iiiii' '^H'X:Ty /^.;ir. n Srom f0e £i6rarp of ^t^, %lkxK %tXKXi (grotwn, ®. ®. t^ fetfirarg of (Princeton J^eofogicaf ^emtnarj # .»-V>4 ^*S^"^^i W\ THE HORSE, BY YOUATT. EDITED BY SKINNEE. (Ji r: SI OH hi ^ s c K >od in our political and social institutions, the ele- ments and general outline of which we have not derived from Old England 1 Some orchardists contend that a branch cut from an old trunk and grafted on a younf scion, will, nevertheless, sympathize with the parent stock, and under the laws of vegetable life, will decay as the parent tree declines ! Does the theory sometimes apply to ountries and governments "? or shall we thrive nationally, as plants grow larger and lore robust when transplanted from the seed-bed into wider space and freer circula- tion 1 But these are questions for the politician. None of the writings to which we could point the reader contain more frequent mention, or more glowing descriptions of the ]>ower and beautv of the Horse, than the great honk .if ho:>Jxs! The Bible teaches us that from whatever land this animal may have been originally brought into Egypt, that country had already become a great horse market, even before horses were known in Arabia; the country v/ith which we are apt to associate all that is most interesting in the history of this" noble beast. Geolooi.-nl researches, however, have discovered fossil remains of the horse in abnost 2* c riTI i8 THE HORSE. every part of the world, " from the tropical plains of India to the frozen re^ons of Siberia — from the northern extremities of the new world to the southern point of America." But amongst the Hebrews, horses were rare previous to the days of Solomon, who had horses broufrht out of Egypt after his marriag-e with the daughter of Pharoah. and so rapidly did he multiply them by purchase and by breeding, that those kept for his own use required, as it is written, " four thousand stables, and forty thousand stalls." Hence, when honoured by a visit from the beautiful Queen of Sheba, bringing with her " camels bearing spices," and " very much gold and precious stones," it was doubtless in the contemplation of his magnificent stud of liorses and chariots, kept for the amusement of his wives and concubines, as well as of his other vast displays of power and magnificence, that her majesty exclaimed, in the fullness of her admiration, — " Howbeit I believed not the words until I came, and mine eyes had seen it, and behold the half was not told me !" This gallant monarch appears to have enjoj^ed a large monopoly of the horse trade with Egypt, for which he was probably indebted to his having an Egyptian Princess for one of his wives. His merchants supplied horses in great numbers to the Hittite Kings of Northern Phoenicia. The fixed price was one hundred and fifty shekels for one horse, and six hundred shekels for a set of chariot horses. Thus early was in vogue, as it seems, the gentleman-like fashion to drive four-in-hand, which came down to the good old days when in our Republican country the Tayloes, and the Ridgelys, and the Lloyds, and Hamptons still figured and flourished on the race-courses at Annapolis and Washington. That there was in the " olden time," something remarkably luxurious in the style of living and equipage at the ancient metropolis of Maryland, may be gathered from the fol- lowing remarks in " New Travels through America." in the year 1781, by the Abb6 Robin, chaplain to the French army. — " Their furniture here is constructed of the most costly kind of wood, and the most valuable marble, enriched by the elegant devices of the artist's hand. Their riding machines are light and handsome, and drawn by the Jleeiest coursers, managed by slaves richly dressed. This opulence was particularly observable at Jinnnpalia. Female luxurj' here exceeds what is known in the provinces of France — a French hair-dresser is a man of importance among them ; a certain dame here hires one of that oraft at a thousand crowns a year salary." Before the days of Solomon, their honours, the Judges and Princes of Israel, used generally to ride on Jisses and Mules ; no less patient and faithful servants of man than the horse ; and to whom the editor will endeavour to render justice, in the course of this introduction to the English work. It is not, be it said, with all our partiality for the Horse, that he possesses any ottA physical or moral trait, in higher excellence than some other animals. In sagacity, he falls short of the ponderous and drowsy Elephant; in muscular development and grace of limb, he surpasses not the Stag; in ardour and constancy of devotion, he can scarcely be said to equal his friendly companion and rival for his master's affections, the faithful Dog ; and his courage fails him at sight of a " Lion in the way," — while in the humbler qualities of patience and availability to the very last, even to the hair and the hoof, that unambitious drudge, the Ox, may well assert his pretensions to com- parison, if not to superiority. It is the admirable combinaliim of tlie several (lualit.ies which, taken singly, serve to confer distinction on other quadrupeds, that united in him, fits the horse for employments so various ; giving him pre-eminence alike in t\ie wagon or the plough — the coach and the Irattle-field. While on the one liand, with a flight of speed, compared in Scripture to " the swiftness of the Eagle," he submits his neck, clothed in thunder, to be restrained by a silken rein in the hamls of a Di Vernon, his courage in war is thus eloquently described by Job. We give what is esteemed the best translation of a passage often quoted, no less for its appositeness than for it3 Bublimity. " Hast thou Eriven mottle to the horse ? And clotbtd his neck with ire ? Do?t thou command him to spring; like a grasshopper ? The grandeur of bis neighing is terror ; With bis feci be bents the ground, Rejoicing in his strength ; And goes forth to meet the embnttled foe. THE HORSE. ]9 The fearful sight he scorns, and trembles not, Nor from the sword doth he draw back. Above him rattle the quiver, the gUttering spear, and arrow. Under him trembles the earth ; yet he hardly touches it. He doubts if it be the sound of the trumpet he hears, But when it becomes more distinct, then he exults, And from afar, pants for the battle, The word of command, and the war-cry." And then as to his gallantry ; where, in all nature, does she exhibit such a magnifi- cent display of that conservative passion, by which alone the Great Jehovah has secured the perpetuity of all his creatures, as in the high-formed, pampered stallion, under the impulse of amatory anticipations ! — affording in this resistless necessity of animal organization, proof that should dispel, even in a land of Atheists, all doubt of an overruling design or Providence, " Whose work is without labour ; whose designs No flaw deforms, no difficulty thwarts ; And whose beneficence no charge exhausts." It may be the force of early association, hut we apprehend it is almost indispensable to have been bom and " raised in the country" to estimate fully the attachment which can there alone grow up in all its power, between a i. an and his horse ! What con- queror, " from Macedonia's madman to the Swede," so proud as the boy and his horse ' Button" or " Bright-Eye," that can beat all competitors in a quarter-race ! Alex- ander was a fool, and Bucephalus a garron, compared to these two great characters, in playtime at a country school. " Haud experientia loquor .'" To the valetudinarian, how delightful to escape from his sick room, and once mora throw himself in his saddle, to ride abroad and snuff the fresh air of the morning ; or no less to one in the manly vigour of health, to mount his sure-footed, high-mettled &teed, and go hounding, at three-quarter speed, " Over the hills and far away," under the reckless excitement of the chase, or sometimes even solitary and alone, yet most agreeably exhilarated by that cheerful turn of thought educed by rapid horseback motion, in the bracing air of the country I He, at least, must have felt these sensa- tions, who described them so happily and with so much enthusiasm, in the old Ameri- can Turf Register and Sporting Magazine; a work since much improved, and now conducted with rare taste and elegance by W. T. Porter, of New York. In strong fear of reproach for departing from the strict line of utility laid down for our observance, we cannot forbear to appropriate space enough here to multiply copies of this beautiful tribute "TO MY HORSE." With a glancing eye and curving mane, He neighs and champs on the bridle-rein ; One spring, and his saddled back I press. And ours is a common happiness ! 'Tis the rapture of motion ! a hurrying cloud When the loosened winds are breathing loud : — A shaft from the painted Indian's bow — A bird — in the pride of speed we go. Dark thoughts that haunt me, where are ye now ? While the cleft air gratefully cools my brow, And the dizzy earth seems reeling liy. And nought is at rest, but the arching sky : And the tramp of my steed, so g%vift and strong. Is dearer than fame and sweeter tlian song ? There is life in the breeze as we hasten on ; With each bound some care of earth has gone. And the languid pulse begins to play, And the night of my soul is turned to day , A richer verdure the earth o'erspreads. Sparkles the streamlet more bright in the meads, 20 THE HORSE. And its voice to the flowers that bend above, Is soft ns the whisper oi'ijarly love ; V.'ith IrajTraru-e sprii;:^ flowerb- liave burdened the air. And iho blue-Ujrd ana robin arc twiiteriiig clear. Lovely tokens of gladness. I marked ye not. When last 1 roamed o'er this self-same spot. Ah ! then the deep shadows of sorrow'.^ mien Fell, like a blight, on the happy scene ; And nature, iviili all her love and grace, In the depths of the spirit could find no place. So the vexed breast of the mountain lake, When wind and rain mad revelry make, Turbid and gloomy, and wildly tost. Retains no trace of the beauty lost. But when through the moist air, bright and warry. The sun looks down with his golden charm. And clouds have fled, and the wind is lull, Oh ! then the changed lake, how beauiiiui ! The glistening trees, in their shady ranks. And the ewe wiih its lamb, along the banks. And the kingfisher perched on the v.iiher'd bough, And the pure blue heaven, all pictured below I Bound proudly my steed, nor bound proudly in vam, Since thy master is now himself again. And thine be the praise when the leech's* power Is idle, to conquer the darkened hour By the might of the sounding hoof, to win Beauty without and joy within; Beauty else to my eyes unseen. And joy, that then had a stranger been. We return without further preliminarj'^ to trace tlie progressive improvements which have ended in giving- us the horse nf all vjork of the present day, ar,d as now employed for ordinary uses. 'These uses require hardiness 2rid strength for economical and laborious drudgery, and activity^ and speed f'cr light harness and the saddle ; while for every purpose it is essential that he should have gooof wind. The work itself, to which these remarks are but introductory, it will be remembered treats more par- ticularly and fully, and leaves nothing more to be learned about the anatomy aiid diseases of ike Horse. How the qualities designated above have been gradually estab- lished and preserved from deterioration, it would be imjjracticable to ascertain and relate without going back as we propose to trace the outline at least of the history of the English Horse, from which ours are descended — and here, before proceeding further, it is deemed proper the better to indicate its importance to every practical husbandman, that we lay it down as a principle, that the horse, in his domesticated condition, where his propagation is conducted arbitrarily and without rule — whore the male and female are brought together capriciously, and without care or judgment as to the qualities of each, constant and wide-spread dtterioration niusi be the conseqvenct. On this point, upon which we insist as of the highest consideration, we shall dwell again, to show why it is that animals in a state of nature will preserve a higher standard than when unskilfully and carchssly bred in a slate of domesti- cation. In the meantime, in sketching the history of the English horse, it is not deemed essential to go back anterior to the Invasion of England by Julius Ca;sar, Even at that period it is clear that there existed in that island a good substratum u.t forming a superior race, for that observant and accomplished warrior spoke in the highest terms of the iiorses he found there. So well w^as he ccnvincfd of their excel- lence, that he took back with him many of them to Home, where English horses soon grew into great demand; and thus early was an inducement offered to the hardy and enterprising I'ritou, which since tluni bus suffen^d no abatement, to pay .strict atten- tion to this important source of agricultural wealth. * Tieech, in old poetic dialect, means physician. THE HORSE. 21 Hugh Capet, king of France, in tlie ninth century, proposing to himself by intei- marriage with EthelJista, to infuse more vivacity into the breed of these semi-baiba- rous islanders, sent over to her brotlier Prince Athelstan, a supply of Genaan " running horses," as they were called, this being the lirst meniicn of the race-horse in English annals. It is to be supposed that in all cases of male horses tims spoken of, ■• entire" horses are to be understood ; for then it was not conunon, as it is now, to violate wantonly the Mosaic Law, wiiich says, "a beast that is crushed, bruised, evulsed, oi excised, (these being the four modes of castration,) you shall not bring unto Jehovah, nor shall you make it sd in yuur land.'''' A practice as doubtful, as to its necessity or utility in respect to the horse, as it is inhuman wherever it is useless. In the case of edible animals, where emasculation pronmtes size and fatness, and improves the flavour for the table, as with the hog and the sheep, this execrable mutilation is neces- sary, and therefore more excusable ; but this is not the case with the horse. In France, where he is remarkable for strength in proportion to size, the post and the farm horse is rarely, if ever, castrated ; and when horses for the road undergo this operation, it is done in a manner and with such reservations as not to destroy the external appearance of this sexual development; the suppression of which is there considered a striking disligurement. Descending next to the epoch of William the Conqueror, whose charger was of the Spanish breed, and whose cavalry won for him the victory at tho Battle of Hastings — one of his subjects. Rosier de Belseme, justly obtained popularity as a national benefactor, by the importation af Spanish stallions into England. So decidedl}^ benelicial was the result of this munificent act of an individual subject, that it may well be noted as an era in its way, for it is not to be doubted that these Spanish stallions partook largely of the blood of the Barb, brought into Spain by the Moors, as the Norman-French horse in Canada does, of the same blood, carried from Spain and Palestine to Normandy. To show how largely this new infusion of foreign blood must have refined and thinned the wind, so to say, of the English strain of horses, at that juncture, it is sufficient that we exhibit a well-drawn portrait, ready to our hand, of the Barbary horse, more nearly allied than any other to the Arabian, and quite his equal at least in form, if not in spirit — of the same stock, in fact, as Godolphin, com- monly called the " Godolphin Arabian." " The fore hand of the Barb is generally long and slender, and his mane long and rather scanty. His ears are small, beautifully shaped, and placed in such a manner as to give him great expression ; his shoulders are light, flat, and sloping backwards, withers fine and standing high ; loins short and straight; flanks and ribs round and full, without giving him too large a belly ; his haunches strong and elastic ; the croup is sometimes long to a fault, the tail is placed high, thighs well turned and rounded, legs clean and beautifully formed, and the hair thin, soft, and silky; the tendons are detached from the bone, but the pasterns are often too long and bending ; the feet rather small, but in general sound." In this delineation of the barb, what reader will fail to recognise most of the genu- ine and well-established characteristics of the high form and breeding so much prized by all good judges'? The English Stock, to which a little too much heaviness had already been given by the dash of German blood, was now approaching that stage which demanded but one more dip of the long-winded, light-footed, silken-coated Eastern courser, such as it received some centuries after with such palpable and finishing effect, from the Darley Arabian ; and again from Godolphin, endowing it with both speed and stoutness in a measure, to which no addition has been made by any subsequent sprin- kle of exotic blood. When we reach in the progress of these remarks the point where it will be proper to speak more particularly of this effective agency of these two cele- brated stallions in elevating the character of the English blood horse, we shall give some reasons, drawn from the true principles of breeding, and which we do not recol- lect to have seen anywhere asserted, why it was that they contributed so much to 'Jiat end, and how it is that similar results have not attended later experiments of the same kind. In the meantime it is necessary to linger on the way in our review, that the chain may not be broken which connects the series of particular importations and other important incidents to which we are indebted for the advantages and delights that spring from the possession of the existing stock of sure-footed, long-winded 22 THEHORSE. cattle. With youi permission then, kind reader, lo use an expression familiar to tha votaries of the chase, let us " try back.'''' While the grovernnient of one man would be a dangerous experiment until we can have " Angels in the shape of men to govern us," yet when the monarch happens to be enlightened and virtuous, then the more absolute his power the better, perhaps, for his country. Even bad ones, sometimes by freak or passion, confer great good on particular interests or branches of industry. NVc have already seen liow, under the reign of William tlie Conqueror, the munificence of a subject gained him renown as a patriot by tlie introduction of Spanish horsts into England. .'>ubsequently, King John, with all his bad qualities, established for himself at least cue claim to honourable notoriety, by his various measures to better the strain of horses in use at that time, and especially by the introduction of the Flnndtrs Horse, to give more weight and sub- stance to iht heavy cuach-finrse, needed for, and adapted to the unwieldy carriages and bad roads then in use. ''To this monarch too," says an English writer, " we are unquestionably indebted for tiie foundation of our unrivalled draught horses. Aware of the superiority in bulk and strength of the Flemish breed, he imported, at one time, an hundred of the finest stallions." Subsequently, Edward II. imported tiiirty war, and twelve heavy draught liorses, from Lombardy ; and these again were well crossed at a later period, when Edward III. of warlike temper, brought over Jif/y iipatiish horses, at a cost of thirteen pounds six shillings, equivalent, in our day of luxury and paper money, to $800 each. It is fairly to be presumed, that in his great passion for the chase. His Royal Majesty perceived the necessity of giving more speed to the hunter, by tiirowing off some of the sluggish blood and massiveness of the Flemish stock, which is in general " large in the carcass, pretty clean in the leg, i'nd patient and enduring, but slow. They are good at a dead pull, but very heavy in the fore- hand ; inclined to get fat, but wanting in activity. They fall oft' in the rump, and the hips stand out too much from the ribs. The most unsightly part is the setting-on of the tail, which comes out low and points downwards." Such are the general charnc- teristics of the Flemish horse. "Flanders Mare," as every one knows, is a common term to express the opposite of grace and delicacy. They were imported into Eng- land, as above stated, to give size to coach-horses, when roads were bad and coaches of enormous weight ; but, as cause and effect are connected, and the one infallibly fol- lows and is controlled by the other, coaches have become lighter, and coach-horses quicker and more airy, as roads have been improved. The policy of this change from heavy to lighter horses, however, was again necessarily restrained and limited by the then still existing necessity for having chargers of great stamina to carry, beside* their rider, tlie heavy armour weighing over three hundred pounds, as did that in com mon use before the invention of gunpiavder ! How often public policy, the exterior relations of a country, and various accident? and events ap})arent]y altogether extrinsic, serve to establisii historical facts, and t6 influence the courses of national industry, literature, and arts ! Thus, the representa- tion of a man driving a horse attached to a harrow, woven in a piece of tapestry, is the evidence relied upon to prove that about contemporaneously with the Norman con- quest, horses had got to be employed in that sort of labour; and here again we see, at a subspcpient |)eriod, a revolution in the whole system of breeding iirrses in 15ritain, brought about by the invention of gunpoivder ! While in our own day, we have beheld Steam so applied as to drive horse-power from all her great thoroughfares, and to do in her factories the labour of some millions of men ! Truly, these are the days of progress .' We como now to the period when horses Mere first distinctly classified and disci plined expressly for ivar, and the /ur/", tlie chase, the road, and the mnch ; and here we may safely leave the subject as far as relates to the introduction of foreign horses into Eno-land, for the most jiart judicious, and well calctil ;t(Hl, as the e'der must have per- ceived, to pave the way for what has since been accom]ilisbed in the melioration of this favourite animal, and in adapting his structure and properties, from time to time, to his new and more various empbn'ments. Some particular rnnctirents. however, designed to accomplish the same objects, are well worthy of being mentioned ; and, it might be added, of being imitated — in our own country and time. In the reign of Henry VIII., even the size and form of Stallions were prescribed by Statute; and THE HORSE. 2o severe penalties were inflicted for every deviation from the lawful standard. We havfe often thought, and elsewhere maintained, that the Legislatures of the several States would do well to impose a tax on Stallions ; and, moreover, provide that none should De allowed to propagate their race, but under license granted by judges, connoisscnrs of horses, who should have power to condemn the worthless as the Inspector con- demns a hogshead of rotten tobacco ; leaving a tax of fixed amount upon all such as could pass inspection — or the amount should be light or heavy, in proportion to the perfection or defectiveness of the animal. All thick, straight-shouldered, cat-hammed garrans, and all overgrown beasts " sixteen hands or upwards, under the standard," should be condemned to celibacy ! This would go far, in a few years, to diminish the number of ungainly monsters, to be found at every cross-road, propagating their own wretched deformities, and vices of shape and temper. That horses do propagate hysical and moral defects, there can be no doubt — were it not invidious, living exam- ples might be given of both as to curbs and sulks ! one of which defects may have endangered, and the other have caused on a recent occasion, the loss of many thou- sands. Without having, as we hope, omitted anything material to show the reader how abundant have been the materials, and how judicious the use of them, to secure tlie excellence of the English Horse up to the period at which we have arrived — here Ave teach the epoch when we are told that public races were established, and horses that had given proof of their superior swiftness became known and celebrated throughout the kingdom. " The breed was cultivated, and their pedigree as well as those of their posterity, (in imitation of the Arabian manner,) was preserved and recorded with exactness." Here then, at last, as we contend, in this establishment and patronage of the turf, as an exact and severe test of equestrian power, and in the faithful preservation of pedi- grees, we discover at once the source and the guarantee for preserving all that is excellent in this noble animal, distinguished as we have said, in his rare combination of strength, swiftness, beauty, lastingness, docility, and courage. The prescription of weight to age — thf. measurement of the track, and the opening of the Stud-book, have done for English horses, what Magna Charta did for English-men ! As with man, " 'tis liberty alone that gives to life its lustre and perfume," so there would seem to be something in his aristocratic blnod, that inspires the thorough-bred courser with an indomitable pride and courage. To look at is but to admire him as he walks, " rejoifing in his strength !" but both man and horse will degenerate in character and value when in their government there is provided no tegt for their capacity — no stimulus to virtue— s done more than any writer of whom we have any knowledge, to throw light upon tho obscure but interesting annals of the American turf, consisting until then of a con- fused mass of scattered materials — rudis indigesta que moles — arranging them in 24 THE HORSE. chronolocrioal crdcr, and imparling to them all the perspicuity and weight of digested and authentic history. "Additional attention was given to blood during the reigns of f^izaheth and James. The latter had his running horses, and with great judgment, imjjorted from Arabia. A south-eastern horse was brought into Eni^land and j>urchased by James of Mr. Place, who was afterwards Stud-niabter to Oliver Cromwell. This beautiful animal was called Pluceh IVidlc Turk. .Shortly after appeared the Hclmsly Turk, imported by the Duke of Buckingham. Charles I. ardently pursued the amusements of the turf, now a iuvourite diversion with English gentlemen. With but few ex- ceptions, the oldest English pedigrees end in Place's White Turk. At the Restoration a new impulse was given to breeding and running fine horses. The system of improvement was thencefortji zealously pursued. Every variety of Eastern blood was engrafted upon the English; and the superiority of the produce, above the very best of the original stock, began to be evident. Their beauty of form, speed, and stout- ness, greatly surpassed the original breed. In the latter part of Queen Anne's reign there was still further improvement caused by the introduction of the Darby Arabian. Having to contend with prejudice, it was some time before he attracted notice. From him sprung a strain of une([Lialled beauty, speed, and strength. The Darby Arabian has been properly termed the parent of the racing stock. The present English thorough-bred horse is of foreign extraction, improved and perfected by the influence of climate and diligent cultivation. "The pedigree of English Eclipse affords a singular illustration of the descent from pure Eastern blood, both of himself and his ancestors, Jilarske, Kegulus, S'(iuirt, and Childers. The strictest attention has been paid to pedigree. In the descent of almost every modern racer, not the slightest flaw can be discovered ; or when, with the S})lendid exceptions of Sampson, and his son Bay Malton, one common drop has mingled in the pure stream, it has been speedily detected in the degeneracy cf their progeny. The Stud-1'ook, which is authority acknowledged by every English breeder, traces all the old pi^digrees to some Eastern courser, or until they are lost in the uncertainty of early breeding. "The tliorough-bred horse enters into every other breed, and adds or often gives to it its only value. For a superior charger, hunter, or saddle-horse, three parts, or one- half should be of pure blood; but for the horse of all work, less will answer. The road-horse, according to the work required of him, should, like the hunter, possess diflerent degrees of blood. The best kind of coach-horse is derived from mares of some blood, crossed with a three-fourth or thorough-bred stallion of sufficient size and substance. Even the dray-horse, and every otiier class of horse, is improved by a partial mixture of the thorough-bred." The late John Randolph, a connoisseur as well as an amateur in all such matters, used to say, that the long, slouching walk of the blood horse would tell, even in the plough, in a hot summer's day. A retrospective sflance at the low condition of the turf, and of the blood horse in this country, at the date of t!ie establishment of the A.-Mi:niCAX Tl'uk Register .and Spouting Maoazink, by I\Ir. Skinner, at Baltimore, in 18--20, will show how the influ- ence of that official record of blood and of performance, revived this ancient amuse- ment, and, as if by magic, retrieved and brought into demand again, the still pure but long-neglected descendants of illustrious ancestors. Pedigrees were thenceforth strictly scrutinized, the grain was winnowed from the chaff; arul while some bastards, claiming high family pretensions, were exposed and repudiated, the rust wliicli, through time and carelessness, had accumulated on the bright escutclieon of the real Simon Pure, was brushed away, and the mark of legitimacy indelibly stamped upon his brow. Prior to the establishment of the Turf Register, the darn of Kate Kearney and of Sussex, two among the best nags ever bred in the Old Dominion, was sold at jiublic auction, for thiiUnMi ])ounds, tobacco currency, and was afterwards bought cut of a cart for f^W, by Col. J. M. Sclden. a fair specimen, himself, of the gnrd old Virginia stock ; without, at the time, it is true, a knowledge of iier pedigree. She was used as a common farm hack, in the iu'aviest and hardest work, going in the wagon and ^breaking up heavy James' River bottom-lands in the plough ; and, as Col. S. has THE MORSE. 25 assured us, was the only horse on the estate, whereof there were many much larger, tliat never lost a day's work, or recjuired to be turned out and rested occasionally, from sickness or exhaustion. Being informed of her blood, she was rescued from the? g "ba&e uses" and sent to Sir Archy, by whom she produced Kate Kearney, and to ^'ir Charles, and produced the renowned, but ill-fated Sussex, sire of Lady Clifden. La Jy Lightfootwent out of a common livery-stable at 85500; and old Ecli})se, not long bef jre his race with Sir Charles, was otlered to the writer of these remarks for $2,500. At an advanced age he sold for $10,000, and is now, at twenty-seven years old, in vigor- ous health, covering in Kentucky at $100. One of his get by Lady Lightfoot was sold to a gentleman of Pennsylvania for $10,000, and that only on condition, as it was rumoured, that the buyer \\ould reciprocate the favour, by letting the gallant owner of him have one hundred bottles of his old Bingham wine, for ten times that number of dollars. Sir Archy was in a great measure indebted to his fame, if not to his great value as a stallion, during his declining years, to the establishment of the Turf Register, in which were heralded the brilliant achievements of his renowned get and their descendants. He had been made but a mere addition in the exchange, ibr but so-so high-bred cattle, by his breeder, the late Col. .John Tayloe, of Mount Airy ; and thus passed into the hands of his nephew, the late Ralph Wormley, Esq., of Kosegill, at whose death, shortly thereafter, he was purchased in his three year old form, after being beaten, by our re- nowned turfman, \V. R. .T., Esq., of Chesterfield, Virginia, who soon placed him at the head of the turf, with the reputation of being as good a four-miler as had ever run in Ame- rica. Such fame soon supplied his Harem — and at once he acquired a higher name in the Stud than any stallion that had ever been in our country ; and now, thanks to the Regis- ter, is very generally regarded as ourGodolphin Arabian — the ancestor of Boston, and Fashion, and Wagner, and Grey Eagle, and J. Bascom, and Postboy, and Mingo, and Lady Clifden, and Fanny, and Sarah Washington, and Grey Medoc, and .lim Bell, &c. It would here be unjust, not to say ungrateful, in one who has so often been the hon- oured medium of his tavours in that way, not to nrake acknowledgments to the truly vene- rable Judge G. Duvall, for the light shed b}^ him on the earlier annals of the American Turf. So wonderful is his memory, that he can place each horse as he saw them come out in remarkable races before the revolutinn! How gratifying to lis fri<'nds to behold this old Maryland-born 'advocate of our revolutionary claims; compatriot of Washington, and Tilghman, and Howard; asserter of all we have achieved that is good in political — examplar of all that is commendable in private morals ; approaching his centenary, and yet erect in port and in spirit, like one of our majestic old poplars, sparsely surviving the ravages of the axe and the peltings of the pitiless storm — memo- rials of the virgin soil and better days in which its roots were struck. When we insist that the great objects to be aimed at, action and power of endurance, are only to be secured with certainty, by exact trials of speed and the preservation of authentic pedigrees, we may perhaps be met by the suggestion that this theory is at war with all observation as to the effect of indiscriminate intercourse among iv'dd horses, which are said to display high powers and excellence, not only on the plains and pampas of Nortli and South America, but j'et more in the deserts of Arabia, where this animal is generally supposed to be found in his highest finish. As to the fine specimens of their race, which are taken with the lasso, from immense herds roaming at large on the plains of this continent, it is to be borne in mind, that while none but the best are thus selected, the basis of these herds was originally brounrht, like that of the fine cattle of Louisiana, from old Spain ; being deeply imbued with the fine blood of the Andalusian or Barb Horse. That such a race, running at large, in a country highly adapted to its constitution, should not have degenerated and become wnrthless in form and spirit, is not so discordant with the principles of artistical breeding, for which we contend, as may at first sioht appear — for it is well known that in thes*' wild herds, the work of procreation is conceded not indisf"riminately to all. but is fou'^ht for and engrossed by the most spirited and vigorous stallions amonsr tliein; following, in this case, the laws that govern all animated nature, where might takes the place of right, and courage and strength, there, as elsewhere, usurp the Lion's share — hence, though in general the size, too often made a matter of primary consideration, may be below the medium standard of the domesticated Horse, the more estimable qualities 3 D 26 THE HORSE. of fine proportion, activity, and game of the sire, are transmitted to his get. It may well be supposed, too, that this monopoly of sexual enjoyment is rarely allowed to continue more than one or two years. As the season of love opens w ith the budding of the leaf, in t!ie genial warmth of spring weather, tliis envied privilege becomes again a prize for the most desperate rivalry ; the lierccst conflicts, often mortal, then ensue ; and the delights of the harem are at last yielded for a time to the victor who proves himself the possessor, in a superior degree, of the very qualities — strength, spirit, and activity — which, under the best management, we should desire to impart! This sullicienily accounts, as we apprehend, for such excellence in several poiiits, as is admitted to be often found in tlie horse of the desert and the pampas; pre- serving him from that degeneracy, both moral and physical, which, under the system of breeding *' in-unJ-in" too closely, is seen to show itself in monstrous shapes, in King's evil, sometimes in idiotcy. Lord Byron, himself a nobleman, and unfortunately not exempt from personal deformity, could not forbear sarcastic allusion to the effects of this in-and-iii system, which, prompted by reasons of state and of family aj^grandize- ment, is sometimes followed too far in the royal and noble families of Europe : " they breed in-and-in, as might be known ; Marrying their cousins, nay, their aunts and nieces, Which always spoils the breed, if it increases." The natural-born children of high-born sires are often observed to be more sprightly and energetic than those which spring lawfully from parents so nearly allied ; it may be because they are made like the Frenchman's incomparable shoe, in a " mo- ment of enthusiasm," which, in more enterprises than one, is the guarantee cf a for- tunate issue. There has been, since long before the American Revolution, on the islands along the sea-board of Maryland and Virginia, a race of very small, compact, hardy horses, usually called beach-horses, which, in a sketch like this, deserve a passing notice. They run wild throughout the year, and are never fed. Wlien the snow somotimi-s covers the ground for a few days in winter, they dig ttirough it in search of food. They are very diminutive, but many of them are of perfect symmetry and extraordinary powers of action and endurance. The Hon. H. A. W. of Accomac, has been heard to say that he knew one of these beach-horses, w Inch served as pr ny and hack ft r the boys of one family, for several generations; and another that could trot his 15 milts wiliiin the hour, and was yet so small that a tall man might straddle him, and with his trts touch the ground on each side. He spoke of another that he bf lieves could have trotted 30 miles in two hours. As an instance of their innate horror cf slavery, he mentions the fact of a herd of them once breaking indignantly from a pen into which tluy had boi n trapped, for the purpose of being marked and otherwise cruolly inuiilateil ; and ratlicr than submit to their pursuers, they swam off at once into the wide expanse oi' the ocorn. preferring a watery grave, to a life of ignominious celibacy ard subjugaticn I \\ hy might not one of these small but symmetrical stallions, on the piinciplos which we shall hereafter explain, beget superior stock, if put to large, well-fomiod, high-bred inaros ? Mr. W. is clearly of opinion, from all circumstances and appearances, that these smrll horses, smaller even than the Canada 8tallirn, pc ssossiig Miob ] f wers as he describes, are descendants of thorough-bred stock ! Other animals in a wild state, no less than the Horse, are doubtless preserved from degeneracy under the same con- servative i)olity of nature. Thus we see the graceful sta<>; loses in the v ildem ss none of his exquisite syiTunetry of form, delicacy and hardness (f bone, and matchhss swiftness of foot. When Autumn is first seen to put on the " s(-re and yellrw lor.f," the Doe. having then jierformed her maternal offioe. feels the sox\ifll passion revive in In r bosom; but its indniironce is postponed, until the rival bucks have settled ay[-aiii f(ir the season, tli(> (piostion of physical s\iporioritv l>v actual, sonietlmrs deadly oMiiIiat. So desperate aro theso oncounters, that S'fanrs Imve not nnfrequently boon for.nd dead, as related l)y that sciontiric (^flicer, Crincii)Tes laid down in that essay, every farmer should nuike himself tamiliar. A few passages may be cpioted, no less for their appositeness to the point here made, than for their general applicability and value in the study of all animal economy. " Muscles. — The muscles, and tendons which are their appendages, should be large ; by Vv hich an animal is enabled to travel with greater facility. " T/if billies. — '^riie sireiiglli of an animal does not depend on the size of the bones but on that ot"tlie muscles. — Many animals with large bones are weak, their nuiscles being small. Animals that \\ ere imperfectly nourished during growt'.i, have their hones disproportionably large. If such deficiency of nourishment originated from a consti- tutional defect, whicli is the most frequent cause, they remain weak durir.tj life Large hones therefore sienerally indicate an imperfectif.n in llie organs of nutrition. " On the irnpnivcmeiit if lite fl skill, will reach his utmost devel- opment of form, stren-. d I-] •h3 • • >, •1-) >-} 3 0 0 si s n Course, Do. 