other matters con-
nected with horse-flesh, attended with glorious uncertainty. The
intended purchaser is only liable for damage done to the horse
througli his own misconduct. The seller may put what restriction
he chooses on the trial, and takes the risks of all accidents in the
fair use of the horse within such restrictions.
If a horse from a dealer's stable is galloped far and fast, it is
probabJe that he will soon show distress ; and if he is pushed far-
ther, inflammation and death may ensue. The dealer rarely gets
recompensed for this ; nor ought he, as he knows the unfitness of
his horse, and may thank himself for permitting such a trial ; and
if it should occur soon after the sale, he runs the risk of having
the horse returned, or of an action for itp price.
In this, too, he is not much to be pitied. The mischievous and
fraudulent practice of dealers, especially in London, of giving
their horses, by overfeeding, a false appearance of muscular sub-
stance, leads to the ruin of many a valuable animal. It would
be a useful lesson to have to contest in an action or two the ques-
tion whether a horse overloaded with fat can be otherwise thar.
in a state of disease, and consequently unsound.
28 S
4J4 SOUNDNESS.
It IS proper, however, to put a limit to what has been too fre-
quently asserted from the bench, that a horse warranted sound
must be taken as fit for immediate use, and capable of being- im
mediately put to any fair work the owner chooses. A hunter
honestly warranted sound is certainly warranted to be in imme
diate condition to follow the hounds. The mysteries of condition,
as has been shown in a former part of the work, are not suiii-
ciently unravelled.
In London, and in most great towns, there are repositories for
the periodical sale of horses by auction. They are of great con-
venience to the teller who can at once get rid of a horse with
which he wishes to part, without waiting month after month be-
fore he obtains a purchaser, and he is relieved from the nuisance
or fear of having the animal returned on account of breach of
the warranty, because in these places only two days are allowed
for the trial, and if the horse is not returned within that period
he cannot be afterwards returned. They are also convenient to
the purchaser, who can thus in a large town soon find a horse
that will suit him, and which, from this restriction as to returning
the animal, he will obtain twenty or thirty per cent, below the
dealers' prices. Although an auction may seem to offer a fail
and open competition, there is no place at which it is more neces-
sary for a person not much accustomed to horses to take with him
an experienced friend, and, when there, to depend on his own
judgment, or that of his friend, heedless of the observations or
manoeuvres of the bystanders, the exaggerated commendation of
some horses, and the thousand faults found with others. There
are always numerous groups of low dealers, copers, and chaunters,
whose business it is to delude and deceive.
One of the regulations of the Bazaar in King Street was ex-
ceedingly fair, both with regard to the previous owner and the
purchaser, viz. —
" When a horse, having been warranted sound, shall be returned
within the prescribed period, on account of unsoundness, a certi-
ficate from a veterinary surgeon, particularly describing the un-
soundness, must accompany the horse so returned ; when, if it be
agreed to by the veterinary surgeon of the establishment, the
amount received for the horse shall be immediately paid back ;
but if the veterinary surgeoa of the establishment should not
confirm the certificate, then, in order to avoid further dispute, one
of the veterinary surgeons of the college shall be called in, and
his decision shall be final, and the expense of such umpire shall
be borne by the party in error."
CHAPTER XXIII.
A. LIST OF THE MEDICINES USED IIS THE TREATMENT OF
THE DISEASES OF THE HORSE.
He will rarely consult his own interest, who, not having had the
advantage of a veterinary education, undertakes the treatment of
any of the serious diseases of his horses. Many of the maladies
of the horse nearly resemble each other. They are continually
varying their character, and require, in their different stages, a
very different treatment, and in the plainest case not only the
characteristic symptoms of disease are obscure, but even the in-
dications of returning health, or increasing danger, are often
scarcely ascertainable, conseqently the sick horse, as well as the
human being, needs the care of one whom study and experience
have qualified for the task. A list of the drugs generally em-
ployed, with a slight account of their history, adulterations, and
medicinal effects, will be interesting to the horse-proprietor as
M^ell as to the veterinary surgeon ; and may occasionally be use-
ful when professional aid cannot be obtained.*
Frequent reference will be made to Professor Morton'? most
valuable Manual of Pharmacy. This work will be found to be
a treasure to every veterinary surgeon. Mr. W. C. Spooner's
Materia Medica, in his recent compendium of White's account
of the horse, will occasionally be laid under contribution.
Acacia Gummi, Gum Arabic. — Many varieties of gujii arabic
are procured from Egypt, Arabia, and the East Indies. It is
employed in the form of a mucilage, made by dissolving it in
water, in the proportion of one part of the gum to three or
four of water. Various insoluble powders may be thus suspended,
or oils rendered miscible, or emulsions formed. Emulsions
composed of gum arabic are supposed to be useful in urinary
affections,
AciDUM AcETicTJM, AcETic AciD, ViNEGAR. — Vinegar is a very
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — We have little to add under this division of
the work. The Pharmacopoeia in the text was cautiously written, and is for
the most oart correct.
436 MEDICINES.
useful application for sprains and bruises. Equal parts of boiling
water and cold vinegar will form a good fomentation. Extract
of lead, or bay salt, may be added with some advantage. As an
internal remedy, vinegar is rarely given, nor has it, except in
large doses, any considerable medicinal power. The veterinarian
and the horse-owner should manufacture their own vinegar.
That which they buy frequently contains sulphuric acid and pun-
gent spices, and irritates the inflamed part to which it is applied.
AciDUM Arseniosum, Arsenic Acid. — Were it not that some
practitioners continue to use it as a tonic, in doses of from ten to
twenty grains daily, and others employ it to core out old ulcers,
we should not include it in our list, for we have little faith in it.
There are better and safer tonics, and far better and safer caus-
tics,
ACIDUM MURIATICUM, OR HYDROCHLORIC AciD : SpiRIT OF
Salt. — This acid is formed by distilling corrosive sublimate with
antimony. The butter-like matter which is produced (whence
the common name, BiUyr of Antimony), has a strong afiinity
for water, which it attracts from the atmosphere, and thus be-
comes converted into a fluid. The less water it is suflered to
attract- to itself the more powerful it remains, and therefore it
should be kept in stoppered bottles. The proof of its goodness is
its weight. It is decidedly the best liquid caustic we have. It
is most manageable, and its efiect can most readily be ascertained.
As soon as it touches any muscular or living part, a change of
color is perceived, and the eflect of the caustic can be i'airly
judged of by the degree of change. For corns, canker, indispo-
sition in the sole to secrete good horn, wounds in the foot not
attended by healthy action, and for every case where the super-
ficial application of a caustic is needed, this acid is unrivalled.
AciDUM NiTRicuM *. NiTRic AciD, Aquafortis. — Tliis is a
valuable external application. It is both a caustic and an anti-
septic. It destroys fungous excrescences. A pledget of tar should
be dipped in the acid, and then firmly pressed on the cankerous
surface. Every part with which the acid has come into contact
will be deadened and slough ofi^, and healthy -granulations will
spring up.
AciDUM Hi'DROciANicuM : Prussic Acid. — This, in a concen-
trated state, is truly a deadly poison ; a few drops of it will kill
a large animal. In a diluted form, it is a powerfiil sedative. In
doses of six drops, largely diluted, it abates both pulmonary and
gastric irritation. It may be worth trying in the form of injec-
tions in cases of tetanus. It may also be given by the mouth
in the same disease. Nothing ^'s more likely to tranquillize the
general excitement of the nei^ous system. The author of this
work v/as the firs', person who applied the hydrocyanic acid for
MEDICINES. 437
.he purpose of allaying irritation of the skin in dogs. It seldom
fails of producing the desired eflect, and it has had a similar
good ellect in subduing itchiness and mange in the horse,
AciDUM iSuLniuRicuM, Sulphuric Acid, Oil of Vitriol. —
When mixed with tar in the proportion of an ounce to the
pound, it is a good application for thrush and canker : a smaller
quantity, mixed with olive oil, makes a good stimulating lini-
ment. If too much sulphuric acid is added, either by mistake
or wilfully, it inflames and corrodes the stomach and bowels.
The proper antidotes in this case are magnesia, or the carbonate
of soda or potash, with soft soap. The acid might possibly be
neutralized by this combination. «
Actual Cautery. — See Caustics.
Adeps, Hog's LaPwD, very properly forms the basis of most
of our ointments. It is tasteless, inodorous, and free from every
stimulating quality. That cannot be said of all the ingredients
used in the composition of our unguents.
Alcohol, Rectified Spirit. — This is necessarily used in
many of our tinctures and other preparations, and is sometimes
given to the horse in almost a pure state. Some horses that are
compelled to travel far and quickly, show evident fatigue before
they arrive at the end of their journey. A cordial or carmina-
tive tincture, to the extent of three or four ounces, largely diluted,
may occasionally be given, and they rally, and cheerfully pursue
their journey to the end. The groom or the stableman gives
the gin or whiskey of the country, in preference to any other
stimulant. In cases of thorough fatigue, the Dafly's Elixir may be
administered, and probably rendered more stimulant by the addi-
tion of pepper. Mr. Bracy Clark recommends four ounces of the
tincture of allspice in cases of gripes. On the other hand, some
veterinary surgeons have preferred simple hot water, or the infu-
sion of several of our medicinal herbs, as peppermint, rosemary,
&c. We should be loth, except on extraordinary occasions, to
advocate the use of any spirituolis drink.
Aloes. — There are two kinds used m horse practice, the Barba-
does and the Cape. The Socotorine, preferred by the human sur-
geon, are very uncertain in their effect on the horse, and are seldom
to be met with pure. Of the Barbadoes and the Cape, the first
are much to be preferred.
The Barbadoes are black, with a sha^Ie of brown, of an unctu-
ous feeling, with a stronger smell, broken with difficulty, and the
fracture dull. The Cape are darker coloved, stronger smelling,
very brittle, and the fracture perfectly glossy. Every veterinary
surgeon who uses much aloes should buy them in the mass, and
powder them at home, and then, by attending to this account of
the difference of the two, he can scarcely be imposed upon. It
438 MEDICINES.
is, however, the fact, that these are mostly adulterated, by their
being melted together. Aloes purchased in powder are too often
sadly adulterated.
The Cape aloes may be powdered at all times, and the Barba-
does in frosty weather, when enough should be prepared, to be
kept in closed bottles, for the year's consumption. They may
also be powdered when they have been taken from the gourd," and
exposed to a gentle heat for two or three hours before they arc
put into the mortar. In the proportion of fifteen ounces of the
powder mixed with one ounce of powdered gmger, and beaten up
with eight ounces of palm oil, and afterwards divided into the
proper doses, it will fotm a purging mass more effectual, and
much less likely to gripe, than any that can be procured by melt-
ing the drug. If the physic is given in the shape of a ball, it
more readily dissolves in the stomach, and more certainly and
safely acts on the bowels when mingled with some oily matter,
like that just recommended, than when combined with syrup or
honey, which are apt to ferment, and be themselves the cause of
gripes. It is also worse than useless to add any diuretic to the
mass, as soap or carbonate of soda. The action of these on one
set of organs will weaken that of the aloes on another. A physic
mass should never be kept more than two or three months, for,
after that time, it rapidly loses its purgative property.
Directions for physicking will be found at page 224. We
will only add that, as a promoter of condition, the dose should
always be mild. A few fluid stools will be sufficient for every
good purpose. Violent disease will alone justify violent purging.
The Barbadoes aloes have a greater purgative power than the
Cape exclusive of griping less and being safer. In addition to
this, the action of the bowels is kept up longer by the Barbadoes
aloes than by the Cape. If the horse is well mashed, and care-
fully exercised, and will drink plenty of warm water, the Cape
may be ventured on, or at least mixed with equal quanties of the
Barbadoes ; but if there is any neglect of preparation for physic,
or during the usual operation of the physic, the Cape are not
always to be depended upon. The combination of alkaline com-
pounds with aloes alters the results of the medicine. The action
is quickened, but their purgative properties are impaired, and
they cease to operate specifically on the larger intestines. Such
is the opinion of Professor Morton, and undoubtedly the latter
would be an advantage gained. The activity of the aloes may
be occasionally increased by a few drops of the croton oil. Mashes
are useful helps when physic is administered.
Some persons are fond of what are called half-doses of physic.
Three or four drachms are given on one day, and three or four
on the following : and perhaps, if the medicine has not operated,
MEDICINES. 439
as in this divided state it will not aiways, two or three additional
drachms are given on the third day. The consequence is, that
the bowels havinj^ been rendered irritable by the tbrmer doses,
the horse is over-purged, and inflammation and death occasion-
ally ensue. In physicking a horse, whatever is to be done should
be done at once. Whatever quantity is intended to be given
should be given in one dose.
The system of giving small doses of aloes as alteratives is nc
good. These repeated minute doses lodging in some of the folds
of the intestines, and at length uniting, often produce more eflect
than is desirable. It is never safe to ride a horse far or fast, with
even a small dose of aloes within him.
Most of all objectionable is the custom of giving small doses
of aloes as a nauseant, in inflammation of the lungs. There is
so much sympathy between the contents of the chest and the
belly in the horse, and inflammation of one part is so likely to
be transferred to another, that it is treading on very dangerous
ground, when, with much inflammation of the lungs, that is
given which will stimulate and may inflame the intestines.
Aloes are most commonly, because most easily, administered in
ilie form of ball, but in a state of solution their eflect is more
speedy, eflectual and safe.^
Aloes are usetul in the form of tincture. Eight ounces of
powdered aloes, and one ounce of powdered myrrh, may be put
into two quarts of alcohol, diluted with an equal quantity of
water. The mixture should be daily well shaken for a fortnight,
and then suflered to stand, in order that the undissolved portion
may fall to the bottom. This will constitute a very excellent
application for wounds, whether recent or of long-standing and
indisposed to heal. It is not only a gentle stimulant, but it forms
a thin crust over the wound, and shields it from the action of the
air.
The principal adulteration of aloes is by means of resin, and
the alteration of color is concealed by the addition of charcoal or
lamp-black. This adulteration is easily enough detected by dis-
solving the aloes in hot water. All aloes contahi some resinous
matter, which the water will not dissolve and which has very
slight purgative eflect. The excess of this resin at the bottom
of the solution will mark the degree of adulteration.
Alteratives, — are a class of medicines the nature and eflect
of which are often much misunderstood, and liable to considerable
abuse. It is a very convenient name in order to excuse that pro-
pensity to dose the horse with medicines, which is the disgrace
of the groom, and the bane of the stable.
* See note by Mr. Spooner, on page 225
44 D MEDICINES.
By alteratives we understand those drugs which effect ?omc
slow change in the diseased action of certain parts without inter-
i'ering with the food or work ; but by common consent the term
seems to be confined to medicines for the diseases of the circula-
tion, or of the digestive organs, or of the skin. If a horse is heavy
and incapable of work from too good keep, or if he is off his food
from some temporary indigestion — or if he has mange or grease,
or cracked heels, or swelled legs, a few alteratives are prescribed,
and the complaint -is expected to be gradually and imperceptibly
removed. For all skin affections there is no better alterative
than that so often recommended in this treatise, consisting of
black antimony, nitre, and sulphur. If there is any tendency to
grease, some resin may be added to each ball . If the complaint is ac-
companied by weakness, a little gentian and ginger may be farther
added, but we enter our protest against the ignorant use of mer
cury in any form, or any of the mineral acids, or mineral tonics,
or heating spices, as alteratives. We indeed should be pleased
if we could banish the term alterative from common usage. The
mode of proceeding which reason and science would dictate is to
ascertain the nature and the degree of the disease, and then the
medicine which is calculated to restore the healthy action of the
part, or of the frame generally.
Alum, — is occasionally used internally in cases of over-purging
in the form of alum-whey, two drachms of the powder being
added to a pint of hot milk ; but there are much better astrin-
gents, although this may sometimes succeed when others fail. If
alum is added to a vegetable astringent, as oak-bark, the power
of both is diminished. Its principal use is external. A solution
of two drachms to a pint of water forms alone, or Avith the addi-
tion of a small quantity of white vitriol, a very useful wash for
cracked heels, and for grease generally ; and also for those forms
of swelled legs attended with exudation of moisture through the
skin. Some add the Goulard lotion, forgetting the chemical de
composition that takes place ; the result of which is, that the al
umine, possessing little astringency, is detached, and two salts
with no astringency at all, the sulphate of lead and the sulphate
of potash, are formed.
The Burnt Alum is inferior to the common alum for the pur-
poses mentioned, and we have better stimulants, or caustics, to
apply to wounds.
Anise Seed, — see Anisi Semina.
Ammonia, Hap^tshorn, — is, to the annoyance of the horse, and
the injury of his eyes and his lungs, plentifully extricated from
the putrefying dung and urine of the stable ; but, when combined
with water in the common form of hartshorn, it is seldom used in
veterinary practice It has been given, and with decided benefit
MEDICINES. 441
and when other thinp^s have failed, in flatulent colic ; and is best
administered in the form of the aromatic spirit of ammonia, and
in doses of one or two ounces, in warm water.
Chloride of Ammonia, — or sal ammoniac, is scarcely deservingr
of a place in our list. It is not now used internally ; and as an
astringent embrocation, it must yield to several that are more ef-
fectual, and less likely to blemish.
Anisi Semina, Anise Seed. — This seed is here mentioned prin-
cipally as a record of old times, when it was one of the sheet-
anchors of the farrier. It is not yet quite discarded from his shop
as a stimulant, a carminative, and a cordial.
Anodynes. — Of these there is but cJne in horse practice : Opium
is the only drug that will lull pain. It may be given as an ano-
dyne, but it will also be an astringent in doses of one, two, oi
three drachms.
Antimony. — There are several valuable preparations of thig
metal.
The Black Sesqui-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 or rapid effect intended to be produced. It
should never be bought in powder whatever trouble there may be
in pulverizing it, for it is often grossly adulterated with lead,
manganese, forge-dust, and arsenic. The adulteration may be
detected by placing a little of the powder on a red-hot iron plate.
The pure sulphuret will evaporate without the slightest res-
idue— so will the arsenic : but there will be an evident smell of
garlic. A portion of the lead and the manganese will be left
behind.
Antimonii Potassio Tartras, Emetic Tartar. — The tartrate
of potash and antimony, or a combination of super-tartrate of
potash and oxide of antimony, is a very useful nauseant, and has
considerable effect on the skin. It is particularly valuable in in-
flammation of the lungs, and in every catarrhal affection. It is
given in doses of from one drachm to a drachm and a half, and
combined with nitre and digitalis. It is also beneficial in the
expulsion of worms. It should be given in doses of two drachms,
and with some mechanical vermifuge, as tin filings, or grcund
glass, and administered on an empty stomach, and for several
successive days. Although it may sometimes fail to expel the
worms, it will materially improve the condition of the horse, and
produce sleekness of the coat. To a slight degree the emetic tar-
tar is decomposed by the action of light, and should be kept in a
jar, or green bottle. It is sometimes adulterated Avith arsenic,
which is detected by the garlic smell when it is placed on hot
iron, and also by its not giving a beautiful gold-colored precipitate
442 MEDICINES.
when sulphuret of ammonia is added to a solution of it. It has
also been externally applied in oliest affections, in combination
with lard, and in quantities of from one drachm to two drachms
of the antimony, to an ounce of the lard ; but, except in extreme
oases, recourse should not be had to it, on account of the exten-
sive sloughino' which it sometimes produces.
Aqua Fortis, — see Acidum Nitricum.
Arabic Gum, — see Acacia Gummi.
PuLvis Antimonu Compositus, the Compound Powder of An-
timony, James' Powder. — It is employed as a sudorific in fever,
either alone or in combination with mercurials. The dose is from
one to two drachms. The* late Mr. Bloxam used to trust to it
alone in the treatment of Epidemic Catarrh in the horse. It is,
however, decidedly inferior to Emetic Tartar. It is often adul-
terated with chalk and burnt bones, and other white powders,
and that to so shameful a degree, that little dependence can be
placed on the antimonial powder usually sold by druggists. The
muriatic or sulphuric acids will detect most of these adultera
tions.