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'. o n lO • o He CC ^ CJ CT rri — 1 ^ . P- « »« «o 1 • 00 -:*" "^ • • 1 -*• iC t^ 1 "■ H. 1.; OJ t^ fn s e^ ifj -^ ■* rr -^ "^ . "tj ■^ -^ -rr -1< -^ -^ "* "^ "^ CO -^ -^ c: CO IT ^ lO lO »o ui • ir irj n' "O L-j Ifl l.- iri »/: iH ■'tT in CO 1,-5 1 ,"^1111 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (?» O 1 1 1 1 i" 1 1 1 1 -t lO III i i lO 1 1 1 1 -^ — -^ 00 00 o t- «^ L" t^ O CJ c o »o 3- '•^i^^ cr^ o» .7! Tt T3 -^ Tf rr -^ ^ ■"^ -* -t; -^ -t -f -* -^ "t "^ ''l L-: o -;r ir ro lo >n >o lo lo u" ifl ir; lO lO IT lO lO ».' \n in lo »C i-" in (o in ;d 'i' o t- — -H t- a c CO -w o -^ c<- c O CC o = o O) t~ CO C»5 -(< £- ^ CT5 O — 1 -H O — c: 00 O O C TJ o — a O w o ^S 1— a — <>< "^ n ui ifi' .f) (js <£ •^ T* Tf »0 TJ" t- ■^ lO 'f -f T? -* ....- l.^ t^ ic & • . . . c • • P > " rf c^ '."o '. ^ '. '. rj b D ; ■ "cS :^ : 3 i. «5 .i: CO ^1^ '3 • a; • - -^ ^ 8 i . Sea 3c; J c c c C 2 o ij -3 ■ ^ c be O I. O . t. " t •j; d. bD £.;£ S 1 = -c -6 -6 c - ^ < |< ^ 3. ..:H^ E- "^ ! T^ c • • 3 * b c S >.S : • "7 .2 ' iS 0 P-iy •^J: U r < £1 1 t 3 c < - ^ s n 3 K Pi <: H o Pi H JOUR-MILE HEATS. 39 72 Pi t) O fa Eh < o w a Hi S "^o t^ 00 00 _£00 -^2 '^ OSS SOS^^ S ^Q to hjS .2 fe pa :o : o . 1^ :! 1^5 o > c Sea, 2 c-^ o i; fe o « £ u X ^ cj eS I. ar_o" ° c'5 >>>' m S c3 o a I csKoOO fig S o ^1 :-*; r- — tC 2 K ■;2 rt iJ 3 o ' ' at/1 ' C3pM ^ S-5 o S C bjl'-^ iJ S 5 .^o: c o c c 03 O c o c 23 ^2 ,_^S 'TS o rf t- ■ H t-^ Qt5 " I -*it-^ t-* t-^ I I 1^ ll^ I I I I « —I I I o -^ 00 t-i i-ltN — ^ — —I O OOOO-H OlCJOOi— I i-H Ifl O! »0 IC lO to ■>#■»* r^ -^ Tj< c»5 lo 1/5 -^ u ■s _ Q O 3 p.Tr roc . nolec Cha Cha C ^1 a c .2 S S : -a "O --^ -= 3 .^ - ti '- o O . r-^ C a ^ • t= E-i: " S E EHH5(y2P3« 1-. 1^ 5; >^ ^ 3 3— ho bo>-> — » CS CS U bUa: S.i 2 5 = 3-33 s s 40 THEHORSE. From tlie above tables have been excluded all races made over courses notoriously short if a mile in length. By adhering to this rule, very many excellent races at Norfolk have been omitted ; — as Andrew's, Betsey Ransom's, Polly Hopkins', and others ; Mercury's race in 7rn. lOs. — 7m, 42s., at New Orleans, is omitted for the same reason. Again, we have inserted in the tables only the winners of the different races ; winners of a single heat are omitted. But it would be unjust not to note one or two winners of single heats. Bee's-wing, by imported Leviathan, 5 years old, carrying 97 pounds, in March 1840, won a first heat from Grey Medoc, in 7m. 38s. As she pulled up lame, she was drawn. Kate Aubrey, by Eclipse, 4 years old, carrying 83 pounds, in March 184'2, won a three-mile heat in 5m. 39s., but was distanced the next heat. The reader will note that the great races made at New Orleans have been run generally in March ; according to their rule, tjieir horses taking their ages from May, have run a year under their true age, and carried weight accordingly. In the above tables their proper age has been given, and attention is called to the subject again, for the purpose of pointing to Sarah Bladen's race, which she lost with Jim Bell — the first heat by a length and a half, and the second by but eighteen inches ; time, 7m 37s. — 7m. 40s. — The mare ran as aged, and carried 121 pounds — but two less than she would have to carry at the North. Again, the best time ever made at two and three miles, has been in four-mile races. Thus Boston and Charles Carter ran the first and third miles in 3m. 41s., and the first three miles of their great race in 5m. 36^s. ; Fashion and Boston ran the first two miles in 3m. 43s., and three miles in 5m. 'Sl\s. ; Wagner and Grey Eagle, it is said, ran the last three miles of their best heat in 5m. 35s. Gallatin is said to have run the two middle miles of a four-mile heat in 3m. 43s., and Trifle the last two miles of a four-mile heat in the same time. Mingo and Post Boy are believed by the writer to have run a mile of a four-mile heat at Trenton, in Im. 48s. ; the former and Mary Blunt ran their twelfth mile in Im. 47s., and a third four-mile heat in 7m. 46s. The higher estimation placed v.pon their great performances at the longer distance, renders it superfluous to note further the rate of speed in the different miles. Finally, it will not have escaped the observation of attentive readers, that w'hile the horse may appear by these tables, exhibiting as they do, his utmost capacity for a series of years, to have been brought, by careful attention to blood, and by great skill and nicety in training, up to the probable maximum of his powers ; it is yet as clear as it is encouraging to see, that by unremitting recourse to the same means, and by that alone, he may he kept up fully to the standard of capacity which these records have established as the measure if his attainable speed atul stoutness. If with an eye to the fact, that '■'■the Inst'" is '■'• the first,'''' and the fastest on the record, (Fashion and Boston at L. I.) the hope should spring up in the bosom of the sanguine, that llie " end is not yet," and that the thread may be drawn yet a little finer ; without M'ishing to repress an iota of exertion to make good that conclusion, it may be well to remember, that as before stated, according to the opinion of some -whose judgments we are bound to respect, a few of our principal courses have been improved at the rate of more than a second to the mile! Thus it may be doubted whether, if we could meet again in the club-room, or at the social board which they were wont to ornament and enliven, the Fathers of the American turf, — the (Sharpes, the Ogles, the Taskers, the Tayloes, Hamptons, Ridgelys, Lloyds, Spriggs, Bowies, Ducketts, Duvalls, Seldens, &c., they would not remind us of those our advan- tages, and be prompt to match and freely back some of their favourite old nags against the best on these lists of more modern performers. To some of these ancestors of our present stock the tribute is due that their name be here recorded as well for tlieir achievements as for having transmitted their powers to their descendants, viz.: Tasker's Selima, by the Godolphin Arabian, never beat; the dam of Galloway's Selim, the best Maryland horse of the last century ; Fitzhugh's Regulus, Semmes' Wildair, Goode's Brinnuer, Tayloe's Virago, Bell Air, Grey Diomed, Black Maria, Leviathan, and Gallatin; Hooines' Fairy, sister to (Jallatin, Og'.j's Oscar, Ridgely's Post Boy, Bond's First Consul, Willis's Maid of the Oaks, Edelin's Floretta, Ball's Florizel, Sir Archy ; these last nine were at the head of the turf early THE HORSE. 4J in the piesent. century. With these no competitor or rival deserves to be named, until the revival of the best days of the turf by the get of Sir Archy, as exhibited by the match of his son Henry with Eclipse. By every test of comparison Henry was no better race-horse than several of the get of Sir Archy, nor as good a one as Timo- leon, Virginian, Sir Charles, and Bertrand. In those days, Hoomes, Selden, Tayloe, Ridgely, and Bond were at the head of the turf. Though not strictly belonging to a work intended as this is, not for a particular class but for all owners of horses and for every day's reference and use, yet we have said so much of the race-horse, whose blood we consider it essential to preserve in its purity and to be used as occasion may require, as every good house-keeper pre- serves and uses good yeast to leven the mass, that we may as well add the lengths of the principal race-courses in England, and the rules of the jockey club lately established for the Long Island race-course. These will occupy but little space and may prove acceptable to those of our readers who take an interest in the amusements of the turf. Miles. Fur. Yards, The Beacon Course is . . 4 1 138 The Round Course is 3 4 178 Last three miles of Beacon Course 3 0 45 Ditch in 2 0 97 The last mile and a distance of Beacon Course ... 1 1 156 Ancaster mile 1 0 18 From the turn of the lands in 0 5 184 Clermont Course, from the Ditch to the Duke's Stand 1 5 217 Audley End Course, from the starting-post of the T.Y.C. to the end of the Beacon Course 1 6 0 Across the flat 1 2 24 Rowley mile 1 0 1 Ditch mile 0 7 178 Abingdon mile 0 7 211 Two middle miles of Beacon Course • . 1 7 125 Two-years-old Course (on the flat) 0 5 130 New ditto (part of tiie Banbury mile) 0 5 136 Yearling Course • .... 0 2 47 Banbury mile 0 7 248 " Previously to 1753 there were only two meetings in the year at Newmarket for the purpose of running horses, one in the Spring and another in October. At present there are seven. — The Craven, instituted in 1771, in compliment to the late Earl Craven, and commencing on Easter Monday ; the First Spring, on the Monday fort- hight following, and being the original Spring Meeting; the Second Spring, a fortnight after that, and instituted in 1753 ; the July, commonly early in that month, instituted also in 1753 ; the First October, on the first Monday in that month, being the original October meeting; the Second October, on the Monday fortnight following — instituted in 1762; and the Third October, or Houghton, a fortnight after that, and instituted 1770. With the last-mentioned meeting, which, weather permitting, generally lasts a week, and at which there is a great deal of racing, the sports of the Turf close for the year, with the exception of Tarporky, a very old hunt-meeting in Cheshire, now nearly abandoned ; and a Worcester autumn meeting, chiefly for hunters and horses f the gentlemen and farmers within the hunt." — Nimrod — The Turf, 152. ASCOT HEATH. The two-mile course is a circular one, of which the last half is called the old mile. The new mile is straight and up-hill all the way. The T.Y.C. is five furlongs and 136 yards. EPS05I. The old course, now seldom used except for the cup, is two miles of an irregular circular form, the first mile up-hill. The new Derby course is exactly a mile and a half, and somewhat in the form of a horse-shoe : the first three-quarters of a mile may 4* F 42 THE HORSE. oe considered as straight running, the bend in the course being very trifling, and the width very great ; the next quarter of a mile is in a gradual turn, and the last half- mile straight; the first half-mile is on the ascent, the next third of a mile level, and the reaiainder is on the descent, till within the distance, where the ground again rises. The new T.Y.C. is six furlongs ; the old T.Y.C., or Woodcot course, is somewhat less than four. The Craven course is one mile and a quarter. DONCASTER Is a circular and nearly flat course of about one mile, seven furlongs, and seventy yards. The shorter courses are portions of this circle. LIVERPOOL. The new course, now used for both meetings, is flat, a mile and a half round, and with a straight run-in of nearly three quarters of a mile, and a very gradual rise. MANCHESTER Is cine mile, rather oval, with a hill, and a fine run-in. A Distance is the length of two hundred and forty yards from the winning post. In the gallery of the winning post, and in a little gallery at the distance post, are placed two men holding crimson flags. As soon as the first horse has passed the winning post, the man drops his flag ; the other at the distance post drops his at the same moment, and the horse which has not then passed that post is said to be dis- tanced, and cannot start again for the same plate or prize. A Feather-weight is the lightest weight that can be put on the back of a horse. A Give and Take Plate is where horses carry weight according to their height, Fourteen hands are taken as the standard height, and the horse must carry nine stone (the horseman's stone is fourteen pounds). Seven pounds are taken from the weight for every inch below fourteen hands, and seven pounds added for every inch above fourteen hands. A few pounds additional weight is so serious an evil, that it is said, seven pounds in a mile-race are equivalent to a distance. A Post Match is for horses of a certain age, and the parties possess the privilege of bringing any horse of that age to the post. A Produce Match is that between the produce of certain marcs in foal at the time of the match, and to be decided when they arrive at a certain age specified. Rules and regulations approved and adopted hy the New Ym-k Jockei/ Club, on the iSth September, 1842; to continue in full force and effect until the close of the lust Fall Meeting in the year 1844, subject to such alterations as may be made from time to time, according to the discretion of the Club. Rule Is/. — There shall be two regular meetings held by the New York .Tockey Club at the Union Course, on Long Island, to be called and known as the Spring and Fall Meeting. The Spring Meeting shall commence on the second Tuesday of May, and the Fall Meeting shall commence on the first Tuesday of October, in «^ach year. Jitile M. — There shall be a President, four Vice Presidents, a Secretary and Trea- surer, to be a])pointed annually by ballot, Ihile 3il. — It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all nipetinfjs of tjie Club ; to act as presiding Judge at each day's race; appoint his Assist;\ut Judges on the evening preceding each day's race, report and ])ublish the results of each day's; race, and act as Judge in all Sweepstakes, witli such other persons as the partie.-j may appoint. Rule \th. — It shall be the duty of the Vice Presidents to atteml all meetings of the Club, and assist the President in the dischurue i>i his duties. In tlie alisoiico of liic President, the first Vice Presiden', and in his absence, the 'Jd, 3d, or -1th Vice Presi- dent, shall act as President jyo tern. THE HORSE. 43 Rule 5th. — It shall be the duty of the Secretary to attend at all meetings of the Club, also to attend the Judges of each day's race, assist them with his counsel, and furnish them with all the requisite information connected with each day's race ; keep a book, in which he shall record the Members' names, the Rules and Orders of the Club, and add to them any Resolutions or Amendments which may change the cha- racter of either; also record the proceedings at each meeting of the Club, whether -a special or a regular meeting; he shall also record all the entries of horses, Matches, and Sweepstakes, in which shall be set forth the names of the respective owners, the colour, name, age, sex, and name of sire and dam of each horse ; record an account of each day's race, including the time of running each heat, and after the races are over for a meeting, report the same to the President of the Club for his official publi- cation. He shall also put up, and keep up during every Meeting, at some convenient place, at or near the Judges' Stand, a copy of the Rules and Regulations of the Club then in force. Rule 6th. — It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to collect all the money due the Club, whether from subscriptions of members, entries of horses, or from any other source, pay the same over from time to time upon the order of the President of the Club, and in case of his absence, upon the order of the acting Vice President ; and within thirty days after the closing of every regular meeting, he shall furnish the President, or in his absence, the acting Vice President, a full statement of the receipts and disbursements of the funds of the Club, from the date of the last statement up to the date of that which he then renders, showing the balance of money in hand, sub- ject to the order of the President, or acting Vice President, which statement shall be deposited with the Secretary of the Club, as one of the records of the Club, and so be entered by him. Rule 1th. — At each regular meeting there shall be appointed four Stewards, who shall serve for one meeting succeeding their appointment. They shall wear some appropriate badge of distinction, to be detonnined upon by themselves. It shall be the duty of the Stewards to attend on the Course, to preserve order, clear the track, keep it clear, keep off the crowd of persons from the horses coming to the stand after the close of each heat, and they may employ in their discretion, at the expense of the Club, a sufficient number of able-bodied men to assist them in the effectual dis- charge of their duties. Rule Sth. — There shall be three Judges in the starting stand, consisting of the President and two Assistant Judges, assisted by the Secretary, and in case of thu absence of the President of the Club, then the first Vice President, and in his absence, the second Vice President. The Judges shall keep the stand clear of any intrusion during the pendency of a heat, see that the Riders are dressed in Jockey style, weigh the riders before starting in the race, and after each heat, instruct the riders as to their duty under the rules before starting in the race, and proclaim from the stand the time and result of each heat, and also the result of the race. Rule 9lh, — There shall be two Distance Judges, and three Patrol Judges, appointed by the Judges in the starting stand, who shall repair to the Judges' stand imme- diately after each heat, and report to the Judges the horses that are distanced, and foul riding, if there be any. Rule \Olh. — All the disputes shall be decided by the Judges of the day, from whose decision there shall be no appeal, unless at the discretion of the Judges, and no evi- dence of foul riding shall be received except from the Judges and Patrols. Rule llth. — When in the opinion of the majority of the Officers of the Club, any good cause may require the postponement of a race, they may postpone any Purse race, but in case of a postponement of a race, no new entries shall be received for that race. A postponement of a Purse race shall give no authority to postpone any Sweepstake or Match made or advertised to be run on that day ; and in the event oV the Club postponing a regular Meeting, it shall give them no power to postpone any Matches or Sweepstakes made to be run at that Meeting. Rttle I2th. — All Sweepstakes and Matches advertised to be run on the Course on any day of a regular Meeting of the Club, shall be under the cognizance and control of the Club, and no change of entries once made shall be allowed after closing, unless by consent of all parties. Sweepstakes and Matches made to be run at a particular 44 THEHORSE. Meeting, without the parties specifying the day, the Secretary must give ten days notice of what days they will be run during the meeting, in case he is informed of it in time. And no Sweepstake or INIatch shall be run on the Course during a regular meeting without being first reported to the Secretarj', to bring it under the cognizance and control of the Club. Rule I3lk. — The age of horses shall be computed from the first day of January next, preceding their being foaled; that is, a colt or filly foaled on any day in the year 1841, will be considered one year old on the first day of January, 1842. Rule li/h. — No person shall start or enter a horse for any purse offered by, or under the control of, the Club, other than a Member of the Club, and producing, if required, satisfactory evidence or proof of his horse's age; nor shall any Member start a horse if his entrance money, subscription money, and all forfeits incurred on the Union Course, are not paid before starting. Nor shall any person start a horse, during a regular meeting of the Club, who is in arrears to any member of the Club for a forfeit incurred on the Union Course. Rule I5lh. — All entries of horses for a purse shall be made in writing under seal, addressed to the Secretary of the Club, and deposited in a box, kept for thdt purpose, at the usual place of Meeting of the Club, before five o'clock in the afternoon of the day of the race, for which the entry is made. Each entry shall contain the entrance money, and state the name, age, colour, sex, and pedigree, of the horse entered, ana describe the dress of the rider of such horse. After five o'clock of the afternoon of the day preceding a Purse Race, no other or additional entry shall be allowed to be made for that race, and no entry shall be received or recorded, that does not contain the entrance money. Tiie entries so received, shall be drawn from the box by the Secretary, and declared at five o'clock of the afternoon of the day preceding the day of the race, in the presence of at least three Members of the Club, and the horses so entered shall be entitled to the track in the order in which their names are drawn ; in Sweepstakes and Matches, the Judges shall draw for the track at the stand. Rule 16th. — Any person desirous of becoming a member only for the purpose of entering a horse, may do so, he being approved by the Club, and paying double entrance. Rule nth. — The distance to be run shall be Two-mile heats, Three-mile heats, and Four-mile heats, and a purse shall be put up to be run for during each regular meet- ing, for each of the named distances. Not more than five per cent, shall be charged as entrance upon any amount that may be put up for a purse. Rule 18/A. — Every horse shall carry weight, according to age, as follows : — A horse Two years old, A Feather. " Three years old, 90 Pounds. " Four years old, 104 " " Five years old, 114 " " Six years old, 121 " " Seven years old and upwards, 126 " \n allowance of three pounds to mares, fillies, and geldings. The Judges shall see that each rider has his proper weight before he starts, and that each rider has within one pound, after each heat. Rule lOth. — Catch weights are, where each person appoints a rider without weigh- ing. Feather weights signifies the same. A Fast Slake is to name at tlic starting post. Ilandicnp weights are weights according to the supposed ability of the horses. An Untried stallion, or mare, is one whose get or produce has never run in iniblic •V maiden iiorse or mare is one that never won. Rule 20lh. — No horse shall carry more than five pounds over his stipulated weight without the Judges being informed of it, which shall be publicly declared by them, whereupon all bets shall be void, except those made between the parties who enter the horses. Every rider shall declare to the Judges who weighs him. when and how his extra weights, if any, are carried. The menil)er of the Club who enters the horse shall be responsible for putting up, and bringing out the proper weioht. He shall be bound to weigh the rider of his horse in the presence of the Judges before starting, and if he refuses or neglects to do so, he shall be prevented from starting his horse. THE HORSE. 45 Rule 2lst. — When in running a race, a distance is In one mile, 45 yards. In two miles, 70 „ In three miles, 90 „ In four miles, 120 „ Rule 22d. — In a Match Race of heats, there shall be a distance, but none in a single heat. Rule 23c?. — The time between heats shall be For one mile heats, 20 minutes. For two mile heats, 25 „ For three mile heats, 30 „ For four mile heats, 35 „ Rule 2Uk. — Some signal shall be given from the starting stand, five minutes before the period of starting, after the lapse of which time, the Judges shall give the word start to such riders as are then ready, but should any horse prove restive in being brought up to the stand, or in starting, the Judges may delay the word a short interval, at their own discretion. Rule 25th. — Any horse winning a purse of this Club, shall not be allowed to start for any other purse during the same meeting. Rule 26th. — If a horse be entered without being properly identified, he shall not be allowed to start, but be liable to forfeit, or the whole, if play or pay, and all bets on a horse so disqualified, shall be declared void. Rule 21th. — Where more than one nomination has been made by the same indivi- dual, in any Sweepstake to be run on the Union Course, and it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the Club, that all interest in such nomination has been bona fide disposed of before the time of starting, and the horses have not been trained in the same stable, all may start although standing in the same name in the list of nominations. Rule 28ih. — No conditional nomination or entry shall be received. Rule 2dth. — Should any person who has entered a horse formally, declare to the Judges that his horse is drawn, he shall not be permitted to start his horse. Rule 30lh. — Any person entering a horse younger than he really is shall forfeit his entrance money, and if the horse wins a heat or race, the heat or race shall be given to the next best horse if the objection be made to the age of the horse after the heat or race is run. Tlie disqualification must be proved by the person making the objection. Rule 3lst. — If an entered horse die, or a subscriber entering him, die, before the race, no forfeit shall be required. Rule 32d. — No compromise or agreement between any two persons entering horses, or by their ap-ents and grooms not to oppose each other upon a promised division of the purse or stake, or for any other purpose, shall be permitted or allowed, and no persons shall run their horses in conjunction, that is with a determination to oppose jointly any other horse that may run against them. In either ^ase upon satisfactory evidence produced before the Judges, the purse or stake shall be awarded to the next best horse — and the persons so offending shall never again be permitted to enter a horse to run on the Union Course. Rule 33d. — When the tap of the drum is once given by the Starting Judge, there shall be no calling back, unless the signal flag shall be hoisted for that purpose, and when so hoisted it shall be no start. To remedy the inconvenience of false starts, there shall be a signal flag placed at a point which can be readily seen by the riders at from one to three hundred yards from the Judges' stand. When a start is given and recalled, a flag from the Judges' stand shall be displayed, and the person having in charge the signal flag shall hoist the same as a notice to pull up. It shall be the duty of the Starting Judge to give this rule in charge to the riders. Rule 34/A. — No two riders from the same stable shall be allowed to ride in the same race. No two horses trained in the same stable, or owned in whole or in part by the same person, shall be allowed to enter or start in the same race : both the entries shall be void and the entrance money forfeited to the Club. Rule 35!k. — No rider shall be permitted to ride unless well dressed in Jockey style. 46 THE HORSE. To wit, Jockey cap, coloured jacket, pantaloons, and boots. Liveries to be recorded in the -Secretary's Book, and not permitted to be assumed by others. Hull 3(')ih. — Every rider alter a heat is ended must repair to the Judges' stand, and not dismount from his horse until so ordered by the Judges, and then themselves carry their saddles to the scales to be weighed, nor shall any groom or other person, approach or touch any horse until after his rider shall have dismounted and removed his saddle from the horse by order of tlie Judges. A rider dismounting without such permission, or wanting more than one pound of his proper weight, shall be declared distanced. Bule 31th. — The horse who has won a heat shall be entitled to the track in the next heat, and the foremost be entitled to any part of the track, he leaving sufficient space for a horse to pass him on the outside. But he shall not when locked by another horse leave the track he may be running in to press him to the inside or outside, and having selected his position in a straight stretch, he shall not leave it so as to press his adversary to either side, the doing of either of which shall be deemed foul riding. Should any rider cross, jostle or strike an adversary or horse, or run on his heels intentionally, or do anything else that may impede the progress of his adversarj', he will be deemed distanced although he may come out ahead, and the race awarded to the next best horse. Any rider offending against this rule, shall never be permitted to ride over or attend any horse on this Course again. Rule 38lh. — Every horse that shall fail to run outside of every pole, shall be deemed distanced, although he may come out ahead, and the race shall be awarded to the next best horse. liu/e 39th. — If a rider fall from his horse, and another person of sufficient weight rides the horse in to the Judges' stand, he shall be considered as though the rider had not fallen — provided he returns to the place where the rider fell. Jiule 40/A. — A horse that does not win one heat out of three heats, shall not be allowed to start for the fourth heat, although he may have saved his distance, but shall be considered better than a horse that is distanced in the third heat. Bule 41s/. — A distanced horse in a dead heat shall not be allowed to start again in the race. Hitle 42(1. — When a dead heat is made, all the horses not distanced in the dead heat, may start again, unless the dead heat be made by two horses, that, if either had been winner of the heat the race would have been decided ; in which case the two only must start to decide which shall be entitled to the purse or stake. Such horses as are prevented from starting by this Rule shall be considered drawn, and all bets made on them against each other shall be drawn, excepting those that are distanced. Jlule i3d. — A horse receiving forfeit, or walking over, shall not be deemed a winner. Rule 44//(. — A bet made after the heat is over, if the horse betted on does not start again, is no bet. Rule 45lh. — A confirmed bet cannot be off without mutual consent. Rule 4Gt/i. — If either party be absent on the day of a race, and the money be not staked, the party present may declare the bet void in the presence of the Judges, before the race commences ; but if any person present offer to stake for an absentee, it is a confirmed bet. Rule 41th. — X bet made on a heat to come, is no bet, unless all the horses qualified to start shall nm, and unless the bet be between such named horses as do start. Rule 48//(. — The person who bets the odds may choose tlie horse or the field : when he has chosen his horse, the field is what starts against him, but there is no field unless one starts against him. Rule 4'Mh. — If odds arc bet without naming the horses before the race is over, it must be determined as tlie odds were at the time of naming it. Rule both. — Hets made in runnino', are not determined till the purse is won, if the heat is not specified at the time of betting. Rule bid. — Bets made on particular horses are void, if neither of them be the winner of the race, unless specified to the contrary. Ihtle i'rid. — Horses that forfeit are beaten horses, where it is play or pay, and no' otherwise. THE HORSE. 47 Rale 52d. — All bets, matches, and engagements are void on the decease of eithei party before determined. Jiule 54/A. — Horses drawn before the purse is won are distanced. Rule 55th. — A bet made on a horse is void if the horse betted on does not start. Rule 56lh. — When a bet is made on a heat, the horse that comes first to the ending post is best, provided no circumstance shall cause him to be deemed distanced. Rule 57th. — All bets are understood to relate to the purse or stake, if nothing is said to the contrary. Rule 5Sth. — When a bet is made upon two horses against each other for the purse, if each win a heat, and neither are distanced, they are equal — if neither win a heat, and neither distanced, they are equal. But if one wins a heat, and the other does not, the winner of the heat is best unless he shall be distanced, in which case the other, if he saves his distance, shall be considered best. If a horse wins a heat and is distanced, he shall be better than a horse that does not win a heat and is distanced; so too if one be distanced the second heat, he shall be better than one distanced the first heat. Rule 59th. — The words "absolutely," or "play or pay," are necessary to be used to make a bet play or pay. "Done" and "Done" are also necessary to confirm a bet. If a bet be made, using the expression "play or pay," and the horse die, the bet shall stand. But if the person entering the horse, or making the engagement on him, dies, then the bet is void. Rule 60th. — All members, and such of their families as reside with them, shall pass the gates free ; and the members themselves shall have free admission to the members' stand. Rule Gist. — New members can only be admitted on recommendation. Any person wishing to become a member, must be so for the unexpired term of the Club, and must be balloted for. Three black balls shall reject. A non-resident of New York introduced by a member, can have the privilege of the inclosed space and members' stand, by payino'^Y-e dollars for the meeting. Rule 62cl. — Ten members of the Club shall be deemed a quorum for the transac- tion of ordinary business and admission of members, but not less than twenty to alter a fundamental rule, unless public notice shall have been given ten days of such con- templated meeting. The President or Secretary may call a meeting, and the Presi- dent and Vice President failing to attend, a Chairman may be selected. Members of the Club privileged to invite their friends to the Jockey Club Diiiuers, by paying for the same. No ladies admitted to the Ladies' Pavilion unless introduced by a member. No citizen of the State of New York can be admitted to the privileges of the inclosed space, Members' Stand, or Ladies' Pavilion, unless he be a member. Rule 63f/. — No person shall be permitted to pass into the inclosed space, on the Union Course, without showing his ticket at the gate, nor shall any person be per- mitted to remain within the inclosure, or Members' Stand, unless he wears a badge, that the officers on duty may be enabled to distinsfuish those privileged. Officers who shall permit the infraction of this rule shall forfeit all claim to compensation, and must be employed on this express condition. Rule G4th. — Membership of the New York Jockey Club, shall be for three years, commencing Spring 1842 — subscription Ten Dollars per annum, payable each Spring — subscription to be paid whether present or absent. Members joining at any time, whether by original signature, or on nomination, will be bound for the unexpired terra of the Club from the period of joining. The following gentlemen comprised the Executive Officers of the New York Jockey Club, at the period (Sept. 13th, 1842,) when the foregoing Rules and Regu lations were adopted : — J. Prescott Hall, Esq., President. John C. Stevens, Esq., 1st Vice President. ■* John A. King, Esq., 2d „ „ J. Hamilton Wilkes, Esq., 3d „ „ Gerard H. Coster, Esq., 4th „ „ Henry F Toler, Esq., Secretary and Treasurer. 48 THE HORSE. Having now with some care and, as we trust, with accuracy noted how the stock of English horses has been modified from time to time, being made heavier or lighter, \'hh. more or less of bone and muscle ; according to the nature of their vehicles and ro-&drf, the implements and modes of warfare in use, their national amusements and other uses to which the horse was applied ; we come now to speak of him very briefly m one of his finest and most finished forms, and one in which, from influences to which we have before referred, England certainly does and must ever excel all rivals — we allude to THE HUNTER, which is but a combination of the race-horse thorough-bred, with one of less blood, possessing however more strength and substance with less length of body. His jaws should be clear and wide, nostrils large, broad thin shoulders, thighs long, strong and muscular, deep chest, aflfording free play for the lungs ; back short, ribs large and wide, large and strong, but hard and clean bone and sinew, tail coming out high and stiff, gaskins well spread, and hind-quarters lean and hard. The right sort of hunter, it has been further and more sententiously observed, should have as far as possible strength without weight, courage without fire or flashiness, speed without labour, a free breath, a strong walk, a nimble, light but large gallop, and a swift trot, to give change and ease to the speedy muscles. " Firm let him tread, and just, and move along Upon a well-grown hoof, compact and strong; Proud of the sport, with too nmch fire to yierd, — Such be the horse to bear me to tlie field." And such an one the writer of this had once the pleasure to own — bred in Prince George's County, Maryland ; a noble son of Ogle's Oscar, and the best saddle-horse we ever backed. Alas, old Rasper, we ne'er shall look upon your like again. " Pride of thy race ! with worth far less than tiiine, P'uU many human leaders daily shine !" As in all things supply follows demand, it may here be noted that the high perfec- tion of the English Hunter, his great speed, stoutness and power of leaping, has been brought about in a great degree, by a change in the character of the English fox-hound. The old-fashioned, slow, big-headed, southern or Talbot hound, as described by Shakspeare, " Whh ears that sweep away the morning dew," has given way to a dog so fleet, that he who is not mounted on one among the fleetest and the strongest, dare not hope for the honour and delight of being " in at the death !" ITie chase in modern style is in fact but a burst, sometimes running with the game in view to the death, and fur which they have bred a hound with a light ear, a squealing note and a power of speed, to which the ancient hound bears no more resemblance than a cow to a courser. The reader may judge what sort of a nag is necessarj'^ to keep way with the fine-spun descendants of such a bitch as il/erA-//i,property of the cele- brated Col. Thornton, who challenged to run her against any hound of her year, five miles over New Market, giving 220 yards, for $50,000 ! This famous bitch is said to have run a trial of four miles in seven minutes and a half second ! Under the influence of this change in the face of the country, and in the qualities of the ancient fox-hound, and in the character of this most noble and splendid diversion, a corres- ponding modification has ensued in the hunter, and so the price for the best has advanced from forty, to three hundred guineas ! nor is it easy to imagine any show of animals like that of a stable of English hunters led out for " the mount," either for the fox or the St. Albans Steeple-chase ; every nag perfectly well conditioned and dressed off as nicely as a wedding party coming up to the altar. THE HORSE. 4Q THE AMERICAN TROTTER. Having, as it is believed, described and accounted for the successive modification* and general improvement of the English horse, from many of the best of which ours have been bred — and for the excellence especially of their high-bred courser and hunter; and having adverted incidentally to the high national importance to be attached to maintaining the horse in all his capabilities, as giving elasticity and vigour to one great arm of national defence — cavalry — the use of which has sometimes decided the issue of battles and the fate of empires, — we pass now to contemplate this interesting animal in a fonn in which Nimrod (Mr. Apperly) himself, one of the most voluminous and authentic writers on these subjects, and one not prone to make admissions of English inferiority in anything, does admit that we excel, to wit, in our Trotting Horses. Instances which will hereafter be given of the performance of American trotters, such as have been trained to that pace and timed with exactness, in trials instituted for that purpose by numerous trotting clubs, will leave no doubt of our having well established our claim for the excellence conceded to us in that class of horses — and as speed in that gait, combined with lastingness, is a desideratum in public stages, and for all kinds of light harness and quick travelling, it becomes an interesting inquiry, and is deemed to be well worthy of the space here assigned it — whence hat resulted the superiority illustrated by these examples J Is it that we possess a particular strain of horses not to be found in other countries, not thorough-bred, but yet of a specific breed, which has been found or made in America, and which may be kept separate and distinct from all others, the root whereof is not necessarily to be looked for, like that of our thorough-bred stock, in the English Stud-Booh, or in the blood of some Eastern ancestor — a breed to which, in a word, recourse may be had as a stock of horses sui generis, and one that may be relied upon to supply fast goers in this pace ] Or is it that we owe the number that can go their mile under 2.30, to the higher estimate which is placed on excellence in that way, in this country ; and to the greater pains taken and skill exercised in educating and training horses to go ahead in the trof? We confess that reflection and all the lights we possess, lead U9 to the adoption of this latter theory. There are various reasons wliy this property in the horse should be more attended to in this, than perhaps any other country. May it not be referred in some measure, to our political institutions, as we have already seen, in the review which has been taken of the progressive improvement of horses in England, how their qualities have, from time to time, been influenced and modified by their field-sports, the state of their roads, the form of their coaches, and changes in their warlike and agricultural habits and implements. Under the effect of our political institutions, which create fre- quent division of estates, it is next to impossible that there should exist in America a class of men with sufficient and extended wealth, either hereditary or acquired, to maintain the costly and magnificent arrangements for the sports of the turf and the chase — such as have for centuries existed in England. Yet men must have amuse- ments, and those which are found a-field are at once the most attractive and salutary. If one may be allowed to quote himself, we may repeat from the introduction to the Sporting Magazine, the ideas there expressed that " the knowledge of mankind so essential in every practical pursuit, nay the yet more essential knowledge of ourselves, s not to be found alone in solitary labour, nor in solitary meditation ; neither is it in a state of isolation from society that the heart most quickly learns to answer to the calls of benevolence ; — sympathy springs from habits of association, and a sense of mu- tual dependence on each other ; and the true estimate of character, and friendly and generous dispositions, are under no circumstances more certainly acquired, nor more assuredly improved and quickened, than by often meeting each other in the friendly contentions and rivalries that characterize field-sports." Recurring to the influence of political institutions and national amusements, it may lie very safely affirmed, that while there can exist in this country no permanent class of men possessing the wealth which affords the tin.e, and cherishes the taste, for the 5 G 50 THE HORSE. more expensive diversions of the Turf and the Chase ; it must j^et always abound far beyond all other countries, under their existing governments, in citizens of middling, and yet easy circumstances, with means enough to indulge in other sports involving moderate outlay, including the ownership of a good old squirrel gun ; and the luxury of a good horse ; and lience the use of both is as familiar to the great mass of American people, from their childhood, as it is strange to the common people of any other country ; except as to the emplojanent of the horse, in his lowest offices of tield-labour and common drudgery. No southern boy at least, just entering his teens, desires better fun tlian to be allowed to catch and mount any horse in the most distant pas- ture, and ride him home at the top of his speed, without saddle or bridle — and as to the use of fire-arms, it was remarked to the writer during the late war with England, both by General lioss and Admiral Cockburn, that in no country had they ever wit- nessed any fire so deadly as that of the American militia, as lung as they would stand! In the towns, there is not a sober and industrious tradesman, who cannot manage to keep his hackney ; and these considerations sufficiently account for the number of regularly constituted Trotting Clubs of easy access, with courses that serv'e as so many nurseries, where the horse is educated exclusively for the trot, and his highest physical capacities drawn out in that form. These associations are composed, for the most part, of respectable and independent mechanics, and others, especially victuallers, among whom in all times there has existed a sort of esprit de corps, or monomania on this subject, which leads them to spare neither pains nor expense to gain a reputation for owning a crack goer. This sort of emulation so infects the class, as to have given rise to a conunon saying that " a butcher always rides a trotter.'''' According to the theory here maintained, the great number of trotters in America that can go as before said, their mile under 3 minutes, and the many that do it under 5m. 40s. and even in some cases under 2m. 30s. — as for instance in the case of Ripton and Confidence, whose performances have given so much gratification to sportsmen, is to be explained in the same way that we account for the great number of superb 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 "^un/s," with their whippers-in, and huntsmen, and earth-stoppers, and costly appointments of every kind to accommodate some fifty or an hundred couple of high- bred hounds, whose pedigrees are as well preserved as those of Priam or Long^vaist ; 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 hounds,'''' and assuredly in all the wide field of manly exercises, none can compare with an English fox or steeple-chase, for union of athletic vigour and daring skill, and magnificence of equitation ; unless perhaps it were some splendid charge de cavalrie, like liiose we used to read of, made by the gallant Murat at a critical moment of the battle^ when he was wont in his gorgeous uniform and towering plumes to fall with his cavalry like an avalanche upon his adversary, confounding and crushing him at a blow 1 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 awa}' with their fox ! ! -Now, my brave youths, Flourish the whip nor spare the gaUingspur; But in the nindncss of delight, forget Your fp.ars. Far o'er the rocky hills we range, And dangerous our course ; but in tlie brave True courage never fails." To indicate more strongly the prevalence of this partiality for trotting-horses, and ttmulation to own the fastest goer, and the number and extent of associations and arrangements for this sort of trial and amusement, it need only he mentioned that the "Spirit of the Times," published in New York, contains lists of hundreds of matches and purses, and of thousands on thousands of dollars in small purses, won and lost on these performances on h-otting-courses ! A number of these performances will be THE HORSE. 5] selected, enough to chow that the excellence which is conceded to American ti otters, "s not founded on a solitary achievement or very rare casi.'s, nor to be ascribed to the pos'^ession 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, muck 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 jockcyship, to go along with Edwin Forrest and Lady Suffolk, Ripton, Rattler, Confidence, and the Dutch- man'? On this point the following may be aptly extracted from the highest authority — our Bell's Life in London — To wit : Porter's t>pirit of the Times. "Nimrod, 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 farther concession. But there is no comparison 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 this city, that could compete successfully with the fastest trotters on the English Turf. They neither understand the art of training, driving or riding, there. For example : some few years since, Alexander was purchased by Messrs. C. & B. of this city, for a friend or acquaintance, in England. Alexander was a well-known roadster here, and was purchased to order, at a low rate. The horse was sent out and trials made of him ; but so unsuccessful were they, that the English importers considered him an imposition. Thus the matter stood for a year or more. When Wheelan arrived in England, he recognised 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 live 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 surprised that no horse was anywhere near him, as his own had not yet made a stroke, he got frightened, thinking some one might out- brush 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 and delighted at his performance, that they presented Wheelan with a magnificent gold timing-watch, and other valuable presents, and sent Messrs. C. & B. a superl) service of plate, which may be seen at any time at their establishment in INlaidcn Lane." Here it is clearly shown that the comparative speed of American horses is to he attributed not to breed, but to management, on which we the rather insist, as it is to be desired that American agriculturists and all breeders and trainers of horses, should understand and practise upon some fixed and rational principles, rather than rely for success on some imaginary strain of horses, of no certain origin or established blood. After all, we have accounts of performances in trotting, by English horses, that may be considered as extraordinary as those of our own, when allowance is made for the greater value placed, and the more attention and skill bestowed, upon trotters in this country than in that. The celebrated English trotter Archer, descended from old Shields, a remarkable strong horse and master of fifteen stone (two hundred and ten pounds), trotted his sixteen miles in a very severe frost in less than fifty-five minutes. In 17!)1, a brown mare, trotted in Engrland on the Essex road, sixteen miles in fifty-eight minutes and some seconds, being then 18 years old — and while we are writinn^ we lenrn from an official report that Lady Hampton on the 2d of May, 18 !0, in England, trotted seven- teen miles in 58m. 37s. in harness. She was driven by Burke, of great English trotting celebrity. On the 13th of October, 1799, a trotting mntch was decided over Sunbury Common between Mr. Dixon's brown gelding and Mr. Bishop's grey gelding, carrying twelve stone (one hundred and sixty-eight pounds) each, which 52 THE HORSE. was won by the former in twenty-seven minutes and ten seconds. — A Mr. Stevens made a bet which was decided 5th October, 17^6, that he would produce a pair of horses, his own property, that should trot in tandem from Windsor to Hampton Court, a distance of sixteen miles, within the hour ; notwithstanding the cross coun- try road, and great number of turnings, they performed it with ease in fifty-seven minutes and thirteen seconds. Phenomena trotted nineteen miles in an hour.— These examples are adduced to show the fallacy of that impression which would lead the public to look to any but the true and rational sources of superiority — for mankind has ever been prone to the marvellous, preferring to look for all that does not lie on the surface, to some mysterious influence, unconnected with known and rational causes. The trotter, according to the distance prescribed as the measure of his capacity, needs the combination of form and blood — of bone and of nmscle, which give distinction to the hunter ; and the reason, if it be asked, why the ihorough-bred cannot be relied upon for a hard run over a rough country, is, that he rarely combines these requisites, and is moreover put to his work when iuo young ,• but does any one doubt that Sir Archy, or Timoleon, or Eclipse, or imported Tranby, or Leviathan would have made first-rate hunters or trotters, if, before they were put to hard work, their frames had been left to ripen, and their bones and joints and muscles to get firm and solid, and at the same time pliant and supple by gentle and moderately increasing exercise until five or six years old — for here it is to be noted, that as to the age at which the trotter should be put in training, and that at which he reaches his maximum of power, though there would seem to be some diflerence of opinion, all agree that the trotter is not in his prime until he is eight or nine years old. The Abdallahs, great-grandsons of old Messenger, trot much younger; Hiram \YoodrulT, and there can be no better authority, would commence a horse's training for the trot at five or six years of age, giving him light work however, but going on increasing his work from year to year, and expecting increasing excellence up to nine or ten years, and with kind usage he might continue up to this mark for three or four years longer, and they often last to perform admirably until after twenty — for example, Columbus, Paul Pry, Topgallant, &c. The stoutest horses, of whatever kind or degree of blood, might be expected to give way if put at three or four, as the race-horse is, into severe training under heavy weights, for trotting stakes or the chase ; but on the other hand, without blood to give him wind and courage, what would avail his " bag of bones," in a trial to trot his hundred miles in ten hours'? Johnson, author of the Sportsman's Cyclopedia, justly esteemed high authority on such subjects, remarks that " thorough-bred horses, and particularly those of the best blood, are seldom possessed of sufficient bone to render them pre-eminently calculated ff-r the chase; yet 1 am free to confess that the very best hunters that have fallen under my observation have been remarkably well ajid very highly bred, but yet not absolutely thorough-bred." The same remark it is not doubted might be made as generally applicable to our first-rate trotters, at long dis- tances. The case cf Abdallah and Messenger have been instanced to show, that great trotters not thorough-bred, may and do beget trotters, and hence some would argue that a distinct race of horses may or does exist. But it is to be remembered that both Abdallah and Messenger are sons of Mambrino, son of old Messenger, and of Messenger mares, though not thorough-bred ; and nothing is better known by all who have been in the habit of attending to these subjects, than that the IMessenger family is distinguished for making first-rate coach-horses — quick in light harness, and remarkable for endurance and long life. That Abdallah, therefore, himself deep in the Messenger blood, should be himself a trotter and a getter of trotters, only proves that like begets like, and that of a distinct breed, like the thorough-bred horse, cha- racterized by the possession of general properties belonging only to and constituting that breed, there may he particular families, distinguished for some peculiar qualities not possessed in the same degree by other families of the same breed. 'I'hus we have the three classes of the English thorough-bred stock, to wit : the JJerod, the Matchem, and the Eclipse, that have served as cross(^s for each otlicr. In like manner, it may be said of the improved short-horn cattle — their general characteristic is early maturity and propensity to fat, without being generally remarkable as deep milkers, though there are families of the short-horns esteemed for thai quality; — a dash THE HORSE. 53 ot the biwd of old Messenger imparts hi^h form and action for the state coach, and the eye ol the connoisseur can detect the signs in a iiorse in whose veins flow even one-eighth of his blood ; so the fact is generally known to old gentlemen in the South, and especially avouched by the Sporting and Agricultural Society in South Carolina, that the stock of old Janus (there called Genius.) was so remarkable as road and saddle homes, as to have gc^tten to be considered a distinct breed ; so the Topgal- lant stock made fine saddle-horses, excelling in the canter. The blood horse, too, is remarkable for longevity — the Messenger stock particularly so. If the truth could be known, it is probable it flowed in larger or smaller streams in each of the four thorough-breds which the late General Hampton, (sire of that paragon of sportsmen and gentlemen. Col. Wade Hampton,) drove in his coach all together for sixteen years. Here may be aptly introduced some extracts from a familiar letter received by the editor from Col. N. Goldsborough, of 'i'albot, Maryland, who has an eye for the fine points of a horse, as quick as a hawk's for ahsh — one who has thought much and with effect on all matters that give dignity and attraction to rural life — himself of the pure old stock in fashion when it meant something to be called a " Maryland" or " Virginia gentleman.'''' He, in confirmation of our hypothesis, says, speaking of Tom Thumb— " But whence came his lastingness, his powers of endurance, as well as speed "? I have been in the habit of thinking, tliat no horse could long continue exertion, espe- cially at a rapid pace, without a good tincture of the blood. At about the same time there went to England a horse called Rattler, of great speed as a trotter — he was represented as the cross of a full-bred horse on the Canadian mare. What a mao-ni- licent picture " Whalel)one" makes in his trotting action, and how different from the abovenamed horses ! When a boy, I have seen Phil Hemsly mounted on his trotting mare, bred on the borders of Queen Anne's County. She was much in the style of the famous Phenomena Mare of England — about fourteen and a half hands high. — He could keep up with a pack of hounds all day in a trot — and she could pass over the largest oak bodies lying in a wood, without breaking up. I was informed two years ago in Philadelphia by Mr. Allen, son-in-law of Badger of the Marshall House — that some of the best trotters then in New Jersey, were the offspring of Monmouth Eclipse — the Messenger blood you see ! I know of no other family of the pure blood horse which may be said emphatically to produce trotters — the exception confirms the rule. Col. Lloyd's Vingtun and old Topgallant got fine rackins; and cantering horses. Is there more than one out of twenty thorough-breds, that makes really a racer? And are there not as many trotters at the North, and more, than there are racers at the South, &c., where the most systematic efforts have been persevered in for years, exclusively for the production of racers "? I have often wondered where they of the North derived their horses — from what I have seen and heard, they have a peculiar family, different in appearance, in form strikingly from ours. They of the North have had some method in this matter — as well as the breeders of short-horns, Leicester sheep, &c. About the lakes they have a horse of great speed and power, as I am informed, called the ' Erencher.' The English ofRcers bring over from the mother country, fine blooded stallions for troopfers and parade. It is the cross of these and the Canadian mares, which produces the ' Frencher,' — blood is indispensable. But what is the Canadian? undevenit? They are descended from the horses of Normandy carried over by the French settlers. Napoleon's coach when captured was being drawn by four Norman horses, and I guess the Emperor was not fond of sitting behind sloiu cattle. When the Spaniards were in possession of the Low Countries, they carried with them their Andalusian horses — these were crossed on ilie Normans, which produced great improvement. When the Spaniards were ex- pelled, the breeding in-and-in from this stock must have produced a distinct family, as Bakewell produced with other races of quadrupeds. Climate necessarily produced a change in the Norman horse, when transferred to the rigour of Canadian winters — hence the thick coat of hair, &c. The Andalusian, you know, is of Arabian descent. So far as I have been able to learn, Vermont is indebted to Canada for her distin- guished race of roadsters, as well as the neighbouring States. They have one dis- tinct family, the ' Morgan,' descended from a little Canadian, famous too for running quarter races. This family has been cherished for years, and is as distinguished 5 * 54 THE HORSE. among thorn as old Archy was in Virginia. I have some indistinct recollection to have seen, years ago, an account of a horse among them got by, or out of a mare by, Cock of the Uock — .Messenger blood again." It is now in proof that tliis IMorgan breed is descended from a horse that was stolen Trom General de Lancey, iniporter of Wildair, and there is every reason to believe that though he may not have been thorough-bred, he was well steeped in the best blood of tlie Anglo-American turf-horse. While it has been found impracticable to obtain any precise information as to the pedigree of some of our very best trotters, in other cases whore more is known, they are found to be deep in the blood. — Awful, whose performances w'ill be seen in the tables annexed, is known to have be(^n gotten by a thorough-bred "American boy." Lady .Suffolk is by Engineer, but what Engineer not known. Abdallah, as before mentioned, is by ?,Iambrino, and he again, a great trotter, by IMessenger; but Dutch- man, one of our l^est trotters, has no known pedigTce, though we have some reason to think he was by Young Oscar, then at Carlisle. He was taken out of a clay-yard, and was transferred to the trotting-turf from a Pennsylvania wagon-team. — Wood- ruff thinks blood does not give them Itngth, or the power to go the long distances ; but in this it is believed he must be mistaken. These Canadian or Norman-French stallions, small and compact, which on well-formed large mares give such fine har- ness horses, and trotters, are, as before said, deeply imbued with the blood of the barb taken from S])ain into Normandy. We have been told lately by an intelligent Englishman, that the infusion of blood into their coach-horses has enabled them to lengthen their stages, and in very observable proportion to the degree of blood. Finally, as where the blood of the trotter when known, is seen to flow in so many instances from a spring of pure blood, is it not fair to infer a similar origin in cases where the blood cannot be traced ? especially as the universal experience of all times proves that in other paces, the cases have been extremely rare, in which a horse of impure blood has been known to keep up a great Jlight of tar. or nnicli difficulty in searchino" fcr nourish- ment, and the colour of tho ej'e is adapted to his food. In the eat and all his varieties, it is yellow. We have heard of the eyes of the lion appearing like two flaming torches in the night. Tiiere are few of our readers who iiave not seen the same singular glare from the eyes of the domestic oat. In the wolf, and likewise in the dog, who, in his wild state, prowls chiefly at nijht, it is grey. In tiie poor unjustly- persecuted badger, who scarcely dares to crawl forth at night, although sheltered by THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. 89 the thickest darkness, it is white ; and the ferret, who is destined to hunt his prey through all its winding retreats, and in what would be to us absolute darkness, has no paint on the choroides. 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, it is not diminished in size, but it has less space to cover, and there must be duplicatures or plaits. They are usefully employed in the place in which we find them. They prevent tlie passage of any rays of light on the outside of the lens, and which, proceeding forward in various directions, and uncondensed by the power of the lens, would render vision confused or imperfect. These folds of the choroides are called the ciliary processes. Within the cornea, and occupying the fore part of the ej'^e, is the aqueous humour, p, so termed from its resemblance to pure water. It is that by which the cornea is preserved in its protuberant and rounded form. It extends to the crystalline lens q, and therefore a portion of it, although a very small one, is behind the iris (nt, p. 86). Floating in this fluid is a membrane, with an oblong aperture, called the Iris. It is that which gives colour to the eye. The human eye is said to be black, or hazel, or blue, according to the colour of this membrane or curtain ; and it is denominated the iris, or rainbow, from its beautiful, intermingling hues. The colour 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- coloured, have the iris white and the pupil red. When horses of other colours, and that are usually pied, have a white iris and a black pupil, they are said to be tva/l- eyed. Vulgar opinion has decided that a wall-eyed horse is never subject to blind- ness, but this is altogether erroneous. There is no difference of structure that can produce this exemption ; but the wall-eyed horse, from this singular and unpleasant appearance, and his frequent want a'i breeding, may not be so much used and exposed to many of the usual causes of inflammation. The aperture in the iris is termed the pupil, and through it light passes to the inner chamber of the eye. The pupil is oblong, and variable in size. It differs with the intensity or degree of light that falls upon the eye. In a dark stable the pupil is expanded to admit a great proportion of the light that falls upon the cornea ; but when the horse is brought towards the door of the stable and more light is thrown upon the eye, the pupil contracts in order to keep out that extra quantity which would be pain- ful to the animal, and injurious to vision. W"hen opposed directly to the sun, the aperture will almost close. This alteration of form in the pupil is effected by the muscular fibres that enter into the composition of the iris. When these fibres are relaxed, the pupil must pro- portionably diminish. The motions of the iris are not at all under the control of the will, nor is the animal sensible of them. They are produced by sympathy with the state of the retina. When, however, a deficient portion of light reaches the retina, and vision is indistinct, we are conscious of an apparent effort to bring the object more clearly into view, and the fibres then contract, and the aperture enlaro-es, and more light is admitted. 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 will likewise hane- 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 blindness 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 carriage or the road, he is generally deteriorated as a hunter, for he cannot measure his distances, and will run into his leaps.* Many a sportsman, puzzled and angry * Mr. W. Percivall, however, in his excellent Lectures on the Veterinary Art, vol. iii. p> 8* M 90 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTIO?.. at the sudden blundering of his horse, or injured by one or more stunning falls, has found a very natural although unexpected explanation of it in the blindness of one eye, and that perhaps produced tlirough his own fault, by over-riding his willing and excellent servant, and causing a detennination of blood to the eye, which proved fatal to the delicate texture of the retina. Even for the carriage or the road he is considera- bly deteriorated, for his lield of observation must be materially lessened. Let the size of both pupils be carefully noticed before the horse 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 open air, let it be observed whether the pupils are precisely of the same size ; then let the hand be placed over each eye alternately and held there for a liitle while, and let it be observed whether the pupil dilates with the abstraction of light, and equally in each eye. Hanging from the upper edge of the pupil of the horse, are two or three round black substances, as large as millet seeds. When the horse is suddenly brought into an intense light, and the pupil is closed, they present a singular appearance, as they are pressed out from between the edges of the iris. An equal number, but much smaller, are attached to the edge of the lower portion of the iris. Their general use is probably to intercept rays of light which would be troublesome or injurious, and their principal function is accomplished during the act of grazing. They are larger on the upper edge of the iris, and are placed on the outer side of the pupil, evidently to discharge the same function which we have attributed to the eyelashes, viz., to obstruct the light in those directions in which it would come with greatest force, both from above and even from below, while, at the same time, the field of view is per- fectly open, so far as it regards the pasture on which the horse is grazing. In our cut, w gives a duplicature of the iris, or the back surface 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 colour of the iris is, in some unknown way, connected 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 cryslalli)ie lens, g, so called from its resemblance to a piece of crystal, or trans- parent 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 oi capsule, and is placed between the aqueous and the vitreous humours, and received into a hollow in the vitreous humour, with which it exactly coiresponds. It has, from its density and its double convexity, the chief concern in converging the rays of light which pass into the pupil. The lens is very apt to be affected from long or violent inflammation of the con- junctiva, and either its capsule becomes cloudy, and imperfectly transmits t!ie ligiit, 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 caution 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 l)een described, the condition of the lens will at once be evident. The confirmed calaract, or the opaque lens of long standing, will exhibit a pearli/ appearance, that cannot be mistaken, and will frequently hv atteiuled with a change of form — a portion of the lens being forced forwards into the i>ii])il. Altliough the disease may not have proceeded so far as this, yet if there is the slightest cloudiness of the lens, either generally, or in the form of a minute spot in the centre, and \\ilh 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 tlie result. 201, says, " The loss of one eye does not enfeeble sight, because ilu; f)'her acquires gremer enero-y, though it luueh contraets ihe field of vision. It is said to render the eoneepiion crrinL', and tiie case of misjudtriueni of distances is the one cotnnioidy broui^ht forward to show this. All I can say on this point is. that the best hunter I ever possessed, a'horse irified with exini- ordinary powers for leapitig, was a one-eyed liorse, and tiiis animal carried me 'hrough ahuuiiiig eeason, without, to my recollection, making one single blunder in leaping." THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. 91 Cataract in t.ie human being may, to a very considerable extent, be remedied. The opaque lens may be extracted, or it may be forced into the vitreous humours, and there existing as a foreign body, it Avill soon be absorbed and disappear. These operations are impossible in the horse ; for, in the first place, thi^re is a muscle of which we have already spoken, and to be presently more particularly described , that is peculiar to quadrapeds, and of such power as generally to draw back the eye too far into its socket for the surgeon to be enabled to make his incision ; or could the incision be made, the action of this muscle would force out the greater part of the contents of the eye, and this organ would speedily waste away. If, however, the opaque lens could be withdrawn or depressed, and the mechanism of the eye were not otherwise injured, the operation would be totally useless, for we could not make the horse wear those convex glasses whose converging power might compensate for the loss of the lens. Behind the lens, and occupying four-fifths of the cavity of the eye, is the vitreous humour (glassy, or resembling glass). It seems, when first taken from the eye, to be of the consistence of 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 suflered completely to ooze out, a mass of membraneous bags or cells remains. The vitreous humour consists of a watery fluid contained in these cells ; but the fluid and the cells form a body of considerably greater density than the aqueous fluid in the front of the eye. Last of all, between the vitreous humour and the choroid coat, is the retina, o, oi net- like membrane. It is an expansion of the substance, g, of the optic nerve. When that nerve has reached the back of the eye, and penetrated through the sclerotic and choroid coats, it first enlarges into a little white prominence, from which radiations or expansions of nervous matter proceed, which spread over the whole of the choroid coat, and form the third investment of the eye. The membrane by which this nervous pulp is supported, is so exceedingly thin and delicate, that it will tear with the slightest touch, and break even with its own weight. The membrane and the pulp are perfectly transparent in the living animal. The pupil appears to be black, because in the daytime it imperfectly reflects the colour of the choroid coat beneath. In the dusk it is greenish, because, the glare of day being removed, the actual green of the paint appears. On this expansion of nervous pulp, the rays of light from surrounding objects, con- densed by the lens and the humours, fall, and, producing a certain image correspond- ing 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 vision 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 imperfect ; nor shall we be able to otTer any remedy for this defect of sight. There is a skying, often the result of cowardice or playfulness, or want of work, but at other times proving, beyond contradiction, a defect of sight even more dangerous than blindness. A blind horse will resign himself to the guidance of his rider or driver; but against the misconception and starting of a shying horse there is no defence. That horses grow shy as they grow old, w on" accustomed to them will deny; and no intelligent person will be slow in attributing it to the right cause — a decay in the organ of vision, — a loss of convexity in the eye. lesseninfr the con- vergency of the rays, and throwing the perfect image beyond, and not on, the retina. There is a striking difference in the convexity of the cornea in the colt and the old horse ; and both of them, probably, may shy from opposite causes — tb.e one from a cornea too prominent, and tlie other from one too flat. In the usual examination of the horse previously to purchase, sufficient attention is not always paid to the con- vexity of the cornea. The remedy for shyin? will be considered when we speak of the vices of lu^rses. There is a provision yet wanting. The horse has a very extended field of view, but man)' persons are not perhaps aware how little of it he can command at a time. There is not one of our readers who can make out a single line of our treatisi^ without changing the direction of the eye. It is curious to follow the motion of the eyes of a rapid reader. Nature has given no less than seven muscles to the horse, in order to 92 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. turn this little hut important orffan ; and, that they may act with sufficient power and quickness, no fewer than six nerves are directed to the muscles of the eye generally, or to particular ones — while the eye rests on a mass of fat, that it may be turned with little exertion of power, and without friction. 