Anti-spasmodics. — Of these our lirt is scanty, for the horse is
subject only to a few spasmodic diseases, and there are fewer
medicines which have an anti-spasmodic effect. Opium stands
first for its general power, and that exerted particularly in locked-
jaw. Oil of turpentine is almost a specific for spasm of the
bowels. Camphor, assafoetida, and various other medicines, used
on the human subject, have a very doubtful effect on the horse,
or may be considered as almost inert.
Argentum, Silver, Lunap^ Caustic. — One combination only of
this metal is used, and that as a manageable and excellent caus-
tic, viz., the Lunar Caustic. It is far preferable to the hot iron,
or to any acid, for the destruction of the part if a horse should
have been bitten by a rabid dog ; and it stands next to the butyr
of antimony for the removal of fungus generally. It has not yet
been administered internally to the horse.
Arsenic. — This drug used to be employed as a tonic, in order
to core out old ulcers ; but it is now seldom employed, for there
are better and safer tonics, and far better and safer caustics.
Balls. — The usual and the most convenient mode of adminis-
tering veterinary medicines is in the form of balls, compounded
with oil, and not with honey or syrup, on account of their longer
keeping soft and more easily dissolving in the stomach. Balls
should never weigh more than an ounce and a half, otherwise
they will be so large as not to pass without difficulty down the
gullet. They should not be more than an inch in diameter and
three inches in length. The mode of delivering balls is not diffi-
cult to acquire ; but the balling-iron, while it often wounds and
MEDICINES 443
permanently injures the bars, occasions the horse to strupfole more
than he otherwise would against the administration of the medi-
cine. The horse should be backed in the stall ; — the tongue
should be drawui gently out with the left hand on the off side of
the mouth, and there fixed, not by continuing to pull at it, but
by pressing the fingers against the side of the lower jaw. The
ball, being now taken between the tips of the fingers of the right
hand, is passed rapidly up the mouth, as near to the palate as
possible, until it reaches the root of the tongue. It is then deliv-
ered with a slight jerk, and the hand being immediately with-
drawal and the tongue liberated, the ball is forced through the
pharynx into the (Esophagus. Its passage should be watched
down the left side of the throat ; and if the passage of it is not
seen going down, a slight tap or blow under the chin will gen-
erally cause the horse to swallow it, or a few gulps of water will
convey it into the stomach. Very few balls should be kept ready
made, for they become so hard as to be incapable of passing down
the gullet, or dissolving in the stomach, and the life of the horse
may be endangered or lost.. This is peculiarly liable to be the
case if the ball is too large, or wrapped in thick paper.
Balsam of Capivi, — see Copaiba.
Bark, Peruvian. — A concentrated preparation of this is entitled
the Sulphate of Q^uinine. The simple bark is now seldom used
If it has any good effect, it is in diabetes. The quinine, however,
is strongly recommended^by Professor Morton as singularly effica-
cious in the prostration of strength which is often the conseonence
of influenza.
Basilicon Ointment, — is a valuable digestive ointment, com-
posed of resin, bees- wax, and olive-oil. If it is needed as a stim-
ulant, a little turpentine and verdigris may be added.
Belladonna Extractum, Extract of Deadly Nightshade. —
The inspissated juice is principally used as a narcotic and sed*?-
tive, and indicated where there is undue action of the nervous
and vascular systems, as in tetanus, carditis, and nervous affec-
tions generally. Externally, it is beneficially applied to tne
eye.
Blisters, — are applications to the skin which separate the cu-
ticle in the form of vesicles containing a serous fluid. They ex-
cite increased action in the vessels of the skin, by means of which
this fluid is thrown out. The part, or neighboring parts, are some-
what relieved by the discharge, but more by the inflammation
and pain that are produced, and lessen that previously existing in
some contiguous part. On this principle we account for the de-
cided relief often obtained by blisters in inflammation of the lungs,
and their efficacy in abating deeply-seated disease, as that of the
tendons, ligaments, or joints; and also the necessity of previously
444 MEDICINES.
removing, in tlic.se latter cases, the superficial inflami..iation caused
by them, in order that one of a different kind may be excited, and
to which the deeply-seated inflammation of the part will be more
likely to yield. The blisters used in horse-practice are composed
of cantharides or the oil of turpentine, to which some have added
a tincture of the croton-nut.
The art of blistering consists in cutting, or rather shaving, the
hair perfectly close ; then well rubbing in the ointment, for at
least ten minutes ; and, afterwards, and what is of the greatest
consequence of all, plastering a little more of the ointment lightly
over the part and leaving it. As soon as the vesicles have per-
fectly risen, which will be in twenty or twenty-four hours, the tor-
ture of the animal may be somewhat relieved by the application
of olive or neat's-foot oil, or any emollient ointment.
When too extensive a blister has been employed, or, from the
intensity of the original inflammation, the blister has not risen (for
no two intense inflammations can exist in neighboring parts at the
same time), strangury — great difficulty in passing urine, and even
suppression of it — has occurred. The careful washing off of the
blister, and the administration of plenty of warm water, with
opium, and bleeding if the symptoms run high, will generally re-
move this unpleasant effect.
For some important remarks on the composition, application,
and management of the blister, see page 362,
Bole Armenian, — is an argillaceous earth combined with iron,
and is supposed to possess some astringent property. The pro-
priety of its being administered inwardly is doubtful ; for it may
remain in the intestinal canal, and become the nucleus of a cal-
culus. On account of its supposed astringency, it is employed ex-
ternally to give consistence to ointments for grease. Even the
bole Armenian has not escaped the process of adulteration, and is
largely mixed with inferior earths. The fraud may be suspected,
but not satisilictorily detected, by the color of the powder, which
should be a bright red.
Calamine Powder. — See Zinc.
Calomel. — See Hydrargyrum.
Camphor, — is the produce of one of the laurus species, a native
of Japan, and too often imitated by passing a stream of chlorine
through oil of turpentine. According to Professor Morton, it is a
narcotic. It diminishes the frequency of the pulse, and softens its
tone. When long exhibited, it acts on the kidneys. Externally
applied, it is said to be a discutient and an anodyne for chronic
sprains, bruises, and tumors. The camph(yr ball is a favorite one
with the groom, and occasionally administered by the veterinary
surgeon. Mr. W. C. Spooner uses it, mixed with opium, in cases
of locked-jaw, and in doses of from one to two drachms. In the
medici^nES. 445
form of camphorated oil, it promotes the ahsorption of fluids
thrown out beneath the skin, the removal of old callus, and the
suppling of joints stifl' from labor. Combined with oil of turpen-
tine it is more efiective, but in this combination it occasionally
blemishes.*
Cantharides, Spanish Flies, — are the basis of the most ap-
proved and useful veterinary blisters. The cantharis is a fly,
tlie native of Italy and the south of France. It is destroyed
by sulphur, dried and powdered, and mixed with palm-oil and
resin. Its action is intense, and yet superficial ; it plenti-
fully raises the cuticle, yet rarely injures the true skin, and
therefore seldom blemishes. The application of other acrid
substances is occasionally followed by deeply-seated ulcerations ;
but a blister composed of the Spanish fly alone, while it does
its duty, leaves, after a few weeks have passed, scarcely a trace
behind.
An infusion of two ounces of the flies in a pint of oil of turpen-
tine, for several days, is occasionally used as a liquid blister ; and,
when sufficiently lowered with common oil, it is called a siveat-
iiig oil, for it maintains a certain degree of irritation and inflamma-
tion on the skin, yet not sufficient to blister, and thus gradually
abates or removes some old or deep inflammation, or cause of
lameness.
Of late cantharides have come into more general use. Tliey
were recommended by Mr. Vines, in combination with vegetable
bitters, as a stimulating tonic, in cases of debility. He next ap-
plied them for the cure of glanders, and with considerable suc-
cess. The veterinary public is much indebted to Mr. Vines for
the steadiness with which he has followed up the employment of
the Spanish fly. The dose is from five to eight grains given daily,
but Avithheld for a day or two" when diuresis supervenes.
Capsici Bacc.e, Capsicum Berries. Guinea Pepper. — They
are valuable as stimulants affecting the system generally, yet not
Coo much accelerating the pulse. Their beneficial effect in cases
of cold has seldom been properly estimated. The dose is from a
scruple to half a drachm.
Caraway Seeds. — These and ginger, alone or combined, are
the best stimulants used in horse-practice.
Caaeonate of Iron. — See under Ferrum.
Cascarilla Bark, — Tonic as well as aromatic. It must not,
however, be used Avith the sulphates of iron or zinc.
Castor Oil, Olium Ricini. — An expensive medicine. It must
be given in large doses, and even then it is uncertain in its effects.
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Camphor is a sedative and slight narcotic, and
as such, may be exhibited in fever balls with advantage. It hii-s al<o been
found useful, combmed with opium, in relieving the spasms of locked-jaw.
446 MEDICINES.
Mild as is its operation in most animals, it sometimes gripes, and
even endangers the horse.
Catechu, Japan Earth, — yet, no earth, but extracted from
the wood of one of the acacia trees, is a very useful astringent.
It is given in over purging, in doses of one or two drachms,
with opium, as a yet more powerful astringent ; chalk, to neu-
tralize any acid in the stomach or bowels ; and powdered gum,
to sheath the over-irritated mucous coat of the intestines. It is
not often adulterated in our country, but grossly so abroad — fine
sand and alumnious earth being mixed with the extract. It is
seldom given with any alkali, yet the prescription just recom-
mended contains chalk : but, although the chalk, as an alkan.
may weaken the astringency of the catechu, it probably neu-
tralizes some acid in the stomach or bowels, that would have
diminished the power of the catechu to a greater degree. It
must not be given in conjunction with any metallic salt, for the
tannin or gallic acid, on Avhich its power chiefly or entirely
depends, has an affinity for all metals, and will unite with them,
and form a gallate of them, possessing little astringent energy
Common ink is the union of this tannin principle with iron.
A tincture of catechu is sometimes made by macerating three
ounces of the powder in a quart of spirit for a fortnight. It is
an excellent application for wounds ; and, with the aloes, con-
stitutes all that we want of a balsamic nature for the purpose
of hastening the healing process of wounds.
Caustics, — are substances that burn or destroy the parts to
which they are applied. First among them stands the red-hot
iron, or actual cautery, and then pure alkalies, potash, and soda,
and the sulphuric and nitrous acids. Milder caustics are found
in the sulphate of copper, red precipitate, burnt alum, and ver-
digris. They are principally used to destroy fungous excrescences,
or stimulate indolent tumors, or remove portions of cellular sub-
stance, or muscle infected by any poison.
Chalk, — see Creta Preparata.
Chamomile, Anthemis. — The powder of the flower is a use-
ful vegetable ionic, and the mildest in our list. , It is given in
doses of one or two drachms, and is exhibited in the early stage
of convalescence in order to ascertain whether the febrile stage
of the disease is passed, and to prepare the way for a more pow-
erful tonic, the gentian. If no acceleration of pulse, or heat of
mouth, or indication of return of fever, accompanies the cautious
use of chamomile, the gentian, with carbonate of iron, may be
safely ventured upon ; but if the gentian had been first used,
and a little too soon, there might have been considerable, and
perhaps dangerous return of fever.
Charcoal,— is occasionally used as an antiseptic, being made
MEDICINES. 44*7
into a poultice witn linseed meal, and applied to foul and ofTen-
sive ulcers, and to cracked heels. It removes the fcetid and un
wholesome smell that occasionally proceeds from them.
Charges, — are thick, adhesive plasters spread over parts thai
have been strained or weakened, and, being applied to the skin,
adhere for a considerable time. The following mixture makes
good charge — Burgundy or common pitch, five ounces ; tar, siy
ounces ; yellow wax, one ounce, melted together, and when
they are becoming cool, half a drachm of powdered cantharides
well stirred in. This must be partially melted afresh when
applied, and spread on the part with a large spatula, as hot as
can be done without giving the animal too much pain. Flocks
of tow should be scattered over it while it is warm, and thus a
thick and adhesive covering will be formed that cannot be
separated from the skin for many months. It is used for old
sprains of the loins, and also strains of the back sinews. The
charge acts in three ways — by the slight stimulant power which
it possesses it gradually removes all deep-seated inflammation —
by its stimulus and its pressure it promotes the absorption of any
callus or thickening beneath ; and, acting as a constant bandage
it gives tone and strength to the part.
Chloride of Lime, — see under Lime.
Chloroform, — see note.=^
Clysters. — These are usHiui and too often neglected means
of hastening the evacuation of the bowels when the disease
requires their speedy ;ictioii. The old ox-bladder and wooden
pipe may still be employed, and a considerable quantity of fluid
thrown into the intestine : but tlie patent stomach and clyster
pump of Mr. Reid is far preferable, as enabling the practitioner
to inject a greater quantity of fluid, and in a less time.
Two ounces of soft or "yellow soap, dissolved in a gallon of
warm water, will form a useful aperient clyster. It will detach
or dissolve many irritating substances that may have adhered to
the mucous coat of the bowels. For a more active aperient,
half a pound of Epsoiji salts, or even of common salt, may be
dissolved in the same quantity of water. A stronger injection,
but not to be used if much purgative medicine has been pre-
viously given, may be composed of an ounce of Barbadoes aloes
dissolved in two or three quarts of warm water. If nothing
else can be procured, warm water may be employed ; it will
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Chloroform, or the percliloride of formyle, has
been found to be a better anaesthetic agent than sulphuric ether, and has
also been used internally for spasms of the bowels. The objection to its
use as a destroyer of sensation is the quantity required to be taken,
amounting, indeed, to several ounces. The writer has employed it suocessi
fully in many operations
44b MEDICINES.
act as a fomentation to the inflamed and irritalDle surface of the
bowels, and will have no inconsiderable effect even as an ape-
rient.
In cases of over-purging or inflammation of the bowels, the
injection must be of a soothing nature. It may consist of gruel
alone, or, if the purging is considerable, and difficult to stop, the
ruel must be thicker, and four ounces of prepared or powdered
chalk well mixed with or suspended in it, with two scruples or
a drachm of powdered opium.
No oil should enter into the composition of a clyster, except
that linseed oil may be used for the expulsion of the ascarides,
or needle-worms.
In epidemic catarrh, when the horse sometimes obstinately
refuses to eat or to drink, his strength may be supported by
nourishing clysters ; but they should consist of thick gruel only,
and not more than a quart should be administered at once. A
greater quantity would be ejected soon alter the pipe is with-
drawn. Strong broths, and more particularly ale and wine, are
dangerous ingredients. They may rapidly aggravate the fever,
and should never be administered, excej^t under the superin-
tendence, or by the direction, of a veterinary surgeon.
The principal art of administering a clyster consists in not
frightening the horse. The pipe, well oiled, should be very
gently introduced, and the fluid not too hastily thrown into the
intestine ; its heat being as nearly as possible that of the intes-
tine, or about 96° of Fahrenheit's thermometer.
CoLLYRiA, Lotions for the Eye. — These have been suffi-
ciently described when inflammation of the eyes was treated of
Copaiba, Balsam of Cafivi. — The resin is obtained from a
tree growing in South America and the West India Islands. It
IS expensive, much adulterated, and seldom used ; for its proper-
ties differ but little from those of common diuretics.
Copper. — There are two combinations of this metal used in
veterinary practice : the verdigris or subacetate, and the blue
vitriol or sulphate.
Verdigris, or Subacetate of Copiier is the common rust ol
that metal produced by subjecting it to the action of acetic acid.
It is given internally by some practitioners, in doses of two oi
three drachms daily, as a tonic, and particularly for the cure of
farcy. It is, however, an uncertain and dangerous medicine.
The corrosive sublimate, with vegetable tonics, as recommended
at page 117, is preferable. Verdigris is, however, usefully ap-
plied externally as a mild caustic. Either alone, in the form
of fine powder, or mixed with an equal quantity of the sugar
(superacetate) of lead, it eats down proud flesh, or stimulates old
ulcers to healthy action. When boiled with honey and vinegar,
MEDICINES. 449
it constitutes the farriers' Egyptiacum, certainly of benefit in
cankered or ulcerated mouth, and no bad application for thrushes ;
but yielding, as it regards both, to better remedies, that ar*?
mentioned under the proper heads. Some practitioners use
alum and oil of vitriol in making their Egyptiacum, forgetting
the strange decomposition which is produced.
Blue Vitriol or Sulpliate of Cojiper is the union of sulphuric
acid and copper. It is a favorite tonic with many practitioners,
and has been vaunted as a specific for glanders ; while others,
and we think properly, have no very good opinion of it in either
respect. As a cure for glanders, its reputation has nearly passed
away. As a tonic, when the horse is slowly recovering from se-
vere illness, it is dangerous, and its internal use should be con-
fined to cases of long-continued discharge from the nostril, when
catarrh or fever has ceased. It may then be given with benefit
in doses of from one to two drachms twice in the day, and always
combined with gentian and ginger. It is principally valuable
as an external application, dissolved in water in the proportion
of two drachms to a pint, and acting as a gentle stimulant. If
an ounce is dissolved in the same quantity of water, it becomes a
mild caustic. In the former proportion, it rouses old ulcers to a
healthy action, and disposes even recent wounds to heal more
quickly than they otherwise would do ; and in the latter it re-
moves fungous granulations or proud flesh. The blue vitriol is
sometimes reduced to powder and sprinkled upon the wound for
this purpose : it is also a good application for canker in the foot.
Copperas, — See under Ferrum.
Cordials, — are useful or injurious according to the judgment
with which they are given. When a horse comes home
thoroughly exhausted, and refuses his food, a cordial may be bene-
ficial. It may rouse the stomach and the system generally, and
may prevent cold and fever ; but it is poison to the animal when
administered after the cold is actually caught and fever begins to
appear. More to be reprobated is the practice of gWm^ frequent
cordials, that by their stimulus on the stomach, (the skin sympa-
thising so much with that viscus,) a fine coat may be produced.
The artificial excitement of the cordial soon becomes as necessary
to enable the horse to do even common work, as is the excite-
ment of the dram to sustain the animal spirits of the drunkard.
In order to recall the appetite of the horse slowly recovering
from illness, a cordial may sometimes be allowed ; or to old horses
that have been worked hard and used to these excitements when
young ; or to draught horses, that have exhibited slight symptoms
of sta| gers when their labor has been unusually protracted and
their stomachs left too long empty ; or mixed with diuretic med
icine, to fine the lejjs of the over- worked and debilitated animal ,
^ 29
450 MEDICINES.
but in 1.0 other case should they obtain a place in the stable, or
be used at the discretion of the carter or the groom.
Corrosive Sublimate. — See under Hydrargyrum.
Cream of Tartar. — See under Potash.
Creasote, — has very lately been introduced into veterinary
practice, and is much valued on account of its antiseptic proper-
ties. It is obtained by the destructive distillation of various sub-
tances, as pyroligneous acid, tar, wood, smoke, &c. Pure crea-
sote is colorless and transparent ; its odor is that of smoked meat,
and its taste is caustic and burning. It coagulates the albumen
of the blood, and hence has been lately employed in stopping haer-
morrhages. It acts very powerfully on the general system, and
:iuickly destroys small animals.. Professor Morton gives a very
interesting and faithful account of it. It is, according to him,
both a stimulant and a tonic. In an undiluted state it acts as a
caustic. When diluted it is a general excitant and an antisep-
tic. In the form of a lotion, a liniment, or an ointment, it has
been useful in farcy and glanders, also in foot-rot, canker, and
thrush, — mange, carries excessive suppuration, and the oppression
of fungous granulations. As a caustic it acts as a powerful stim-
ulant, and is an antiseptic.
Creta Preparata, — is principally used in combination with
catechu and opium in cases of super-purgation. All adventitious
matters are removed by washing, and the prepared or pulverized
chalk remains in the form of an impalpable powder. It is usu-
ally administered in doses of two or three ounces. It is externally
applied over ulcers that discharge a thin and ichorous matter.
Croton Seeds. — The croton-nut has not been long introduced
into veterinary practice, although it has been used from time im-
memorial by the inhabitants of India as a powerful purgative.
An oil has been extracted from it, and used by the surgeon ; the
meal is adopted by the veterinarian. It is given in doses from a
scruple to half a drachm, and from its acrid nature, in the form
of a ball, with an ounce of linseed meal. When it does operate
the effect is generally observed in six or eight hours, the stools
being profuse and watery, and the patient frequently griped. On
account of its speedy operation, it may be given in locked-jaw
and staggers : and also in dropsy of the chest or belly, from the
watery and profuse stools which it produces ; but it is often un-
certain in its operation, and its griping, and the debility which
it occasions, are serious objections to it as common physic.