5IUSCLES OF THE EVE. There are four straight muscles, three of which. (/, c. and/, are repre- sented in our cut, rising from the back of the orbit, and inserted into the ball of the eye, ( pposite to, and at equal distances I'roiii each other. • One, f/, runs to the u[)}ier part of the eye, just behind the transparent and visible portion of il, and its office is clearly to raise the eye. When it contracts, the eye must be drawn upward. Another./, is inserted ex- actly opposite, at the bottom of the eye ; and its office is as clearly to depress the eye, or enable the animal to look downwards. A third, e, is inserted at the outer corner, and by means of it the eye is turned outward, and, from the situation of the eye of the horse, considerably backward ; and the fourth is inserted at the inner corner, turning the eye inward. They can thus rotate or turn the eye in any direction the animal wishes, and by the action of one, or the combined power of any two of them, the eye can be immediately and accurately directed to every point. These muscles, however, have another dutj' to discharge. They support the eye in its place. In the usual position of the head of the horse, they must be to a certain degree employed for this purpose ; but when he is grazing or feeding, the principal weight of the eye rests upon them. Another muscle is therefore added, peculiar to quadrupeds, called the relracinr [droiccr-bac/f), or the suspcjisorius {suspensory) muscle, i^. It arises from the edge of the foramen through which the optic nerve enters the orbit — surrounds the nerve as it proceeds forward, and then, partially dividing into four portions, is attached to the back part of the eye. Its office is evidently to support the eye generally, or, when suddenlj' called into powerful action, and assisted by the straight muscles, it draws the eye back out of the reach of threatening danger, and in the act of drawing it back causes the haw to protrude, as an additional defence. The power of this muscle is very great. It renders some operations on the eye almost impossible. It is an admirable substitute for the want of hands, to defend the eye from many things that would injure it; and, being partially separated into four divisions, it assists the straight muscles in turning the eye. These muscles discharge another and a most important office. If we examine near and distant objects through a telescope, we must a/kr t/ie focus ; i. e., we must increase or diminish the length of the tube. We must shorten it a little when we examine dis- tant objects, because the ra3's, coming to \is from them in a less divergent direction, are sooner brought to a point by the power of the lens. Thus the straight and retractor muscles drawing back the eye, and forcing it u])on the substance behind, and in a slight degree flattening it, bring the lens nearer to the retina, and adapt the eye to the observation of distant objects. Still, however, being constantly employed in supporting the weight of the eye, these muscles may not be able to turn it so rapidly and so extensively as the wishes or wants of the animal require; therefore two others are superadded which aroused solely in turning the eye. Thejr are called oblique muscles, because their course is obliquely across the eye. The upper one is most cviriously constructed, a, h. It comes from the back part of the orbit, and takes a direction upwurds and towards the inner side, and there, just under the ridge of the orbit, it passes l!iro>iiih a perfect me- chanical pulley, and. turning round, proceeds across the eve, and is inserted rather beyond the middle of the eye, towards the outer side, 'i'hus the glolie of the eye is evidently directed inward and upward. Something more, however, is accom])lished l)y this singular mechanism. The eye is naturally deep in the orbit, that it may he I^'JURIES AND DISEASES OF THE SKULL, &,c. 93 more perfectly defended ; but it may be necessary occasionally to bring it forward, ard enlarge the field of vision. The eye is actually protruded under the influence of fear. Not only are the lids opened more widely, but the eye is brought more forward. How is this accomplished'? There are no muscles anterior to, or before the eye — there is no place for their insertion. The object is readily effected by this singular pulley, i, c. By the power 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 lacrymal bone (r, p. 70), and, proceeding across the eye, is fixed into the part of the sclerotica opposite to the other oblique muscle, and it turns the eye in a contrary direction, assisting, however, the upper oblique in 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 neces- sary description of the structure of the horse, and we willingly turn to more practical matter. We will consider the injuries and diseases of the parts we have surveyed. In entering, however, on this division of our work, we would premise, that it is impos- sible for us to give the farmer such an account of the nature and treatment of the dis- eases of horses as will enable him with safety to practise for himself, except in the commonest cases. The causes of most diseases are so obscure, their symptoms so variable, and their connexion with other maladies so complicated and mysterious, that a life devoted to professional study will alone qualify a man to become a judicious and successful practitioner on the diseases of the horse and other domestic animals. Our object will be to communicate sufficient instruction to the farmer to enable him to act with promptness and judgment when he cannot obtain professional assistance, to qualify him to form a satisfactory opinion of the skill of the veterinary surgeon whom he may employ, and, more especially, to divest him of those strange and absurd prejudices which in a variety of cases not only produce and prolong disease, but bring it to a fatal termination. FRACTURE. We have described the cavity of the skull of the horse as being so defended by the hardness of the parietal bones, and those bones so covered by a mass of muscle, and the occipital bone as so exceedingly thick (see page 92), that a Fracture of the skull is almost impossible. It can only occur from brutal violence, or when a horse falls in the act of rearing. When, however, fracture of the skull does occur, it is almosi invariably fatal. A blow of sufficient violence to break these bones must likewisfc irreparably injure the delicate and important organ which they protect. The ridge, or outer and upper part of the orbit of the eye, is occasionally fractured. It happens from falling, or much oftener from violent blows. The slightest examina- tion will detect the loosened pieces ; but a professional man alone can render effectual assistance. . Mr. Pritchard, in the second volume of the " Veterinarian." relates an interesting case of fracture of the orbit of the eye. " A chestnut mare."' he says, '• received a blow which fractured the orbit from the supercilian' foramen, in a line through the zygomatic processes of the temporal and malar bones to the cuter angle of the eye. The detached bone, together with the divided integument, hung over the eye so as to intercept vision. On examining the place where the accident occurred, two portions of bone were found belonging to the orbital arch. After carefully inspecting the wound, and finding no ether detached portions, nor any spiculse which might irritate 94 INJURIES AND DISEASES OF THE SKULL, &.c. or wound, the adjacent portions of the skin were carefully drawn together, and secured by a silver wire, which closed the wound, and confined the detached portion of bone in its proper place. A mash diet was ordered. " On the following day there was considerable inflammation. The eye was bathed with warm water, and a dose of physic administered. On the third day the inflam- mation and swelling- had still more increased. Blood was abstracted from the vein at the angle of the eye. The swelling and inflammation now speedily abated ; and on the fifteenth day the wound had quite healed." If a fracture of this kind is suspected, its existence or non-existence may be easily determined by intrnilucing the thumb under, and keeping the fore-finger upon, the edge of the orbit, EXOSTOSIS. Bony enlargements of the orbital arch sometimes arise from natural predisposition or local injury. They should be attacked in 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 practi- tioner can alone decide whether a cure should be attempted, or the sufferings of the animal terminated by death. COMPRESSION OFTHE BRAIN. Hydatids are often found within the cranial cavity, and lying upon or imbedded in the brain of oxen and sheep. Their existence is usually fatal to the animal. There is no well-authenticated account of the existence of an hydatid in the cranial cavity of the horse ; but cysts, containing a serous or viscid fluid, are occasionally observed. The following is the history of one : — A horse exhibited symptoms of vertigo, or stag- gers, which disappeared 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 fore extremities. He moved by a suc- cession 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 mischief. PRESSURE ON THE BRAIN. This may be produced by some fluid thrown out between the membranes, or occu- pying 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 enlarged, or strangely deformed, or both ; and the animal dies, either in the birth, or a few days after it. MEGRIMS. There is another kind of pressure on the brain, resulting from an unusual determi- nation or flow of blood to it. This organ requires a large supj)ly of blood to enable it to discharge its important functions. Nature, in the horse more than in many other animals, has made some admirable provisions to cause this stream to flov/ into the brain with little velocity, and thereby to lessen the risk of suddenly overloading it or rup1\iring its vessels. The arteries pursue their course to the brain in a strangely winding and circuitous manner; and they enter the skull throu'.rh bony apertures that will admit of the enlargement of the vessels only to a very limited extent. From various causes, however, of which the most common is violent exercise cm a hot day, APOPLEXY. 95 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, oi 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 con- sciousness. The mildest affection of this kind is known by the name of Megrims. It compara- tively rarely happens when the horse is ridden ; but should he be driven, and perhaps rather quickly, he may perform a part of his journey with his usual cheerfulness and ease : he will then suddenly stop, shake his head, and exhibit evident giddiness, and half-unconsciousness. In a minute or two this will pass over, and he will go on again as if nothing had happened. Occasionally, however, the attack will be of a more serious nature. He will fall without the slightest warning, or suddenly run round once or twice, and then fall. He will either lie in a state of complete insensibility, or struggle with the utmost violence. In five or ten minutes he will begin gradually to come to himself; he will get up and proceed on his journey, yet somewhat dull, and evidently affected and exhausted by what had happened, although not seriously or permanently ill. At the moment of attack, a person who is competent to the task should abstract three or four quarts of blood from the neck-vein ; or cut the bars of the palate in the manner to be explained when we describe that part, and whence a considerable and sufficient quantity of blood may be readily obtained. The driver should pat and soothe the animal, loosen the curb-rein, if possible ease the collar, and pursue his journey as slowly as circumstances will permit. 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 meat, or he should be turned out to grass for two or three months. Is all this necessary because a horse has happened to have a fit of the megrims'? Yes, and more too, in the mind of the prudent man ; for it is seldom that a horse has the megrims without the predisposition to a second attack remaining. These over- distended vessels may be relieved for a while, but it is long before they perfectly recover their former tone. It requires but a little increased velocity or force in the vital current once more to distend them, and to produce the same dangerous effects. The testimony of experience is uniform with regard to this ; and he would not do justice to himself or his family who trusted himself behind a horse that had a second attack of megrims. APOPLEXY. Megrims is Apoplexy under its mildest form. In the latter affection, the deter- mination of blood, if not so sudden, is greater, or differently directed, or more lastino-. 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 degree of stupidity about him, and, generally, a somewhat staggering 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 recognised by the horse standing with his head depressed. It bears upon, or is forced against the manger or the wall, and a con- siderable part of the weight of the animal is evidently supported by this pressure of Ihe head. As he thus stands, he is balancing himself from one side to the other as if he were ready to fiiU ; and it is often dangerous to stand near to him, or to move lim, for he falls without warning. If he can get his muzzle into a corner, he will sometimes continue there motionless for 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 surrounding 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 96 APOPLEXY. closes, and he sleeps again with the food in his mouth. Soon afterwards he is, per- haps, roused once more. The eye opens, but it has an unmeaning glare. The hana is moved before him, but the eye closes not ; he is spoken to, but he hears not. The last act of voluntary motion which he will attempt is usually to drink ; but he has Uttle power over the muscles of deglutition, and the fluid returns through the nostrils. He now begins to foam at the mouth. His breathing is laborious and loud. It is performed by the influence of the organic nerves, and 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 fa?ces involuntarj'. He grinds his teeth — twitchings steal over his face and attack his limbs — they some- times proceed to convulsions, and dreadful ones loo, 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 speedily closes the scene. On examination after death, the whole venous system is usually found in a state of congestion, and the vessels of the brain are peculiarly 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 larger intes- tines are loaded with foul matter. This disease is found more frequently in the stable cf the postmaster and the farmer than anywhere else. Thirty years ago it was the very pest of these stables, and the loss sustained by some persons was enormous ; but, as veterinary science progressed, the nature and the causes of the disease were better understood, and there is not now one case of staggers where twenty used to cccxu Apoplexy is a determination of blood to the head, and the cause is the over-condi- tion of the animal and too great fulness of blood. iNoticr.s of proper cM;o'?7/on in the horse now" prevail very different from those by which cur forefathers were guided. It no longer consists in the round, sleek carcase, fat enough for the butcher, but in fulness and hardness of the muscular fibre, and a comparative paucity cf cellular and adipose matter — in that which will add to the power of nature, and not oppress and weigh her down. The system of exercise is better understood than it used formerly to be. It is pro- portioned to the quantity and quality of the food, and more particularly the division of labour is more rational. The stage-horse no longer runs his sixteen or eighteen, or even two-and-twenty miles, and then, exhausted, is turned into the stable for the next twenty hours. The food is no longer eaten voraciously ; the comparatively little stomach of the animal is no longer distended, before nature has been able sufficiently to recruit herself to carry on the digestive process ; the vessels of the stomach are no longer oppressed, and the flow of blood through them arrested, and, consequently, more blood directed to other ])arts, and to the brain among the rest. The farmer used to send his horses out early in the morning, and keep them at plough for six or eight hours, and then they were brought home and suffered to over- gorge themselves, and many of them were attacked by staggers and died. If the evil did not proceed quite to this extent, the farmer's horse was notoriously subject to fits of heaviness and sleepiness — he had iK/lf-allacl-s of staggers. From this frequent oppression of the brain — this pressure on the optic nerves as well as other parts, another consequence ensued, unsuspected at the time, but far too prevalent — the horse became blind. The farmer was notorious for having more blind horses in his stable than any other person, except, perhaps, the postmaster. The system of horse management is now essentially changed. Shorter stages, a livision of the labour of the day, and a sufficient inter\"al for rest, and for feeding, lave, comparatively speaking, banished sletji/ .sf(ti:<;crs from the stables of the post- naster. The division of the morning and at'ternoon labour oi' the farmer's horse, viih the introduction of that simple but invaluable contrivance, i//e nose-btiir, have rendered this disease comparatively rare in the establishment of the agriculturist. To »he late Professor Coleman we are indebted for some of these important improve- ments. Old horses are more subject to staggers than young ones, for the stomach has be- APOPLEXY. 97 come weak by the repetition of the abuses just described. It has not power to aigest and expel the food, and thus becomes a source of general, and particularly of cere- bral, disturbance. Horses at grass are occasionally attacked by this disease; but they are generally poor, hard-worked, half-starved animals, turned on richer pasture than their impaired digestive organs are equal to. Perhaps the weather is hot, and the sympathy of the brain with the undue labour of the stomach is more easily excited, and a determina- tion of blood to the brain more readily eftected. Mr. Percivall gives a very satisfactory illustration of the production of staggers in this way. He says that " when his father first entered the service of the Ordnance, it was the custom to turn horses which had become low in condition, but were still well upon their legs, into the marshes, in order to recruit their strength. During the months of July, August, and .September, nothing was more common than an attack of staggers among these horses, and which was naturally attributed to the luxuriant pasture they were turned into, combined witli the dependent posture of the head, and the sultry heat to which they were exposed." Occasionally it will be necessary for the owner or the veterinary attendant to insti- tute very careful inquiry, or he will not detect the real causes of the disease. Does It arise from improper management, to which the horse has been in a manner habitu- ated 1 Had he been subjected to long labour and fasting, and had then the opportu- nity of gorging to excess ? Did it proceed from accidental repletion — from the ani- mal having got loose in the night, and found out the corn or the chaff bin, and filled himself almost to bursting"? There is nothing in the appearance of the animal which will lead to a discovery of the cause — no yellowness nor twilchings of the skin, no local swellings, as some have described ; but the practitioner or the owner must o-et at the truth of the matter as well as he can, and then proceed accordino-ly. As to the TREATMENT of staggcrs, whatever be the cause of the dis'ease, bleeding is the first measure indicated — tlie overloaded 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 throup-h which the blood is returned from the head, the greater part of the quantity obtained will bo taken immediately 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 con- tinued until the horse falters, or begins to blow — or, perhaps, with more assured suc- cess, until he falls. Some persons select the temporal artery. This is very unsci- entific 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 bleedino- 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 apoplexy. Has the animal got at the corn or the chaff bin ] Had he been over-fed on the evening before, and is his stomach probably distended to the utmost by what he has eaten? 'in such a case, of what avail can physic be, introduced into a stomach already crammed with indi- gestive food ? Or what effect can twelve or twenty drachms of aloes produce, a small portion only of which can penetrate into the stomach ] Recourse must be had to the STOMACH-PUMP, one of the most valuable discoveries of modem times, and affording the means of combating several diseases that had previously set all medical skill at defiance. Warm water must be injected. The horse is now incapable of offering much resistance, and tlie injection may be continued not only until the contents of the stomach are so far diluted that a portion of them can escape through the lower orifice of that viscus, 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 liaving been ascertained that there was no extreme disten- sion of the stomach, recourse should be had to aloes, and from eight to twelve dracnms of it may be administered. 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. 0 N 98 PHRENITIS. The after-treatment m\ist be regulated by circumstances. For some time the horse should be put on a restricted diet ; mashes should be given ; green meat in no great quantity ; a moderate allowance of hay, and very little corn. When sufficiently recovered, he may be turned out with advantage on rather bare pasture. One circum- stance, however, should never he 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 he too soon disposed of. Let no farmer delude himself with the idea that apoplexy is contagious. If his horses have occasionally slight fits of staggers, or if the disease carries off several of them, he may be assured that there is something wrong in his management. One horse may get at the corn-bin and cram, himself to bursting ; but if several are attack- ed, it is time for the owner to look about him. The general cause is too voracious feeding — too m.uch food given at once, and perhaps without water, after hard work and long fasting. There is one consequence of this improper treatment, of which persons do not appear to be sufficiently aware, although they suffer severely from it. A horse that has frequent half-attacks of staggers very often gees blind. It is not the common blindness from cataract, but a peculiarly glassj^ appearance of the eye. If the history of these blind horses could be told, it would be found that they had been subject to fits of drooping and dulness, and these produced by absurd management respecting labour and food. PHRENITIS. Primary inflammation of the brain or its membranes, or both, sometimes occurs, and of the membranes oftenest when both are not involved. Whatever be the origin of phrenitis, its early symptoms are scarcely d'flerent from those of apoplexy. The horse is drowsy, stupid ; his eye closes ; he sleeps while he is in the act of eating, and dozes until he falls. The pulse is slow and creeping, and the breathing oppressed and laborious. This is the description of apoplexy. The symptoms may differ a little in intensity and continuance, but not much in kind. The phrenitic horse, however, is not so perfect!}' comatose as another that labours under apoplexy. The eye will respond a little to the action of light, and the animal is somewhat more manageable, or at least more susceptible, for he will shrink when he is struck, while the other frequently cares not for the whip. In the duration of the early symptoms there is some difference. If the apoplexy proceeds from distension of the stomach, four-and-twenty or six-and-tbirt}'' hours will scarcely pass without the cure being completed, or the stomach ruptured, or the horse destroyed. If it proceeds more from oppression of the digestive organs than from absolute distension of the stomach, and from that sympathy which subsists between the stamach and the brain, the disease will go on — it will become worse and worse every hour, and this imperfect comatose state will remain during two or three days. The apoplexy of the phrenitic 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 treatment; but, if the golden hour has been suffered to pass, or if reme- dial measures have become ineffectual, the scene all at once changes, and the most violent reaction succeeds. The eye brightens — strangely so; the membrane of the eye becomes suddenly redderiod, and forms a frightful contrast with the transparency of the cornea; tlie pupil is dilated to the utmost; the nostril, before scarcely movinof, expands and quivers, and labours; the respiration becomes short and quick ; the ears are erect, or bent forward to catch the slightest sound ; and the horse, becoming more irritable every instant, trembles at the slightest motion. The irritaliility of the patieni, increases — it may be said to change to ferocity — liut 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 dread- ful force. Ho lies for a while exhausted — there is a remission of the symptoms, bu .perhaps only for a minute or two, or possibly for a quarter of an hour. PHRENITIS. 99 Now is the surgeon's golden time, and his courage and adroitness will be put to the test. He must open, if he can, one or both jugulars : but let him be on his guard, for the paroxysm will return with its former violence and without the slightest warning. The second attack 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 hunself. He darts furiously at everything within his reach ; but no mind, no design, seems to min- gle with or govern his fury. Another and another remission and a return of the exacerbation follow, and then, wearied out, he becomes quiet; but it is not the quietness of returning reason — it is mere stupor. This continues for an uncertain period, and then he begins to strag- gle again ; but he is now probably unable to rise. He pants — he foams — at length, completely exhausted, he dies. There are but two diseases with which phrenitis can be confounded, and they are cholic and rabies. In cholic, the horse rises and l\ills; he rolls about and kicks at his belly; but his struggles are tame compared with those of the phrenitic horse There is no involuntary spasm of any of the limbs ; the animal is perfectly sensible, and, looking piteously at his flanks, seems designedly to indicate the seat of pain. The beautiful yet fearfully excited countenance of the one, and the piteous, anxious gaze of the other, are sufficiently distinct; and, if it can be got at, the rapid, bound- ing pulse of the one, and that of the other scarcely losing its natural character in the early stage, cannot be mistaken. In rabies, when it does assume the ferocious form, there is even more violence than in phrenitis ; but there is method, and treachery too, in that violence. There is the desire of mischief for its own sake, and there is frequently the artful stratagem to allure the victim within the reach of destruction. There is not a motion of which the rabid horse is not conscious, nor a person whom he does not recognise ; but he labours under one all-absorbing feeling — the intense longing to devastate and destroy. The post-mortem appearances are altogether uncertain. There is usually very great injection and inflammation of the membranes of the brain, and even of portions of the substance of the brain ; but in other cases there is scarcely any trace of inflam- mation, or even of increased vascularity. The treatment of phrenitis has been very shortly hinted at. The first — the indis- pensable proceeding — is to bleed ; to abstract as much blood as can be obtained ; to let the animal bleed on after he is down ; and indeed not to pin up the vein of the phrenitic horse at all. The patient will never be lost by this decisive proceeding, but the inflammation may be subdued, and here the first blow is the whole of the battle. The physic should be that which is most readil}^ given and will most speedily act. The farina of the croton will, perhaps, have the preference. Half a drachm or two scruples of it may be fearlessly administered. The intense inflammation of the brain gives sufficient assurance that no dangerous inflammation will be easily set up in the intestinal canal. This medicine can be formed into a very little ball or drink, and in some momentary remission of the sj-mptoms. administered by means of the probang, or a stick, or the horn. Sometimes the phrenitic horse, when he will take nothing else, and is unconscious of everything else, will drink with avidity gruel or water. Repeated doses of purgative medicine may perhaps be thus given, and they must be continued until the bowels respond. The forehead should be blistered, if it can in any way be accomplished ; j^et but little service is to be expected from this manipu- lation. The bowels having been well opened, dijitalis should be administered. Its first and most powerful action is on the heart, diminishing botli 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, produces an increased determina- tion of blood to the brain. 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 wth regard to the quantity and quality of the food. 100 RABIES, OR MADNESS. RABIES, OR MADNES.s. This is another and fearful disease of the nervous system. It results from the bile of a rabid animal, and, most commonly, of the companion and friend of the horse — the coach-dog. The account now given of this malady is extracted from lectures which the author of the present work delivered to his class. " There is occasional warning of the approach of this disease in the horse, or rather of the existence of some unusual malady, the real nature of which is probably niis- taken. A mare, belonging to Mr. Karslake, had during ten days before the recoirni- tion of the disease been drooping, refusing her food, heaving at tlie tlanks, and pawing occasionally. It was plain enough that she was indisposed, but at length the furious lit came upon jier, and she destroyed almost everything in the stable in the course of an hour. The late ]Mr. Moneyment had a two-years old colt brought to his establish- ment. It was taken ill in the afternoon of the preceding day, when it lirst attracted attention by refusing its food, and throwing itself down and getting up again imme- diately. From such a description, INIr. Moneyment concluded that it was a case of cholic; but, when he went into the yard, and saw the pony, and observed his wild and anxious countenance, and his excessive nervous sensibility, he was convinced that something uncommon was amiss with him, although he did not at first suspect the real nature of the case. 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 premonitory symptoms sufficiently decisive to be noticed bj- 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 more. 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 exceptions — 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- tempered and had been attached to his rider or his groom, he will recognise 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. Pre- sently succeeds another paroxysm, without warning and witliout control ; and there is no safety for him who had previously the most complete mastery over the animal. I was once attending a rabid horse. Tlie owner would not have him destroyed, under the vain hope that I had mistaken a case of piirenitis for one of rabies, and that the disease might yield to the profuse abstraction of blood that I had been prevailed on to effect, and the purgative influence of the farina of the croton-nut with which he had been abundantly supplied in an early stage of the malady. I insisted upon his being slung, so that we were protected from injury from his kicking or plunging. He would bend his gaze upon me as if he would search me through and through, and •would prevail on me, if I could, to relieve him from some dreadful evil by which he was threatened. He would then press his head against my bosom, and keep it there a minute or more. All at once, however, the paroxysm would return. He did not attempt to bite me ; but, had it not been for the sling, he would have plunged furiously about, and I might have found it difficult to escape. I had previously attended another horse, which the owner refused to have destroyed, and to which attendance I only consented on condition of the animal being slung. He had been bitten in the near hind-lejr. When I approached him on that side, he did not attempt to bite me, and he cculd not otherwise injure nic : but he was agitated and trembled, and struggled as well as he could ; and if I merelv tor.ched him Avith my finger, the pulsations were quickened full ten beats in a minute. When, how- ever, I went round to the offside, he permitted me to pat him, and 1 Iiad to encounter his imploring gaze, and his liead was pressed against me — and then presently would RABIES, OR MADNESS. 101 come the paroxysm ; but it came on almost before I could toucn him, o-hen 1 approached him on the other side. These mild cases, however, are exceptions to a general rule. They are few and far between. The horse is the servant, and not the friend of man; and if his com panion yet an oppressed one. In proportion to his bulk he has far less of that portion of the brain with which intelliirence is connected — less attachment — less gratitude. He is nevertheless a noble animal. 1 am not speakintr disparagingly of him; but I am comparing him with — next to man — the most intellectual of all quad- rupeds. There is neither the motive for, nor the capability of, that attachment which the dog feels for his master, and therefore, under the influence of this disease, he abandons himself to all its dreadful excitement. The mare of xVfr. Karslake, when the disease was fully developed, forgot her former drooping, dispirited state: her respiration v.as accelerated — her mouth was covered with foam — a violent perspiration covered every part of her, and her screams would cow the stoutest heart. She presently demolished all the wood-work of the stable, and then she employed herself in beating to pieces the fragments, no human being daring to expose himself to her fui-}'. 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 liis 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 towards the medical attendant, and the spectators who were standino-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 very incautiously and fool-hardily attempted to ball a rabid horse. The animal had previously shown himself to be dangerous, and had slightly bitten a person who gave him a ball on the preceding evening: he now seized the young student's hand, and lifted him from the ground, and shook him, as a terrier would shake a rat. It was with the greatest difficulty, and not until the grooms had attacked the ferocious animal with their pitchforks, that they could com- pel him to relinquish his hold ; and, even then, not before he had bitten his victim to the bone, and nearly torn away the whole of the flesh from the upper and lower sur- faces of the hand.* 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 intel- lectual dog. A horse that had shown symptoms of great ferocity was standino- in the corner of his box, with a heaving flank, and every muscle quivering from the degree of excitement under which he laboured. A groom, presuming on the former obedience of the animal, ventured in. and endeavoured to put a headstall upon him. Neither the master nor myself could persuade him to forbear. I was sure of mischief, for I had observed the ear lying flat upon the neck, and I could st,e the backward glance of the eye ; I therefore armed myself with a heavy twitch stick that was at hand, and climbed into the manger of the next box. The man had not advanced two steps into the box before I could see the shifting position of the fore feet, and the preparation to spring upon his victim ; and he would have sprung upon him, but my weapon fell with all the force I could urg-e upon his head, and he dropped. The man escaped, but the brute was up again in an instant, and we trembled lest the partition of the box should yield to his violence, and he would realize the graphic description of Mr. Blaine, w^hen he speaks of the rabid horse as " levelling everything before him, him- self sweating, and snorting, and foaming amidst the ruins." 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 intervals 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 ttn. paroxysm was most * In the Museum of the Veterinary School at Alfort, is the lower jaw oi a r-Ujid borw which was fractured in the violent efforts of the animal to do mischief. 9* 102 RABIES, OR MADNESS. violent, would bite and tear himself until his breast was shockingly mangled, and the blood flowed from it in a stream. The inost interesting and satisfactory symptom is the evident dread of wati^r which exists in the decided majority of cases, and the impossibility of swallowing any con- siderable quantity. Professor Uupuy gives an account of this circumstan'ce : "A rabid horse was confined in one of the sick boxes. His food was given to him throu^rh an opening over the door, and a bucket was suspended from the door, and supplied with water by means of a copper tube. As soon as he heard the water falling into the pail, lie iVU into violent convulsions, seized the tube, and crushed it to pieces. When the water in his bucket was agitated, the convulsions were renewed. He would occasionally appioach the bucket as if he wished to drink, and then, after agitating the water for an instant, he would fall on liis litter, uttering a hoarse crj^ ; but he would rise again almost immediately. These symptoms were dreadfully increased if water was tlirown upon his head. He would then endeavour to seize it as it fell, and bite with fury at everything within his reach, his whole frame being dread- fully convulsed." As tlie disease progresses, not only is the animal rapidly debilitated, but there is the peculiar staggering gait which is observable in the dog — referrible to evident loss of power in the muscles of the lumbar region. I once saw a mare sitting on her haunches, and unable to rise; yet using her fore feet with the utmost fury, and suffering no one to come within her reach. She, too, would sometimes plunge her muzzle into the offered pail ; and immediately withdraw it in evident terror, while every limb trembled. At other times the lowering of the pail would affright her, and she would fall on lier side and struggle furiously. Although this symptom is not often observed in the dog, it is a satisfactory identification of the disease, when it is so frequently seen in the horse, and so invariably in the human 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 following on this, or contemporaneous with it, is the depressed and anxious countenance, and inquiring gaze, suddenly however lighted up and becoming fierce and menacing, from some unknown cause, or at the approach of a stranger" From time to time different parts of the frame — the eyes — the jaws — particular limbs — will he convulsed. The eye will occasionally wander after some imaginary object, and the horse will snap again and again at that which has no real existence. Then will come the irrepressible desire to bite the attendants or the animals within its reach. To this will succeed the demolition of the rack, the manger, and the whole furniture of the stable, accompanied by the peculiar dread of water which has been already described. Towards the close of the disease there is generally paralysis, usually confined to the loins and the hinder extremities, or involving those organs which derive their nervous influence from this portion of the spinal cord ; — hence the distressing tenes- mus 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 tlie 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 br'tter, for t/iere is nn cure. If the symptoms bear consideraljle 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 ballincr the horse, or the skin should have been previously broken, the saliva of the animalis capable of communicating the disease. Several farriers have lost their lives from being bitten or scratched in the act of administering- medicine to a rabid horse. It is always dangerous to encourage any dogs about the stable, and especially if they become fond of the horses, and are in the habit of jumping up and licking them The corners of the mouth of the horse are often sore frmi the pressure of the bit; and when a coach-dog in a gentleman's stable — and it is likely to happen in every stable TETANUS, OR LOCKED JAW. 103 and with every dog — becomes rabid and dies, the horse too frequently follows him at no great distance of time. 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). The 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. Th(5 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 sub- ject. It is called locked jaw, because the muscles of the jaw are earliest affected, and the mouth is obstinately and immovably closed. It is a constant spasm of all the voluntary 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 motion of the jaws is considerably limited, and some saliva is drivelling from the mouth. If he tries he can only open the mouth a very little way, or the jaws are perfectly and rigidly closed ; and thus the only period at which the disease could have been suc- cessfully combated is lost. A cut of a horse labouring under this disease is here given, which the reader will do well to examine carefully. The first thing that , ,__ , strikes the observer is a ul(if///\^___,.^ -~~.