When placed on the tongue of the horse in quantities varying
from twenty to forty drops, it produces purging, but the mem-
brane of the mouth frequently becomes violently inflamed. This
likewise happens, but not to so great a degree, when it is given
in the form of a drink, or in a mash.
MEDICINES. 4'>i
Deadly Nightshade, — extract of, see Belladonna Extrac-
T-JM.
Demulcents, — are substances that have the power of dimin-
ishing the eHect of acrimonious or stimulating substances. The
first, by some oily or mucilaginous substance, sheaths the sensible
parts. The other dilutes the stimulus, and diminishes its power.
It will rarely be difficult to determine which effect should be
produced, and the means by which it is to be effected.
Diaphoretics, — are raiedicines that increase the sensible and
insensible perspiration of the animal. As it regards the horse,
they are neither many nor powerful. Antimony in its various
forms, and sulphur, have some effect in opening the pores of the
skin, and exciting its vessels to action, and especially when assist-
ed by warmth of stable or clothing, and therefore is useful in
those diseases in which it is desirable that some portion of the
blood should be diverted from the overloaded, and inflamed,
and vital organs of the chest, to the skin or the extremities.
The only diaphoretics, however, on which much confidence can
be placed, and especially to produce condition, are warm clothing
and good grooming.
Digestives, — are applications to recent or old wounds, as mild
stimulants, in order to produce a healthy appearance and action
in them, and to cause them more speedily to heal. A weak so-
lution of blue vitriol is an excellent digestive ; so is the tincture
of aloes, and the tincture of myrrh. The best digestive oint-
ment is one composed of three parts of calamine ointment (Tur-
ner's cerate) and one of common turpentine.
Digitalis — Fox-G-love. — The leaves of the common fox-glove,
gathered about the flowering time, dried carefully in a dark
place, and powdered, and kept in a close black bottle, form one of
the most valuable medicines in veterinary practice. It is a direct
and powerful sedative, diminishing the frequency of the pulse,
and the general irritability of the system, and acting also as a
mild diuretic : it is therefore useful in every inflammatory and
febrile complaint, and particularly in inflammation of the chest.
It is usually given in combination with emetic tartar and nitre
The average dose is one drachm of digitalis, one and a half of emet
ic tartar, and three of nitre, repeated twice or thrice in a day.
Digitalis seems to have an immediate effect on the heart, less-
ening the number of its pulsations ; but effecting this in a singular
manner — not by causing the heart to beat more slowly, but produ-
cing certain intermissions or pauses in its action. When these
become marked — when at every sixth or seventh beat, the pulsa-
tions are suspended while two or three can be slowly counted, this
is precisely the effect that is intended to be produced, and, how-
ever ill the horse may appear to be, or however alaiming this m-
152 MEDIC^I'^ES.
termittent pulse may seem to the standers-by, from that moment
the animal will frequently begin to amend. The dose must then
oe diminished one-half, and in a few days it may be omitted al-
together : but the emetic tartar and the nitre should be continued
during some days after the practitioner has deemed it prudent to
try the effect of mild vegetable tonics.
There is no danger in the intermittent pulse thus produced ;
but there is much when the digitalis fails to produce any effect
on the circulation. The disease is then too powerful to be
arrested by medicine. Digitalis requires watching ; but the only
consequence to be apprehended from an over-dose is, that the pa-
tient may be reduced a little too low, and his convalescence re-
tarded for a day or two.
In the form of infusion or tincture, digitalis is very useful in
inflammation of the eyes. It is almost equal in its sedative in-
fluence to opium, and it may with great advantage be alternated
with it, when opium begins to lose its power. The infusion is
made by pouring a quart of boiling water on an ounce of the
powder. When it is become cold, a portion of the liquid may be
introduced into the eye. One or two drops of the tincture may
be introduced with good effect. This may be obtained by mace-
rating three ounces of digitalis in a quart of spirit.
The infusion has been serviceable in mange ; but there are
better applications.
Diuretics, — constitute a useful but much abused class of medi-
cines. They stimulate the kidneys to secrete more than the
usual quantity of urine, or to separate a greater than ordinary
proportion of the watery parts of the blood. The deficiency of
water in the blood thus occasioned, must be speedily supplied, or
the healthy circulation cannot be carried on ; and it is generally
supphed by the absorbents taking up the watery fluid in some
part of the frame, and carrying it into the circulation. Hence
the evident use of diuretics in dropsical affections, in swelled legs,
and also in inflammation and fever, by lessening the quantity of
the circulating fluid, and, consequently, that which is sent to the
inflamed parts.
All this is effected by the kidneys being stimulated to increased
action ; but if this stimulus is too often or too violently applied,
the energy of the kidney may be impaired, or inflamimation may
be produced. That inflammation may be of an acute character,
and destroy the patient ; or, although not intense in its nature,
it may by frequent repetition assume a chronic form, and more
slowly, but as surely, do irreparable mischief Hence the neces-
sity of attention to that portion of the food which may have a
diuretic power. Mow-burnt hay and foxy oats are the unsus-
pected causes of many a disease in the horse, at first obscure, but
MEDICINES. 453
ultimately referable to injury or inflammation of the urinary or-
gans. Hence, too, the impropriety of sullering medicines of a
diuretic nature to be at the coimnand oi" the ignorant carter or
groom. In swelled legs, cracks, grease, or accumulation of lluid
in any part, and in those superficial eruptions and inflammations
which are said to be produced by humors floating in the blood,
diuretics are evidently beneficial ; but they should be as mild as
possible, and not oftener given or continued longer than the
case requires. For some cautions as to the administration of diu-
retics, and a list of the safest and best, the reader is referred to
page 231. The expensive Castile soap, and camphor, so often
resorted to, are not needed, for the common liquid turpentine is
quite sufficient in all ordinary cases, and nitre and digitalis may
be added if fever is suspected.
Drinks. — Many practitioners and horse-proprietors have a
great objection to the administration of medicines in the form of
drinks. A drink is not so portable as a ball, it is more trouble-
some to give, and a portion of it is usually wasted. If the drink
contains any acid substance, it is apt to excoriate the mouth, or
to irritate the throat, already sore from disease, or the unpleasant
taste of the drug, may unnecessarily nauseate the horse. There
are some medicines, however, Which must be given in the form
of drinlv, as in colic ; and the time, perliaps, in not distant when
purgatives will be thus administered, as more speedy, and safer in
their operation. In cases of much debility and entire loss of ap-
petite, all medicine should be given in solution, for the stomach
may not have sufficient power to dissolve the paper in which tha
ball is wrapped, or the substance of the ball.=^
An ox's horn, the larger end being cut slantingly, is the usual
and best instrument for administering drinks. The noose of a
halter is introduced into the mouth, and then,*by means of a sta-
ble-fork, the head is elevated by an assistant considerably higher
than for the delivery of a ball. The surgeon stands on a pail or
stable-basket on the ofT-side of the horse, and draws out the
tongue with the left hand ; he then, with the right hand , intro-
duces the horn gently into the mouth, and over the tongue, and
by a dexterous turn of the horn empties the whole of the drink
— not more than about six ounces — into the back part of the
mouth. The horn is now quickly withdrawn, and the tongue
loosened, and the greater portion of the fluid will be swallowed.
A portion of it, however, will often be obstinately held in the
mouth for a long time, and the head must be kept up until the
whole is got rid of, which a quick, but not violent slap on the
muzzle will generally compel the horse to do. The art of giving
* See note on p. 225.
454 MEDICINES.
a drink consists in not putting too much into the horn at once ,
introducing the horn far enough into the mouth, and quickly turn-
ing and withdrawing it, without bruising or wounding the mouth,
the tongue being loosened at the same moment. A bottle is a
disgraceful and dangerous instrument to use, except it be a flat
pint bottle, with a long and thick neck.
Emetic Tartar. — See Antimonio Potassio Tartras.
Epsom Salts. — See under Magnesia.
Ergot of Rye. — See Secale Cornutum.
Ethiops Mineral. — See under Hydrargyrum.
Eye Lotions or Washes. — See CollyfcIa.
Fep^rum, Iron. — Of this metal there are two preparations
adopted by veterinarians. The rust, or Carbonate, is a mild
and useful tonic, in doses of from two to four drachms. The Sul-
phate {green vitriol or cojyjjeras) is more powerful. It should
never be given in the early stages of recovery, and always with
caution. The dose should be the same as that of the carbonate.
The sulphate has lately been recommended for the cure of that de-
ceitful stage or form of glanders, in which there is nothing to char-
acterize the disease but a very slight discharge from the nostrils.
It is to be dissolved in the common drink of the horse. It is worth
a trial, but too sanguine expectations must not be encouraged of
the power of any drug over this intractable malady. The iron
should be given in combination with gentian and ginger, but
never with any alkali or nitre or soap, or catechu, or astringent
vegetable.
Fever. — For the nature and treatment of the fever, both pure
and symptomatic, reference may be made to page 163.
Forge Water, — used to be a favorite tonic with farriers, and
also a lotion for canker and ulcers in the mouth. It owes its power,
if there be any, to the iron with which it is impregnated.
Flax Seed. — See Linseed.
Fomentations, — open the pores of the skin and promote per-
spiration in the part, and so abate the local swelling, and relieve
pain and lessen inflammation. They are often used, and with
more benefit when the inflammation is somewhat deeply seated,
than when it is superficial. The effect depends upon the warmth
of the water, and not on any herb that may have been boiled in
it. They are best applied by means of flannel, frequently dipped
in the hot water, or on which the water is poured, and the heat
should be as great as the hand will bear. The benefit that might
be derived from them is much impaired by the absurd method in
which the fomentations are conducted. They are rarely contin-
ued long enough, and when they are removed, the part is left wet
and uncovered, and the coldness of evaporation succeeds to the
heat of fomentation. The perspiration is thus suddenly checked ,
MEDICINES. 453
the animal suffers considerable pain, and more harm is done by
the extreme change of temperature than if the fomentation had
not been attempted.
Fox-Glove. — See Digitalis.
Gentian, — stands at the head of the vegetable tonics, and is a
stomachic as well as a tonic. It is equally useful in chronic de-
bility, and in that w^hich is consequent on severe and protracted ill-
ness. It is generally united with chamomile, ginger, and, when
the patient will bear it, carbonate of iron. Four drachms of gen-
tian, two of chamomile, one of carbonate of iron, and one of ginger,
will make an excellent tonic ball. An infusion of gentian is one
of the best applications to putrid ulcers.
Ginger, — is as valuable as a cordial, as gentian is as a tonic.
It is the basis of the cordial ball, and it is indispensable in the
tonic ball. Although it is difficult to powder, the veterinary prac-
titioner should always purchase it in its solid form. If the root is
large, heavy, and not worm-eaten, the black ginger is as good as
the white, and considerably cheaper. The powder is adulterated
with bean-meal and the sawdust of boxwood, and rendered warm
and pungent by means of capsicum.
Goulard's Extract. — See under Lead.
(xlauber's Salt. — See Sod^ Sulphur.
Hartshorn. — See Ammonia.
Healing Ointment. — See under Zinc.
Hellebore, luhite, — This is a drastic cathartic, and should be
used with great caution. It is a powerful nauseant, and lowers
both the force and frequency of the pulse, and is therefore given
with good effect in various inflammations, and particularly that
of the lungs. In the hospital of the veterinary surgeon, or in the
stable of the gentleman who will superintend the giving and the
operation of every medicine, it may be used with safety ; but with
him who has to trust to others, and who does not see the horse
more than once in twelve or twenty-four hours, it is a dangerous
drug. If it is pushed a little too far, trembling and giddiness, and
purging follow, and the horse is sometimes lost. The hanging of
the head, and the frothing of the mouth, and, more particularly,
the sinking of the pulse, will give warning of danger ; but the
medical attendant may not have the opportunity of observing this,
and when he does observe it, it may be too late. Its dose varies
from a scruple to half a drachm. In doses of a drachm, it could not
be given with safety ; and yet, such is the different effect of med-
icines given in different doses, that in the quantity of an ounce it
is said to be a diuretic and a tonic, and exhibited with advantage
in chronic and obstinate grease.
Hellebore, black, — This is used mostly as a local application,
and as such it is a very powerful stimulant. Mr. E. Stanley, of
456 MEDICINES.
Banbury, frequently resorts to it in fistulous affections of the poL'
and withers, and with considerable success. Tlie abscess having
formed, and exit being given to the imprisoned fluid, it is allowed
to discharge itself, for two or three days, being dressed with an
ordinary digestive ointment. When the pus assumes a laudable
character, he introduces a few portions of the fibrous part of the
root, passing them down to the bottom of the sinus, and letting
them remain for a fortnight or more ; in the mean time, merely
keeping the surrounding parts clean. On examination, it will be
found that the healing process has commenced.
Professor Morton adds, that an ointment, formed of the powder
of either the black or white Hellebore, in the proportion of one
part of the powder to eight of lard, will be found exceedingly ac-
tive for the dressing of rowels and setons.
Hemlock, — is used by some practitioners, instead of digitalis
or hellebore, in affections of the chest, whether acute or chrojiic ;
but it is inferior to both. The dose of the powder of the dried
leaves is about a drachm.
Hog's Lard. — See Adeps.
Hydrargyrum, Mercury. — This metal is found native in
many countries in the form of minute globules. It also occurs in
masses, and in different varieties of crystallization. It has the
singular property of being liquid in the natural temperature of
our earth. It freezes, or assumes a singular species of crystalliza-
tion, at 39^ below 0 of Fah., and at 660' above 0 of Fah. it
boils, and rapidly evaporates. In its metallic state it appears to
have no action on the animal system, but its compounds are
mostly powerful excitants, and some of them are active caustics.
The Common Mercurial Ointment may be used for ring-
worm, and that species of acarus which seems to be the source, or
the precursor of, mange. The compound mercurial ointment is
also useful in the destruction of the same insect. For most erup-
tions connecting with or simulating mange, the author of this
work has been accustomed to apply the following ointment with
considerable success : —
Sublimed sulphur .
Common turpentine
Mercurial ointment .
Linseed oil
. 1 pound.
. 4 oz.
. 2 oz.
. 1 pint.
The Mercurial Ointment is prepared by rubbing quicksilver
with lard, in the proportion of one part of mercury to three of lard,
until no globules appear. The practitioner should, if possible, pre-
pare it himself, for he can seldom get it pure or of the proper
strength from the druggist. It is employed with considerable ad
vantage in preparing splints, spavins, or other bony or callous tu
MEDICINES. 457
mors, for blistering or firing. One or two drachms, according to
the nature and size of the swelling, may be daily well rubbed in ;
but it should be watched, for it sometimes salivates the horse very
speedily. The tumors more readily disperse, at the application of
a stronger stimulant," when they have been thus prepared. Mer-
curial ointment in a weaker state is sometimes necessary for th
cure of mallenders and sallenders ; and in very obstinate cases of
mange, one-eighth part of mercurial ointment may be added to
the ointment recommended at page 409.
Calomel, the submuriate or protochloride of mercury, may be
given, combined with aloes, in mange, surfeit, or worms. It is
also useful in some cases of chronic cough, in farcy and in jaun-
dice. Alone it has little purgative effect on the horse, but it as-
sists the action of other aperients. It is given in doses from a
scruple to a drachm. As soon as the gums become red, or the ani-
mal begins to quid or drop his hay, it must be discontinued. Cal-
omel has lately gained much repute in arresting the progress of
epidemic catarrh in the horse. Mr. Percival has succeeded in
this attempt to a very considerable extent. In fact, the influence
of calomel in veterinary practice seems to have been far too much
undervalued.
Corwuve Sublimate, the oxymuriate or bichloride of mercury,
combined with chlorine in a double proportion, is a useful tonic
in farcy. It should be given in doses of ten grains daily, and
gradually increased to a scruple, until the horse is purged, or the
mouth becomes sore, when it may be omitted for a few days, and
resumed. Some have recommended it as a diuretic, but it is too
dangerous a medicine for this purpose. It is used externally in
solution ; m substance in quittor, as a stimulant to foul ulcers ;
and in the proportion of five grains to an oiaice of rectified spirit
n obstinate mange, or to destroy vermin on the skin. It is, how-
ever, too uncertain and too dangerous a medicine for the horse-
proprietor to venture on its use.
jEthiops Mineral, the black sulphuret of mercury, is not
often used in horse-practice, but it is a good alterative for obstin-
ate surfeit or foulness of the skin, in doses of three drachms daily.
Four drachms of cream of tartar may be advantageously added
to each dose.
Infusions. — The active matter of some vegetable substances is
partly or entirely extracted by water. Dried vegetables yield
their properties more readily and perfectly than when in their
^reen state. Boiling water is poured on the substance to be in-
fused, and Avhich should have been previously pounded oi pow-
dered, and the vessel then covered and placed near a fire. In
five or six hours the transparent part may be poured .off, and is
•^ady for use. In a few days, however, all infusions become thick.
458 MEDICINES.
and lose their virtue, from the decomposition of the vegetable
Tiatter.
The infusion of chamomile is advantageously used instead of
water in compounding a mild tonic drench. The infusion of
catechu is uselul in astringent mixtures ; that of linseed is used
instead of common water in catarrh and cold ; and the infusion
\)f tobacco in some injections.
Injections. — See Clysters.
Iodine. — This substance has not been long introduced intr.
veterinary practice. The first object which it seemed to accom-
plish, was the reduction of the enlarged glands that frequently
remain after catarrh, but it soon appeared that it could reduce
almost every species of tumor. Much concerned in the first in-
troduction of iodine into veterinary practice, the writer of the
present work bears willing testimony to the zeal and success
of others, in establishing the claims of this most valuable medi-
cine. Professor Morton has devoted much time and labor to the
different combinations of iodine, and they are described at length
in thq useful " Manual of Pharmacy." He gives the formulae of
the composition of a liniment, an ointment, and a tincture of
iodine, adapted to different species and stages of disease. He
next describes the preparation of the iodide of potassium — the
combination of iodine and potash — and then the improvement on
that under the name of the diniodide of copper — the union of two
parts of the iodide of potassium with four of the sulphate of
copper.
The action of this compound is an admirable tonic and a stim-
alant to the absorbent system, if combined with vegetable tonics,
and, occasionally, small doses of cantharides. Professor Spooner
and Mr. Daws applied this compound, and with marked suci-vss,
to the alleviation of farcy, nasal gleet, and glanders. It is pleatj-
ing to witness these triumphs over disease, a little while ago so
unexpected, and now so assured.^
Iodine Ointment. — See under Iodine.
Iron. — See Ferrum.
James's Powder. — See Pulvis Antimonii Compositus.
Japan Earth. — See Catechu.
Juniper, Oil of. — This essential oil is retained because it has
some diruetic property, as well as being a pleasant aromatic. It
frequently enters into the composition ot" the diuretic ball.
* Note by Mr. Spooner. — Iodine is employed in various foims. In that of
iodide of potassium it is best administered internally, as a promoter of ab-
sorption. Combined with the sulphate of ropper it forms a powerful and
useful tonic ; whilst in the form of iodide of mercury, and combined with
lard or palm oil, it becomes a powerful blister, and a useful promoter of
absorption
MEDICINES 469
Lead, Pluimeum. — The Carbonate of Lead had a deleterioug
efiect on the biped and the quadruped m the neijihborhood of
lead works. They are subject to violent griping pains, and to
constipation that can with great difficulty, or not at all, be over-
come. Something of the same kind is occasionally observed in
the cider counties, and the " painter's colic" is a circumstance
of too frequent occurrence — the occasional dreadiul pains, and the
ravenous appetite extending to everything that comes in the way
of the animal. Active purgatives followed by opium are the
most effectual remedies.
The Acetate of Lead, Plumbi Acetas. — Sugar of lead is sel-
dom given externally to the horse, but is used as a coUyrium for
inflammation of the eyes.
The Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis, or Goulard's Extract, or,
as it used to be termed at the Veterinary College, the Aqua
Vegeto, is a better eye wash, and advantageously used in external
and superficial inflammation, and particularly the inflammation
that remains after the application of a blister.
Lime, — was formerly sprinkled over cankered feet and greasy
heels, but there are less painful caustics, and more eflectual ab-
sorbents of moisture. Lime-water is rarely used, but the Chloride
of Lime is exceedingly valuable. Diluted with twenty times its
quantity of water, it helps to form the poultice applied to every
part from which there is the slightest offensive discharge. The
foetid smell of fistulous withers, poll-evil, canker, and ill-condi-
tioned wounds, is immediately removed, and the ulcers are more
disposed to heal. When mangy horses are dismissed as cured, a
washing with the diluted chloride will remove any infection that
may lurk about them, or which they may carry from the place
in which they have been confined. One pint of the chloride
mixed with three gallons of water, and brushed over the walls
and manger and rack of the foulest stable, will completely re-
move all infection. Professor Morton, very properly, says tha
the common practice of merely white-washing the walls server
only to cover the infectious matter, and perhaps to preserve it for
an indefinite length of time, so that when the lime scales off, dis
ease may be again engendered by the exposed virus. The horse
furniture worn by a glandered or mangy animal will be efTectu-
ally purified by the chloride. Internally administered, it seems
to have little or no power.
Liniments, — are oily applications of the consistence of a thick
fluid, and designed either to soothe an inflamed surface, or, by
gently stimulating the skin, to remove deeper-seated pain or in-
flammation. As an emollient, one composed of half an ounce of
extract of lead and four ounces of olive oil will be useful. , For
sprains, old swellings, or rheumatism, two ounces of hartshorn,
460 MEDICINES.
the same quantity of camphorated spirit, an ounce of oil of tur-
pentine, and half an ounce of laudanum, may he mixed too:ether ;
or an ounce of camphor may be dissolved in four ounces of sweet
oil, to which an ounce of oil of turpentine may be afterwards
added. A little powdered cantharides, or tincture of cantharides,
or mustard powder, will render either of these more powerful, or
convert it into a liquid blister.
Linseed. — An infusion of linseed is often used instead of water,
for the drink of the horse with sore- throat or catarrh, or disease
of the urinary organs or of the bowels. A pail containing it
should be slung in the stable or loose box. Thus gruel, however,
is preferable ; it is as bland and soothing, and it is more nutri-
tiovis. Linseed meal forms the best poultice for almost every pur-
pose.
Lunar Caustic. — See under Argentium.
Magnesia. — The sulphate of magnesia, or Epsom Salts, should
be used only in promoting the purgative effect of clysters, or, in
repeated doses of six or eight ounces, gently to open the boAvels
at the commencement of fever. Some doubt, however, attends
the latter practice ; for the dose must occasionally be thrice re-
peated before it will act, and then, although safer than aloes, it
may produce too much irritation in the intestinal canal, especially
if the fever is the precursor of inflammation of the lungs.
Mashes, — constitute a very important part of horse-provender,
whether in sickness or health. A mash given occasionally to a
horse that is otherwise fed on dry meat prevents him from be-
coming dangerously costive. To the over-w^orked and tired horse,
nothing is so refreshing as a warm mash with his usual allow-
ance of corn in it. The art of getting a liorse into apparent con-
dition for sale, or giving him a round and plump appearance, con-
sists principally in the frequent repetition of mashes, and, from
their easiness of digestion and the mild nutriment which they
afibrd, as well as their laxative effect, they form the principal
diet of the sick horse.
They are made by pouring boiling water or bran, and stirring
it well, and then covering it over until it is sufficiently cool for
the horse to eat. If in the heat of summer a cold mash is pre-
ferred, it should, nevertheless, be made with hot water, and
then suffered to remain until it is cold. This is not always suf
ficiently attended to by the groom, who is not aware that the
efficacy of the mash depends principally on the change which is
effected hi the bran and the other ingredients by boiling water
rendering them more easy of digestion, as well as more aperient.
If the horse refuses the mash, a few oats may be sprinkl'-d over
••t, in order to tempt him to eat it ; but if it is previously designed
that corn should be ffiven in the mash, it should be scalded Avitb
MEDICINES. 461
the bran, in order to soften it and render it more difrestilde. Bran
nnashes are very usoi'ul preparatives for physic, and they are
necessary during the operation of the physic. They very soon
become sour, and the manger of the horse, of w^hose diet they
tbrm a principal part, should be daily and carefully cleaned out.
When horses are weakly and much reduced, malt mashes will
often be very palatable to them and very nutritive : but the water
that is poured on a malt mash should be considerably below the
boiling heat, otherwise the malt will be set, or clogged together.
If the owner was aware of the value of a malt mash, it would
be oltener given when the horse is rapidly getting weaker from
protracted disease, or when he is beginning to recover from a dis-
ease by which he has been much reduced. The only exception
to their use is in cases of chest affection, in which they must not
be given too early. In grease, and in mange accompanied by
much emaciation, malt mashes will be peculiarly useful, especially
if they constitute a principal portion of the food.
Mercury, — see Hydrargyrum.
Mercurial Ointment, — see under Hydrargyrum.
Muriatic Acid, — see Acidum MuRfATicuM.
Mustard, Sinaris. — This will be found occasionally useful, if,
in inflammation of the chest or bowels, it is well rubbed on the
chest or the abdomen. The external swelling and irritation which
it excites may, to a greater or less degree, abate the inflammation
within.
Myr-RH, — may be used in the form of tincture, or it may be
united to the tincture of aloes as a stimulating and digestive ap-
plication to w^ounds Diluted with an equal quantity of water,
it ic a good application for canker in the mouth, but as an inter-
nal medicine it seems to be inert, although some practitioners ad-
vocate its use, combined with opium, in cases of chronic cough.
Nitre, — see under Potash.
Nitrous ^ther. Spirit of, — is a A'-ery useful medicine in the
advanced stages of fever, for while it, to a certain degree, rouses
the exhausted powers of the animal, and may be denominated a
stimulant, it never brings back the dangerous febrile action which
was subsiding. It is given in doses of three or four drachms.
Olive Oil, — is an emollient and demulcent. Its laxative effect
is very inconsiderable and uncertain in the horse.
Opium. — However underrated by some, there is not a more
valuable drug on our list. It does not often act as a narcotic, ex-
ci pt in considerable doses ; but it is a powerful antispasmodic,
sedative, and astringent. As an antispasmodic, it enters into the
cholic drink, and it is the sheet-anchor of the veterinarian in the
treatment of tetanus or locked-jaw. As a sedative it relaxes that
umversal spasm of the muscular system which is the character-
462 MEDICINES.
lsti« of tetanus ; and, perhaps, it is only as a sedative that it has
such admirable effect as an astringent, for when the irritation
around the mouths of the vessels of the intestines and kidneys is
allayed by the opium, the undue purging and profuse staling wil'
necessarily be arrested.
Opium should, however, be given with caution. It is its sec-
ndary effect that is sedative, and, if given in cases of fever, its
primary effect in increasing the excitation of the frame may be
very considerable and highly injurious. In the early and acute
stage of fever, it would be bad practice to give it in the smallest
quantity ; but when the fever has passed, or is passing, there is
nothing which so rapidly subdues the irritability that accompanies
extreme weakness. It becomes an excellent tonic, because it is
a sedative.
If the blue or green vitriol, or cantharides, have been pushed
too far, opium, sooner than any other drug, quiets the disorder
they have occasioned. It is given in doses of one or two drachms,
in the form of ball. Other medicines are usually combined with
it, according to the circumstances of the case.
Externally, it is useful in ophthalmia. In the form of decoc-
tion of the poppy-head, it may constitute the basis of an' anodyne
poultice ; but it must not be given in union with any alkali, with
the exception of chalk, in over-purging ; nor with the superace-
tate of lead, by which its powers are materially impaired ; nor
with sulphate of zinc, or copper, or iron.
From its high price it is much adulterated, and it is not always
met with in a state of purity. The best tests are its smell, its
taste, its toughness and pliancy, its fawn or brown color, and its
weight, for it is the heaviest of all the vegetable extracts except
gum arable ; yet its weight is often fraudulently increased by
stones and bits of lead dexterously concealed in it. The English
opium is almost as good as the Turkish, and frequently sold for it ;
but is distinguishable by its blackness and softness.
Palm Oil, — when genuine, is the very best substance that can
be used for making masses and balls. It has a pleasant smell,
and it never becomes rancid.
Pepper, — see Capsici Bacc^.
Pitch, — is used to give adhesiveness and firmness to charges
ind piasters. The common pitch is quite as good as the more
^expensive Burgundy pitch. The best plaster for sand-crack con-
sists of one pound oi" pitch and an ounce of yellow beeswax melted
together.
Phvsic. — The cases which require physic, the composition of
ihe most effectual and safest physic-ball, and the mode of treat-
ment under physic, have been already described.
Potash. — Two compounds of potash are used in veterinary
MEDICINES. 463
practice The Nitrate of Potash (Nitre) is a valualle cooling
medicine and a mild diuretic, and, therefore, it should enter into
the composition of every fever-ball. Its dose is from two to four
drachms. Grooms often dissolve it in the water. There are two
objections to this : either the horse is nauseated and will not drink
so much water as he ought ; or the salt taste of the water causes
considerable thirst, and disinclination to solid food. Nitre, whilst
dissolving, materially lowers the temperature of water, and fur-
nishes a very cold and useful lotion for sprain of the back-sinews,
and other local inflammations. The lotion should be used as soon
as the salt is dissolved, for it quickly becomes as warm as the
surrounding air. The Bitartrate of Potash {Cream, of Tartar)
is a mild diuretic, and, combined with ^Ethiop's mineral, is used
as an alterative in obstinate mange or grease. The objection,
however, to its use in such an animal as the horse, is the little
power which it seems to exercise.
Poultices. — Few horsemen are aware of the value of these
simple applications in abating inflammation, relieviiig pain, cleans-
ing wounds, and disposing them to heal. They are .applications
of the best kind continued much longer than a simple fomentation
can be. In all inflammations of the foot they are very beneficial,
by softening the horn hardened by the heat of the foot and con-
tracted and pressing on the internal and highly sensible parts.
The moisture and warmth are the useful qiialities of the poultice ;
and that poultice is the best for general purposes in which moisture
and warmth are longest retained. Perspiration is most abundantly
promoted in the part, the pores are opened, swellings are relieved
and discharges of a healthy nature procured from wounds.
Linseed meal forms the best general poultice, because it longest
retains the moisture. Bran, although frequently used for poultices,
is objectionable, because it so soon becomes dry To abate con-
siderable inflammation, and especially in a wounded part, (ioulard
may be added, or the linseed meal may be made into a paste with
a decoction of poppy-heads. To promote a healthy discharge
from an old or foul ulcer ; or separation of the dead from the liv-
ing parts, in the process of what is called coring out ; or to hasten
the ripening of a tumor that must be opened ; or to cleanse it
when it is opened, — two ounces of common turpentine may be
added to a pound of linseed meal : but nothing can be so absurd,
or is so injurious, as the addition of turpentine to a poultice that
is designed to be an emollient. The drawing poultices and stop-
pings of farriers are often highly injurious, instead of abating
inflammation.
If the ulcer smells oflensively, two ounces of powdered chai-
coal may be added to the linseed meal, or the poultice may be
made of water, to which a solution of the chloride of lime ha>
464 MEDICINES.
been added in the proportion of half an ounce to a pound. As
an emollient poultice for grease and cracked heels, and especially
if accompanied by much unpleasant smell, there is nothing prefer-
able to a poultice of mashed carrots with charcoal. For old
grease some slight stimulant must be added, as a little yeast or
the grounds of table beer.
There are two errors, in the application of a poultice, and par-
ticularly as it regards the legs. It is often put on too tight, by
means of which the return of the blood from the foot is prevent-
ed, and the disease is increased instead of lessened ; or it is too hot,
and unnecessary pain is given, and the inflammation aggravated.
Powders.— Some horses are very difficult to ball or drench,
and the violent struggle that would accompany the attempt to
conquer them may heighten the fever or inflammation. To such
horses powders must be given in mashes. Emetic tartar and
digitalis may be generally used in cases of inflammation or fever ;
or emetic tartar for worms ; or calomel or even the farina of the
croton-nut for physic : but powders are too often an excuse for the
laziness or awkwardness of the carter or groom. The horse fre-
quently refuses them, especially if his appetite has otherwise be-
gun to fail ; the powder and the mash are wasted, and the
animal is unnecessarily nauseated. All medicine should be given
in the form of a ball or drink.
Prussic Acid. — See Acidum Hydrocianicum.
GluiNiNE. — See under Bark, Peruvian.
Raking. — This consists in introducing the hand into the rec-
tum of the horse, and drawing out any hardened dung that may
be there. It may be necessary in costiveness or fever, if a
clyster pipe cannot *be obtained ; but an injection will better
efiect the purpose, and with less inconvenience to the animal.
The introduction of the hand into the rectum is, however, useful
to ascertain the existence of stone in the bladder, or the degree
of distension of the bladder in suppression of the urine, for the
bladder will be easily felt below the intestine, and, at the same
time by the heat of the intestine, the degree of inflammation in it
or in the bladder may be detected.
Hesin. — The yellow resin is that which rerriains after the
distillation of oil of turpentine. It is used externally to give
consistence to ointments, and to render them slightly stimulant.
Internally it is a useful diuretic, and is given in doses of tive or
six drachms made into a ball with soft soan. The common
liquid turpentine is, however, preferable.
HowELS. — The manner of rowelling has been already de-
scribed. As exciting inflammation on the suriaoe, and so les-
sening that which had previously existed in a neighboring but
deeper-seated part., they are decidedly inferior to blisters, for they
MEDICINES. 4t)()
ao not act so quickly or so extensively ; therefore they should
not be used in acute inflammation of the lungs or bowels, or any
vital part. When the inflammation, however, although not in-
tense, has long coutinued, rowels will be serviceable by produ-
cing an irritation and discharge that can be better kept up than
by a blister. As promoting a permanent, although not very con-
siderable discharge, and some inflammation, rowels in the thighs
are useful in swelled legs and obstinate grease. If fluid is thrown
out under the skin in any other part, the rowel acts as a per-
manent drain. "When the sprain of the joint or the muscles
oi the shoulders is suspected, a rowel in the chest will be ser-
viceable. The wound caused by a rowel will readily heal, and
With little blemish, unless the useless leather of the farrier has
i»een inserted.
Sal Ammoniac, — See Chloride of Ammonia.
Salt, common, see Sodh Chloridum.
Secale cornutum. Ergot of Kye. — This is well known to be
an excitant in assisting parturition in cattle, sheep, and dogs. It has
been used with success in the mare by Mr. Richardson, of Lin-
cuin. It should only be applied in difficult cases, and the dose
siiould be two drachms, combined with some carminative, and
gj ven every hour.
Sedatives, — are medicines that subdue irritation, repress spas
modic action, or deaden pain. We will not inquire whether they
ace first as stimulants : if they do, their effect is exceedingly tran-
sient, and is quickly followed by depression and diminished action.
Digitalis, hellebore, opium, turpentine, are medicines of this
kind. Their effect in different diseases or stages of disease, and
the circumstances which indicate the use of any one of them in
preference to the rest, are considered under their respective titles.*
Soda. — The Carbonate of Soda is a useful antacid, and prob-
ably a diuretic, but it is not much used in veterinary practice.
The Chloride of Soda is not so efficacious for the removal of un-
pleasant smells and all infection as the chloride of lime ; but it is
exceedingly useful in changing malignant and corroding and de-
structive sores into the state of simple ulcers, and, in ulcers that
are not malignant, it much hastens the cure. Poll-evil and fis-
tulous withers are much benefited by it, and all farcy ulcers. It
is used in the proportion of one part of the solution to twenty-four
of water.
SoDii Chloridum, Common Salt, — is very extensively em-
ployed in veterinary practice. It forms an efficacious aperient
* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — Sedatives. — To the list enumera^€:d in the text'
may be added the extract of belladonna, or the deadly nightshade, which is
Ejiven in doses of two drachms.
3Q
466 MEDICINES.
clyster, and a solution of it has been given as an aperient drink.
Sprinkled over the hay, or in a mash, it is very palatable to sick
horses ; and in that languor und disinclination to food which re-
main after severe illness, few things will so soon recall the appe-
tite as a drink composed of six or eight ounces of salt in solution.
To horses in health it is more useful than is generally imagmed,
as promoting the digestion of the food, and, consequently, condi
tion. Externally applied, there are few better lotions for in
flamed eyes than a solution of half a drachm of salt in four ounces
of water. In the proportion of an ounce of salt to the same quan-
tity of water, it is a good embrocation for sore shoulders and
backs ; and if it does not always disperse warbles and tumors, it
takes away much of the tenderness of the skin.
SoD.E Sulphas, — Sidjihate of Soda. — Glauber's Salt. — This
medicine is seldom used in the treatment of the horse. It ap-
pears to have some diuretic property.
Soap, — is supposed to possess a diuretic quality, and therefore
enters into the composition of some diuretic masses. See Resin.
By many practitioners it is made an ingredient in the physic-ball,
but uselessly or injuriously so ; for if the shoes are finely powdered
and mixed with palm oil, they will dissolve readily enough in the
bowels without the aid of the soap, while the action of the soap
on the kidneys will impair the purgative efiect of the aloes.
Spanish Fly, — See Cantharides.
Starch, — may be substituted with advantage for gruel in ob-
stinate cases of purging, both as a clyster, and to support the
strength of the animal.
Stoppings, — constitute an important, but too often neglected
part of stable management. If a horse is irregularly or seldom
worked, his feet are deprived of moisture ; they become hard and
unyielding and brittle, and disposed to corn and contraction and
founder. The very dung of a neglected and filthy stable would be
preferable to habitual standing on the cleanest litter without stop-
ping. In wounds, and bruises, and corns, moisture is even more ne-
cessary, in order to supple the horn, and relieve its pressure on the
tender parts beneath. As a common stopping, nothing is better
than cow-dung with a fourth part of clay well beaten into it, and
confined with splents from the binding or larger twigs of the
broom. In cases of wounds, a little tar may be added ; but tar,
as a common stopping, is too stimulating and drying. Pads made
of thick felt have lately been contrived, which are fitted to the
sole, and, swelling on being wetted, are sufhciently confined by
the shoe. Having been well saturated with water, they will
continue moist during the night. They are very useful in gen-
tlemen's stables ; but the cow-dung and clay are sufficient for the
farmer.
MEDICINES 467
Strychnia. — This drug has frequently heen employed with
decided advantage in cases of paralysis in the d )g ; and lately,
and with decided advantage, it has been administered to the
horse. The dose is from one to three grains, given twice in the
day.
Sugar op Lead, — see under Lead.
Sulphur, — is the basis of the most effectual applications for
mange. It is an excellent alterative, combined usually with an-
timony and nitre, and particularly for mange, surfeit, grease, hide-
bound, or want of condition ; and it is a useful ingredient in the
cough and fever ball. When given alone, it seems to have little
effect, except as a laxative in doses of six or eight ounces ; but
there are much better aperients. The black sulphur consists prin-
cipally of the dross after the pure sulphur has been separated.
Tar, — melted with an equal quantity of grease forms the usu
al stopping of the farrier. It is a warm, or slightly stimulant,
and therefore useful, dressing for bruised or wounded feet ; but its
principal virtue seems to consist in preventing the penetration of
dirt and water to the wounded part. As a common stopping it
has been considered objectionable. From its warm and drying
properties it is the usual and proper basis for thrush ointments ;
and from its adhesiveness, and shghtly stimulating power, it qften
forms an ingredient in application for mange. Some practition-
ers give it, and advantageously, with the usual cough medicine,
and in doses of two or three drachms for chronic cough. The
common tar is as effectual as the Barbadoes for every veterinary
purpose. The oil, or spirit (rectified oil) of tar is sometimes used
alone for the cure of mange, but it is not to be depended upon.
The spirit of tar, mixed with double the quantity of fish-oil, is,
from its peculiar penetrating property, one of the best applica-
tions for hard and brittle feet. It should be well rubbed with a
brush, every night, both on the crust and sole.
Tinctures. — The medicinal properties of many substances are
extracted by spirit of win^, but in such small quantities as to be
scarcely available for internal use in veterinary practice. So
much aloes or opium must be given in order to produce effect on
the horse, that the quantity of spirit necessary to dissolve it would
be injurious or might be fatal. As applications to wounds or in-
flamed surfaces, the tinctures of aloes, digitalis, myrrh, and opium,
are highly useful.