^^ ^^'- — ^ij^' ^/''^'^'^ protrusion of the muxzle, fe? . /^tv .'f- ^-V Xv" ^/^^^,,,^<^ and stiffness of the neck ; and, on passing the hand down it, the muscles will be found singularly promi- nent, distinct, hard, knotty, and unyielding. There is dilticulty in bringing tht head round, and still greater difficulty in bend- ing it. The eye is drawn deep within "the socket, and, in consequence of this, the fatty matter be- hind 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, however, the heart begins to sympathise with the general excitation of the system, and the pulse increases in frequency and force until the animal becomes debilitated, when it beats yet quicker and quicker, but diminishes in power, and gradually fluttera and dies away. 104 , TETANUS, OR LOCKED JAW. Tho countenance is eager, anxious, haggard, and tells plainly enough what tho 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 straddling apart in a singular way. The whole of the limb moves, or 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 appear ance; they are as stilT 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 tiiere is a degree of " hide-bound" appearance, and ot tucking up of the belly, which is seen under no other complaint. The tail becomes in constant motion from the alternate and violent action of the muscles that elevate and depress it. Constipation, and to an almost insurmountable degree, now appears. The abdo- minal 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. Tlie 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 expression •:an 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 then is evidently an affection of the nerves. A small fibre of some nerve has been injured, and the effect of that injury has spread to the origin of the nerve — the brain then becomes affected — and universal diseased action follows. Tetanus is spasm of the whole frame — not merely of one set of muscles, but of their antagonists also. The fixidity of the animal is the effect of opposed and violent muscular con- traction. It belongs to tho lower column of nerves only. The sensibility is unim- paired— perhaps it is heightened. The horse would eat if he could ; he tries to suck up some moisture from liis mash ; and the avidity with which he lends himself to assist in the administering of a little gruel, shows that the feelings of hunger and thirst remain unimpaired. If the disease terminates fatally, it is usually from the sixth to the eighth day, when, if there has been no remission of the spasms, or only a slight one, the horse dies exhausted by hard work. Tlie task extorted by the whip and spur of the most brutal sportsman is not to be compared with it. About or a little before this time, there are occasionally evident remissions. The spasm does not quite subside, but its force is materially lessened. Tho jaw is not sufficiently relaxed to enable the animal to eat or to drink, or for advantage to be taken of an opportunity for the administration of medicine, while the slightest dis- turbance or fright, recalls the spasmodic action with all its violence. If, however, the remission returns on the following day, and is a little lengthened, and particularly if there is more relaxation of the lower jaw, there yet is hope. If the patient should recover, it will be very slowly, and he will be lei't sadly weak, and a mere walking skeleton. On posi-morlem examination the inuscular fibre will exhibit sufficient proof of the labour which has been exacted from it. The muscles will appear as if they had l)een macerated — their texture will be softened, and tliey will be torn with the greatest ease. The lunirs will, in the majority of cases, be higlily iufiaincl, for they liave been labouring long and painfully, to furnish arterial blood in sufficient quantitv to support this great expenditure of animal power. The stomach will oimtain patches TETANUS, OR LOCKET JAW. IQ. of inflammation, but tlie intestines, in most cases, wid not exhibit much departure from the hue of health. The examination of the brain will be altogether unsatisfac- tory. 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 is usually the result of the injury of some nervous fibre, and the effect of that lesion propagated to the brain. The foot is the most frequent source or focus of tetanic injury. It has been pricked in shoeing, or wounded by something on the road. The horse becomes lame — the injury is carelessly treated, or not treated at all — the lameness, however, disappears, but the wound has not healed. There is aa unhealthiness about it, and at the expiration of eight or ten days, tetanus appears. Some ner\'ous fibre has been irritated or inflamed by the accident, slight as it was. Docking and nicking, especially when the stump was seared too severely in the former, or the bandage had not been loosened suflicicntly early in the latter, used to be frequent causes of tetanus. It is frequently connected with castration, when the colt had not been properly prepared for the operation, or the searing-iron has been applied too severely, or the animal has been [)ut to work too soon after the operation, or exposed to unusual cold. The records of veterinary proceedings contain accounts of tetanus following labour, brutally exacted beyond tlie animal's natural strength, in the draught of heavy loads. Horses ihat have been matched against time have too frequently died of tetanus a little while afterwards. vSudden exposure to cold after being heated by exercise has produced this dreadful state of nervous action, and especially if the horse has stood in a partial draught, or cold water has been dripping on the loins. The treatment of tetanus is simple, and would be oftener successful if carried to its full extent. The indication of cure is plain enough — the sysitm inusl be iranqiiilllzed. The grand agent in accomplishing this is the copious abstraction of blood. There is not a more powerful sedative in cases of muscular spasm than venesection. A double purpose is efl^ected. The determination of blood to the origins of the nerves, and by which they were enabled to secrete and to pour out this torrent of nervous influence. is lessened. The supply of blood to the muscular system is also diminished. The pabulum of the nervous and muscular system — the life of both of them — the caoability of acting in the one, and of beifig acted upon by the other, is taken away. The pro- per course to be pursued, whether theory or experience be consulted, is, on the first access of tetanus, to bleed, and to bleed until the horse falters or falls. No attention should be paid to any specific quantity of blood to be abstracted, but the animal should bleed on until he drops, or the pulse evidently falters. Twenty pounds have been taken before the object of the practitioner was accomplished, but he never had occa- sion to repent of the course which he pursued. Inflammatorj^ action like this must lie subdued by the promptest and most efficient means ; and there is one unerring p-uide — the pulse. While that remains firm, the bleeding should continue. The practi- • tioner is attacking the disease, and not in the slightest degree hazarding the permanent strength of the patient. Next in order, and equal in importance, is physic. The profuse bleeding just recommended will generall)' relax the muscles of the jaw so far as to enable a dose of physic to be given. Eight or ten drachms of aloes should be administered. If the remission of the spasm is slight, there is another purgative — not so certain in its action, but more powerful wlien it does act — the farina of the Croton nut. There is little or no danger of exciting inflammation of the mucous membrane of the intestines by this prompt and energetic administration of purgative medicine, for there is too much determination of vital power towards the nervous system — too much irritation there — to leave cause for dreading the possibility of metastasis elsewhere. It would be desirable if a certain degree of inflammation could be excited, because to that extent the irritation of the nervous system might be allayed. There is another reason, and a very powerful one — time is rapidly passing. The tetanic action may extend to the intestines, and the co-o])eration of the abdominal muscles in keeping up the peri- staltic motion of the bowels, and expelling their contents, may be lost. Clysters will be useful in assisting the action of the purgative. A solution of Epsom salts will constitute the safest and best injection. As to medicine, opium is o 106 CRAMP. not only a valualjle 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. Blisters are completely out of the question in a disease the very essence of whicr. is nervous irritability. The application of sheep-skins warm from the animal, and applied along the whole course of the spine, may somewhat unload the congested vessels of the part, and diminish the sutferings of the animal. Tliey should be renewed as soon as they become oflensive, and the patient should be covered from the poll to the tuil with double or treble clothing. There is one kind of external application that has not been so much used, or so highly valued as it deserves, — gentle friction with the hand over the course of the spine, beginning with the slightest possible pressure and never increasing it much. The horse is a little frighiened at first, but he soon gets reconciled to it, and when at the same time an opiate liniment is used, relief has been obtained to a very m-.irked degree. One thing should not be forgotten, namely, that a horse with locked jaw is as hungry as when in health, and every possible contrivance should be adopted to I'urnish him with that nutriment which will support him under his torture, and possibly enable him to weatlier the storm. If a pail of good gruel is placed within his reach, how will he nuzzle in it, and contrive to drink some of it too ! If a thoroughly wet mash is placed before him in a pail, he will bury his nose in it, and manage to extract no small portion of nutriment. By means of a small horn, or a bottle with a very narrow neck, it will often be possible to give him a small quantity of gruel ; but the flexible pipe that accompanies Head's patent pump will render this of easier accomplishment, for the nutriment may be administered without elevating the head of the horse, or inflicting on him the extreme torture which used to accompany the act of drenching. If the jaw is ever so closely clenched, the pipe maybe introduced between the tushes and the grinders, and carried tolerably far back into the mouth, and any quantity of gruel or medicine introduced into the stomach. It will also be good practice to let a small portion of food be in the manger. The horse will not at first be able to take up the slightest quantity, but he will attempt to do so. Small portions may be placed between his grinders, and they will presently drop from his mouth, scarcely or at all masticated : hut some good will be done — there is the attempt to put the muscles of the jaw to their proper use. On the follow- ing day he will succeed a little better, and make some trifling advance towards break- ing the chain of spasmodic action. Experience will teach tlie careful groom the value of these minutise of practice; and the successful termination of many a case may be traced to tlie careful nursing of the patient. When the horse is getting decidedly better, and the weather will permit, there can be no better practice tlian to turn him out for a few hours in the middle of the day. His toddling about will regain to him the use of his limbs ; the attempt to stoop in order to graze will diminish the spasm in his neck ; tlie act of grazing will relax the muscles of the jaws ; and he can have no better food than the fresh grass. CRAMP. This is a sudden, involuntary and painful spasm of a particular muscle or set of muscles. It dilTers from tetanus in its shorter duration, and in its occasionally attack- ing the muscles of organic life. It may be termed a species of transitorv tetanus, affecting mostly the hind extremities. It is generally observed when the horse is first brought out of the stable, and especially if he lias been hardly worked. One of the legs appears stiif, inflexible, and is, to a slight degree, dragged after the animal. After he has jiroceeded a few steps, the stiffness nearly or quite disappears, or only a slight degree of lameness remains during the gTeater part of the day. Cramp proceeds from an accumulation of irritability in the muscles of the exten- sors, and is a sudden spasmodic action of them in order to balance the power whicV their antagonists have gained over them during the niffht. If a certain degree of lameness remains, the attendant on the horse sliouhl eiulea- vour to find out the muscle cliiefly affi-cted, which he may easily do by a feelinij of hardness, or an expression of jjain, when he presses on the extensors of the hock STRINGHALT. 107 somewhat above that joint. He should then give plenty of good hand-rubbin;^, or a little more attention to the grooming generally, or a wider or more comfortable stall, as the circumstances of the case may appear to require. 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 oft" 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. There is an accumula- tion of excitability in the nmscle, and the impulse which should have called it into natural and moderate action causes it to take on a spasmodic and, perhaps, a painful one. Many ingenious but contradictory theories liave been advanced in order to account for this peculiarity of gait. What muscles are concerned ] Clearly those by which the thigh is brought under the belly, and the hock is Hexed, and the pasterns are first flexed, and then extended. But by which of them is tlie effect principally produced ] What muscle, or, more properly, what nerve is concerned I Instead of entering into any useless controversy on this point, a case shall be related, and one of the most interesting there is on record : the author was personally cognisant of every particular. Guildford, first called Roundhead, and then Landlord, was foaled in 182G. He was got by Hampden out of a Sir Harry Dimsdale mare. In 1828, and being two years old, and the property of the Duke of Richmond, he won a 50/. plate at Good wood. In 18"21}, and belonging to Lord W. Lennox, he won 55 guineas at Hampton. Being then transferred to Mr. Coleman, he won 50 guineas at Guildford ; and in the same year, having been purchased by Mr. Pearce, he won GO guineas at Basing- stoke. In the course of this year stringhalt began to appear in a slight degree, and it evi- dently, although slowly, increased. There soon began to be a little difficulty in get- ting him otf ; but when he had once started, neither his speed nor iris stoutness ap- peared to be in the slightest degree impaired. He continued on the turf until ISSG, and won for his different owners seventeen races, the produce of which, exclusive of bets, amounted to 1435/. The difficulty and loss of advantage in starting had now increased to a degree which rendered it prudent to withdraw him from the turf, and he came into the pos- session of Dockeray, who used him for the purpose of leadino- the young horses that he had under training. This is well known to be hard work, and his rider was a man of some weight. In addition to this, he was generally hunted twice in the week. His first starting into a gallop had something singular about it. It was a horrible kind of convulsive action, and so violent that he frequently knocked off" his shoes on the very day that they were put on : but when he got a little warmed, all this disap- peared. He gallopped beautifully, and was a very sure fencer. The sport, however, being over, and he returning to a slow pace, the stringhalt was as bad as ever. A" length the old horse became artful, and it was with great difficulty that he could be made to lead. Sometimes he refused it altogether. In consequence of this he was sent to St. Martin's Lane, to be sold. The highest bidding for him was 3/. 1 Is., and the hero of the turf and the field was doomed to the omnibus. There he was cruelly used, and this spasmodic convulsion of his hind legs sadly aggravated his torture. The skin was presently rubbed from his shoulders, his hips and haunches were bruised in every part, and his stifles were continually and painfully coming in contact with the pole. In this situation he was seen by the veterinary surgeon to " The Society for the Pre- vention of Cruelty to Animals." There is a fund at the disposal of that society for tiie purchase of worn-out horses, who are immediately released from their misery by 108 STRINGHALT. the pole-axe of tlie knacker. The horse was bought for this purpose, another and laudable motive influencing the purchase, — the wish to ascertain what light the dis- section of an animal that had had stringhalt to such an aggravated extent, and for so long a period, would cast on the nature of this disease. The author of this work saw hi;n a little while before he was slaughtered. He was still a noble-looking animal, and seemed to possess all his former strength and spirit unimpaired ; hut he was sadly scaiTed all over, in consequence of his being put to a kind of work for which his spasmodic complaint so entirely incapacitated him. So aggravated a case of siringhall had rarely been seen. Both hind legs were afiected, and both in an equal degree; and the belly was forcibly struck by the pastern joints every time the hind feet were lifted. The belly and the pastern joint were both de- nuded of hair, in consequence of this constant battering. He was destroyed by the injection of prussic acid into the jugular vein, and the dissection of him was conducted by Professor Spooncr, of the IJoyal Veterinary Col- lege. On taking off the skin, all the muscles presented their perfect healthy character. There was not the slightest enlargenunt or discolouration of the fascia'. The mus- cles of both extremities were dissected from their origins to their tendinous termina- tions, and their fibrous structure carefully examined. They were all beautifully de- veloped, presenting no inequality or irregularity of structure, nor aught that would warrant the suspicion that any one of them possessed an undue power or influence beyond the others. The only abnormal circumstance about them was that they were of a rather darker yellow in colour than is usually found. This referred to them gen- eralh', and not to any particular muscle or sets of muscles. The lumbar, crural, and sciatic nerves were examined from the spot at which they emerge from the spinal cord to their ultimate distributions. The crural and lumbar nerves were perfectl}^ healthy. The sciatic nerve, at the aperture through which it escapes from the spine, was darker in colour than is usual, being of a yellowish- brown hue. Its texture was softened, and its fibrillar somewhat loosely connected together. The nerve was of its usual size; but on tracing it in its course through the muscles of the haunch, several spots of ecchymosis presented themselves, and were more particularly marked on that part of the nerve which is connected v\ ith the sacro-sciatic ligament. x\s the nerve approached the hock, it assumed its natural colour and tone ; and the fibres given off i'rom it to the muscles situated inferior to the stifle-joint were of a perfectly healthy character. On dissecting out a portion of the nerve where it appeared to be in a diseased state, it was found that this ecchymosis was confined to the membranous investiture of the nerve, and that its substance, when pressed from its sheath, presented a perfectly natural character. The cavity of the cranium, and the whole extent of the spinal canal, were next laid open. The brain and the spinal marrow were deprived of their membranous cover- ings, and both the theca; and their contents diligently examined. There was no lesion in any part of them, not twen at the lumbar region. The articulations of every joint of the hind extremities, then underwent inspection, and no disease could be detected in either of them. Professor Spooner was cf opinion that this peculiar affection was not referriblo to any diseased state of the brain or spinal cord, nor to any local afti ction of the mus- cles of the limbs, but simply to a morlud afiection of the sciatic nerve. He had not dissected a single case of stringhalt in wliich he had not found disease of this nerve, which mainly contributes to supply the hind extremities with sensation and the power of voluntary motion. Now comes a very important question. What connexion is there between string- halt and the supposed value or deterioration of the horse 1 Some experienced prac- titioners have maintained that it is a pledge of more than usual niu?cular power. It is a common saying that "there never was a horse with stringhalt that was incapa- ble of doing the work required of liim." Most certainly we continually meet with horses having strinsihalt that pleasantly discharge all ordinary, and even extraordi- nary, service; and although stringhalt is excess or irregular distril iition of nervous power, ii at least shows the existence of that power, and the capability in the inu»»' PALSY. 109 cular system of being acted upon by it. Irregular distributions of vital energy are not, however, things to be desired. They argue disease and derangement of the sys- tem, and a predisposition to greater derangement. They materially interfere with the speed of the horse. This was decidedly the case with regard to the poor fellow whose history has been related. Stringhalt is decided unsoundness. It is an irregular supply of the nervous influ- ence, or a diseased state of the nervous or muscular system, or both. It prevents us from suddenly and at once calling upon the horse for the full exercise of his speed and power, and therefore it is unsoundness ; but generally speaking, it so little inter- feres 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 twitching of some muscle 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 constant. During live or six minutes the spasms were most violent, so that the horse was scarcely able to stand. The convulsions then became weaker, the inter- val between them increased, and at length they disappeared, leaving a slight but tem- porary lameness. All means of cure were fruitlessly tried, and the disease continued until the horse died of some other complaint. In 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 consid arable. This is the theory of Fits, or Epilepsy. Fortunately the horse is not often afflicted with this disease, although it is not unknown to the breeder. The attack is 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 convulsions cease ; he gets up ; looks around him with a kind of stupid 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 expe- rienced practitioner must be consulted, if the animal is valuable. Generally 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 epilep- tic horse. PALSY. The stream of nervous influence is sometimes stopped, and thence results palsy. The power of the muscle is unimpaired, bi-it the nervous energy is deficient. In tlie human being, general palsy sometimes occurs. The whole bod}'^ — every organ of motion and of sense is paralysed. The records of our practice, however, do not afford us a single instance of this ; but of partial paralysis there are several cases, and most untractable ones they were. The cause of tliem may be altogether unknown. In the human being there is yet another distinction. Hemiplegia and Paraplegia. In the former the affection is confined to one side of the patient; in the latter the poste- rior extremity on both sides is affected. Few cases of hemiplecria occur in the horse, and they are more manageable than those of paraplegia; but if the affection is not removed, they usually degenerate into paraplegia before the death of the animal. I; would appear singular that this should be the most common form of palsy in the human being, and so rarely seen in the quadruped. There are some considerations, however, that will partly account for this. Palsy in the horse usually proceeds from injury of the spinal cord; and that cord is more developed, and far larger than in the human being. It is more exposed to injury, and to injury thr.t will affect not one side "jttiV but the whole of the cord. 10 no RHEUMATISM. Palsy in the horse generally attacks th£ hind extremities. The reason of this is plain. The fore limbs are attached to the trunk by a dense mass of highly elastic substance. This was placed between the shoulder-blade and the ribs for the purpose of preventing- that concussion, which would be annoying and even dangerous to the horse or his rider. Except in consequence of a fall, there is scarcely the possibility of any serious injury to the anterior portion of the spine. The case is very different with regard to the hind limbs and their attachment to the trunk; they are necessa- rily liable to many a shock and sprain injurious to the spine and its contents. The loins and the back oftcnest exhibit the lesions of palsy, because 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 practitioner 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 and wet. It commences generally in one hind leg, or perhaps both are equally affected. The animal can scarcely walk — he walks on his fetlocks instead of his soles — he staggers at every motion. At length he falls. He is raised with difficulty, or he never rises again. The sensibility of the part seems for a while to be dreadfully increased ; but, in general, this gradually subsides — it sinks below the usual 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 medul- lary matter will be found of a yellow colour, or injected with spots of blood, or it will be softened, and have become semifluid. Tlie treatment is simple enough. It should commence with bleeding, and, as has been already recommended in inflammatory cases, until the circulation is evidently affected — until the pulse begins to falter or the horse to reel. To this should follow a dose of physic — strong compared with the size of the animal. The loins should be covered with a mustard poultice frequently renewed. The patient should be warmly clothed, supplied plentifully with mashes, but without a grain of corn in them ; and frequent injections should be had recourse to. This will soon render it evident whether the patient will recover or die. If favourable symptoms appear, the horse must not be in the slightest degree neglected, nor the medical treatment suspended. There is no disease in which the animal is more liable to a relapse, or where a relapse would be so fatal. No misapprehension of the disease, or false humanity, should induce the attendant to give the smallest quantity of corn or of tonic medicine. Palsy in the horse is an inflammatory complaint, or the result of inflammation. If the heat and tenderness are abating, and the animal regains, to a slight degree, the 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 principle 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 sliohtest portion of its weioht on the, limb, or even to toucli tbe groimd with his toe. He is heaving at the flanks, sweat- ing profusely, 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 fascia; of the muscles become thickened — the ligaments are also thickened and rigid — the capsules of the joint are loaded M-ith a glairy fluid, and the joint is evidently enlaroed. This is simply rheumatism; but if it is neglected, palsy soon associates itself with, or suc- ceeds to, the complaint; and the loss of nervous power follows the diflSculty or pain of moving. NEUROTOMY. Ill Every horseman will recollect cases in which the animal that seemed on the pie- cedinff 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 sliow the seat of the complaint. Mr. Cooper, of Coleshill, relates a case very a])plicahle to tlie present subject. A farmer purchased a horse, to all appearance sound, and rode him home — a distance of ten miles. He was worked on tiie two following days, without showing the least lameness. On the third day it was with great ditiiculty that he managed to limp out of the stable. Mr. Cooper was sent for to examine him. The horse had clean legs and excellent feet. The owner would have him blistered all around. It was done. The horse was turned out to grass for two months, and came up perfectly sound. The weather soon afterwards became wet and cold, and the horse again was lame ; in fact, it presently appeared that the disease was entirely influenced by the changes of the atmosphere. "Thus," adds Mr. C, "in the summer a horse of this description will be mostly sound, while in the winter he will be generally lame." An account of acute rheumatism, by Mr. Thompson, of 13eith, is too valuable to be omitted : — " I have had," says he, " fourteen cases of this disease. The muscles of the shoulders and arms were generally the parts atfeeted. The cure was effected in a few days, and consisted of a good bleeding from the jugular, and a sharp purge. " One of these cases was uncommonly severe. The disease was in the back and loins. The horse brought forward his hind-legs under his flanks, roached his back, and drew up his flanks with a convulsive twitch accompanied by a piteous groan, almost every five minutes. The sympathetic fever was alarming, the pulse was 90, and there was obstinate constipation of the bowels. The horse literally roared aloud if any one attempted to shift him in the stall, and groaned excessivel)^ when lying. He was bled almost to fainting ; and three moderate doses of aloes were given in the course of two days. Injections v/ere administered, and warm fomentations were frequently applied to the l)ack and loins. On the third day the physic operated briskly, accompanied by considerable nausea and reduction of the pulse. From that time the animal gradually recovered "These horses are well fed, and always in good condition; but they are at times worked without mercy, which perhaps makes them so liable to these attacks." NEUROTOMY. To enable the horse to accomplish many of the tasks we exact from him, we have nailed on his feet an iron defence. Without the protection of the shoe, he would not only be unable to travel over our hard roads, but he would speedily become useless to us. While, however, the iron protects his feet from being battered and bruised, it is necessarily inflexible. It cramps and confines the hoof, and often, without great care, entails on our valuable servant bad disease and excessive torture. The division of the nerve, as a remedy for intense pain in any part of the frame, was S3'^stematically practised by human surgeons more than a century ago. Mr. Moorecroft has the honour of introducing the operation of neurotomy in the veterinary school. He had long devoted his powerful energies to the discovery of the causes and the cure of lameness in the fore-foot of the horse. It was a subject worthy of him, for it involved the interest of the proprietor and the comfort of the slave. He found that, partly from the faulty construction of the shoe, and more from the premature and cruel exaction of labour, the horse v.as subject to a variety of diseases of the foot: all of them accompanied by a greater or less degree of pain — often of a very intense nature, and ceasing only with the life of the animal. He frequently met with a strangely formidable disease, in what was called "coffin- joint lameness," but to which Mr. James Turner afterwards gave the very appropriate name of "navicular-joint disease." It was inflammation of the synovial membrane, either of the flexor tendon or navicular bone, or both, where the tendon plays over that bone ; and it was accompanied hy pain, abrasion, and gradual destruction of these parts. For a long time he was foiled in every attempt which he made to remove or even to alleviate the disease. At length he turned his thoughts to the probability of sub 112 NEUROTOMY. duing the increased sensibility of the part, by diminishing the proportion of nervous influence distributed on the foot. He laid bare one of the metacarpal nerves, and divided it -with a pair of scissors. There was always an immediate and decided diminution of the lameness, and, sometimes, the horse rose perfectly sound. This happy result, however, was not always permanent, for the lameness returned after the lapse of a few weeks, or on nmch active exertion. He next cut out a small piece of the nerve. The freedom from lameness was of longer duration, but it eventually returned. He then tried a bolder experiment. He excised a portion of the nerves going both to the inner and outer metacarpals. We transcribe his own account of the result of the first case of complete neurotomy — excision of the nerve on both sides of the leg — that ever was performed. " The animal, on rising, trotted boldly and without lameness, but now and then stumbled with the foot operated on. l"he wounds healed in a few days, and the patient was put to grass. Some weeks afterwards a favourable account was received of her soundness ; but she was soon brought again to us, on account of a large sore on the bottom of the foot operated on, and extending from the point of the frog to the middle and back part of the pastern. The mare, in galloping over some broken glass bottles, had placed her foot upon a fragment of the bottom of one of them, and which had cut its way through the frog and tendon into the joint, and stuck fast in the joint for some seconds, while the animal continued its course apparently n^frardless of injury. The wound bled profusely, hut the mare was not lame. I\iany days had elapsed before I saw her, and large masses of loose flesh were cut from the edges of the wound, without the animal showing the slightest sign cf sufi'cring pain. The processes usually attending sores went on, with the same appearances that took place in sores of parts not deprived of sensibility. Such extensive injury, however, had been done to the joint as rendered the preservation of free motion in it very impro- bable, even were the opening to close, which was a matter of doubt, and therefore she was destroyed. It appeared clearly IVcm this, that by ike destruction redisposition in it to Inflammation, the nature or cause of which cannot always be explained. Every afiection of the eye appearing about this age must be regarded with much suspicion. It is a common ojdnion that black horses are more subject to blindness than others. There is considerable doubt about this, or rather it is probable that that colour has no influence either in producing or aggravating the disease. As this malady so frequently destroys the sight, and there are certain periods when the inflannnation has seemingly subsided and the inexperienced person would be deceived into the belief that all danger is at an end, the eye should be most carefully observed at the time of purchase, and the examiner should be fully aware of all the minute indications of previous or approaching disease. They are a slight thickening of the lids, or puckerimi towards the inner corner of the eye; a differei:ce in the apparent size of tlie eyes; a cloudiness, although jxrhaps scarcely perceptible, of the surface of the cornea, or more deeply sealed, or a hazj' circle round its edge; a gloominess of eye generally, and dulncss of the iris; or a minute, faint, dusky spot in the cen- tre, with or without minute fibres or lines diverging from it. The cause of this inflammation is undoulitedly a strong predisposition to it in the eye of the horse, but assist(-d by the heated and empoisonid air of niany stables. The heated air has much to do \\ ilh the production of the disease; the empois(inrd air a great deal more: for every one must haA'e obseived, on entering a close stable early in the morning, str^nu" liimes of hartshorn whicli were iiainful to his eyes and caused the tears to flow. What must be the constant action of this on the eyes of the horse 1 The dwng of the horse, and the litter of the stables, when becoming prlnd, emit \ SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA. 119 'umes of volatile alkali or hartshorn. Often, very soon after they are voided, they oegin to yield an immense quantity of this pungent gas. If we are scarcely able to bear this when we stand in the stable for only a few minutes, we need not wonder ai ihe prevalence of inilammation in the eye of the stabled horse, nor at the difficulty oi abating inflammation while this organ continues to be exposed to such painful excite- ment. Stables are now much better ventilated than they used to be, and ophthalmia is far from being so prevalent as it was fifty years ago. The farmer may not be aware of another cause of blindness, to which his horse is more particularly exposed, viz., confinement in a dark stable. Many stables in the country have no glazed windows, but there is a flap which is open for a few hours in 'he day, or while the carter is employed in the stable, and when that is shut down almost total darkness prevails. Let our reader consider what are his sensations when be suddenly emerges from a dark room into the full glare of light. He is dazzled and bewildered, and some time passes before his vision is distinct. Let this be repeated several times daily, and what will be the consequence'? The sight will be disordered, or the eye irreparably injured. Then let him think of his poor horse, who often stumbles and starts through no fault of his own, although he is corrected for his blundering, but because his eyes are necessarily weakened by these sudden transitions, and disposed to take on sudden inflammation with all its fatal results. The propagation of various diseases, and this more than any other, from the sire to his progeny, has not been sufficiently considered by breeders. Let, a stallion that is blind, or whose sight is defective, possess every other point and quality that can be wished, yet he is worse than useless ; for a very considerable proportion of his off- spring will most assuredly inherit weak eyes or become totally blind. There is no fact better established than this. Mr. Baker of Reigate puts this in a very strong point of view. He was called upon to examine a foal only a few days old, which seemed to have some affection of the head, as from its birth it was totally unconscious of any object, although it ap- peared to the owner to have good eyes. It ran its head against the wall and the standers by, in such a way as to convince the surgeon that it was quite blind, and on examining the pupil of each eye, he found them greatly dilated and motionless, hut beyond this there was no unhealthy appearance. He inquired about the sire, and found that his vision was very defective, and thai of all the stock which he got in that part of the country not one colt escaped the divf - ful effects of his imperfect sight. He persuaded the owner to have the youngstei destroyed, and in tracing the optic nerve in its passage from the base of the brain, h;^ found it in a complete state of atrophy. There was scarcely any nervous substanc2 within the tube that led from the brain to the eye. 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 will nearly regain its perfect transparency, but only to lose it, and as rapidly, a second time. The most harbarous methods have been resorted to for the purpose of removing this cloudiness. Chalk, and salt, and sugar, and even pounded glass have been introduced into the eye mechanically to rub off the film. It was forgotten that the cloudiness was the effect of inflammation — that means so harsh and cruel were very likelv to recall that inflammation — that these rough and sharp substances must of neces'sitv inflict excruciating pain ; and that, after all, it generally was not a film on the surface of the cornea, but a dimness pervading its substance, and even sinking deep within it, and therefore not capable of being removed. Where the cloudiness can bo remov- ed, it will be best effected by first abating inflammation, and then exciting the absorb ents to take up the grey deposit, by washing the eye with a very weak solution of corrosive sublimate. Opacity of the lens is another consequence of inflammation. A white speck ap- pears on the centre of the lens, which gradually spreads over it, and completely cov- ers ii. 