Tobacco, — in the hands of the skilful veterinarian, may be ad-
vantageously employed in cases of extreme costiveness, or danger-
ous cholic ; but should never be permitted to be used as an ex-
ternal application for the cure of mange, or an internal medicine
to promote a fine coat.
Tonics —are valuable medicines when iudiciously employed ;
468 MEDICINES.
but, like cordials, they have been fatally abused. Many a horst
recovering from severe disease has been destroyed by their too
early, or too free use. The veterinary surgeon occasionally ad-
ministers them injuriously, in his anxiety to gratify the impa-
tience of his employer. The mild vegetable tonics, chamomile,
gentian, and ginger, and, perhaps, the carbonate of iron, may
sometimes be given with benefit, and m,ay hasten the perfect reco-
very of the patient ; but there are few principles more truly found-
ed on reason and experience, than, that disease once removed,
the powers of nature are sufficient to re-establish health. Against
the more powerful mineral tonics, except for the particular pur-
poses that have been pointed out under the proper heads, the horse
proprietor and the veterinarian should be on his guard.
Turner's Oerate, — see under Digestives, and also under
Zinc.
Turpentine. — The common liquid turpentine has been de-
scribed as one of the best diuretics, in doses of half an ounce, and
made into a ball with linseed meal and powdered ginger. It is
added to the calamine or any other mild ointment in order to ren-
der it stimulating and digestive, and, from its adhesiveness and
slight stimulating power it is an ingredient in mange ointments.
The oil of turpentine is an excellent antispasmodic. For the re-
moval of colic it stands unrivalled. Forming a tincture with
cantharides, it is the basis of the sweating blister for old strains
and swellings. As a blister it is far inferior to the common oint-
ment. As a stimulant frequently applied it must be sufficiently
lowered, or it may blemish. — See Resin.
Verdigris, — see under Copper.
Vinegar, — see Acidum Aceticum.
Vitriol, — blue, — see under Copper,
Vitriol,— g?-ee7Z, — see under Ferrum.
Vitriol, — ivhite, — see under Zinc.
Vitriol, — Oil of, — see Acidum Sulphuricum.
Wax, — The yellow wax is used in charges and some plasters
;o render them less brittle.
Zinc. — The impure carbonate of zinc, under the name of
Calamine Powder, is used in the preparation of a valuable heal-
ing ointment, called Turner's Cerate. Five parts of lard and ont
of resin are melted together, and when these begin to get cool
two parts of the calamine, reduced to an impalpable powder, ar<3
stirred in. If the wound is not healthy, a small quantity of com
mon turpentine may be added. This salve justly deserves thd
..■•ine which it has gained, " The Healing Ointment." The ca-
i amine is sometimes sprinkled with advantage on cracked heela
and superficial sores.
The sulphate of zinc. White Vitriol, in the proportion of three
MEDICIWES 469
grains to an ounce of water, is an excellent application in opthal-
mia, when the inflammatory stage is passing over ; and quitter is
most successfully treated by a saturated solution of white vitriol
being injected into the sinuses, A solution of white vitriol of less
strength forms a wash for grease that is occasionally useful, when
ihe alum or blue vitriol does not appear to succeed.
ZiNGiBERis Radix. — Ginger Root. — This is an admirable sti-
mulant and carminative. It is useful in loss of appetite and fla-
tulent colic, while it rouses the intestinal canal to its propei
action. The cordial mass resorted to by the best surgeons con-
sists of equal parts of ginger and gentian beaten into a mass
with treacle.
INDEX.
Acetabulum, descriptiou of the, 272.
A.ciui, description of, 213.
Acetic acid, its properties, 436.
Adeps, properties of, 437.
^thiop's mineral, an alterative, 411.
Age, natural, of the horse, 130 ; of the
horse as indicated by the teeth, 122 ;
other indications of, 129.
Air, a supply of pure, necessary for the
health of the horse, 385.
Alcohol, its medicinal properties, 437.
Aloes, Barbadoes, far preferable to
Cape, 437 ; description of the differ-
ent kinds of, 438 ; principal adultera-
tions of, 439 ; tincture of, its composi-
tion and use, ib.
Alteratives, the best, 439 ; nature and
effect of 440.
Alum, the use of in restraining purging,
440 ; solution of, a good w^ash for
grease, ib ; burnt, a stimulant and caus-
tic for wounds, ib.
Ammonia, given in flatulent colic, 440 :
vapor of plentifully extricated from
dung and urine, most injurious to the
eyes and lungs, ib.
Anchylosis of bones, what, 149.
Animals, zoological divisions of, 44.
Anise-seed, its properties, 441.
Anodyne, opium the only one to be de-
pended on, 441.
Antea-spinatus muscle, description of
the, 251.
Antimonial powder, a good febrifuge,
441.
Antimony, black sulphuret of, method of
detecting its adulterations, 441 ; used
as an alterative, ib. ; tartarized, used
as a nauseant, diaphoretic and worm
medicine, ib.
Antispasmodics, nature of, 442.
Apoplexy, nature and treatment of 70.
Aqueous fluid, an, why placed in the
labyrinth of the ear, 58 ; humor of the
eye, description of the, 64.
Arabian Horses, different varieties of
2.5, 26 ; character of, 26, 27 ; fondness
of the Arabs for, 27 ; prices of 28 ;
unequal to the English race-horse, 29.
Arabian, 25 ; Darley, 19 ; Godolphin,
21.
Arcned form of the skull, advantage o£
55.
Arm, description of the, 252 ; action of
explained on the principle of the lev-
er, 249, 252 ; extensor muscles of the,
252, 253 ; Hexor muscles of the, 253 ,
full and swelling, advantage of, ib. ;
should be muscular and long, 252 ;
fracture of the, 338.
Arsenic, medical use of, 442.
Arteries, description of the, 140; of the
arm, 252 : of the face, 101 ; neck, 140
shoulder, 246.
Ascaris, account of the, 227.
Astragalus, account of the, 278.
Atlas, anatomy of the, 136.
Au.scu!tation, the importance of, 171.
Back, general description of the, 149;
proper form of the, ib. ; long and short,
comparative advantages of, ib. ; anat-
omy of the, ib. ; mu.scies of the, 151.
Backing, of the colt, 371 ; a bad habit of
the horse, usual origin of it, ib.
Back-sinews, sprain of the, 258 ; thicken-
ing of the. constituting unsoundness
429.
Balls, the manner of giving, 442 ; the
manner of making, ib.
Barbary horse, description of 21.
Barbs or paps, treatment of, 133.
Bark, Peruvian, the properties of it, 443.
Barley, considered as food for the horse,
396.
Barnacles, use of the, as a mode of re-
straint, 360.
Bar-shoe, description and use of, 352.
Bars, description and office of the, 296 ;
proper paring of for shoeing, 297
folly of cutting them away, ib. ; re-
moval of, a cause of contraction, ib. ;
corns, ib.
Basilicon ointment, 443.
Bay horses, description of 413.
Beans, good for hardly-worked horses,
and that have a tendency to purge,
397, 402; should always he crushed
398.
Bearing-rein, the use and abuse cf 116.
Beet, the nutritive matter in, 401.
Belladonna, extract of 443.
472
Biceps femoris, account of the, 274.
Bile, account of the, 213.
Bishopingthe teeth, description of, 128.
Biting, a had hahit, and how usually ac-
quired, 372.
Bit, the, often too sharp, 118; sometimes
got into the mouth, 372.
Biting of the colt, 242.
Black horses, description and character
of, 414.
Blaze, 19.
Bladder, description of the, 234; inflam-
mation of symptoms and treatment,
ib. ; neck of ib. ; stone in the, 235.
Bleeding, best place f©r general, 166,
361; directions for, 140, 166; from
veins rather than arteries, 140; finger
should be on the pulse during, 360 ;
importance of, in inflammation, ib. ;
at the toe described, 168; comparison
between the fleam and lancet, 166, 167.
Blindness, usual method of discovering,
64 ; discovered by the pupil not dila-
ting or contracting, ib. ; of one eye,
ib.
Blistering all round at once, barbarity
and danger of, 363, 445 ; after firing,
absurdity and cruelty of, 362.
Blisters, best composition of, 3P2 ; the
different kinds and uses of, ib. ; best
mode of applying, ib. ; caution with
regard to their application, ib. ; the
principle of their action, 443 ; use of,
in inflammation, 362 ; comparison be-
tween them and rowels and setons,
366, 367.
Blood, change in after bleeding, 167 ;
changes in during respiration, 156 ;
coagulation of, 189 ; horses, very sub-
ject to contraction, 309 ; spavin, na-
ture and treatment of, 164.
Bloody urine, 233.
Bog spavin, nature and treatment of,
164, 281, 282, 287. _
Bole- Armenian, medical use of, 444.
Bones, strength does not depend on the
size of, 28.
Bone-spavin, nature and treatment of,
£83.
Bots in the stomach, natural history of,
208, 209 ; not usually injurious, 209.
Bowels, inflammation of the, 220.
Brain, description of the, 55 ; its cortical
and cineritious composition, 56 ; the
office of eacl), ib. ; compression of the,
56, 69 ; pressure on the, 69 ; inflamma-
tion of the, 74.
Bran, as food for the horse, 397.
Breaking in should commence in the
second winter, 240 ; description of its
various stages, 240, 241 ; necessity of
gentleness and patience in. ib. ; of the
farmer's horse, ib. ; of the hunter or
iiackney, ib.
Breast, muscles of the, 152.
Breathing, the mechanism of, 154,
Breeding, qualities of the mare of bj
much importance as those of the horse,
237 ; the peculiarity of form and con-
stitution inherited, ib. ; in-and-in. ob-
servaiions on, 26, 238.
Breeds, good effects of crossing them,
29 ; bad effects of ditto, ib.
Broken down, what. 259.
Broken knees, treatment of, 254 ; method
of judging of the danger of ib. ; when
healed, not unsoundness, but the form
and action of the horse should be care-
fully examined, 421,
Broken-wind, nature and ti'eatment of,
196 ; influenced much, and often
caused by the manner of feeding,
198 ; how distinguished from thick-
wind, ib.
Bronchial tubes, description of the, 144
Bronchitis, nature and treatment of, 184
Bronchocele, account of, 174.
Bronchotomy, the operation of, 165,
Brood mare, description of the, 237
should not be too old, ib. ; treatment
of, after covering, 238 ; after foalmg,
239.
Brown horses, description of, 387,
Buccinator muscle, description of the,
103.
CAECUM, description of the, 211.
Calamine powder, account of. 417,
Calculi in the intestines, 226.
Calkins, advantages and disadvantages
of 346 ; should be placed on both
heels, ib.
Camphor, the medical use of, 444.
Canadian horse, character of, 29 ; cross
with American horse, 29.
Canker of the foot, nature and treatment
. of, 330.
Cannon, or shank-bone, description of
the 256.
Cantharides, from the best blister, 445 »
given for the cure of glanders, ib.
Capillary vessels, the, 159,
Capivi, balsam of, 448.
Capped hock, nature and treatment of,
270, 285, 286; although not always
unsoundness there should be a special
warranty against it, 421.
Capsicum Berries, their stimulating ef-
fect, 445.
Carbonate of blood got rid of in respira
tion.
Carbonate of iron, a mild tonic, 454.
Carraways, a good aromatic, 445.
Carrots, excellent effects of in disease,
401,
Cartilages of the foot, description and
action of the, 299 ; ossification of the
331, 427 ; a cause of unsoundness, 4'~7
Caruncula lacrymalis, the, 93.
Cascarilla Bark, a tonic and aromatic, 445
INDEX.
473
Castor oil, not a purgative for the horse,
445.
Casitration, method of, 245 ; proper pe-
riod for, 244, 245 ; the operation by
torsion, 245.
Cataract in the eye, nature "of, 65; can-
not be operated on in the horse, ib. ;
metliod of examination for, ib. : the
occasional appearance and disappear;-
ance of, 96.
Catarrh, description and ti-eatment of,
169. 170 ; distin^fuished from inlanders,
170; distinguished from inilammation
of the lungs, 169; epidemic, 175.
Catarrhal fever, nature and treatment of,
170.
Catachu, a good astringent, method of
giving, and adulterations of, 446.
Catheter, description of one, 235, 236.
Caustic, an account of the best, 446.
Cawl, description of the, 214.
Cerebellum, description of the, 56.
Cerebrum, description of the, 56.
Chalk, its medicinal use in the horse,
446.
Chatf. attention should be paid to the
goodness of the ingredients, 393 ; best
composition of, ib. ; when given to the
hard-worked horse, much time is saved
for repose, 394; quantity necessary
for different kinds of horse.s, 393.
Chamomile, a mild tonic, 446.
Channel of the jaws, what, 121.
Charcoal, useful in a poultice, and as an
antiseptic, 447.
Charges, composition and use of, 447.
Chest, anatomy of the. 145; proper form
of the, 146; cut of the, 145; the im-
portance of depth of 146 ; narrow and
rounded, comparison between, ib. ;
the broad chest, 147 ; founder, descrip-
tion of, 152.
Chestnut horses, varieties of, 412. *
Chinked in the chine, what, 149.
Childers, Flying, cut of, 18 : Bartletts,
19 ; their get, ib.
Chloride of lime, an excellent disinfec-
tant. 412 ; of soda, useful in unhealthy
ulcers, 415.
Chorea, 83.
Choroid coat of the eye, description and
use of the, 63.
Chyle, the formation of, 211.
Ciliary processes of the eye, description
of tile, 64.
Cineritous matter of the brain, nature and
function of the, 56
Cleveland Bay, character of, 39 ; im-
ported into United States, ib.
Clicking, cause and remedy of 380.
Clipping, recommendation of, 407.
Clips, when necessary, 346.
Clover, considered as an article of food,
400.
Clysters, the composition and great use-
fulness of, 447 ; directions as to the
administration of, ih.
Coat, fine, persons much too solicitou*
to procure it, 390.
Cocktail horse, mode of nicking, 368
Cotiin-bone. description of the, 299; the
lamellae, or leaves of, ib. ; fracture of,
342.
Coffin-joint, sprain of, 368.
Cold, common, description and treat
ment of 169.
Colic, flatulent, account of, 21 8; spasmed
ic. description and treatment of 215.
Colon, description of the, 211, 212.
Color, remarks on, 411.
Colt, early treatment of the. 240.
Complexus major, description of the,
139 ; minor, description of the, ib.
Concave-seated shoe, the, described and
recommended, 348.
Conjunctiva, description of the. 61 ; ap-
pearance of how far a test of inflam-
mation, ib.
Consternation, cut of , frontispiece ; ped-
igree of 22; character of 23, 24.
Consumption, account of 199.
Contraction of the foot, nature of 307,
391 ; the peculiarity of the lameness
produced by, 309 ; how far connected
with the navicular disease, 312 ; is not
the necessary consequence of shoeing
307 ; produced by neglect of paring
308 ; wearing the shoes too long. ib.
want of natural moisture, 309 ; the re
moval of the bars, ib. ; not so much
produced by litter as imagined, 309 .
the cause rather than the consequence
of thrush, 307 ; best mode of treating
310, 311 ; rarely permanently cured
311; does not necessarily imply un
soundness, 421 ; although not neces
sarily unsoundness, should have i,
special warranty against it, 422 ;
blood horses very subject to, 309.
Convexity of the eye, the proper, not
sufKciently attended to, 62.
Copaiba, account of the resin, 448.
Copper, the combination of, used in vet
erinary practice, 448.
Corded veins^ what, 114.
Cordials, the use and abuse of, in the
horse, 449.
Cornea, description of the, 62; mode of
examining the, ib. ; its prominence or
flatness, ib. ; should be perfectly trans
parent, ib.
Corns, the nature and treatment of,
326 ; produced by cutting away the
bars, ib. ; not paring out the foot be
tween the crust and bars, ib. ; pres-
sure, ib. ; very difficult to cure, 329
constitute unsoundness, 422.
Coronary ligament, description of the
296; the crust principally producetf
from, ib. ; ring, description of the, ib.
4 '4
INDEX.
Coronet, description of the, 296.
Corrosive sublimate, a good tonic for
farcy, 411.
Cortical substance of the brain, descrip-
tion and fraction of, 56.
Cough, the nature and treatment of,
190, 191 ; constitutes unsoundness,
421 ; the occasional difficulty with re-
gard to this, 430.
Cow hocks, description of, 286.
Cradle, a safe I'estraint upon the horse
when blistered, 363.
Cramp, the nature and treatment of
82.
Cream c iored horses, account of, 412 ;
peculiarity in their eyes, 63.
Cream of tartar, a mild diuretic, 414.
Creasote, its use in veterinary practice,
450.
Crib-biting, description of, 378 ; causes
and cure, ib. ; injurious to the horse,
378 ; constitutes unsoundness, 378,
379.
Cricoid cartilage of the windpipe, the,
143.
Cropping of the ear, absurdity of 59.
Crossing the breeds, good effect of, 29 ;
bad effects of ditto, ib.
Croton, the farina of, used in physic,
450.
Crust of the foot, description of the, 293 ;
composition of the, 294 ; consisting
within of numerous horny plates, ib. ;
proper degree of it, slanting, 295 ;
proper thickness of the, ib. ; brittleness
of remedy for, 297 ; the cause of sand-
crack, 317.
Crystalline lens, description of the, 65.
Cuboid bones, description of the, 279.
Cuneiform bones, description of the, 55,
279.
Curbs, nature and treatment of, 280;
constitute unsoundness, 424.
Cuticle, description of the, 405.
Cutis, or true skin, account of the, 405.
Cutting, cause and cure of 266, 380 ;
constitutes unsoundness, 424 ; away
the foot, unfounded prejadice against,
308.
Dandriff, the nature of, 405.
Darley Arabian, 19.
Deafness, 98.
Depressor labii inferioris muscle, des-
cription of the, 103.
Diabetes, the nature and treatment of
233.
Diaphoretics, their nature and effects,
451.
Diaphragm, description of the, 153 ;
rupture of 207 ; its connection with
respiration, 154.
Digestion, the process of it described,
451.
.'digestives, their nature and use, 45i.
Digitalis, highly recommended in colds
and all iullammatory complaints, 451.
Dilator magnus lateralis muscle, des
cription of the, 274 ; naris lateralis
muscle, description of, ib.
Distance, 42.
Diuretic medicines, the use and abuse of,
452.
Docking, method of performing, 367.
Dogs, danger of encouraging them about
the stable, 76.
Dray horse, character of 40.
Drinks, how to administer, 453 ; com
parison between them and balls, ib.
Dropsy of the chest, 203; of the heart,
157.
Drum of the ear, description and use of
the. 58, 59.
Dun horse, account of the, 412.
Duodenum, description of the, 211 ,
diseases of the, ib.
Dura mater, description of the, 55.
Ear, description of the external parts,
58 ; internal parts, ib. ; bones of the,
description and use of 58, 59 ; laby-
rinth of the, 58 ; indicative of the tern
per, ib. ; clipping and singeing, cruelty
of 59 ; treatment of wounds or bruises
of 98 ; cruel operations on the, ib.
Eclipse, pedigree of, 20; form of, 20,
history and performances of, 20, 21
thickwinded, 20.
Elasticity of the ligament of the neck,
54.
Elbow, the proper form and inclination
of 253 ; capped, 252 ; fracture of, 338 ;
punctured, 253.
Emetic tartar, used as a nauseant, dia
phoretic, and worm medicine, 441.
Enamel of the teeth, account of the, 122
English Echpse, 20.
Ensiform cartilage, the, 146.
Entanglement of the intestines, descrip
tion of 226.
Enteritis, account of, 220.
Epidemic catarrh, nature and treatraen-
of 175 ; malignant, nature and treat
ment of 181.
Epiglottis, description of the, 142.
Epilepsy, natui-e and treatment of, 84.
Epsom salts, used as a purgative, 460
Ergot of rye, the action of, 405.
Ethmoid bone, description of the, 55.
Ewe-neck, unsightliness and inconveni
ence of 139.
Exchanges of horses stand on the sam*
ground as sales, 433.
Exercise, directions for, 391 ; the neces
sity of regular, 392 ; want of produ-
cing grease, 290 ; more injury done by
the want of it than by the hardest
work.. 391.
Exi)ansion shoe, description and use of
the 35.7
Extensor pedis muscle, description of
the, 267.
Eye, description of the, 89 ; cut of the,
62 ; fracture of the orbit of the, 68 ;
healthy appearance of the, 61; dis-
eases of the. 91 ; iatianimation of,
common, 93 ; ditto, specitic, 94 ; ditto,
causes, 95 ; ditto, medical treatment
of, 94, 95 ; ditto, untractable nature of,
95, 96 ; ditto, consequences of, 95 ;
ditto, marks of recent, 425 ; ditto, con-
stitutes unsoundness, ib. ; ditto, here-
ditary, 95 ; method and importance of
examining it, 62, 64 ; indicative of the
temper, 59 ; the pit above, indicative
of the age, 48 ; mascles of the, 66.
Eyebrows, substitute for, 60,
Eyelashes, description of, 60 ; folly of
singeing them, ib.
Eyelid, description of, 60.
Eyelids, diseases of the, 91.
Exostosis on the orbit of the eye, 68.
Face, description of the, 99 ; cut of the
muscles, nerves, and blood-vessels of,
102.
Falling in of the foot, what, 306.
False quarter, nature and treatment of,
320, 321.
Farcy, a disease of the absorbents of the
skin, 114, 115; connected with glan-
ders, 114 ; both general and infectious.
116 ; symptoms of, 115 ; treatment of
116 ; buds, what, 115 , the efteLt of
cantharides in, 117 ; diniodide of cop-
per, ib.
Feeding, high, connected with grease,
291 ; regular periods of, necessity of
attending to, 402; manner of, has
much inlluence on broken wind, 197.
Feet, the general management of, 403 ;
attention to, and stopping at night, re-
commended, ib.
Felt soles, description and use of 353.
Femur, fracture of the, 339.
Fetlock, description of the, 267.
Fever, idiopathic or pure, 163 ; symp-
toms of, ib. ; symptomatic, 164.
Fibula, description of the, 276.
Firing, the principle on which resorted
to, 364 ; mode of applying, 365 ; .should
not penetrate the skin, ib. ; absurdity
and cruelty of blistering after, ib. ;
horse should not be used for some
months after, ib.
Fistulai'acrymalis, 60 ; in the poll, 136.
Fits, symptoms, causes, and treatment
of 84.
Fleam and lancet, comparison between
them, 166.
Plexor of the arm, description of the,
253 ; meiatarsi muscle, description of
the. 276: pedis perforatus, the perfora-
ted muscle, description of the, 253,
276 ; pedis perforans, the perforating
muscle, description of the, 253, 258
276.
Flying Childers. the nc plus nUra of
success reached in his days, 29.
Foal, early treatment of, 239 ; early
handling of, important, 240 ; impor-
tance of liberal feeding of, ib. ; time
for w^eaning, ib.
Fomentations, theory and use of, 454.
Food of the horse, observations on, 392 ;
a list of the usual articles of, 395, et seq.
should be apportioned to the work,
393.
Foot, description of the, 293 ; diseases
of the, 302 ; canker, 330 ; corns, 326 ,
contraction, 307 ; fal.se quarter, 320 ;
founder, acute, 302; chronic laminitis,
305 ; inflammation, 304 ; navicular
joint disease, 311; overreach, 319,
prick, 324 ; pumiced, 305 ; quitter,
321 ; sandcrack, 317 ; thrush, 329 ;
tread, 319 ; weakness, 331 ; wounds,
324.
Forceps, arterial, the use of, 168.
Forehead, the different form of, in the
ox and horse, 56.
Fore-legs, description of, 246 ; diseases
of them, 254 ; proper position of
them, 270.
Forge-water occasionally used, 454.
Form, on the improvement of, 25.
Founder, acute, symptoms, causes, and
treatment of, 302 ; chronic, nature and
treatment of 305.
Foxglove, strongly recommended in
colds, and all fevers, 451.
Fracture of the skull, treatment of 68 ;
general observations on fractures, 333;
of the skull, 335 ; orbit of the eye, ib. ,
nasal bones, ib. ; superior maxillary
or upper jaw-bone, ib. ; inferior ditto,
336 ; spine, ib. ; ribs, ib. ; pelvis,
337 ; tail, ib. ; limbs, ib. ; shoulder,
338 ; arm ib. ; elbow, ib. ; femur, 339 ;
patella, ib. ; tibia, ib. ; hock, ib. ; "leg,
340 ; sessamoid bones, ib. ; pastern,
ib. ; lower pastern, 341 ; coffin-bone,
342 ; navicular bone, ib.
Frog, horny, description of the, 298 j
sensible, description of the, 298, 300 ;
ditto, action and use of the, 298 ;
pressure, question of the, 299 ; proper
paring of for shoeing, ib. ; diseases
of the, ib.
Frontal bone-s description of the, 47 ;
sinuses, description of the, 48 ; ditto,
perforated to detect glanders, ib.
Furze, considered as an article of food,
401.
Gall, account of the, 213 ; bladder, the
horse has none, ib.
Gall-stones, 229.
Gentian, the best trjnio for the horse,
455
47G
INDEK.
Gibbing, a bad habit, cause of, and
means of lessening, 370.
Gigs, forrnaiion of, 133.
Ginger, aa excellent aromatic and tonic,
45.5, 468.
Glanders, nature of, 107, 109 ; symp-
toms, 51, 107, 112; slow progress of,
107, 109; appearance of the nose in,
"il, 107, 110; detected by injecting
the frontal sinuses, 48 ; how distin-
guished from catai-rh, 109 ; ditto from
strangles, ib. ; connected with farcy,
108, 110; treatment of 113; cause's,
111; both generated and contagious,
111, 112 429; oftenest produced by
improper stable management, 112 ;
mode of communication, iM. ; preven-
tion of, 113 ; account of its speedy ap-
pearance, 111, 112.
Glands, enlarged, it depends on many
circumstances whether they constitute
unsoundness, 424.
Glass-eye, nature and treatment of, 97.
Glauber's salt, its etfect, 466.
Glutaei muscles, description of the, 274.
Goulard's extract, the use of it much
overvalued, 460.
Gracilis muscle, description of the, 273.
Grains, occasionally used for horses of
slow work, 396.
Grapes on the heels, treatment of, 291.
Grasses, neglect of the farmer as to the
proper mixture of, 399.
Gray horses, account of the different
shades of, 411, 412.
Grease, nature and treatment of, 288 ;
cause of, 289 ; farmer's horse not so
subject tf) it as others, 290 ; generally
a mere local complaint, 289.
Grinders, construction of the, 122.
Grinding, of the food, accomplished by
the mechanism of the joint of the low-
er jaw, 120 ; swallowing without,
377.
GroggineSvS, account of, 265.
Grooming, as important as exercise to
the horse, 399 ; opens the pores of the
skin, and gives a fine coat, 390 ; di-
rections for, ib.
Grunter, the, description of, 198 ; is un-
sound, 423.
Gullet, description of the, 206; foreign
bodies in, 208.
Gum-arabic, for what purposes used,
435.
Gutta serena, nature and treatment of,
97.
Habits, vicious or dangerous, 370.
Ha^maturia, 233.
Hair, account of the, 405 ; question of
cutting it from the heels, 2S1.
Haunch, description of the, 271 ; wide,
advantage of, 272 ; injuries of the, ib.*;
joint, singular strength of it, 271 ; also
of the thigh bones, advantage of tti«
oblique direction of ib.
Haw, curious mechanisii. of the, 6C
diseases of 92 : absurdit} and crue.
ty of destroying it, 61.
Hay, considered as food, 394; mow-
burnt, injurious, 399 ; old preferable
to new, 398.
Head, anatomy of the, 47 ; the numerous
bones composing it the reason of thi.e,
47,48; section of the, 49 ; beautiul
provision for its support, 53.
Healing ointment, account of the. 468.
Hearing of the horse, the very acute,
58.
Heart, de.scription of the, 155 ; its action
described, 156 ; inflammation of the,
157 ; dropsy of the, ib.
Heels, question of cutting tlie hair from
them, 291 ; low, disadvantage of, 332,
profier paring of, for shoeing, 343 ;
\vashing of the, producing grease,
291.
Hellebore, white, used in inflammation
of the lungs and fevers, 455 ; black,
its use, ib.
Hemlock, given in inflammation of the
chest, 456.
Hepatic duct, the, 213.
Hernia, the nature and treatment of,
227.
Hide-bound, the nature and treatment
of, 383.
High-blower, or I'oarer, a description of
the 193 ; is unsound, 423.
Hind legs, description of the, 271.
Hip-joint, the great strength of the, 272
Hips, ragged, what, 272.
Hobbles, description of the best, 359.
Hock, capped, 285, 286 ; description of
the, 278 ; enlargement of the, nature
of and how affecting soundness, 279,
425 ; inflammation of the small bonea
of, a frequent cau.se of lameness, 279;
the principal seat of lameness behind,
ib. ; lameness of it, without apparent
cause, 285 ; fracture of 339.
Hogs' lard, properties of, 437.
Hoof, cut of the, 293 ; description of the,
294.
Horn of the crust, secreted principally
by the coronary ligament, 297 ; once
separated from the sensible part with-
in, will never again unite with it, ib.
Horse, the race horse, 17 ; Arabian, 25 ;
the Canadian, 29 ; the Cleveland bay,
38 ; the Norman, 29 ; the Morgan, 35 ;
the dray, 39 ; the trotter, 40 ; superi-
ority of American over English, 41,
42.
Humerus, description of the, 252.
Hydrocyanic acid, its occasional good
service, 436.
Hydrothorax, symptoms and treatment
of, 202.
INDEX.
477
IvEUM, descript'on of the. 211
[nHaininatioo, nature of, 160 ; treatment
of, ItiO, 161 ; hot or cold applications
to, guide in the choice of, ib. ; import-
ance of bleedini^ in, 160, 361 ; when
proper to physic in. 161 ; of the bow-
els, 2-20 ; ditto, distinction between it
and colic, ?7>. ; brain, 74 ; eye, 93 ;
fool, 30-2; kidneys, 231 ; larj/nx, 171;
lungs, 186; stomach,* 207; trachea,
172; veins. 141.
Influenza, nature and treatment of, 175.
Infusions, manner of making them, 457.
Insanity, 90.
Iniercostal muscles, description of the.
146.
Intestines, description of the, 210.
Introsusception of the intestines, treat-
ment of, 226.
Invertebrated animals, what, 44.
Iodine, usefulness of, in i-educing en-
larged glands, 458.
Iris, description of the, 64.
Iron, the carbonate of, a mild and useful
tonic, 454 ; sulphate of. a stronger
tonic, ib. ; ditto, recommended for the
cure of glanders, ib.
Itchiness of the skin should always be
regarded with suspicion, 458.
James's powder, 442.
Jaundice, symptoms and treatment of,
229, 230.
Jaw, the lower, admirable mechanism
of i20 ; vipper. description of, 121.
Jejunum, description of the, 211.
Jointed shoe, the description and use of,
3.53.
Jugular vein, bleeding from the, 167.
Juniper, oil of, use of, 458.
Kicking, a bad and inveterate habit.
373.
Kidneys, description of the, 230 ,• in-
flammation of, symptoms and treat-
ment of 231.
Knee, an anatomical description of the,
253 ; tied in below, 258 ; broken, treat-
ment of, 254, 421.
Knowledge of the horse.how acquired,46.
Labyiunth of the ear, description and
use of the, 58.
Lachrymal duct, description of the, 60;
gland, de.scription and use of the, ib.
Lamed*, or laniin;T», horny, account of
tlie, 297 ; fleshy, account of the, ib. ;
weight of the horse, supported by the,
ib.
Lameness, shoulder, method of ascer-
taining. 246 ; from whatever cause,
unsoundness. 426.
Lampas, nature and treatment of, 119 ; <
cruelty of burning the bars for, 120.
Laminae of the foot. See Lamellae.
1 Lancet and fleam, comparison between
! them, 166.
Laryngitis, chronic and acute, 172.
[ Larynx, description of the, 143 ; inflara-
[ matiou of the, 171.
I Laudanum, the u.se of in veterinary
practice, 461, 462.
Lead, the compounds of, used in veter-
inary practice, 459 ; extract of, its
power much over-valued, ib. ; sugar
of use of //;. ; while, use of ib.
Leather, soles, description and use of,
353.
Leg, cut of the, 87 ; description of the,
256; fracture of the, 342.
Legs, fore, the situation of, 246; hind,
anatomical description of the, 271 ;
swelled, 287.
Levator humeri muscle, description of
the, 250.
Lever, muscular action explained on
j the principle of it, 248.
I Ligament of the neck, description and
[ elasticity of the, 53, 54.
I Light, the degree of, in the stable, 389.
j Limbs, fracture of the, 337.
I Lime, the chloride of, exceedingly use-
ful for bad smelling wounds, &c.,
459 ; the chloride of valuable in
cleansing stables from infection, ib.
Liniments, the composition and use of.
459.
Linseed, an infusion of, used in catarrh,
398, 460 ; meal forms the best poultice,
460, 463.
Lips, anatomy and uses of the, 117
lips the hands of the horse, ib.
Litter, the, cannot be too frequently re-
moved, 387 ; proper .substances for
388 ; conti'action not so much pro-
duced by it as some imagine, 309.
Liver, the anatomy and use of it, 213 ;
diseases of the, 228.
Locked jaw, symptom.s, cause, and
treatment of 79.
Loins, description of the, 150.
Luceru, considered as an article of food,
400.
Lumbricus teres, or long white worm,
the, 227.
Lunar caustic, a very excellent applica-
tion, 442.
Lungs, description of the, 155; symp-
toms of intiammation of the, 186 ,
causes of, ib. ; how distinguished
from catarrh and distemper, 186, 187;
» treatment of 188, 189 ; importance of
early bleeding in, 190 ; blisters prefer-
able to rowels or setons in, 191.
Madness, the symptoms and treatment
of, 76.
.Magnesia, the sulphate of 460.
Mailenders, the situation of 270 ; the
nature and treatment of, 286.
478
INDEX.
Mammalia, the, an important class of
animals, 45.
Manchester, account of the course at,
42.
Mane, description and use of the, 139.
Mange, description and treatment of,
416 ; causes of, 416, 417 ; ointment,
recipes for, 417 ; highly infectious,
418 ; method of purifying the stable
after, ib.
Manger-feeding, the advantage of, 393.
Mare, put to the horse too early, 237,
238 ; deterioration in, 238 ; her proper
form, ib. : breeding in-and-in, ib. ;
time of being at heat, 239 ; time of
going with foal, ib. ; best time for
covering, ib. ; management of, when
with foal, ib. ; management of, after
foaling, ib.
Mark of the teeth, what, 122.
Mashes, importance of their use, 460 ;
best method of making them, ib.
Masseier muscle, description of the, 103.
Maxillary bones, anatomy of the, 118;
fractures of, 335, 336.
Medicines, a list of the most useful,
435
Medullary substance of the brain, its
nature and function, 50, 56.
Megrims, cause, 69 ; .symptoms, 70 ;
treatment, ib. ; apt to return, ib.
Melt, description of the, 213.
Mercurial ointment, the use of in veteri-
nary practice, 456.
Mercury, various preparations of, 456.
Me.sentery, description of the, 211.
Metacarpals, de.scription of tlie, 253.
Midriff, description of the, 153.
Moisture, \vant of, a cause of contraction.
309.
Moon-blindness, the nature of, 94.
Morgan horse, cut of 35 ; origin of, 36,
37 •, character of, 37, 38.
Moulting, the process of, 410 ; the horse
usually languid at the time of, ib. ; no
stimulant or spices should be given,
ib. ; mode of treatment under, ib.
Mounting the colt, 243.
Mouth of the horse, description of the
bones of, 118; should be always felt
lightly in riding, ib. ; importance of
its sensibihty, ib.
Mowburnt hay injurious, 399.
Muriatic acid, its properties, 436.
Mu.scles of the back, description of the,
150 ; breast, ditto, 150 ; eye, ditto, 67';
face, ditto, 102 ; neck, ditto, 138; rihe,
ditto, 146 ; shoulder-blade, 250 ; lower
bone of the shoulder, ib. ; the advan-
tageous direction of, more important
than their bulk, 247—249.
Muscular action, the principle of 252.
Mustard, the use of, 461.
Myrrh, the use of, for canker and
wounds, 461.
Nasalis labii snperioris muscle, descrip
tion of the, 103.
Nasal bones, fracture of, 335 ; descrip
tion of, 49.
gleet, 104.
polypus, 104.
Navicular bone, de.scription of the, 300 ;
the action and use of it, 301.
Navicular joint, disease, nature and
treatment of the, 311 ; how far con-
nected with contraction, 312 ; the cure
very uncertain, ib. ; fracture of 342.
Neck, anatomy and muscles of the, 1S8,
139 ; description of the arteries of the,
140 ; description of the veins of the,
ib. ; bones of the, 138; proper confor-
mation of the, ib. ; comparison be-
tween long and short, 139 ; loose,
what, ib.
Nerves, the construction and theory of,
46 ; spinal, the compound nature of,
57; of the face, 102.
Neurotomy, or nerve operation, object
and effect of it, SG ; manner of per-
forming it, ib. ; ca.ses in which it
should or sliould not be pei-formed 87,
88 ; a vestige of the performance of
it, constitutes unsoundness, 427.
Nicking, the method of performing, 368 ;
useless cruelty often resorted to, 369.
Nitre, a valuable cooling medicine, and
mild diuretic, 463.
Nitric acid, for what employed. 436.
Nitrous fBther, spirit of, a mild stimulant
and diuretic, 461.
Norman hor.se, cu.t of, 30 ; imported into
United States, ib. ; character of, 31.
Nose, descri[)tion of the bones of the,
99, 100 ; spontaneous bleeding from.
ib. ; the importance of its lining mem-
brane, 101, 169 ; the no.-^e of the horse
slit to increase his wind, 102.
No.sebag, importance of the, 401.
Nostrils, description of the, 99; peculiar
inflammation of the membrane of the,
50; the membrane of, important in
a.scertaining di.sease, 103, 169 ; im-
portance of an expanded one, 101 ,
slit by some nations to increase the
wind of the hor.se, 102.
Nutriment, contained' in the different ar-
ticles of food, 392, et seq.
Oats, the usual food of the horse, 395;
should be old, heavy, dry, and sweet
ib. ; kiln^dried, injuriou.s to the ho' se
ib. ; proper (luantiiy of, for ahorse ib
Oatmeal, excellent for gruel, and so.a©
times used as a poultice, 296.
Occipital bone, description of the, 5'
(Esophagus, description of the, 206
Olfactory nerves, the importance .->'
them. 102.
Olive oil, an emollient, 461.
Omentum, description of the, 214
INDEX.
470
Opacity of the eye, the nature and
treatment of, 94.
Operations, description of the most im-
portant, 359.
Ophthahiiia, 94.
Opium, its great value in veterinary
practice, 461 ; adulterations of it,
462.
Orbicularis muscle of the eye, descrip-
tion of it, 67.
Orbit of the eye. fracture of, 68.
Os femoris, account of, 275.
Ossification of the cartilages; cause and
trcLtment of, 332.
Over-reach, the nature and treatment of,
319, 380 ; often producing sandcrack
or quittor, 380.
Ozena, account of, 105.
Pachydermata, an order of animals,
44.
Pack-wax, or ligamentum colli, descrip-
tion of the, 53, 136.
Palate, description of the, 143.
Palm-oil, the b6st substance for making
up balls, 462.
Palsy, the causes and treatment of, 84.
Pancreas, description of the, 230.
Paps or barbs, 133.
Parietal bones, description of the, 51.
Paring out of the foot for shoeing, direc-
tions for, 343 ; neglect of, a cause of
contraction, 309.
Parotid gland, description of the, and its
diseases, 103, 133.
Pastern, upper, fracture of, 340 ; lower,
fracture of, 341; description of the,
263, 267 ; bones of the, ib. ; cut of the,
ib. ; proper obliquity of the, 264.
Patella or stifle bone, description of the,
275 ; fracture of, 339.
Pawing, remedy for, 331.