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 profes- sional men. We have seen many instances in which the sight has been considerably 120 SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA. •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 greyish hue conceals the recent or thin film tliat may be spreading over the lens. Confirmed cataract in the eye of the horse admits of no remedy, for two obvious reasons : the retractor muscle draws the eye back so powerfully and so deeply into the socket, that it would be almost impossible to perform any operation ; and, could an operation be performed, and the opaque lens removed, the sight would be so imperfect, from the rays of light not being sufficiently converged, that the horse would be worse to us than a blind one. The man who has undergone the operation of couching may put a new lens before his eye, in the form of a convex spectacle ; but we cannot adapt spectacles to the eye of the horse, or fix them there. Since the publication of the first edition of "The Horse," some controversy has taken place with regard to the occasional appearance and disappearance of cataract without any connexion with the common moon-blindness. Mr. Clay deposed in evi- dence, that cataracts might be formed in a fortnight or three weeks — that he had known many instances in which they had been completed in less time, and without any previous apparent disease of the ey?'S ; and that be had detected them when the owners had not the slightest suspicion of disease in the eye.* Mr. Cartwright adds, that he has known two sirrii-.r cases. The first was of a horse that had two cataracts in each eye — two of thcui of the size of a large pin's head, and the other two treble that size. There was no vestige of former intVamma- tion; and the person who bred him said tliat he never had been subject to inflamma- tion of the eye. In December 1831, these cataracts were plain enough; but in the autumn of 1832, they had completely vanished. In November 1832, Mr. Cartwright saw a five-years old mare, and detected a cata- ract in the right eye, of the size of a coriander seed. He advised the owner to get rid of her, thinking that she would go blind ; but, being a useful animal, lie kept lier. In August 1833, Mr. Cartwright saw her again. The cataract had disappeared and the eyes were perfect-f That excellent veterinarian, Mr. Percivall, had a somewhat similar case. A gen- tleman brought a horse one morning to the hospital, in consequence of its having fallen in his way to town, and grazed his eyebrow. On examining him carefully, the cornea was partially nebulous, and a cataract was plainly visible. Neither of these defects was sufficient to attract the notice of any un])rofessional observer, and both were unconnected with the slight bruise produced by the fall. The owner was told that the corneal opacity might possibly be removed ; but as for the cataract, he rniglit regard this as beyond the reach of medicine. He returned with his horse on the fifth day, saying that the physic had operated well, and that he thought the eye was as clear as ever. Mr. Percivall examined the eye, and could discover no relic either of the corneal opacity or of the cataract. The opinion respecting cataract is therefore essentially modified. It is not necessa- rily the result of previous inflammation, althouo;h in the great majoritj' of cases it is so, nor does it always lead to blindness. Still it is a serious thing at all times, and, although existing in the minutest degree, it is unsoundness, and very materially lessens the value of the horse. "Were I asked," says Mr. Percivall, " how the practitioner could best distinguish a cataract of the above description from that which is of ordinary occurrence, and known by us all to constitute the common termination of periodical opiithalmia, I should say that the unusually lucid and healthy aspect which every other part of the eye presents is our best diagnostic sirfn ; the slightest indication, however, or the slightest suspicion of prior or ])resent inflammation, being a reason for cominij to vi dilTerent conclusion. As to the period of time a catanict of this sproies, supposing it to be membranous, would require for its formation, I should apprehend that its production might be, as its disappearance often would seem to be, the work of a very short inter- val, perhaps not more than five or six days." As to the cause and treatment of it, * Veterinarian, vol. vii. p. 41. t Veterinarian, vol. vii. p. 44. GUTTA SERENA — DISEASES OF THE EAR. 121 we are at present completely in the dark. If it does not soon disappear, the hydriodate of potash administered internally might offer the best prospect of success. GUTTA SERENA. Another species of blindness, and of which mention was made when describing the retina, is Gutta Serena, commonl}'- called glass ei/e. The pupil is more than usually dilated : it is immovable, 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. We have described it as a consequence of staggers. Ho much pressure has been occasioned on the base of the brain, that the nerve has been injured, and Us func- tion destroyed. The treatment of Gutta Serena is quite as ditucult 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 endeavouring to accomplish impossibilities. Reasoning i'rom the cause of the disease, we should bleed and physic, and administer the strychnine in doses, commencing at half a grain, and not exceeding two grain*?, mornincr and night — very carefully watching it. If we succeed, it must be by constitutional treat- ment. As to local treatment, the seat of disease is out of our reach. DISEASES OF THE EAR. Wounds of the ear are usually the consequence of careless or brutal treatment. The twitch may be applied to it, when absolute necessity requires this degree of coercion ; but troublesome ulcers and bruises have been the consequence of the abuse of this species of punishment, and more especially has the farrier done irreparable mischief when he has brutally made use of his plyers. These bruises or wounds will generally — fortunately for the animal, and fortu- nately, perhaps, for the brute that inflicted the injury — speedily heal ; but occasionally sinuses and abscesses will result that bid defiance to the most skilful treatment. A simple laceration of the cartilage is easily remedied. The divided edges are brought into apposition, and the head is tied up closely for a few days, and all is well ; but, occasionally, ulceration of the integument and cellular substance, and caries of the cartilage, will take place — deep sinuses will be fonned, and the wound will bid defi- ance to the most skilful treatment. The writer of this work had once a case of this kind under his care more than two months, and he was at length compelled to cut off the ear, the other ear following it, for the sake of uniformity of appearance. The lunar caustic, or the muriate of antimony, or the heated iron, must be early employed, or the labour of the practitioner will be in vain* It has been the misfortune of the same person to witness two cases in wliich the auditory passage was closed and the faculty of hearing destroyed, by blows on the ear violently inflicted. No punishment can be too severe for these brutes in human shape. Whenever there is considerable swelling about the root of the ear, and tlie fluctuation of a fluid within can be detected, it should be immediately opened with a lancet, and the purulent fluid liberated. The abscess usually begins to fonn about the middle of the conch, or rather nearer the base than the point. The incision should be of considerable length, or the openintr will close aorain in four-and-twenty hours. The purulent matter having been evacu- ated, the incision should not be permitted to close until the parietes of the ulcer have adhered to each other, and the abscess is obliterated. The size and the carrying of the ear do not always please. The ears may be largei and more dependent than fashion requires them to be, and this is remedied by paring or clipping them to the requisite, size. On either side of the projection of the occipital bone, and in a straight line forward and backward, a fold of the skin is pinched up and cut away. The divided edges on cither side are then brought too-ether, and con- fined by two or three stitches — they presently unite, and .the owner has a better- looking horse, and soon forgets or cares not about the punishment which he has inflicted on him. The ears of other horses may be supposed to be too close to each other. This fault IS corrected by another piece of cruelty. Similar slips of skin are cut away on the outside of the base of the ear, and in the same direction. Tire edges of the woim»i 11 Q 122 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF are then brought together, confined by sutures, and the ears are drawn further apart from each other, and have dift'erent directions given to them. A very slight examina- tion 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 attributable to their imperfect hearing. It occasionally appears to follow the decline of various dis- eases, and especially of those that affect the head and the respiratory passages. It has been tlie consequence of brutal treatment closing the conduit of the ear, or rup- turing the tympanum ; and it is certainly, as in other domesticated animals, the accompaniment of old age. In the present stale of veterinary knowledge, it is an incurable complaint ; the only thing that can be done is not to punish the poor slave for his apparent stupidity, pro- duced perhaps by over-exertion in our service, or, at least, the natural attendant of the close of a life devoted to us. CHAPTER IV. THE ANATOMY AND 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, p. 70, and a, p. 72), are connected with the frontal bones above, and with the lacrymal, i i, and the bones of the upper jaw, / /, on either side. They are united together by a plain suture, which is a continuation of the frontal, and they terminate in a point at the nostril (p, p. 70). 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 hones form a principal part of the face ; and the length, or shortness, and the character of the face, depend upon them. Sometimes tiiere 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 com- paratively broad head and face. The single elevated arch is found in the long and narrow face of the heavy draught-horse. The nasal bones pursue their course down the face, in some horses in a straight line — in others, there is a slight prominence towards the upper part, while in a con- siderable number, a depression is observed a little lower down. Some persons have imagined that this deviation in the line of the face affords an indication of the temper of the animal, and there inay be a little truth in this. The horse witli a straiobt pro- file may be good or bad tempered, but not often either to any great excess. The one with the prominent Roman nose will generally be an easy, en 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, GLANDERS. X35 and no bad consequence has followed ; but others have been speedily infected. Tho glanderous matter must come in contact with a wound, or fall on some membrane, thin and delicate, like that of the nose, and throuofh which it may be absorbed. It is easy, then, accustomed as horses are to be crowded together, and to recognise 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 snort- ing. 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 unre- cognised 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 permitted to work on any road, or even to pasture on any field. Mischief may be so easily and exten- sively effected, that the public interest demands that every infected animal should be summarily destroyed, or given over for experiment to a veterinary surgeon, or recog- nised veterinary establishment. There are a few instances of the spontaneous cure of chronic glanders. The dis- charge has existed for a considerable time. At length it has gradually diminished, and has ceased ; and this has occurred under every kind of treatment, and without any medical treatment : but in the majority of these supposed cases, the matter was only pent up for a while, and then, bursting from its confinement, it flowed again in double quantity : or, if glanders have not re-appeared, the horse, in eighteen or twenty- four months, has become farcied, or consumptive, and died. These supposed cures are few and far between, and are to be regarded with much suspicion. As for medicine, there is scarcely a drug to which a fair trial has not been given, and many of them have had a temporary reputation; but they have passed away, one after the other, and are no longer heard of. The blue vitriol and the Spanish-fly have held out longest; and in a ft'w cases, either nature or these medicines have done wonders, but in the majority of instances they have palpably failed. The diniodide of copper has lately acquired some reputation. It lias been of great service in cases of farcy, but it is not to be depended upon in glanders. Where the life of a valuable horse is at stake, and the owner adopts every precau- tion to prevent infection, he may subject the horse to medical treatment; but everv humane man will indignantly oiiject to the slitting of the nostril, and the scraping of the cartilage, and searing of tlie gland, and firing of the frontal and nasal bones, and to those injections of mustard and capsicum, corrosive sublimate and vitriol, by which the horse has been tortured, and the practitioner disgraced. At the veterinary school, and by veterinary surgeons, it will be most desirable that every experiment should be tried to discover a remedy for this pest ; but. in ordinary instances, he is not faithful to his own interest, or tliat of liis neighbours, who does not remove the possibility of danger in the most summary wa}^. If, however, remedial measures are resorted to, a pure atmosphere is that which should first be tried. Glanders is the peculiar disease of the stabled horse, and the preparation for, or the foundation of a cure, must consist in the perfect removal of every exciting cause of the malady. The horse must breathe a cool and pure atmo- sphere, and he must be turned out, or placed in a situation equivalent to it. A salt marsh is, above all others, the situation for this experiment: but there is much caution required. No sound horse must be in the same pasture, or a neir^nno^-^T- ing one. The palings or the gates may receive a portion of tne matter, wnicn may harden upon them, and, many a month afterwards, be a source of mischief — nay, the virus may cling about the very herbage, and empoison it. Cattle and sheep should not be trusted with a glandered horse ; for the experiments are not sufficiently numer- ous or decided as to the exemption of these animals from the contagion of glanders. Supposing that glanders have made their appearance in the stables of a farmer, is there any danger after he has removed or destroyed the infected horse ] Certainly there is ; but not to the extent that is commonly supposed. There is no necessity foi 130 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH. pulling down the racks and mangers, cr even the stable itself, as some have done. The poison resides not in the breath of the animal, but in the nasal discharge, and that can only reach certain parts of the stable. If the mangers, and racks, and bales, and partitions, are tirst well scraped, and scoured with soap and water, and then thoroughly washed with a solution of the chloride of lime, (one pint of the chloride to a paiifuU of water,) and the walls are lime-washed, and the head-gear burned, and the clothing baked or washed, and the pails newly painted, and the iron-work exposed to a red heat, all danger will cease. Little that is satisfactory can be said of ihe prevention of glanders. The first and most effectual mode of prevention will be to keep the stables cool and well ventilated, for the hot and poisoned air of low and confined stables is one of the most prevalent causes of glanders. Next to ventilation stands cleanliness ; for the foul air from the fermenting litter, and urine, and dung, must not only be highly injurious to health generally, but irritate and predispose to inflammation that delicate membrane which is the primary seat of the disease. If to this be added regular exercise, and occasional green meat during the summer, and carrots in the winter, we shall have stated all that can be done in the way of prevention. Glanders in Ihe human heinp;. — It cannot be too often repeated, that a glandered horse can rarely remain among sound ones without serious mischief ensuing; and, 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 glandered horses becomes infected, and in the majority of cases dies. It is, how- ever, somewhat more manageable in the human being than in the quadruped. vSome cases of recovery from farcy and glanders stand on record with regard to the human being, but they are few and far between. FARCY. Farcy is intimately connected with glanders ; they will run into each other, or their symptoms will mingle together, and before either arrives at its fatal termination its associate will almost invariably appear. An animal inocculated with the matter of farcy will often be atHicted with glanders, while the matter of glanders will fre- quently produce farcy. They are different types or stages of the same disease. There is, however, 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, mav 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 — there is no assignable spot on whicli thousands of these little mouths do not open. In the discharge of their duty, they not only remove that which is become useless, and often that which is healthy, but that which is poisonous and destructive. They open upon the surface of every glanderous ciiancre. They absorb a portion of the virus which is secreted by the ulcer, and as it passes along these little tul)es, they suffer from its acrimonious quality ; hence the carded veins, as they are called by the farrier, or, more properly, the thickened and inflamed absorbents following the course of the veins. At certain distances in the course of the absorbents are loose duplicatures of the lining membrane, which are pressed against the side of the vessel and permit the fluid to pass in a direction townrds the chest, but liellv out and impede nr 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 ey^ 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 hardness, more or less tender, and wiiii perceptible heat about them. The poisonous matter being thus confined and pressing on the part, suppuration and ulceration ensue. Tlie ulcers have the same character as the glanderous ones on the membrane of the nose. They are rounded, with an elevated edge and a pah; surface. They are true chancres, and they discharge a virus as infectious and as FARCY. ISl 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 will 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 diflicult to disperse. The progress of the disease is then suspended, and possibly for some mouths the horse will appear to be restored to health ; but he bears tlie seeds of the malady about him, and in due time the farcy assumes its virulent form, and hurries him off. These buds have sometimes been confounded with the little tumours or lumps termed surfeit. They are generally higher than these tumours, and not so broad. They have a more knotty character, and are prin- cipally found on the inside of the limbs, instead of the outside. Few things are more unlike, or more perplexing, than the different forms which 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 to 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 Yimh. 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 will swell; cracks will be seen. at the heels, and an inexperienced person may conceive it to be a mere want of condition, com- bined 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 with the blood to every ])art of ihe frame. There are no longer any valves to impede its progress, and consequently no knots or buds, but the myriads of capillary absorbents that penetrate every part become inflamed, and thickened, and enlarged, and cease to discharge their function. Hence arises enlargement of the substance of various parts, swellings of the legs, and chest, and head — sudden, painful, enormous, and dis- tinguished by a heat and tenderness, which do not accompany other enlargements. It is a question somewhat diflScult to answer, whether farcy can exist without previous glanders. Probably it cannot. There is the long-continued insidious pro- gress of glanders — the time which may elapse, and often does, before the owner is aware or the veterinary surgeon sure of it — the possibility that minute ulceration may have for a long while existed in some of the recesses of the nose — or that the slight discharije, undreaded and unrecognised, yet vitiated, poisoned, and capable of com- municating the disease, may have been long travelling through the frame and affecting the absorber^s, and preparing for the sudden display of tarcy. One thino-, however, is undeniable, that farcy does not long and extensively prevail without being accompanied by glanders — that even in the mild stages of farcy, glanders may be seen if looked for. and that it never destroys the animal without plainly associating itself with glanders. They are, in fact, stages of the same disease. Glanders is inflammation of the membrane of the nose, producing an altered and poisonous secretion, and when sufficient of this vitiated secretion has been taken up to produce inflammation and ulceration of the absorbents, farcy is established. Its progress is occasionally very capricious, continuing in a few cases for months and years, the vigour of the horse remaining unimpaired ; and, at other times, runnin;^ on to its fatal termination with a rapidity perfectly astonishiiiff. Farcy has been confounded with other diseases; but he must be careless or io-norant who mistook sprain for it. The inflammation is too circumscribed and t'^n plainly connected with the joint or the tendon. It may be readily distinsjuished from grease or swelled loijs. In cfrease there is usually so^ne crack or scurfiness, a peculiar tenseness and redness and glossiness of the skin, some ichorous discharge, and a singular spasmodic catchingf up of the leg. In farcy the engorgement is even more sudden than that of grease. The horse is 12* ° " s J 38 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUlH. well to-day, and to-morrow he is gorged from the fetlock 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. Surfeit can scarcely be confounded with farcy or glanders. It is a pustular erup- tion— sitrfeil-bu)/ips, as they are called, and terminating in desquamation, not in ulcer- ation, although numerous, yet irregularly placed, and never following the course of the absorbents, Imt scattered over the skin. Local dropsy of the cellular membrane, and particularly that enlargement beneath the thorax which has the strange appellation of wakr-farry, have none of the charac- ters of real farcy. It is general debility to a greater or less degree, and nrt inflamma- tion of the absorbents. If properly treated, it soon disappears, except that, occasion- ally, at the close of some serious disease, it indicates a breaking up of the constitution. Farcy, like glanders, springs from infection and from bad stable management. It is produced by all the causes which give rise to glanders, with this difl'erence, that it is more frequently generated, and sometimes strangely prevalent in particular districts. It will attack, at the same time, several horses in the same ill-conducted stable, and others in the neighbourhood who have been exposed to the same predisposing- causes. Some have denied that it is a contagious disease. They must have had little experi- ence. It is true that tiie matter of farcy must come in contact with a wound or sore, in order to communicate the disease ; but accustomed as horses are to nibble and play with each other, and sore as the corners of the mouth are frequently rendered liy the bit, it is easy to imagine that this may be easily eflfecled ; and experience tells us, that a horse having frrcy ulcers cannot be suffered to remain with others without extreme risk. 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 administered. The buds should then be carefully examined, and if any of them have broken, the budding-iron, at a dull red heat, should be a])plied. 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 off, they look pale, and foul, and spong-j-, and dis- charge a thin matter, they should be frequently washed with a strong lotion of corro- sive 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 yellow mat- ter, the Friar's balsam will usually dispose them to heal. As, however, the constitution is now tainted, local applications will not be sufli- cient, and the disease must be attacked by internal medicine as soon as the phvsic has ceased to opi^rate. Corru.sive sublimate used to be a favourite medicine, coml)inrd with tonics, and repeated morning and night until the idcers disap])e;ired, unless the mouth became sore or the horse was violently purged, when the sulphate of copper was substituted for the corrosive sublimate. During this treatment the animal was jilaced, if possible, in a large box, with a free circulation of air; and green meat or carrots, and particu- larly the latter, were given, with a full allowance of corn. If he could be turned out in the day, it was deemed highly advantageous. It is related by Mr. I51;iine, that a horse, so reduced as not to be able to stand, was drawn into a field of tares, and suf- fered to take his chance. The consequence was, that, when he liad eaten all within his reach, he contrived to move about and search for more, and eventually recovn-pil. INIany horses recover under the use of the sublimate, but the great majority of them die. Mr. Vines introduced a more effective medicine — cnnfJinridrs, in crml)ination like- wise with tlie vegetable l)ilters — as a cure for fare}' and glanders. It cannot b(^ denied, that many animals labouring under the former, and a few under tlu' latter, were to all appearance radically cured. The medicine Avas suspended for a while if alfection of the kidneys suj)erveMed. A still more eflectual meilicine has been introduced bv Professor Mortrn, nainelv, the dinindide of cupper, and it has l)een fiiund of essential service in fircv and in dis- eases simulating glanders. lie says that its action is that of a stimulant to the THE LIPS. 139 absorbent vessels, and a tonic. The gentian root is usually combined with it. Can- tharides, in small quantities, may be advantageously added. An indication of 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.* Water-Farcv, confounded by name with the common farcy, and l)y which much confusion has been caused, and a great deal of mischief done, is a dropsical affection of the skin, either of the chest or of the limbs, and belongs to another part of our subject. THE LIPS. The lips of the horse are far more important organs than many suppose. They are the hands of the animal; and if any one will take the trouble to observe the manner in which he gathers up his corn witli them, and collects together the grass before he divides it with his nippers, he would be satisfied that the horse would be no more able to convey the food to his mouth without them, than the human being could with- out his hands. This has even been put to the test of experiment. The nerves which supply the lips were divided in a poor ass, to illustrate some point of physiology. The sensibility of the li])S was lost, and he knew not when he touched his food with them. The motion of the lips was lost, and he could not get the oats between his teeth, although the manger was full of them : at length, driven by hunger, he contrived to lick up a few of them with his tongue; but when they were on his tongue, the greater part of them were rubbed off before he could gi^ them into his mouth. It is on account of this use of the lips, and that they may be brought into contact with the food without inconvenience or injury to other parts of the foce, that the heads of most quadrupeds are so '"ngthened. Several muscles go to the lips from different parts of the jaw and face. Some of them are shown in the cut, p. 125. The orbicularis or circular muscle, p, employed in pushing out the lips and closing them, and enabling the horse to seize and hold his food, is particularly evident; and in the explanation of the cut, the action of other muscles, ?, ^, in, and o, was de- scribed. The nerves likewise, y, taking their course along the cheek, and principally supplying the lips with the power of motion, and those, r, proceeding from the fora- men or hole in the upper jaw, deserve attention. The lips are composed of a muscular substance for the sake of strength, and a * A very interesting case of the cure of farcy in the human being occurred in January, 1S40, in the practice of Mr. Curtis, a respectable surgeon of Camden Town : — " Mr. G., a student at the Veterinary College, had. about three weeks before, received a slight wound on the forefinger of the right hand, while dissecting a glandered horse. The wound healed ; but, about nine days afterwards, a small abscess formed in the part, which he would not consent to have opened; the pus was therefore alisorbed, and the finger got well, and neither the lymphatics nor the glands appeared to be affected. "Ten days afterwards, he was attacked with giddiness while attending the lecture, and obliged to leave the room. He immediately applied to Mr. Curtis. He had three blotches of inflammation of the skin of the right leg, varying in extent from two to four inches in diameter. The leg was very painful when he walked; and he had also some small blotches on the left leg. He had headache and thirst. His case was sufficiently plain — farcy was beginning to develop itself Aperient medicine was administered. •' On the following day, there were numerous small blotches over both legs and thighs. In many of them the centre was of a pale green colour, having a somewhat gangrenous appear- ance. The headache was worse ; there was a sensation of weight over the eyes, and tender- ness over the left frontal. " Mr. Curtis determined to put him under a course of iodine, of the tincture of which eight minims were ordered every fourth hour, the bowels being kept in a relaxed state. " On the fourth day, the centre of the blotches, which were still green, appeared to form cavities, containing a fluid, from about the size of a shilling to that of a half-crown. The blotches were surrounded by hard, defined edges, covered with cuticle, but the thickening of which was gradually disappearing. " Two days after this, the fluid in the cavities was absorbed, but round their edges were lumps, or tubercles, about the size of peas. Several weeks passed before the tubercles quite disappeared. " Mr. Curtis remarks, that so far as a single case wU go, the intractable nature of this dis ease seems to arise rather from neglect in its early stage, than from any impossibility of sub- duing it." — The Veterinarian, vol. xiii. p. 353. 140 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH. muititude 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 cf the food. The skin covering the lips is ex- ceedingly tiiin, in order that their peculiar sensibility may be preserved, and for the same purpose they are scantily covered with hair, and tliat hair is line and short. Long hairs or feelers, termed the beard, are superadded with the same intention. The horse is guided and governed principally by the mouth, and therefore the lips are endowed with very great sensibility, so that the animal feels the slightc st motion of the hand of the rider or driver, and seems to anticipate his very thoughts. The fineness or nce and pest horses, which are allowed perfect liberty of head, and he will be convinced that the use of the bearing-rein does not keep them on their legs."* The month, is injured much oftener than the careless owner suspects by the pres- sure of a sharp bit. Not only are the bars wounded and deeply ulcerated, but the lower javv-, between the tush and the gTindcrs, is sometimes worn even to the bone, and the bone itself alTcctcd, and portions of it torn away. It may be necessarj' to * New Sporting Magazine, vol. xiii. p. 99. The nnthnr of the " Essay on Humanity to Brutes," takes the same view of the subject. " It is not," says he, " to the extent tbat has been supposed an instrument of torture. It is absohiiely necessary in fast work, and useful on level ground. The olijpction to it is the tight- ness with which it is sometimes applied, and then it is a sad eontinenient to the liead, and a source of very great pain. It is also disadvantageous when the horse is going up-hill, he- cause it prevents hini from throwing his whole weight into the collar. It cannot, however, be done without, especially in the horse that is once accustomed to it ; but the poor animal needs not to be so tightly reined." — Tlie Obligation and Exterit of Jhimanity to Brutes, Iv W. Youait, p. 149. THE BONES OF THE MOUTH — THE PALATE. 141 have a sharp bit for the headstrong and obstinate beast; yet if that bit is severely and unjustihably called into exercise, the animal may rear, and endanger himself and his rider. There can, however, be no occasion for a thousandth part of the torment which the trappings of the mouth often indict on a willing and docile servant, and which either rendi-r the mouth hard, and destroy all the pleasure of riding, or cause the horse to become fretful or vicious. Small ulcers are sometimes found in the various parts of the month, said to be pro- duced by rusty bits, but oftener arising from contusions inflicted by the bit, or from inflammation of the mouth. If the curb-bit is in fault, a sna.lle or Pelham-bit should be used. If there is inflammation of the mouth, 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 (6, p. 68, and /, p. 70), containing the grinders: the anterior maxillary, or lower part of the upper jaw (b, p. 68, n, p. 70, ;•, p. 72), containing the upper-nippers or cutting-teeth; the palatine bone (below 8, p. 7"2), and the posterior ma-'Tiilary or under jaw (a, p. 68, and ic, p. 12), containing all the under-teeth. The superior maxillary is, with the exception of the lower jaw, the largest bone in the face. It unites above with the lachrymal bone (?", p. 70) ; and, more on the side, with the malar, or cheek bone, k ; and a portion of it, continued upward and under- neath, enters into the orbit. Above, and on the front of the face, it unites with the bones of the nose, j, and below, with the inferior maxillary, 7i. That which most deserves notice in it externally, is the ridge, or spine, seen at b, p. 63, but better deli- neated in the cut of the head, p. 72, continued from the base of the zygomatic arch, and across the malar bone. It, and the surface beneath, serve to give attachment to the masseter muscle, concerned, almost as much as the temporal one, in the act of chewing. The dark spot (m, p. 70, and seen likewise at p. 68) marks the foramen, or hole, through which a branch of the fifth pair of nerves proceeds, to give sensi- bility to the lower part of the face. As it approaches the teeth, this bone separates into two plates, and these are divided by long partitions, vvliich contain and firmly hold the upper grinders. The lower plate then projects inwards, and forms {i, p. 72) the principal portion of the roof of the mouth, and the floor of the cavity of the nose. The corresponding bone on the other side, meets its fellow in the centre of the palate. The upper jaw-bone contains in it large cavities besides those for the teeth, and these open into, and enlarge the cavity of the nose. They are connected with the voice, but not with the smell ; for the expansion of the olfactory, or smelling nerve, has never been traced beyond the bones and membranes of the proper cavity of the nose. The maxillary sinuses are generally filled with matter in bad cases of glanders. Below these, are the anterior maxillary bones (/, p. 68, a, p. 68), containing the upper cutting teeth, with the tushes belonging to both the upper and anterior bones. These are the bones to which (see cut, p. 72) the upper lip is attached. The supe- rior and anterior maxillary bones are separated in animals with long faces, like the horse, that, by overlapping each other, strength might be gained. The palatine bone forms but a very small portion of the palate. It surrounds the edge of the communication between the cavity of the nose and the back parts of the n^outh. 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, p. 72), composed of an elastic and dense substance, divided into several ridges called bars. The following cut gives a view of them. It will also point out the bleeding place, if it should occasionally be deemed advi- sable 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 between the central and second nippers on eithe' side, about an inch witJiin the mouth, and cutting through the second bar. 142 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTK. 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 applica- tion of a sponge tilled with cold water. This, however, is a make-shift sort of bleeding tliat may be allowable on a journe)^ and possibly in some cases of lampas, but which is decidedly objec- tionable as the usual mode of abstracting blood. The quantity withdrawn cannot be measured, the degree of inllammation 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. This cut likewise depicts the appearance of the roof of the mouth, if the bars were dissected off, and of the numerous vessels, arterial and venous, which ramify over it. L A i\I P A S . 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 suffers from the pressure 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 con- tinued during the whole life of the animal. In the majority of cases, the swelling will soon subside without medical treatment; or a few mashes, and gentle alteratives, will relieve the animal. A few slight inci- sions across the bars with a lancet, or penknife, will relieve the inflammation, and cause the swelling to sul)side ; indeed, this scarification of the bars in lampas will seldom do harm, although it is far from being so necessarj'^ as is supposed. The brutal custom of the farrier, who scars and burns down the bars with a red-hot iron, is most objectionable. It is torturing the horse to no purpose, and rendering that part callous, on the delicate sensibilit}' of which all the pleasure and safety of riding and driving depend, it may be prudent, in case cf lampas, to examine the grinders, and more particularly the tushes, in order to ascertain a\ hether either of them is making its way througli the gum. If it is so, two incisions across each other should be made on the tooth, and the horse will experience immediate relief. THE lowi:r .taw. Tlie posterior or lower jaw may be considered as forming the floor of the mouth, (ff, p. 68, or w, p. 72). 