Payment of the smallest sum completes
the purchase of a horse, 431.
Peas, sometimes used as food, but should
be crushed, 398.
Pectineus muscle, the, 273.
Pectorales muscles, description of the,
251.
Pedigrees of American trotters, 40.
Pelvis, fracture of the, 337.
Pericardium, description of the, 155.
Perspiration, insensible, no medicines
will certainly increase it. 410.
Pharynx, anatomy of the, 135.
Phrenitis, 74.
Phthisis pulmonalis, description of, 199.
Physic balls, methodof compounding the
best, 442; should never be given in
inflammation of the lungs, 154.
Pliysicking, rules for, 224.
Pia mater, description of the, 56.
Pied horse, account of the, 412.
Pigraentura nigrum, account of the, 63.
Piper, description of the, 198.
I Pit of the eye,the,indicative of the age,4a
Pitch, its use for charges and plastera
462.
Pleura, description of the, 154.
Pleurisy, the nature and treatment of.
154, 200.
Pneumonia, the nature and treatment of,
186.
Poll-evil, the cause and treatment of, 13«
importance of the free escape of tht
matter, 137.
Postea spinatus muscle, description of
the, 251.
Potash, the compound of, 462.
Potatoes, considered as an article of
i food, 401.
j Poultices, their various compositions,
! manner of acting, and great use, 463.
j Powders, comparison between them and
balls, 464.
Pressure on the brain, effect of, 69.
Prick, in the toot, treatment of, 324 ; in-
jurious method of removing the horn
in searching for, 326.
Pulse, the natural standard of the, 158 ;
varieties of the, ib. ; importance of at-
tention to the, ib. ; the most conveni-
ent place to feel it, ib. ; the finger on
the pulse during the bleeding, 159.
Pumiced feet, description and treatment
of, 305 ; do not admit of cure, 306 ;
constitute unsoundness, 427.
Pupil of the eye, des.iription of the, 64,
the mode of discovering blindness in
it, ib.
Purchase, to complete the, there must be
a memorandum, or payment of some
sum, however small. 431.
Purging, violent, treavcaent of, 222, 223.
Quarters of the hone, description of
the, 272 ; importance- of their muscu-,
larity and depth, ib. , foot, description
of, 293 ; the inner, cr ast thinner and
weaker at, 295 ; foUj of lowering the
crust, ib.
duidding the food, ca^se of, 381 ; un-
soundness while it lasts, 427.
duinine, the sulphate of, 443.
Cluittor, the nature and treatment of,
321 ; the treatment of'te^J long and dif
ficult, exercising the patience both of
the practitioner and owner. 322, 323 ;
is unsoundness, 428.
Rabies, symptoms of, 76.
Race-horse, English, pedigree of, 17 ;
excels the Arabian, 18 ; form of, 19 j
examples of, 19, 20. 21.
Racers may beget trotters, 40.
Racks, no openings should be allowed
above them, 386.
Radius, description of the, 252.
Ragged-hipped, what, 272 ; no impedi-
ment to action, ib
480
INDEX.
Raking, the operation of, 465.
bearing, a dangerous and inveterate
habit. 375.
Rdcruit, beat the best Arabian in India,
18.
Recti muscles, of the neck, description
of, 138; of thetliigh, 273.
Rectum, description of the, 211, 212.
Reins, description of the proper, 118.
esin, its use in veterinary practice,
464.
Respiratory nerves, the, 57.
Restiveness, a bad habit, and never
cured, 370.
Retina, description of the, 66.
Retractor muscle of the eye, description
of it, 67.
Rheumatism, 85.
Ribbed-home, advantage of being, 148.
Ribs, anatomy of tlie, 146.
Ring-bone, the nature and treatment of,
268, 269 ; constitutes unsoundness,
428.
Roach-backed, what, 150.
Roan horses, account of, 412.
Roaring, the nature of, 172, 198 ; curi-
ous history of, 173 ; constitutes un-
soundness, 423 ; from tight reining,
173 ; from buckling in crib-biting, ib. ;
treatment of, 174.
Rolling, danger of, and remedy for, 381.
Roman nose in the horse, what, 99.
Round-bone, the, can scarcely be dislo-
cated, 275.
Rowels, manner of inserting, and their
operation, 464 ; comparison between
them, blisters, and setous, 366.
Running away, method of restraining,
375.
Rupture, treatment of, 227 ; of the sus-
pensory ligament, 265.
Rye-grass, considered as an article of
food, 400.
Saddles, the proper construction of,
151 ; points of, ib.
Saddle-backed, what, 150 ; galls, treat-
ment of, 152.
Saddling of the colt, 243.
Sainfoin used as an article of food, 400.
Sal ammoniac, the medical use of, 441.
Saliva, its nature and use, 132.
Salivary glands, description of the,
132.
Sallenders, nature and treatment of,
286.
Salt, use of in veterinary practice. 465 ;
value of, mingled in the food of ani-
mals, 399.
Sampson, 18.
Sandal, Mr. Percivall's, 356.
Sandcrack, the situation of 270 ; the na-
ture and treatment of 317, 318 ; most
dangerous when proceeding from
tread, 318 ; liable to return, unless
the brittleness of the hoof is remedied,
ib. ; con.stitutes unsoundness, 428.
Sartorius muscle, description of the, 273
Scapula, description of the, 246.
Sclerotica, description of the, 62.
Scouring, general treatment of 218, 219
Secale cornutum, the effect of, 465.
Sedatives, a list of them, and their mode
of action, 465.
Serratus major muscle, description of
the, 250.
Sessamoid bones, admirable use of in
obviating concussion, 366 ; fracture of,
264, 340^
Setons, mode of introducing, 366; cases
in which they are indicated, ib. ; com-
parison between them and rowels and
blisters, ib.
Shank-hone, the, 256.
Shoe, the concave-seated, cut of 34t
described and recommended, ib. ; tht
manner in which the old one should
be taken oft" 343 ; the putting on of
the shoe. 345 ; it should be fitted to
the foot, and not the foot to the shoe,
ib. ; description of the hinder, 347;
the unilateral, or one side nailed shoe,
350 ; the bar shoe. 352 ; the tip, ib. ;
the hunting, 351 ; the jointed, or ex-
pansion, 353.
Shoeing not necessarily productive of
contraction. 309 ; preparation of the
foot for, 343 ; the principles of 344.
Shoulder, anatomical description of the,
246 ; slanting direction of the, advan-
tageous, 247, 248 ; when it should be
oblique, and when upright, 249 ;
sprain of the, 246 ; lameness, method
of ascertaining, ib. ; fracture of the,
338.
Shoulder-blade, muscles of the, ^6 ;
lower bone of the, description of,
252 ; muscles of the, 252, 253.
Shying, the probable cause of 66, 381 ;
treatment of 382 ; on coming out of
the stable, description of 383.
Side-line, description of the, 359.
Sight, the acute sense of in the horse,
59.
Silver, the nitrate of an excellent caus-
tic, 442.
Singeing, recommendation of 407.
Sinuses in the toot, necessity of follow-
ing them as far as they reach, 328
frontal, of the head, 49.
Sitfasts, treatment of, 151.
Skeleton of the horse, description of the,
45.
Skin, anatomical description of the,
405 ; functions and u.ses of it, 405,
406 ; pores of it, 409 ; when the au>
imal is in health, is soft and elastic, 403
Skull, anatomical description of the, 47
arched form of the roof, 55 ; fracture
of the, 68, 335.
481
Slipping the halter, remedy for, 383.
Smell, tlie sense and seat of, 101 ; very
acute in the horse, ib.
Snap, 2.
Soap, its use in veterinary practice, 466.
Soda, chloride of, its use in ulcers, 465 ;
sulphate of, ib.
Sole, the horny, description of, 297 ;
descent of, 298 ; proper form of, ib. ;
management of, in shoeing, ib. ; the
sensible, 298 ; felt or leather, their use.
353.
Bore-throat, symptoms and treatment
of, 171.
Soundness, consists in there being no
disease or alteration of structure that I
does or is likely to impair the useful- j
ness of the horse, 420 ; considered i
with reference to the principal causes
of unsoundness, 421.
Spasmodic colic, nature and ti-eatment
of, 215.
Spavin, blood, the nature and treatment |
of, 165 ; is unsoundness, 428 ; bog, j
I cause, nature and treatment of, 164, j
165, 281 ; bone, 283 ; why not always
accompanied by lameness, ib. ; is un-
soundaess, 428.
Spavined horses, the kind of work they
are capable of, 284.
Speedy-cut, account of, 257.
Sphenoid bone, description of the, 55.
Spine, description of the, 145, 146 ;
fracture of, 336.
Spleen, description of the, 213, 230.
Splenius muscle, description of the,
138.
Splint, nature and treatraenF of, 256,
270 ; wdien constituting unsoundness,
429 ; bones, description of the, 256.
Sprain of the back sinews, treatment of
258, 270 ; sometimes requires firing,
260 ; any remaining thickening consti-
tutes unsoundness, 429 ; sprain of the
shoulder, 246.
Stables, dark, an occasional cause of in-
flammation of the eye, 95 ; hot and
foul, a frequent one of inflammation
of the eye, ib. ; ditto, lungs, 385 ;
ditto, glanders, 112, 113 ; should be
large, compared with the number of
horses, ib. ; the management of, too
much neglected by the owner of the
horse, ib. ; the ceiling of should be
pla.-stered, if there is a loft above, ib. ;
should be so contrived that the urine
will run off, 388 ; the stalls should
not have too much declivity, ib. ;
should be sufficiently light, yet with-
out any glaring color, 388, 389.
Staggers, stomach, symptoms, cause, and
treatment of 70, 71, 401 ; generally
fatal, 71 ; producing blindness, 73 ;
sometimes epidemic, ib. ; mad, symp-
toms and treatment, 74. qi
Staling, profuse, cause and treatment of,
233.
Stallion, description of the proper, foi
breeding, 237.
Starch, useful in superpurgation, 466.
Stargazer, the, 139.
Sternum, or breast-bone, description of
the, 147, 251.
Stifle, description of the, 275 ; accidents
and diseases of the, ib.
Stomach, description of the, 206, 207 ;
very small in the horse, 207 ; inflam-
mation of the, 207, 208 ; pump recom-
mended in apoplexy, 72.
Stone in the bladder, symptoms and
♦^r^atment of, 235 ; kidney, ib.
Stoppings, the best composition of, and
their great use, 466.
Strangles, symptoms and treatment of,
133 ; distinguished from glanders,
109 ; the importance of blistering
early in, 134.
Strangury, produced by blistering, 363 ;
treatment of, 364.
Strawberry horse, account of the, 412
Stringhalt, nature of, 83 ; is decidedly
unsoundness, 83, 429.
Structure of the horse, importance of a
knowledi^e of, 46.
Strychnia, account of, 467.
Styio-maxillaris muscle, description of
the, 102.
Sublingual gland, description of the,
133.
Submaxillary glands, description of the,
133 ; artery, description of the, 103.
Sub-scapulo hyoideus muscle, descrip-
tion of the, 103.
Sugar of lead, use of, 459.
Sulphate of copper, use of in veteri-
nary practice, 449 ; ii'on, 454 ; mag-
nesia, 460 ; zinc, 468.
Sulphur, an excellent alterative and in-
gredient in all applications for mange,
467.
Surfeit, description and treatment of,
415 ; importance of bleeding in, 416.
Suspensory ligament, beautiful mechan-
ism of the, 265 ; rupture of the, ib. ;
suspensory muscle of the eye, descrip-
tion of the, 67.
Swallowing without grinding, 377.
Swelled legs, cause and ti'eatment of,
287 ; most frequently connected with
debility, ib.
Sweetbread, description of the, 213.
Sympathetic nerves, description of the,
'58.
Tail, anatomy of the, 145 ; fracture of
the, 337 ; docking, 367 ; nicking, 368.
Tar, its use in veterinary practice, 467.
Tares, a nutritive and healthy food,
399.
Tartar, cream of, 463.
482
INDEX.
Tears, the secretion and nature of the, 60.
Teeth, description of the, as connect-
ed with age, 121 ; at birth, ih. ; 2
months, ib. ; 12 months, 122 ; 18
months, 123 ; the front sometimes
pushed out, that the next pair may
sooner appear, and the horse seem to
be older than he is, 124 ; 3 years, ib. ;
3k years, 125 ; 4 years, ib. ; 4i yeai-s.
126 ; 5 years, ib. ; 6 years, 127 ; 7
years, 128; 8 years, ib. ; change of
.ne, 123 ; enamel of the, 122 ; irregular,
inconvenience and danger of, 131 ;
mark of the, 122 ; frauds practised
with regard to the, 124, 125 ; diseases
of the, 130.
Temper denoted by the eye, 59 ; by the
ear, 58.
Temperature, sudden change o^ Injuri-
ous in its effect, 385.
Temporal bones, description of the, 51.
Tendons of the leg, 256.
Tetanus, symptoms, causes and treat-
ment of, 79.
Thick wind, nature and treatment of,
194, 198 ; often found in round-chested
horses, 195.
Thidi and haunch bones, description of,
271, 272; form of, 272; should be
long and muscular, ib. ; description of
the muscles of the inside of the upper
bone of, 272, 273 ; do. of the outside,
ib. ; mechanical calculation of their
power, 273, 274.
Thorough- pin, the nature and treatment
of, 277 ; is not unsoundness, 429.
Thrush, nature and treatment of, 328 ;
the consequences, rather than the
cause of contraction, ib. ; its serious
nature and consequences not suffi-
ciently considered, 329 ; constitutes
unsoundness, 430.
Thymus gland, the, 153.
Thyroid cartilage of the windpipe, de-
scription of the, 143.
Tibia, account of the, 276, 279 ; fracture
of, 339.
Tied in below the knee, nature and dis-
advantage of, 258.
Tinctures, account of the best, 467.
Tips, description and use of, 352.
Tobacco, when used, 467.
Toe, bleeding at the, described, 168.
Tongue, anatomy of the, 131; diseases
of, 132 ; bladders along the under
part of, ib.
Tonics, an account of the best, 467 ;
their use and danger in veterinary
practice, 468.
Torsion, the mode of castration by, 245 ;
forceps, description of, ib.
Trachea, or windpipe, description of,
144; inflammation of, 172.
Tracheotomy, 143; operation of, 143,
144.
Trapezius muscle, description of the
250.
Trapezium bone, description of the, 253
Tread, nature and treatment of, 319
often producing sandcrack or quittor
ib.
Tripping, an annoying and inveterate
habit, 384.
Trochanter of the thigh, description of
the, 272.
Trochlearis muscle, the, 67.
Trotter, American, cut of, 41 ; pedigrees
of, 40, 41 ; superiority to the English,
41, 42 ; reasons for, 42, 43.
Turbinated bones, description of the,
101.
Turpentine, the best diuretic, 468 ; a
useful ingredient in many ointments,
ib.
Tushes, descriptioii of the, 125 — 127.
Twitch, description of the, 360.
Ulceks in the mouth, treatment of, 131.
Ulna, description of the, 252.
Ungulata, a tribe of animals, 44.
Unilateral shoe, 349.
Unsoundness, contraction does not al-
ways cause it, 307 ; being discovered,
the animal should be tendered, 431 ;
ditto, but the tender or return not le-
gally necessary, ib. ; the horse may
be returned and action bi-ought for
depreciation in value, but this not ad-
visable, 432 ; medical means may be
adopted to cure the horse, they are,
however, better declined, lest in an
unfortunate issue of the case they
should be misrepresented, 431.
Unsteadiness whilst mounting, remedy
for, 374.
Urine, albuminous, 234 ; bloody, 233.
Vastus muscle, description of the, 273.
Vein.s, description of the, 164 ; of the
arm, de.'scription, cScc, 250 ; of the neck,
ditto, 140; of the face, ditto, 102; of
the shoulder, ditto, 250 ; inflammation
of the, treatment of, 141.
Vena portarum, the, 213.
Verdigris, an uncertain medicine, when
given internally, 449 ; a mild -caustic,
ib.
Vermin, account of, 419.
Vertebrae, the dorsal and lumbar, 145.
Vertebrated animal, the horse a, 44.
Vices of hor.ses, account of the, 370.
Vicious to clean, a bad habit that should
be conquered, 375 ; to shoe, a bad
habit that may also be conquered,
376.
Vinegar, its use in veterinary practice,
436.
Vines, Mr., his use of the Spanish fly ia
glanders, 445,
Vision, theory of, 63.
INDEX.
483
Vitreous humor of the eye, acrount of
the, 05.
Vitriol, bhxe, use of, in veterinary prac-
tice, 449.
Wall-eyed horses, what, 64; whether
they become blind, ib.
Warbles, treatment of, 152.
Warranty, the form of a, 430 ; breach
of, how established, ib. ; no price w^ill
imply it, 431 ; when there is none,
the action must be brought on the
p^round of fraud, ib.
Warts, method of getting rid of, 419.
Washing of the heels, productive of
a:rease, 291.
VV^ashy horses, description and treat-
ment of, 223.
Water, generally given too sparingly,
402 ; management of on a journey, 403 ;
the difference in effect, between hard
and soft, 402 ; spring, principally in-
jurious on account of its coldness, ib. ;
stomach of the horse, the, 212.
Water farcy, nature and treatment of,
116.
Wax used in charges and plasters, 468.
Weakness of the foot, what, 331.
Weaving indicating an iiTitable temper,
and no cure for it, 384.
Wheat, considered as food for the horse,
397 ; inconvenience and danger of it,
3Qh.
Whcezer, description of the, 198 ; is un-
sound, 423.
Whistler, description of the, 398 ; is un
sound, 423.
White lead, use of, 459 ; vitriol, its use
in veterinary practice, 4G9.
Wind, broken, nature and trealmcMit of
196 ; galls, description and treatincDt
of, 261, 268 ; ditto, unsoundness when
they cause lameness, or are likely to
do so, 430 ; thick, nature and treat
ment of, 194.
Windpipe, description of the, 143 ,
should be prominent and loose, ib.
Wind-sucking, nature of, and remedy
.for, 380.
Withers, description of the, 150 ; high,
advantage of, ib. ; fistulous, treatment
of, 151.
Worms, different kinds, and treatment
of, 227.
Wounds in the feet, treatment of, 324.
Yellows, symptoms and treatment of
the, 229.
Zinc, its use in medicine, 468.
Zoological classification of the horse
44.
Zygomatic arch, reason of the strong
construction of the, 52.
Zygomaticus muscle, description or«K«
THS END.
Gentle Dora ! !-Dashing Maggie ! ! !
MRS. MARY J. HOLMES' IS^EW STORIES,
DORA DEANE and MAGGIE MILLER
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characteristic sketches of scenery and character in both States. It is both good and in-
teresting.— New York Daily Times.
The moral of the plot is excellent Cowardly virtue, as exhibited by 'Lena's father,
may here learn a lesson without sutfering his bitter experience ; while the rashness of
youth may be warned against desperate acts, before a perfect understanding is had.— A^sza
Bedford Express.
This is an American novel possessing merit far superior to many which have been
Dublished during the last two years. The delineations of character are neatly and accu
rately drawn, and the tale is a deeply interesting one, containing many and varied inci
ients, illustrative of the workings of the human mind, and of social and domestic life ir
iifferent parts of this country. The lesson to be deduced from its pages is a profitable
)n.e^which is more than can be said of many novels of the day. — Portfolio.
The scene of this tale is in Kentucky, although Now England figures in it somewhat
ind New Englanders still more largely. It is written in a lively style, and the inte^cot
8 not allowed to flag till the story terminates. One ot the best things in the book ,s its
Bly and admirable hits at American aristocracy. It quietly shows some of '-the plebeian
'ocation," which have, early or late, been connected with the "first families," an^ gives
us a peep behind the curtain into the private life of those who are often objects of envy.
Sold by all Booksellers. Sitigle copies rmnXed, post paid, on receipt of
she price. c. M. SAXTOJST, BARKER & CO., Publishers,
25 Park Row, New York.
ftuiet, Gentle, Home-like, Earnest, Truthful.
MEADOW BEOOK; ^IIOSA LEE.
BY MARY J. HOLMES,
Author of " 'Lena Kivers," " Homestead on the Ilillside," etc., etc.
One Volume, Itiino, 3S0 imgcs. Price $1 00.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
No admirer of Mrs. ITolmos' writinffs will thank us for a " critical" opinion of this,
Ler latest and best work. The time for such a thinp: has gone by. But surely they will
pardon us if we dwell lingoringly and lovingly over one or two of her"cl)aracters: — the
angel-like Jessie, the rightly-nained Angel" of the Pines, who, though a child, went
about like a ministering an<rel, when all others had lleil the pestilence that walked at
noonday, and at last fell before its withering stroke. Surely, if a tear falls here., it falls
in the right place. Aiul then Eosa:— llosa at thirteen the schoolmistress and in love.
One year after, llosa the governess was again in love. II(nv we are interested in the
tangled web of her life-experience, and how we rejoice when at last the orange-flowers
crown her brow, and the storm-tossed barcpie reaches the sure haven of repose:
"The blessinir given, the ring is on;
And at God's altar radiant run
The currents of two lives in one."
Ada, the deceiving, merits our scorn ; Ada, the dissipated, somewhat of our pity. Dr.
Clayton we despise for his fickleness, honor for his after-manliness, and congratulate for
his eventual happiness. — National American.
We have read this book with no little satisfaction, for it has a reality about it that
touches a spot not always sensitive to descriptions written with more pretence and lite-
rary style. It is particularly attractive to one with a New-England experience, as it3
earlier chapters are drawn from life in the country portions of that region, and those
immediately following are laid in Boston. We do not mean to intimate that the book
is carelessly written, but that it is "the touch of nature that makes all men kin"' that is
Its es[)eciai charm. It does not read like a romance, but like a calm narration by some
friend of events occurring in a circle of one's old friends, and the intense interest with
which we follow the narrative seems to be rather from personal feeling than from the
osuaI false excitement of the overstrained sentimentalities of most of the modern works
of fiction which "read like a book."— iViewtfrA* Advertiser.^
Our friends in the novel-reading line will gladly hail a new work called " Meadow
Brook," by Mrs. Mary J. Holmes, author of "Tempest and Sunshine." and several other
well-known and ]>opular works. " Meadow Brook" is an exceedingl 3' attractive book,
and one that will alternately call forth smiles and tears. The chapters delineating the
life of the youthful '■ school-ma'am," and her experience in "boarding round," may be
termed "rich" in every sense of the word. We doubt if their equal can be met with in
any of the novels of the present day. The after-life of Eosa Lee, the heroine of Meadow
Brook, will be found to be of equal, if not of supt-rior interest to the earlier part, so
grai)hically delineated in the first half-dozen chapters. — Providence Journal.
Many of her characters might be. if they are not, drawn from life. We liave met a
little Jessie whose bright, sweet face, winning ways, and sunny, happy temper, made
her a favorite with alTwho knew her. Jessie Lansing vividly recalls our little Je.ssio,
who, we hope, is still the sunbeam of her own sweet Southern home. Mrs. Holmes
draws her pictures from the deep welling fountain of her own heart and life, reaching
our hearts as well as our imaginations, and will always meet a cordial reception when-
ever she appears. — Binghamtnn Republican.
"Meadow Brook" is a plain story of American life and American people, with capital
illustrations of American habits and manners. . . The story is a well-written common-
sense atfair, containing much that will please the reader. Nothing is distorted or over-
drawn, but all is calculated to impress the reader with a belief \n the writer — that is,
that she is telling a true \.&\e.—Eochester Advertiser.
Sold by all Booksellers. Single copies sent by mail, postage paid, upon
receipt, of the price.
C. M. SAXTOl'7, BARKER & CO., Publishers,
25 Park Bow, New York.
Natural, Truthful, and Enticing
T II E
HOMESTEAD ON THE HILLSIDE,
BY MRS. MARY J. HOLMES,
The Popular Author of "Tempest and Sunshine" and "The English Orphans."
IML One Volume, 380 Pages, 12iuo. Price %1 00.
The numerous and delighted readers of "Tempest and Sunshine" and "The En-
glish Orphans " — Mrs. Holmes' former works — will be pleased to learn that another
work of their favorite author is again within their reach. That this work will be ea-
gerly sought and widely read, her former brilliant success aifords the surest guaranty.
Mrs. Holmes is a peculiarly pleasant and fascinating writer. Her subjects are the home
and family relations. She has the happy faculty of enlisting the sympathies and affec-
tions of her readers and of holding their attention to her pages, with deep and absorbing
interest. Tlie Hoiiiesteatl on llie Millside is, therefore, attracting the
liveliest attention ; and readers and
REVIEWERS ARE DECIDED IN ITS PRAISE.
Any one taking up the book must take a "through ticket," as there is no stopping
place "this side" of the last page. The arts of the designing woman are given in their
true color, showing to what oily-tongued hypocrisy humanity will stoop for the further-
ance of its purposes ; what a vast amount of unhappiness one individual may bring up-
on an otherwise happy family; what untold misery may result from the groveling spirit
of fancied revenge, when cherished in the bosom of its unhappy possessor.— ^/-ocAj^ori
Gasette.
The talented author of "Tempest and Sunshine" has again hit on a happy subject.
^The Homestead on the Hillside " has afforded her ample scope for the exercise of those
high descriptive powei's and those striking portraitures of character which have ren-
dered her former works such general favorites. In one word, the book before us is no
ordinary production.— P7ii^ac?ei!p/aa Daili/ Neios.
Vigor, variety, a boldness and freedom of style and expression, eccentricity alike of
character and incident, are among its most striking peculiarities. She has improved, in
the book before us, upon her flrst effort, and several of these tales will not fail to add to
her already well established reputation as a vigorous and attractive writer. — Bost. Atlas.
The artfulness and resignation exhibited by the "Widow Carter, in her modest but not
unnatural endeavors to gain the tender regard of Mr. Hamilton, as she smoothed the pil-
low of his dying wife, de'serve the especial attention of gentlemen liable to a like attempt
from a similar cause. They will doubtless see a dozen widows in the very dress and po-
sition of the philanthropic Mrs. Carter. There is quite a moral for young Misses, too, in
the book."— A^. Y. Dutchman.
It cannot fail to please the lovers of flowing and graceful narrative.— TVi&ime.
It will be superfluous to say that ISIrs. Holmes is a charming writer.— 2>wa Flag.
Its genial spirit, its readv wit, its kindly feeling, will doubtless meet with due appreci-
ation from all its readers, 'it touches with ready sympathy the fountains of mirth and
tears, and one can neither restrain the one nor withhold the other, in reading its tales of
joy and sorrow. — Broome Bepub.
"We have perused this book with none but feelings of pleasure ; and we have closed ita
pages, bearing in our heart its sweet spirit and eloquent moral. "We heartily commend
x'i.— Lock port Courier.
Her portrayal of human character and actions are admirable; her style is fluent and
fascinating, and a most intense degree of interest is kept up throughout the volume.
But among all it3 excellent qualities^ most prominent appears its eloquent morals. P.ead
It, so ftiat'you can have it to say, ^ I once kead a good booil.'"— Lock port Democrat
Sold by all Booksellers. Single copies sent by mail, postpaid, upon
receipt of tbe price.
C. M. SAX'i'ON, BARKEK & CO., Publishers,
25 Pa/rk Bow, N&uo York.
LOUIS NAPOLEON,
AND THE
COMPRISIxVa A
HISTORY OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION,
THE CAREER OF NAPOLEON, THE RESTORATION OF THE B0I7B-
BONS, THE REIGN OF LOUIS PHILLIPPE, THE LIFE AND CA-
REER OF LOUIS NAPOLEON, AND THE CAUSES, EVENTS,
AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRIMEAN WAR.
BY HENRY W. DE PUY,
ATTTHOB OF " KOSSUTH AND HIS GENEEAL8," " ETHAN ALLEU," ETC.
One Yolume, 457 pp. 12mo., with Steel Portraits of Louis
Napoleon and the Empress Eugenie. Price $1 25.
The foregoing is an interesting and a reliable history of the Bona-
parte family, from the dawn of its celebrity to the present time. It
contains a biography, not only of Napoleon L, Napoleon III., and of the
other members and branches of that distinguished family, but also of
other prominent actors in French affairs, with such a sketch of French
history as is necessary to the proper connection and clear understand-
ing of the work.
EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWERS.
The Bonaparte family is one of the most remarkable that has ever appeared on the
earth. Its origin T\'as so humble, its elevation so rapid and dazzling, its power so great,
its fall so signal and low, its re-appearance in the person of Louis~ Napoleon so unex-
pected and potent, and its future so portentous, that it at once arrests the attention of
the modern historian, and audaciously takes its place In the very foreground of his
canvjis.
We are not aware that any author has before attempted to present the entire Bona-
parte family in one concise, yet clear and satisfactory volume. It is a work long needed,
and for which every intelligent person constantly feels a pressing necessity. Hence we
heartily welcome the work before us. Its method is excellent, its breadth and grasp
very remarkable, and the style lucid and brilliant. The engravings are superior, and
type, paper, and binding excellent. — Taunton Demoevat. »
An interesting and instructive volume. The author has given a graphic description
of the career of the great Napoleon, free from that excessive flattery which distisguishes
the work of Abbott ; and the scarcely less brilliant career of Louis Napoleon is set forth
with admirable succinctness and truthfulness. The work comprises the history of
France, and in fact of Europe, from the revolution of 'S9 to the present time, of which
the misfortunes and successes of Louis Philippe fi>rm a most interesting chapter. The
biographical notices of the most distinguished characters that participated in public af-
fairs during that period, is also a valuable feature of the work. — Dem. Expounder.
The style of the author is popular and attractive, and his book blends the interest of
history with that of biography. Portraits of the present Emperor and of the Empress
Eugenie, finely engraved, adorn the volume, which is handsomely issued in all respects.
— BoHton Telegraph.
The notices of the various members of the Bonaparte family are written with clear-
ness, as are also the sketches of Louis XVIII., Charles X., Louis Philippe, Theirs, La-
martine, Guizot, Abdel-Kader, and numerous others whose names are familiar with
French movements during the present century. The outline of the liussian War is
lmj)artially given, a commendation which may be generally accorded to the entire vol-
nme. — Thomas Francis Mka';her.
Sold by all Booksellers. Mailed, post-paid, to any address, upon receipt of price.
C. M. SAXTOT.', BAKKEH & CO., Publishers,
25 Pivrk Reyin, New York.
THE BOOK OF THE AGE.
RECOLLECTIONS OF A LIFETIME,
OR
MEN AND THINGS I HAVE SEEN IN EUROPE AND AMEEICA.
BY S. G. GOODRICH,
The veritable " Peter Parley," author of " The History of All Nations," &c. &c.
In two volumes, 1105 pp. large 12mo., 25 Original Engravings, including
an accurate Steel Portrait of the Author. Price, Black or Scarlet
Cloth, $3 GO ; Scarlet Cloth, Gilt Edges, $4 GO ; Half Calf, Marble
Edges, $5 GO ; Full Calf, Gilt Edges, $Y GO.
This work embraces the prominent public events of the last half century, both at horae
and abroad; a complete Autobiography of the author— his early days, education, and lit-
erary career; and an amount of original curious, and valuable Personal Incident, Anec-
dote, and Description, seldom, if ever, met with in a single work. It is the Author's
Life-long Wokk, and nothing superior, if anything equal to it, in blended amusement
and instruction, has ever been published. Mr. Goodrich is the author and editor of
ITO Volumes, of which over seven millions of copies have been sold! and
this, the great work of his life, embodies the condensed substance of his ample Literavy
and Practical Evperience ; the War icith England in 1812-14, in which Mr. Goodrich
was a private soldier; the Ilaiiford Convention, whose operations took place under his
immediate observation, and with most of the members of which he was personally ac-
quainted. Embracing curious and interesting details respecting Old Jeffernonian De-
mocracy, Old Federalism, and Connecticut Blue Lights; curious and marvellous
events connected with the rise and progress of Religious Sects in the United States;
with descriptions of the French Revolution o/lS4S, and Louis jS^apoleon's Coup d'Etat,
both of which the author witnessed. Also, a full account of the " PETER PARLEY'?
TALES," of which Kour Millions have been sold.
In the course of the work will be found a Gallery of Pex axd Ink Poetkaits of
over Two Hundred Celebrated P^;'6^o?«s— Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Kings, Queens,
Emperors, Soldiers, Poets, Wits, Enthusiasts, Physicians, Preachers, Lawy'ei's, Politi-
cians, Diplomatists, &c.— all described from personal acquaintance or observation — among
whom are the following:
George IV. Lamartine, Henry Clay, Duke of "Wellington, Benjamin West,
William IV. Victor Hugo, Dan'l Webster, Lord Brougham, Fenimore Cooper,
Prince Albert, Alex. Dumas, M. Van Buren, Sir J. Mackintosh, Percival,
Queen Victoria Mad. Catalini, M.Fillmore, King Rhio Rhio, or Brainerd,
Sir W. Scott, Mad. Malibran, J. C. Fremont, Dog of Dogs, Willis,
Lord Jeffrey, Pasta, General Scott, Louis Phillippe, Hawthorne,
J. G. Lockhart, Talma, Prof Silliman, Louis Napoleon, Mi-s. Sigourney,
W. BJackwood Mile. Mars, Eli Whitney, Thos. A. Emmett, Miss Sedgwick,
Hannah More, Rachel, Judge Kent, Bishop Seabury, Mrs. Child,
Dr. Chalmers, Ristori, GeoT Cabot, Bishop Wainwright, Charles Sprague,
Edw. Irving, Pope Pius IX. H. G. Otis, Dr. Mason, Longfellow,
Thos. Hood, Preset Monroe, Jas. Hillhouse, Dr. Romcyn, Pierpont,
Louis XVIII. J. Q. Adams, Uriah Tracy, Archibald Gracie, T. Buchanan Eoed,
Charles X. Dr. Dwight, Nath'l Smith, Minot Sherman, Jacob Perkins.
To all which is added, the Author's recent
ANECDOTES OF TRAVEL,
In England. Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy, together with a Complete Catalogttj
OF TiiK Aittiior's Works, HOW for the first time published; with curious commentario-'
on the Counterfeit Parley Books, got up in London.
SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.
Single Copies mailed, POST-PAID, to any address.
Published by
C. M. SAXTON", BARKER & CO., PubUshers,
25 Park Bow, New York.
GREAT AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY I
WEBSTER
AND
HIS MASTER-PIECES
fis fife aiilr 6xmi ^prcljts
BY B. F. TEFFT, r>. D., LI.. D.
Steel Portrait, Two Volumes, 1032 pp. l?wio. I -ki^jc, $2 oOt
THE LIFE EMBRACED
?. The Webster Family. ; 6. Webstei the Leglditor.
2. Webster the Boy and Youth. 7. Webster the Cit'z.en.
3. Weboter the Student. 8. Wehster the Rrrator.
4 Webster the Lawyer. 9. T* ebcter the Orator.
5. Webster in his Domestic Eelations. ' 10. Webster the li'jtecutive Officer.
THE SPEECHES EMBRACE
L Argument in the Dartmouth College
Case.
2. Plymouth Oration — ^First Settlement of
' New England.
8. Speech on the Greek Eevolution.
4. Bunker Hill Monument Oration.
5. Funeral Oration — Adams and Jefferson.
6. Lecture before Mechanic's Institution,
Boston.
7. The Character of Washington.
8. Speech at Niblo"s Garden, New York.
9. Letter on Impressment.
10. Eeply to Hayue on Foot's Eesolution.
11, Constitution not a Compact— Eeply to
Calhoun,
li;. Constitution and the Union — 7th of
Mnrch Speech.
We receive these volumes with especial satisfaction. Dr. Tefft's book, we doubt not,
will be a popular one. It has that brilliancy of touch and that vivacity of style which
are always popular with the great body of readers.- -5o.s-to?i Traveler.
Such a life of the great statesman was needed. There is no other as cheap yet elegant
form in which Webster's great efforts are to be found. They will sell well, we doubt not
The more of them there are distributed, the better it is *or our intelligence, our political
virtue and the public weal. — M. Y. Times.
Dr. Tefft has displayed much industry, versatility and discrimination in his biography,
and good taste in the selection of Mr. Webster's efforts, and these volumes cannot but
meet with a favorable reception from the public. — Boston Atlas.
There is no doubt but the book will be very generally sought and read by an appre-
ciating public. It must be regarded as a valuable addition to the standard literary works
of the times. The author is exceedingly happy in his use of language. Tliere is nothing
laborious, dull or dillicult in the perusal; but on the contrary, it possesses an affahUi,
concenial spirit which is entirely winning. We have been peculiarly interested with
the description of Mr. Webster's character contained in the last chapter of the biography
The author enters into the subject with l-is whole soul, delineating faithfully tho.se traits
peculiar to the man, expanding upon those qualities of mind which constituted his great-
ness. The work is handsomely got up, and is ht to adorn any library.— ^w/u/o I^ep.
We doubt whether a better biogrxphy will ever meet the eyes of the student, or en •
rich the library of the man of letters. The style -S polished, clear, and interesting in «
bigh degree. — Boston Eve. Gazette.
The best life of Webster that has ever appeared— .2«#;< to Democracy.
Sold by all Booktxrllers. Mailed, post-paid, to any address, upon receipt of pnee,
C. M. SAXTOW, BAEKEK & CO., Publishers,
25 Park Row, New York.
LIFE OF HENRY CLAY,
BY HORACE GREELEY AND EPES SARGEANT.
" But there are deeds which should not pass away,
And names which should not wither."
One Volume, 428 pp. 12mo., Steel Portrait, Muslin, Price $1,25
Wliile the youth of America should imitate his noble qualities, they
may take courage from his career, and note the high proof it affords that, under our
equal institutions, tlie avenues of hon >r are open to all. Mr. Clay rose by the force of
his own genius, unaided by power, ])ationage, or wealth. At an age when our young
men are usually advanced to the higher scliools of learning, provided only with the ru-
diments of an English education, he turned his steps to the West, and, amidst the rude
collisions of a border life, matured a character whose highest exhibitions were destined
to mark eras in his country s history. Beginning on tlie frontiers of American civiliza-
tion, tlie orphan boy, supported only by the consciousness of his own powers, and by
the confidence of the people, sunuv^unted all the barriers of adverse fortune, and won a
glorious name in the annals of his country. Let the generous youth, fired with honora-
ble ambition, remember that the American system of government offers on every hand
bounties to merit. If, like Clay, orphanage, obscurity, ]ioverty, shall oppress him ; yet,
if, like Clay, he feels the Promethean spark within, let him remember that his '••ountry,
like a generous mother, extends her arms to welcome and to cherish every o • ." ^«r
children whose genius and worth may promote her prosperity or increase her reno,vi?
BEING THE ABOVE, TO WHICH IS ADDED
HIS MOST ABLE AND POPULAR SPEECHES.
steel Portrait, 633 pp. 8vo., Muslin, $2 00; Morocco, Marble Edge, S2 50.
"The rush of native eloquence, resistless as Niagara,
The keen demand, the clear reply, the fine poetic image,
The nice analogy, the clenching fact, the metaphor, bold and free,
The grasp of concentrated intellect, wielding the omnipotence of truth.
Upon whose lips the mystic bee hath dropped the honey of persuasion.'"
As a leader in a deliberative body, Mr. Cday had no equal in Araer
ica. In him, intellect, person, eloquence and courage, united to form a character fit to
command. He fired with his own enthusiasm, and controlled by his amazing will, indi-
viduals and masses. No reverse could crush his spirit, nor defeat reduce him to des-
pair. Equally erect and dauntless in prosperity and adversity, when successful, he
moved to the accomplishment of his purposes with- severe resolution; when defeated
he rallied his broken bands around liim, and from his eagle-eye shot along their rank
the contagion of his own courage. Destined for a leader, he everywhere asserted his
destiny. In his long and eventt'iil life, he came in contact with men of all ranks and pro-
fessions, but he never felt that he was in the presence of a man superior to himself In
tho assemblies of the people, at the bar, in the Senate — everywhere within the circle
of his personal presence, he tissumed and maintained a position of pre-eminence.
aold by all Booksellers. Mailed, post-piid, to any liidross, upon recipt of price.
C. M. SAXTOISr, BAKKER & CO., Publishers,
25 Park lioic, J^^'eio Yr-r7,:
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