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. On the inside, and opposite to a, p. 68, is a foramen, or hole, through which blood-vessels and nerves enter to supply the teeth, and some of which escape again at another orifice on the outside, and near the ni])peTS. 'J'lie brandies are broader and thinner, rounded at the angle of the jaw, and terminating in two processes. One, the coracnic], from its sharpness, or sujiposed resemblance to a be;'.k, passes under the zygomatic arch (s(>e p. 68) ; and the temporal muscle, arising from the whole surface of the parietal bone (see p. 71), is inserted into it, and wrapped round it; and by its action, principally, the jaw is moved, and the food is ground. The other, the cnndijloicl, or rounded process, is received into the glenoid (shallow) cavity of the temporal bone, at the base of the zygomatic arch, and forms the joint on which the lower jaw moves. Tiiis joint is easily seen in the cut at p. 68 ; and being placed THE LOWER JAW. 143 so lear to the insertion nf the muscle, or the centre of motion, the temporal muscle must act with very considerable mechanical disadvantage, and, consequently, must possess immense power. This joint is admirably contrived for the purpose which the animal requires. It will admit freely and perfectly of the simple motion of a hinge, and that is the action of the jaw in liipping the herbage and seizing the corn. But the grass, and more particularly the corn^' must be crushed and bruised before it is fit for digestion. Simple champing, which is the motion of the human lower jaw, and that of most beasts of prey, would very imperfectly break down the corn. It must be put into a mill ; it must be actually ground. It is put into the mill, and as perfect a one as imagination can conceive. The following cuts represent the glenoid cavity, in a carnivorous or flesh-eating, and herbivorous or grass-eating, animal, viz. the tiger and the horse: the one requiring a simple hinge-like motion of the lower jaw to tear and crush the food; the other, a lateral or grinding motion to bring it into a pulpy form. We first examine this cavity in the tiger^represented at B. At the root of the zygomatic process D, is a hollow with a ridge along the greater part of the upper and inner side of it, standing to a considerable height," and curling over the cavity. At the lower and opposite F edge of the cavity, but on the outside, is a similar ridge, E, likewise rising abruptly and curling over. At C is another and more perfect view of this cavity in a different direction. "The head of the lower jav/ is received into this hollow, and presses against these ridges, and is partially surrounded by them, and forms with them a very strong joint where dislocation is scarcely possible, and the hinge-like or cranching motion is admitted to its fullest extent; permitting the animal violently to seize his prey, to iiold it firmly, and to crush it to pieces; but from the extent and curling form of the ridges, forbidding, except to a very slight degree, 'all lateral and grinding motion, and this, because the animal does n'^x^ want it. As before mentioned, the food of the horse must be ci^round. Simple bruising and champing would not suificiently comminute it for the purposes of digestion. We then observe the dilferent construction of the parts to effect this. A gives the glenoid cavity of the horse. First, there is the upper ridge assuming a rounded form, F, arid therefore called the ma^tai'l process; und — a peculiarity in the horse — the mastoid process of the squamous portion of the temporal bone : sufficiently strong to support the pressure and action of the lower jaw when cropping the food or seizing an enemy, but not encircling the head of that bone, and reaching only a little way along the side of the cavity, where it terminates, having its edges rounded off so as to admit, and to be evidently destined for, a circular motion about it. At the other and lower edge of the cavity, and on the outside, G is placed — not a curling ridge as in the tiger, but a mere tubercle : and for what reason 1 evidently to limit this lat?ml or circuUir motion — to permit it as far as the necessities of the animal require it, and then to arrest it. How is this done ? Not suddenly or abruptly ; but the tuljerc^le, of which we have already spoken as strengthening this portion of the zygomatic arch, now discharging another office, has a smooth and gradual ascent to it, up which the lowei jaw may climb to a certain extent, and then, by degrees, be stopped. We speak not now of the moveable cartilaije which is placed in this cavity, and between the bones, to rendei the motion easier and freer. It is found in this joint in every quadruped ; and it is found wherever inotions are rapid and of long continuance. 144 ANATOMY AND DISEASES 01< THE NOSE AND MOUTH. So great is the conformity between the structure of the animal and his destination, that a tolerable student in comparative anatomy, by a mere inspection of the glenoid cavity, would at once determine whether the animal to which it belonged was car- nivorous, and wanted no lateral motion of the jaw ; or omnivorous, living occasionally on all kinds of food, and requiring some degree of grinding motion; or herbivorous, and needing tlie constant use of this admirably-constructed mill. At g, p. 125, is represented the masse.ter muscle, an exceedingly strong one, con- stituting the cheek of ihe horse — arising from the superior maxillary under the ridge continued from the zygomatic arch, and inserted into the lower jaw, and particularly round the rough border at the angle of the jaw. This acts with the temporal muscle in closing the jaw, and in giving the direct cutting or champing motion of it. Within the lower jaw, on either side, and occupying the whole of the hollowed portion of them, and opposite to the masseters, are the pterygoid rniiscles, going from the jaws to bones more in the centre of the channel, likewise closing the mouth, and also, by their alternate action, giving tliat grinding motion which has been described. The space between the branches of the lower jaw, called the channel, isof consider- able consequence. It may be a little too wide, and then the face 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 ho possibly be well reined in. The jaws contain the teeth, which are the millstones cmploj-ed in comminuting the food. The mouth of the horse at five years old contains i'crty teeth, viz. six nippers or cutting teeth in front, a tush on each side, and six molars, or grinding teeth, above and below. They are contained in cavities in the upper and lower jaws, surrounded by bony partitions, to which they are accurately fitted, and by which they are firmly supported. For a little way above these bony cavities, they are surrounded by a hard substance called the gum, so dense, and adhering so closely to the tceih and the jaws as not to be separated without very great difficulty — singularly compact, that it may not be wounded by the hard or sb.arp particles of the food, and almost devoid of feel- ing, for the same purpose. Seven or eight months before the foal is born, the genns or beginnings of the teeth are visible in the cavities cf the jaws. The tooth grows, and presses to the surface of the gum, and forces its way through it ; and, 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 here represented. They likewise appear to be large, and to fill the front of the mouth ; although they will afterwards be found to be small, compared with the permanent t^eth that follow. In the course of the first month the third grinder appears above and below, and, not long after, and gener- ally before six weeks have expired, another incisor above and below will be seen on each side of the two first, which have now considerably grov/n, but 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 have reached their natural level, and between the second and third month the second pair will have overtaken them. They will then begin to wear awa}' 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 appear on each side of the two first, making six above and below, and completing the colt's mouth ; after which, tlie only observable difference, until between the second and third year, is in the wear of these tt^eth. The term m'pper is familiar to the horseman and the tat- riei;, and much better expresses the action of thrse teeth than the word incisor or cutter, which is adopted by ar.ato- THE PROCESS OF TEETHING. 145 mists. Wlioever has observed a horse in the act of browsing, and the twitch of the head which accompanies the separation of each portion of grass, will perceive that It is nipped or torn rather than cut olF. These 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 in them. The inside and bottom of this pit being blackened by the food, constitutes the mark of the teeth, by the gradual disappearance 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 hollow towards the mouth, and present at first a cutting surface, with the outer edge rising in a slanting direction above the inner edge. This, however, soons begins to wear down until both surfaces are level, and the mark, which was originally loag and narrow, becomes shorter, and Avider, and fainter. At six raonths 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 narrower ; and in the corner teeth it is darkest, and longest, and nar- rowest. The back teeth, or grinders, will not guide us far in ascertaining the age of the animal, for we cannot easily inspect them ; but there are some interesting particulars connected with them. The foal is born with two grinders in each jaw, above and below; or they appear within three or four days after the birth. Before the expiration of a month they are succeeded by a third, more back- ward. The crowns of the grinders are entirely covered with enamel on the top and sides, but attrition soon wears it away from the top, and there remains a compound sur- face of alternate layers of crusted petraser, enamel, and ivory, which are employed in grinding down the hardest portion of the food. Nature has, therefore, made an ad- ditional provision for their strength and endurance. This cut represents a crrinder sawed across. It seems to be a most irregular and intricate structure ; but the expla- nation of it is not difficult. The tooth is formed and pre- pared in cavities within the jaw-bones. A delicate mem- branous bag, containing a jelly-like substance, is found, in the unborn animal, in a little cell within the jaw-bone. It assumes, by degrees, the form of the tooth that is to appear, and then the jelly within the membrane begins to change to bony rnattter, and a hard and beautiful crystallization is formed on the membrane without, and so we have the cutting tooth covered by its enamel. In the formation, however, of each of the grinders of the horse, there are originally five membranous bags in the upper jaw, and four in the lower, filled with jelly This by degrees gives place to bony matter, which is thrown out by little ves- sels penetrating into it, and is represented by the darker portions of the cut with cen- tral black spots. The crystallization of enamel can be tmctvl around each, and there would be five distinct bones or teeth. A third substance, however, is now secreted (which is represented by the white spaces), and is a powerful cement, uniting all these distinct bones into one body, and making one tooth of the five. This being done, another coat of enamel spreads over the sides, but not the top, and the tooth is completed. By no other contrivance could we have the grinding tooth capable, with- out injury and without wearing, to rub down the hay, and oats, and beans, which "1 nstitute the stable-food of horses. The grinders in the lower jaw. having originally but four of these bags or shells, 13 T 146 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND iMOUTH. are sn aller, and narrower, and more regular, than the upper ones. They are placed horizcfltally in either jaw; but in the lower the higher side is within, and shelvinj; gradually outward ; in the upper jaw the higher side is without, and shelving inward, and tl us the grinding motion is most advantageously performed. Tliere is also an evi- dent ('ifterence in the appearance and structure of each of the grinders, so that a careful obsei rer could tell to which jaw every one belonged, and what situation it occupied. At the completion of the first year, a fourth grinder usually comes up, and the year- ling Eias then, or soon afterwards, six nippers, and four grinders above and below in each jaw, which, with the alteration in the appearance of the nippers that we have Just described, will enable us to calculate nearly the age of the foal, subject to some variations arising from the period of weaning, and the nature of the food. At the age of 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 change, and all the nippers will be flat. At two years this will be more manifest. The ac- companying cut deserves attention, as giving an accu- rate representation of the nippers in the lower jaw of a two-years-old colt. About this ]ieriod 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 sufficiently large to occupy and fill the colt's jaws; but 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. Evident provision is made for them, even before the colt foaled. In cavities in the jaw, beneath the first and temporary teeth, are to be seen the rudiments of a second and permanent set. These gradually increase, some with greater rapidity than others, and, pressing upon the roots or fangs of the first teeth, do not, as would be imagined, force out the former ones, but the portion pressed upon gradually disappears. It is ahsorbed — taken up and carried away, by numerous minute vessels, whose office it is to get rid of the worn-out or useless part of the system. This absorption continues to proceed as the second teeth grow and press upwards, until the whole of the fang is gone, and the crown of the tooth, or that part of it which was above the gum, having no longer firm hold, drops out, and the second teeth appear, larger and stronger and permanent. In a few instances, however, the second teeth do not rise immediately under the tem- porary or milk teeth, but somewhat by their side ; and then, instead of this gradual process of absorption and disappearance from the point of the root upwards, the root being compressed sideways, diminishes throughout its whole bulk. The crown of the tooth diminishes with the root, and the whole is pushed out of its place, to the fore part of the first grinder, and remains for a considerable time, under the name of a wolfs hmth, causing swelling and soreness of the gums, and frequently wounding the cheeks. They would be gradually quite absorbed, but the process might be slow and the annoyance would be gnat, and, therefore, they are extracted. The change of the teetli commences in those which earliest appeared, and, there- fore, the front or first grinder gives way at the age of two years, and is succeeded by a larger and permanent tooth. During the period between the falling out of the central milk nippers, and thb coming up of tlie permanent ones, the colt, having a broken moutli, may find some difficulty in grazing. If he should fall away considerably in condition, he should be fed with mashes and corn, or cut meat. The next cut will represent a three-years-old moutli. The central teeth aie larger than the others, with two grooves in the outer convex surface, and the mark 's longf, narrow, deep and black. Not having yet attained their full growth, they arr rather lower than the others. The mark in the two next nippers is nenrly worn out, and it is wearing away in the corner nippers. Is it possible to give this mouth to an early two-years-old 1 The ages of all horses used to be reckoned from May, but some aro frraled even so early as January, and being actually four months over the two years, THE PROCESS OF TEETHING. 147 if they have been well nursed and fed, and are strong and large, they may, with th« inexperienced, have an additional year put upon them. The central nippers are punched or drawn out, and the others appear three or four months earlier than they otherwise would. In the natural process, they could only rise by long pressing upon, and causing the absorption of, the first set. But opposition from the first set being removed, it is easy to imagine that their progress 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 developement of the fore-hand — the continuance of the mark on the next pair of nippers — its more evident existence in the comer 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 grinder, 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 permanent nippers growing — the other two pairs wasting — six grinders 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 neighbouring teeth. As the permanent nippers wear, and continue to grow, a narrower portion of the cone-shaped tooth is exposed to the attrition, and they look as if they had been com- pressed, 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 wliere 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, likewise, the second pair of grinders wall be shed. Previously to this may be the attempt of the dealer to give to his threc-years-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 developed; the sharp edge somewhat 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 larijer 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 wear in the other nippers — the small size of the corner ones — the little growth of the tush — the smallness of the second grinder — the low fore-hand — the legginess of the colt, and the thickness and little depth of the mouth, will, to the man of common expeiience among horses, at once detect the cheat. The tushes (see p. 142) 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 148 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH. lower jaw than in the upper, but this distance increasing in both jaws with the age ot" the animal. In shape it soniewliat resembles a cone ; it protrudes about an inch from the gum, and has its extremity sharp-pointed and curved. At the age now under consideration, the tushes are almost peculiar to the horse, and castration does not appear to prevc i.t or retard their development. All mares, however, have the germs of them in the chambers of the jaw, and they appear externally in the majority of old mares. Their use is not evident. Perhaps in the wild state of the animal they are weapons of ofl'ence, and he is enabled by them more firmly to seize, and more deeply wound his enemy. The breeder often attempts to hasten the appearance of the tush, and he cuts deeply through the gum to remove the opposition which that would afford. To a little extent he succeeds. He may possibly gain a few weeks, but not more. After all, there is much uncertainty as to the appearance of the tush, and it may vary from the fourth year to four years and six months. It belongs, in the upper jaw, both to the inferior and superior maxillary bones (see n. p. 70) ; for, while its fang is deeply imbedded in the inferior maxillary, the tooth penetrates the process of the superior maxillary at the union of those bones. At four years and a half, or between that and five, the last important change takes place in the mouth of the horse. The corner 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 protruded, and is gene- rally 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 tliat after the rising of the corner nipper the animal changes its name — the colt becomes a horse, and the filly a mare. At five years the horse's mouth is almost perfect. The corner nippers are quite up, with the long deep mark irregular 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 surface is regularly convex. It is still as concave within, and with the edge nearly as sharp as it was six months before. The sixth ^^1 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 wearing 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, and the tushes a few weeks, but the grinder is with difiiculty dis- placed. The three last grinders and the tushes are never shed. At six years the mark on the central nip- pers is worn out. There will still be a differ- ence of colour in the centre of the tooth. The cement filling 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 depression in the centre, and also a depression round the case of enamel : but the deep hole in the cen- tre of the teeth, wilh the blackened t\irface which it presents, and the elevated edge of enanu'l. will have disappeared. Persons not much accustomed to horses have been puzzlec? here. They expected to find a plain surface of a uniform colour, and knew not what con- clusion to draw when there was both discolouration and irregularity. THE PROCESS OF TEETHING. '49 In the next incisors the mark is shorter, broader, and fainter; and in the corner teetn the edges of the enamel are more rea^ular, and the surface is evidently worn. The tush has attained its full growth, being nearly or quite an inch in length ; convex out- ward, concave within; tending to a point, and the extremity somewhat curved. The third grinder is fcurly up ; and all the grinders 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 animal has sufiered less than could be supposed possible. In children, the j)eriod of teething is fraught v/ith danger. Dogs are subject to con- vulsions, and hundreds of them die, from the irritation caused by the cutting or shed- ding of their teeth ; but the horse appears to feel little inconvenience. The gums and palate are occasionally somewhat hot and swollen ; but the sliglitest scarification will remove this. The teeth of the horse are more necjessary to him than those of the other animals are to them. The child may be fed, and the dog will bolt his food ; but that of the horse must be well ground down, or the nutriment cannot be extracted from it. At seven years, the marlc, in the way in which we have described it, is worn out in the four central nippers, and fast wearing away in the corner teeth ; the tush also is beginning to be altered. It is rounded at the point; rounded at the edges; still round without; and beginning to get round inside. At eight years old, the tnsh 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 examiner in giving a positive opinion. Dishonest dealers have been said to resort to a method of prolonging the mark in the lower nippers. It is called bishopiiig, from the name of the scoundrel who invented it. The horse of eight or nine years old is thrown, and with an engraver's tool a hole is dug in the now almost plain surface of the corner teeth, and in shape and depth resem- bling 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 lightly touched. An ignorant man would be very ,^?[ easily imposed on by this trick : but the ^^^ irregular appearance of the cavity — the diffu- sion of the black stain around the tushes, the "W" sharpened edges and concave inner surface ',/ of which can never be given again — the marks on the upper nippers, together with the general conformation of the horse, can never deceive the careful examiner. Horsemen, after the animal is eight years old, are accustomed to look to the nippers in the upper jaw, and some conclusion has been drawn from the appearances which they present. It cannot be doubted that the mark remains in them for some years after it has been obliterated from the nippers in the lower jaw ; because the hard sub- stance, or kind of cement, by which the pit, or funnel, in the centre of the tooth is occupied, does not reach so high, and there is a greater depth of tooth to be worn away, in order to come at it. To this, it may be added that the upper nippers are not so much exposed to friction and wear as the under. The lower jaw alone is moved, and pressed forcibly upon the food : the upper jaw is without motion, and has only to resist that pressure. There are various opinions as to the intervals between the disappearance of the 13* 15« ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH. 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 ado])t the latter opinion, and then the age will be thus detennined : 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 different periods, long and most favourable opportunities for observation can alone enable the horseman to decide. The tushes are exposed to hut little wear and tear. The friction against them must be slight, proceeding only from the passage of the food over them, and trom the motion of the tongue, or from the bit; and their alteration of form, although generally as we have described it, is frequently uncertain. The tush will sometimes be blunt at eight; at other times it will remain pointed at eighteen. The upper tush, although the latest in appearing, is soonest worn away. Are there any circumstances to guide our judgment after this? There are those which will prepare us to guess at the age of the horse, or to approach within a few years of it, until he becomes very old ; but there are none which will enable us accu- rately to determine the question, and the indications of age must now be taken from the shape of the upper surface of the nippers. At eight, they are all oval, the length of the oval ruiming across from tooth to tooth ; 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 are rounded. 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 tiiat 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 direction, viz. from outward, inward ; and at twenty-one, they all wear this form. This is the opinion of some Continental veterinary surgeons, and Mr. Percivall first presented them to us in an English dress. It would be folly to expect perfect accuracy at this advanced age of the horse, when we are bound to confess that the rules which we have laid down for determining this matter at an earlier period, although they are recognised by horsemen generally, and referred to in courts of justice, will not guide us in every case. Stabled horses have the mark sooner worn out than those that are at grass ; and a crib-biter may deceive the best judge by one or two years. The age of the horse, likewise, being formerly calculated from the 1st of May, it was exceedingly difficult, or almost impossible, to determine whether the animal was a late foal of one year, or an early one of the next. At nine or ten, the bars of the mouth become less prominent, and their regular dimi- nution 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 colour. They are yellow, because the teeth must grow, in order to answer to their wear and tear; but the enamel which covered their surface when they were first produced cannot be repaired ; and that which wears this yellow colour in old age, is the part which in youth was in the socket, and therefore destitute of enamel. The general indications of old age, independent of the teeth, are deepening of the hollows over the eyes; grey hairs, and particularly over the eyes and about the muzzle; thinness and hanging down of the lips; sharpness of the withers; sinking of the back ; lengthening of the quarters ; and the disappearance of windgalls, spa- vins, and tumours of every kind. Of the natural age of the horse, we should form a very erroneous estimate from the early period at which he is now worn out and destroyed. Mr. Blaine speaks of a geintlernan who had three horses that died at the ages of thirty-five, thirty-seven, and thirty-nine. Mr. Cully mentions one that received'a ball in his neck, m, 'he battle of Preston, in 1715, and which was extracted at his death, in 1758 ; and Mr. Percivall gives an account of a barge-horse that died in his sixtv-second year. There cannot be a severer satire on the English nation tlian this, that, from '.he absurd practice of running our rare-horses at two and three venrs old, and working Others, in various ways, long before their limbs are knit or tli'eir strength developed, DISEASES OF THE TEETH. 15j and cruelly exacting from them services far beyond their powers, their age does not average a sixth part of that of the last-mentioned horse. The scientific author of the " Animal Kingdom" declares, that " it may be safely asserted, that more horses are consumed in England, in every ten years, than in any other country in the world in ten times that period, except those which perish in war." This affair has, with the English, been too long considered as one of mere profit and loss ; and it has been thought to be cheaper to bring the young horse early into work, and prematurely to exhaust his strength, than to maintain him for a long period, and at a considerable expense, almost useless. The matter requires much considera- tion, and much reformation, too. DISEASES OF THE TEETH. Of the diseases of the teeth in the horse, we know little. Carious or hollow teeth are occasionally, but not often, seen ; but the edges of the grinders, from the wearing off of the enamel, or the irregular growth of the teeth, become rough, and wound the inside of the cheek ; it is then necessary to adopt a summary, but effectual method of cure ; namely, to rasp them smooth. Many bad ulcers have been produced in the mouth by the neglect of this. The teeth sometimes grow irregularly in length, and this is particularly the case with the grinders, from not being in exact opposition to each other when the mouth is shut. The growth of the teeth still going on, and there being no mechanical opposition to it, one of the back teeth, or a portion of one of them, shoots up con- siderably above the others. Sometimes it penetrates the bars above, and causes soreness and ulceration ; at other times it interferes partially, or altogether, with the grinding motion of the jaws, and the animal pines away without the cause being suspected. Here the saw should be used, and the projecting portion reduced to a level with the other teeth. The horse that has once been subjected to this operation should afterwards be frequently examined, and especially if he loses condition : and, indeed, every horse that gets thin or out of condition, without fever, or other apparent cause, should have his teeth and mouth carefully examined, and especially if, without any indication of sore throat, he quids — partly chewing and then dropping— his food, or if he holds his head somewhat on one side, while he eats, in order to gel the food between the outer edges of the teeth. A horse that has once had very irregular teeth is materially lessened in value, for, although they may be sawn down as carefully as possible, they will project again at no great distance of time. Such a horse is to all intents and purposes unsound. In order to be fit for service, he should be in posses- sion of his full natural powers, and these powers cannot be sustained without perfect nutrition, and nutrition would be rendered sadly imperfect by any defect in the operation of mastication. Not only do some diseases of the teeth render the act of mastication difficult and troublesome, but, from the food acquiring a foetid odour during its detention in the mouth, the horse acquires a distaste for aliment altogether. The continuance of a carious tooth often produces disease of the neighbouring ones, and of the jaw itself. It should therefore be removed, as soon as its real state is evident. Dreadful cases of fungus haematodes have arisen from the irritation caused by a carious tooth. The mode of extracting the teeth requires much reformation. The hammer and the punch should never be had recourse to. The keyed instrument of the human subject, but on a larger scale, is the only one that should be permitted. This is the proper place to speak more at length of the effect of dentition on the system generally. Horsemen in general think too lightly of it, and they scarcely dream of the animal suffering to any considerable degree, or absolute illness being produced ; yet he who has to do with young horses will occasionally discover a con- siderable degree of febrile affection, which he can refer to this cause alone. Fever, cough, catarrhal affections generally, disease of the eyes, cutaneous affections, diar- rhoea, dysentery, loss of appetite, and general derangement, will frequently be traced by the careful observer to irritation from teething. It is a rule scarcely admitting of the slightest deviation, that, when young horses are labouring under any febrile affection, the mouth should be examined, and if the tushes are prominent and pushing against the gums, a crucial incision should be 152 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH. made across them. " In this way," says Mr. Percivall, " I have seen catarrhal and bronchial inflammations abated, coughs relieved, lymphatic and other glandular tumours about the head reduced, cutaneous eruptions got rid of, deranged bowels restored to order, appetite returned, and lost condition repaired."* THE TONGUE. The tongue is the organ of taste. It is also employed in disposing the food for being ground between the teeth, and afterwards 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 deglutition, and the canal through which the water passes in the act of drinking. The root of it is firmly fixed at the bottom of the mouth by a variety of muscles ; the fore part is loose in the mouth. It is covered by a continuation of the membrane that lines the mouth, and which, doubling beneath, and confining the motions of the tongue, is called its frsnurn, or bridle. On the back of the tongue, this membrane is thickened and roughened, and is covered w ith numerous conical papilae, or little eminences, on which the fibres of a branch of the fifth pair of nerves expand, communicating the sense of taste. The various motions of the tongue are accomplished by means of the ninth pair of nerves. The substance of the tongue is composed of muscular fibres, with much fatty matter interposed between them, and which gives to this organ its peculiar softness. DISEASES OF THE TONGUE. The tongue is sometimes exposed to injury from carelessness or violence in the act of drenching or administering a ball, it being pressed against and cut by the edges of the grinders. A little diluted tincture of myrrh, or alum dissolved in water, or even nature unassisted, will speedily heal the wound. The horse will sometimes bite his tongue, most frequently in his sleep. If the injury is trifling, it requires little care ; but, in some instances, a portion of the tongue has been deeply lacerated or bitten olf. The assistance of a veterinary practitioner is here required. There are some interesting accounts of the results of this lesion. Mr. Dickens of Kimbolton found a portion of the tongue of a mare, extending as far as the frzenulum beneath, lying in the manger in a strangely lacerated condition, and fast approaching to decomposition. He Irad her cast, and, excising all the unhealthy portions, he dressed the wound with chloride of soda and tincture of myrrh. In less than a week the laceration was nearly healed, and, soon afterwards, she could eat with very little diflUculty, and keep herself in good condition. The injury was proved to have been inflicted by a brutal horsebreaker, in revenge of some slight affront.j A curious case is recorded in the Memoirs of the Society of Calvadc s. A horse was diflScult to groom. The soldier who had the care of him, in order the better to manage him, fixed in his mouth and on his tongue a strong chain of iron, deeply serrated, while another man gave to this chain a terrible jerk whenever the horse was disposed to be rebellious. The animal, under such torture, became unmanageable, and the man who held the chain sawing away with all his strength, the tongue was completely cut off at the |)oint which separates its base from the free portion of it. The wound healed favourably, and he was soon able to manage a mash. After that some hay was given to him in small quantities. He took it and forn.ed it into a kind of pellet with his lips, and then, pressing it against the bottom of his manger, he gradually forced it sufficiently back into the mouth to be enabled to seize it with his grinders. Another horse came to an untimely end in a singfular way. He had scarcely eaten anything for three weeks. He seemed to be unable to swallow. The channel beneath the lower jaw had much enlargement about it. Tbere was not any known cause for this, nor any account cf violence done to the tongue. At length a tumour appeared under the jaw. Mr. Young of Muirhead punctured it, and a consideinble quantity of purulent matter escaped. The horse could drink his gruel after this, but not take any solid food. A week afterwards he was found dead. Upon separating the head t>om the trunk, and cutting transversely upon t!ie tongue, nearly opposite to *Percivairs Hippopathology, vol. ii., p. 173. t Veterinarian, vol. vi., p. 22. THE SALIVARY GLANDS. 153 the second grinder, a needle was found lying- longitudinally, and which had penetrated from the side to the inferior portion of the tongue. It was an inch and a quarter in length, and the neighbouring substance was in a state of gangrene. Vesicles will sometimes appear along the under side of the tongue, which will increase to a considerable size. The tongue itself will be much enlarged, the animal will be unable to swallow, and a great quantity of ropy saliva will drivel from the mouth. This disease often exists without the nature of it being suspected. If the mouth is opened, one hirge bladder, or a succession of bladders, of a purple hue, will be seen extending along the whole of the under side of the tongue. If they are lanced freely and deeply, from end to end, the swelling will very rapidly abate, and any little fever that remains may be subdued by cooling medicine. The cause of this disease is not clearly known. THE SALIVARY GLANDS. In order that the food may be properly comminuted preparatory to digestion, it is necessary that it should be previously moistened. The food of the stabled horse, however, is dry, and his meal is generally concluded without any lluid being offered to him. Nature has made a provision for this. She has placed in the neighbournood of the mouth various glands to secrete, and that plentifully, a limpid fluid, somswhat saline to the taste. This fluid is conveyed from the glands into the mouth, by various ducts, in the act of chev/ing, and, being mixed with the food, renders it more easily ground, more easily passed afterwards into the stomach, and better fitted for diges- tion. The principal of these is the parotid gland (see cut p. 125). It is placed in the hollow which extends from the root of the ear to the angle of the lower jaw. A por- tion of it, Y, is represented as turned up, to show the situation of the blood-vessels underneath. In almost every case of cold connected with sore throat, an enlargement of the parotid gland is evident to the feeling, and even to the eye. It is composed of numerous small glands connected together, and a minute tube proceeding from each, to carry away the secreted fluid. These tubes unite in one common duct. At the letter w, the parotid duct is seen to pass under the angle of the lower jaw, together with the submaxillary artery, and a branch of the jugular vein, and tiie}"- come out again at w. At r, the duct is seen separated from the other vessels, climbing up the cheek, and piercing it to discharge its contents into the mouth, opposite to the second grinder. The quantity of fluid thus poured into the mouth from each of the parotid glands amounts to a pint and a half in an hour, during the action of mastication ; and, sometimes, when the duct has been accidentally opened, it has spirted out to the dis- tance of several feet. The parotid gland sympathises with every inflammatory affection of the upper part of the throat, and therefore it is found swollen, hot, and tender, in almos*: every catarrh or cold. Tlie catarrh is to be treated in the usual way ; while a stimulating applica- tion, 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 competent to the treat- ment of either case ; and the principle by which he will he 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 passaije tlirough the duct, or to form a new one, or to cut off the flow of the saliva by the destrr.ction of the gland. A second source of the saliva is from the submaxillary glands, or the glands under the jaw. One of them is represented at s, p. 125. The submaxillary glands occupy the space underneath and between tliR sides of the lower jaw, and consist of numer- ous small bodies, each with its proper duct, uniting together, and forming on each side a common duct or vessel that pierces through the muscles at the root of the tongue, and opens in little projections, or heads, upon the frienum, or bridle of the tongue, about an inch and a half from the front teeth. When the horse has catarrh u 154 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH. 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. It has already been stated that they may be distinguished from the swellings that accom- pany or indicate glanders, by their being larger, generally not so distinct, more in the centre of the channel, or space between the jaws, and never adhering to the jaw- bones. The farriers call them viVES, and often adopt cruel and absurd methods to disperse them,— as burning them with a lighted candle, or hot iron, or even cutting them out. They will, in the majority of instances, gradually disperse in proportion as the disease which produced them subsides ; or they will yield to slightly stimu- lating embrocations ; or, if they are obstinate in their continuance, they are of no fur- tlier consequence, than as indicating that the horse has laboured under severe cold or strangles. During catarrh or inflammation of the mouth, the little projections marking the opening 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 theni close off. The bleeding that follows this operation somewhat abates the local inflammation, and affords temporary relief; but the wounds will not speedily heal. The saliva continues to flow from the orifice of the duct, and, running into the irregularities of the wound, causes it to spead and deepen. Even when it heals, the mouth of the duct being fre- quently closed, and the saliva continuing to be secreted by the submaxillary gland, it accumulates in the duct until that vessel bursts, and abscesses are formed which eat deeply under the root of the tongue, and long torment the poor animal. When, after a great deal of trouble, they are closed, they are apt to break out again for months and years afterwards. All that is necessary with regard to these paps or barbs is to abate the inflamma- tion or cold that caused them to appear, and they will very soon and perfectly sub- side. He who talks of cutting them out is not fit to be trusted with a horse. A third source of saliva is from glands under the tongue — the sublingual glands, which open by many little orifices under the tongue, resembling little folds of the skin of the mouth, hanging from the lower surface of this organ, or found on tlie bot- tom of the mouth. These likewise sometimes enlarge during catarrh or inflamma- tion of the mouth, and are called gigs, and bladders, and flaps in the mouth. They have the appearance of small pimples, and the farrier is too apt to cut them away, or burn them off. The better way is to let them alone — for in a few days they will gen- erally disappear. Should any ulceration remain, a little tincture of myrrh, or a solu- tion of alum, will readily heal them. Beside tliese three principal sources of saliva, there are small glands to be found on every part of the mouth, cheeks, and lips, which pour out a considerable quantity of fluid, to assist in moistening and preparing the food. 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 otiier part of the year. It is preceded by cough, and can at first be scarcely distingiished from common cough, except that there is more discharge from the nostril, of a yellowish colour, mixed with pus, and generally without smell. There is likewise a considorable discharge of roj)v fluid from the mouth, and greater swelling than usual imtU^r the tliroat. This swelling increases with uncertain rapidity, accompanied by some fevfr. and disincli- nation to eat, partly arising from the fever, but more from the pain wldch the animal feels in the act of mastication. There is considerable tliirst, but ai'ter a irulp or two the horse ceases to drink, yet is evidently desirous of continuing his drauolit. In the attempt to swallow, and sometimes when not drinkinji, a convulsive comjh comes on, which almost threatens to sutfocate the animal— and thence, probably, the nantw of the disease.* * Old Gervase Markhnni cives the following dcscripiiin of this dLspase, f>nd of the origii: of hs name. " It is," says he, "a yreat and hard swelling between a horse's nether ciiaps STRANGLES. 155 The tumour 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 tumour bursts, and a great quantity of pus is discharged. As soon as the tumour has broken, the cough subsides, and the horse speedily mends, although some degree ot weakness may hang about him for a considerable lime. Few horses, possibly none, escape its attack ; but, the disease having passed over, the animal is free irom it foi 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 con- tagious about it. Many strange stories are told with regard to this ; but the explana- tion of the matter is, that when several horses in the same farm, or in the same neighbourhood, have had strangles at the same time, they have been exposed to the same powerful but unknown exciting cause. Messrs. Percivall and Castley have come the nearest to a satisfactory view of the nature of strangles. Mr. Castley* says, that '• the period of strangles is often a much more trying and critical time for young horses than most people seem to be aware of; that when colts get well over this complaint, they generally begin to thrive and improve in a remarkable manner, or there is sometimes as great a change for the worse : in fact, it seems to etFoct some decided constitutional change in the animal." Mr. Percivall adds, " the explanation of the case appears to me to be, that the animal is suffering more or less from what I would call stnitigk-fever, — a fever the disposition and tendency of which is to produce local tumour and abscess, and, most commonly in that situation, underneath the jaws, in which it has obtained the name of strangles." Professor Dick, of Edinburgh, adds that which is conclusive on the subject, that " although the disease commonly terminates by an abscess under the jaw, yet it may, and occasionally does, give rise to collections of matter on other parts of the surface." To this conclusion then we are warranted in coming, that strangles is a specific affection to which horses are naturally subject at some period of their lives, and the natural cure of which seems to be a suppurative process. From some cause, of the nature of which we are ignorant, this suppurative process usually takes place in the space between the branches of the maxillary bone, and occurring there it appears in the mildest form, and little danger attends. When the disease is ushered in by con- siderable febrile disturbance, and the suppuration takes place elsewhere, the horse too frequently sinks under the attack. The treatment of strangles is very simple. As the essence of the disease consists in the formation and suppuration of the specific tumour, the principal, or almost the sole attention of the practitioner, should be directed to the hastening of these pro- cesses : therefore, as soon as the tumour of strangles is decidedly apparent, the part should be actively blistered. Old practitioners used to recommend poultices, which, from the thickness of the horse's skin, must have very little effect, even if they could be confined on the part ; and from the difficulty and almost impossibility of this, and their getting cold and hard, they necessarily weakened the energies of nature, and delayed the ripening of the tumour. Fomentations are little more effectual. A blister will not only secure the completion of the process, but hasten it by many days, and save the patient much pain and exhaustion. It will produce another good effect — it will, previously to the opening of the tumour, 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 sutler the tumour to burst naturally, for a ragged ulcer is formed, very slow to heal, and upon the rootes of his tongue, and about his throat, which swelling, if it be not prevented, will Btop the horse's windpipe, and so strangle or choke him: from which effect, and nonp oibur, the name of this disease tooke its derivation." * Vet., iii., 406, and vi., 607. .56 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH. 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 ma}' be sufl'ered to run out slowly, all pressure with the tingers 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 symptoms. If there is nmcli lever, and evident alfection of the chest, and which should carefully be distinguished from the oppression and choking occasioned b)' the pressure of the tumour, it will be proper to bleed. In the majority of cases, however, bleeding will not only be unne- cessarj', but injurious. It will delay the suppuration of the tumour, and increase the subsequent debility. A few cooling medicines, as nitre, emetic tartar, and perhaps digitalis, may be given, as the case requires. The appetite, or rather the ability to rat, will return with the opening of the abscess. Bran-mashes, or fresh-cut grass or lares, should be lil>erally supplied, which will not only afford sufficient nourishment to recruit the strength of the animal, but keep the bowels gpntly open. If the weak- ness is not great, no farther medicine will be wanted, except a dose of mild physic in order to prevent tlie swellings or eruptions which sometimes succeed to strangles. In cases of debility, a small quantity of tonic medicine, as chamomile, gentian, o) ginger, may be administered.* THE PHARYNX. Proceeding to the back of the mouth, we find the pharynx {carrying or conveying ihe food towards the stomach). It commences at the root of the tongue (see 7, 8 and 9, p. 72) ; is separated from the mouth by the soft ])alate (7), which hangs down from the palatine bone at 8, and extends to the epiglottis or covering to the windpipe. When the food has been sufficiently ground by the teeth, and nnxed with the saliva, it is gathered together by the tongue, and by the action of the cheeks and tongup, and back part of the mouth, forced against the soft palate, which, giving way, and being raised upwards towards the entrance into the nostrils, prevents the food from proceed- ing that way. It passes to the pharynx, and the soft palate again falling down, pre- vents its return to the mouth, and also ])revents, exce])t in extreme cases, the act of vomiting in the horse. Whatever is returned from the stomach of the horse, passes through the nose, as the cut will make evident. The sides of the pharynx are lined Avith muscles which now begin powerfully to contract, and by that contraction the bolus is forced' on until it reaches the gullet (10), which is the termination of the pharynx. Before, however, the food proceeds so far, it has to pass over the entrance into the windpipe (3), and should any portion of it enter that tube, much inconvenience and danger might result; therefore, this opening is not only lined by muscles which close it at the pleasure of the animal, but is like- wise covered by a heart-like elastic cartilage, the epiglottis (2), with its back towards the pharynx, and its hollow towards tlie aperture. The epiglottis yields to the pres- sure of the bolus passing over it, and lying flat over the opening into the windpipe, and prevents the possibility of anything entering into it. No sooner, however, has * Mr. Pcrcivall gives the followliir; description of some untoward cases: — "The sub- maxillnrv tumour is oftpn knotted and divided on its first appearance, as if the plnnds received the jirimarv attack. As it f--prcads, it becomes diffiised in (he cellular tissue included in the space between the sides and branches of the lower jaw, involving all the subcutaneous parts contained in that interval indiscriminately in one uniform mass of tumefiction. While this jrencral turjrcsccnce is going on, various parts in the immediate vicinity otten take on tlie same kind of action. In particular, the salivary glands, the parotid, sublingual, the throat, the pharvn.v and laryn.v, the nose, the lining membrane, the nostrils, the sinuses, the mouth, the tonfruc, the cheeks, the lips — in fine, in some violent cases, the whole head appears t(v be involved in one doneral mass of tmnet'action, while every vent is running over wi'h discbnrge. Tlie p tient expcrienciriij this violctU form of disease is in a truly pitiable plight. While purulent matter is issuinc; in profusion from bis swollen nostrils, and slaver foams out from between bi'^ l\unefied lips, it is distressing to bear the noise that he makes in painful and laboured eflbris to breatlie. There i.s imnnnent danger of s\inbcation in such a case as this; and oven ulihough some relitif, so far as the breathiii'i is concerned, may be obtained from the operation of hroncholorny, yet, from the pain and irritation he is suli'ering. added to the impiOF- eibility of getting aliment into his stomach, he must speedily sink to rise no more." — Veterinarian, vol. vi. p. 611. POLL-EVIL. 157 the food passed over it, than it rises again by its own elasticity, and leaves the upper part of the v.indpipe once more open for the purpose of breathing. The voice of ani mals is produced by the passage of air through this aperture, communicating certain vibrations to certain folds of the membrane covering the part, and these vibrations being afterwards modified in their passage through tlie cavities of ihe nose. In order to understand the diseases of these parts, the anatomy of the neck generally must be considered. CHAPTER V. THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK AND NEIGHBOURING 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., moveable or turning upon each other (see cut, p. 'o^). They are connected together by strong ligaments, and form so many distinct joints, in order to give sufficiently extensive motion to this important part of the body. The bone nearest to the skull is called the atlas (see cut, p. 68, and g, p. 72), because, in the human being, it supports the head. In the horse the head is suspended from it. It is a mere ring-shaped bone, with broad projections sideways; but without the sharp and irregular processes which are found on all the others. The pack-wax, or ligament, by which the head is principally supported (/' P* '^"^)' ^"^ which is strongly connected Avith all the other bones, passes over this without touching it, by which means the head is much more easily and extensively moved. The junction of the atlas with the head is the seat of a very serious and troublesome ulcer, termed POLL-EVIL. From the horse rubbing and sometimes striking his poll against the lower edge of the manger, or hanging back in the stall and bruising the part with the halter — or from the frequent and painful stretching of the ligaments and muscles by unnecessary tight reining, and, occasionally, from a violent blow on the poll, carelessly or wan- tonly inflicted, inflammation ensues, and a swelling appears, hot, tender, and painful. It used to be a disease of frequent occurrence, but it is now, from better treatment of the animal, of comparatively rare occurrence. It has just 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 liga- ment and the bone beneath ; and being thus deeply situated, it is serious in its nature nnd difficult 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 effijct. Strong purgatives should also be employed. By these means the tumour will sometimes be dispersed. This system, however, must not be pursued too far. If the swelling increases, and the heat and tenderness likewise increase, matter will form in the tumour; and then our object should be to hasten its formation by warm fomentations, poultices, or stimulating embrocations. As soon as the matter is formed, which may be known by the softness of the tumour, and before it has time to spread around and eat into the neighbouring parts, it should be evacuated. Now comes the whole art of treating poll-evil ; ihe opening into the tumour must be si> con/rived that all the matter shall run nut, and continue afterwards to run out as quickly as it is formed, and not collect at the bottom of the ulcer, irritatino and corroding it. This can be elTected by a setnn alone. The needle should enter at the top of the tumour, 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 158 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK. frequent fomentation with warm water, in order to keep the part clean, and to obviate inflammation, poll-evil in its early stage will 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, but nothing resembling the scalding mixture of the farriers of the olden time. This is abominable ! horrible I ! All UH^usures, 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 veterinary surgeon. In desperate cases, the Avound may not be fairly exposed to tlie action of the caustic without the division of the liga- ment of the neck. This may be effected with perfect safety ; for although the liga- ment is carried on to the occipital bone, and some strength is gained by this prolon- gation of it, the main stress is on the second bone ; and the head will continue to be supported. The divided ligament, also, will soon unite again, and its former useful- ness will be restored when the wound is healed. The second bone of the neck is the deniata, having a process like a tooth, by which it forms a joint with the first bone. In the formation of that joint, a portion of the spinal marrow, which runs through a canal in the centre of all these bones, is exposed or covered only by ligament ; and by the division of the marrow at this spot an animal is instantly and humanely destroyed. The operation is called pithing, from the name {the pith) given by butchers to the spinal marrow. The other neck, or 7-ack bones, as they are denominated by the farrier, (B. p. 68,) are of a strangely irregular shape, yet bearing considerable resemblance to each other. They consist of a central bone, perforated for the passage of the spinal marrow with a ridge on the top for the attachment of the ligament of the neck, and four irregular plates or processes from tlie sides, for the attachment of muscles ; at the base of one of which, on either side, are holes for the passage of the large arteries and veins. At the upper end of each, is a round head or ball, and at the lower end, a cavity or cup, and the head of the one being received into the cup of the other, they are united together, forming so many joints. They are likewise united by ligaments from these processes, as well as the prf)per ligaments of the joints, and so securely, that no dis- location can take place between any of them, except the first and second, the conse- quence of which would be the immediate death of the animal. The last, or seventh bone, has the elevation on the back or top of it continued into a long and sharp prolongation (« spinous process), and is the beginning of that ridge of bones denominated the luithers (see cut, pp. G8 and 1G7); and as it is the base of the column of neck bones, and there must be a great pressure on it from the weight of the head and neck, it is curiously contrived to rest upon and unite with the two first ribs. THE MUSCLES AND PROPER FORM OF THE NECK. The bones of the neck serve as the frame-work to which numerous muscles con- cerned 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. Those whose office it is to raise the head are most numerous and powerful, and are placed on the upper and side part of the neck. The cut in j). 125 contains a few of them. c marks a tendon common to two of the most important of them, the upleniu!', or splint-like nniscle, and the complcxus major, or larger complicated muscle. The splenius cnnstitutrs the principal bulk of the neck above, arising from tlic ligament of the neck all the way down it, and going to the processes of all the bones of the neck, but the first, and tendons running from the upper part of it, to the first bono of the neck, and to a process of the temporal bone of the head. Its action is sufilciently evident, namely, very powerfully to elevate the head and neck. The principal beauty of the neck depends on this muscle. It was admirably developed in the horse of ^•hose neck the annexed cut gives an accurate delineation. If the curve were quite regular from the poll to the withers, we should call it a MUSCLES AND PROPER FORM OF THE NECK. 159 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 ^oes ; and it is only the horse with a neck of tolerable 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 riding-horse, and there are few horses of extraordinary 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 set- ting 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, gene- rally, the shoulder. Connected with the spknius muscle, and partly produced by it, are the thickness and muscularity of the neck, as it springs from the shoulders, in this cut; the height at which it comes out from them forming nearly a line with the withers ; and the manner in which it tapers as it approaches the head. The neck of a well-formed horse, however fine at the top, should be muscular at the bottom, or the horse will generally be weak and worthless. Necks devoid of this muscularity are called loose necks by horsemen, and are always considered a very serious objection to the animal. If the neck is thin and lean at the upper part, and is otherwise well shaped, the horse will usually carry himself well, and the head will be properly' curved for beauty of appearance and ease of riding. When an instance to the contrary occurs, it is to be traced to very improper management, or to the space between the jaws being unna- turally small. The splenitis muscle, although a main agent in raising the head and neck, may be loo large, or covered with too much cellular substance or fat, thus giving an appear- ance of heaviness, or even clumsiness to the neck. This peculiarity of form consti- tutes the distinction between the perfect horse and the mare, and also the gelding, unless castrated at a very late period. This tendon, c, belongs also to another muscle, which makes up the principal bulk of the lower part of the neck, and is called the complexiis mnJDr, or larger complicated muscle. It arises partly as low as the transverse processes of the four or five first bones of the back, and from the five lower bones of tlie neck; and the fibres from these various sources uniting together, form a very large and powerful muscle, the largest and strongest in the neck. As it approaches the head, it lessens in h\ilk, and terminates partly with the splenius, in this tendon, but is principally inserted into the back part of the occipital bone, by the side of the ligament of the neck. In the cut, p. 125, almost its whole course can be distinctly traced. Its office is to raise the neck and elevate the head ; and being inserted into such a part of the occiput, it will more particularly protrude the nose, while it raises the head. Its action, however, may be too powerful ; it may be habitualh^ so, and then it may produce deformity. The back of the head being pulled back, and the muzzle protruded, the horse cannot by possi- bility carry his head well. He will become what is technically called a star-gazer; 160 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK. — heavy in hand, boring upon the bit, and unsafe. To remedy this, recourse is had, and in the majority of cases without avail, to the martingale, against which the horse is continually fighting, and which is often a complete annoyance to the rider. Such a horse is almost useless for harness. Inseparable from this is another sad defect, so far as the beauty of the horse is concerned; — he becomes ewe-necked ^ i. e. he has a neck like a ewe — not arched above and straight below, until near to the head, but hollowed above and projecting below ; and the neck rising low out of the chest, even lower, sometimes, than the points of the shoulders. There can scarcely be anything more unsightly in a liorse. His head can never be got fairly down; and the bearing rein of harness must be to him a source of constant torture. In regarding, however, the length and the form of the neck, reference must be had to the purpose for which the horse is intended. In a hackney, few things can be more abominable than a neck so disproportioned — so long, that the hand of the rider gets tired in managing the head of the horse. In a race- horse, this lengthening of the neck is a decided advantage. Among the muscles employed in raising tlu^ head, are the complexus minores (smaller complicated), and the recli (straight), and the oblifjue muscles of the upper part of the neck, and belonging ])rincipally to the tv.o first bones of the neck, and portions of which may be seen under the tendon of the ^plcnius c, and between it and the ligament a. Among the muscles employed in lowering the head, some of which are given in the same cut, is the sternu-maxillaris, f/, ])elonging to the breast-bone, and the upper jaw. It can likewise be traced, although not quite distinctly, in the cut, p. 159. It lies immediately under the skin. It arises from the cartilage prrjecting from, or con- stituting the front of the breast-bone (H. p. 68), and proceeds up the neck, of no great bulk or strength. At about three-fourlhs of its length upward, it changes to a flat tendon, which is seen ((/, p. 125) to insinuate itself between the parotid and sub- maxillary glands, in order to be inserted into the angle of the lower jaw. It is used in bending the head towards the chest. Another muscle, the termination of which is seen, is tlie levator humeri, raiser of the shoulder, b. This is a much larger muscle than the last, because it has more duty to perform. It rises from the back of the head and four iirst bouts of the neck and the ligament of the neck, and is carried down to the shoulder, mixing itself partly with some of the muscles of the shoulder, and finally continued down to, and terminating on, the humerus (.1, p. G8). Its office is double. If the horse is in action, and the head and neck are fixed ])oints, tlie contraction of this muscle will draw forward the shoulder and arm ; if the horse is standing, and the shoulder and arm are fixed points, this muscle will depress the head and neck. The muscles of the neck are all in pairs. One of them is found on each side of the neck, and the ofiice which has been attributed to them can only be accomplished when both act together; but sujjposing that one alone of the elevating muscles should act, the head would be raised, but it would at the same time be turned towards that side. If one only of the depressor muscles were to act, the head would be bent downwards, but it would likewise be turned towards that side. Then it will be easily seen, that by this simple method of having the muscles in pairs, jirovision is made for every kind of motion, upwards, downwards, or on either side, for which the animal can possibly have occasion. Little more, of a practical nature, could be said of the muscles of the neck, although they are projirr and interesting studies for the anato- mist. Tliis is the proper place to speak of Me inane; that long hair which covers the crest of the neck, and adds so much to the beauty of the animal. This, however, is not its only praise. 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 en the body. It does not fall so regularly, nor so often ; for if all were shed at once, the parts would be left for a long time defenceless. The mane is generally dressed so as to lie on the right side — some persons divide ii equally on both sides. For ponies, it used to be cut efl" near the roots, only a few stumps being left to stand perj>mdicularly. This was tenined the hog-mane. The BLOOD-VESSELS AND VEINS OF THE NECK. IGl groom sometimes bestows a great deal of pains in getting the mane of his norse into crood 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 thin, well-arranged mane is very ornamental.* THE BLOOD-VESSELS OF THE NECK. 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 somewhat diverge, and lie more deeply. They are covered by the sterno-maxillaris muscle, which has been just described, and are separated from the jugulars by a small portion of muscular substance. Having reached the larynx, they divide into two branches, the external and the internal ; the first goes to every part of the face, and the second to the brain. The vertebral arteries run through canals in the bones of the neck, supplying the neighbouring parts as they climb, and at length enter the skull at the large hole in the occipital bone, and ramify on and supply the brain. Few cases can happen, in which it would be either necessary or justifiable to bleed from an artery. Even in mad-staggers, the bleeding is more practicable, safer, and more effectual, from the jugular vein, than from the temporal or any other artery. If an artery is opened in the direction in which it runs, there is sometimes very great diflSculty in stopping the bleeding; it has even been necessary to tie the vessel, in order to accomplish this purpose. If the artery is cut across, its coats are so elastic, that the two ends are often immediately drawn apart under the flesh at each side, and are thereby closed ; and after the first gush of blood, no more can be obtained. THE VEINS OF THE NECK. The external veins which return the blood from the head to the heart are the jugu- lars. 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, receiving other branches in its way towards the angle of the jaw and behind the parotid gland ; and emerging from that, as seen at /, p. 125, 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, and the states of constit\ition and disease in which it is proper, will be hereafter spoken of; an occasional consequence of bleeding being at present taken under consideration. 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 inserting 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 insinuate 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 rub- bing 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 separate, and become swollen and red — a discharge of sanious, * Stewart's Stable CEconomy, p. 110. 14 ' v 162 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK. bloody fluid proceeds from the wound, followed, perhaps, in a few days by purulent matter. The neck swells, and is hot and tender both above and below the incision. The lips of the wound become 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 cellular 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. The '-^'o grand questions here are, the cause and the cure. The first would seem to admit of an easy reply. A long list of circumstances has been just given which would seem to refer the matter entirely to the operator ; yet, on the other hand, expe- rience tells us that he has little to do with these morbid eflects of bleeding. Mr. Percivall states, that Mr. Cherry tried several times to produce inflammation by the use of rusty lancets, and escharotics of various kinds, and ligatures, and frequent separation and friction of the granulating edges, hut in vain. Professor Spooner tried *o produce the disease, but could not. On the other hand, it is well known that while inflammation rarely or never follows the operation of bleeding bj'' some practitioners,, others are continually getting into scrapes about it. The writer of this work had three house-pupils, two of whom he used to trust to bleed his patients, and no untoward circumstance ever occurred; but as surely as he sent the third, he had an inflamed vein to take care of. There is something yet undivulcred in the process of healing the vein, or in the circumstances by which tliat healing is prevented. The most powerful causes pro- bably are, that the lips of the wound have not been brought into immediate apposi- tion, or that a portion of the hair — a single hair is sulTicient — has insinuated itself. The horse has not, perhaps, had his head tied u]i to the reck after bleeding, which should always be done for at least an hour, during which time the extravasated blood will become firmly coagulated, and the flow of blood to the heart will establish its uninterrupted course. It is also probable that atmospheric agency may be concerned in the affair, or a diseased condition of the horse, and particularly a susceptibility of taking on inflammatory action, although the exciting cause may be exceedingly slight. Of the means of cure it is difficult to speak confidently. The wound should be carefully examined — the divided edges brought into exact apposition, and any bail interposed between them removed — tjie pin withdrawn or not, according to circum- stances— the part carefully and long fomented, and a dose of physic administered. If two or three days have passed and the discharge still remains, the application of the budding-iron — not too large or too hot — may produce engorgement of the neigh- bouring parts, and union of the lips of the wound. This 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 serviceable. Here, likewise, the parts will be brought into contact with each other, and pressed together, and union may be eff"ected. " Sometimes,*' says Mr. Cartwright, " when the vein is in an ulcerative state, I have laid it open, and applied caustic dressing, and it has healed up. I have lately had a case in which five or six abscesses had formed aljove the original wound, and the two superior ones burst through the parotid gland, the extent of the ulceration being evident in the quantity of saliva that flowed through each orifice."* The owner of the horse will find it his interest to apply to a veterinary practitionei as soon as a case of inflamed vein occurs. Should the vein be destroyed, the horse will not be irreparably injured, and per« haps, at no great distance of time, scarcely injured at all ; for nature is ingenious in making provision to carry on the circulation of the blood. All the vessels convey- ing the blood from the heart to the different parts of the frame, or bringing it back * Abstract of the Veterinary Medical Associalion, vol. iv. p. 185 THE PALATE — THE LARYNX. 1G3 again to the heart, commanicate with each other by so many channels, and in such various ways, that it is impossible by the closure or loss of any one of them long materially to impede the flow of the vital current. If the jugular is destroyed, the blood will circulate through other vessels almost as freely as before; but the horse could not be considered as sound, for he might not be equal to the whole of the work, required of him. THE PALATE — (resumed). At the back of the palate (see p. 72), and attached to the crescent-shaped border of the palatine bone, is a dense membranous curtain. Its superior and back surface is a continuation of the lining membrane of the nose, and its anterior or inferior one, that of the palate. It is called the velum palati, or veil of the palate. It extends as far back as the larynx, and lies upon the dorsum of the epiglottis, and is a perfect veil or curtain interposed between the cavities of the nose and mouth, cutting off all communication between them. Tied by its attachment to the palatine bone, it will open but a little way, and that only in one direction. It will permit a pellet of food to pass into the oesophagus; but it will close when any pressure is made upon it from behind. Two singular facts necessarily follow from this : the horse breathes through the nostrils alone, and these are capacious and easily expansible to a degree seen in no other animal, and fully commensurate to the wants of the animal. It is also evident that, in the act of vomiting, the contents of the stomach must be returned through the nostril, and not through the mouth. On this account it is that the horse can with great difficulty be excited to vomit. There is a structure at the entrance of the stomach which, except under very peculiar circumstances, prevents 'its return to the throat, and consequently to the mouth. The muscles of this singular curtain are ver}- intelligibly and correctly described by Mr. Percivall, in his "Anatomy of the Horse," to which the reader is referred. The same remark is applicable to a very singular and important bone, and its muscular apparatus, the os hyoides. THE LARYNX Is placed on the top of the windpipe (see 1, p. 7"3), and is the inner guard of the lungs, if any injurious substance should penetrate so far; it is the main protection against the passage of food into the respiratory tubes, and it is at the same time the instrument of voice. In this last character it loses much of its importance in the quadruped, because in the dumb animal it is a beautiful piece of mechanism. The Epiglottis (see 2, p. 72) is a heart-shaped cartilage, placed at the extremity of the opening into the windpipe, with its back opposed to the phar}'nx, so that when a pellet of food passes from 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 portion of the food from entering it. The food having passed over the epiglottis, from its own elasticitj- 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, p. 72) occupies almost the whole of the external part of the larynx, both anteriorly and laterally. It envelopes and protects all the rest; a point of considerable im])(>rtance, considering the injury to which the larynx is exposed, by our system of curbing and tight reining. It also forms a point of attachment for the insertion of the greater part of the delicate muscles by which the other cartilages are moved. The beautiful mechanism of the larynx is governed or worked by a somewhat com- plicated system of muscles, for a description of which the reader is referred to the 5th vol. of The Veterinarian, p. 447. It is plentifully supplied with nerves from the res- piratory system, and there are also frequent anastomoses with the motor nerves of the spinal cord. The sole process of respiration is partly under the control of the will, and the muscles of the larjmx concerned in one stage of it are likewise so, but they also act independently of the will, for during sleep and unconsciousness the machine continues to work. The origin of the artery which supplies these parts with blood is sometimes derived from the main trunk of the carotid, but oftener it is a branch of the tliyroideal artery. ,64 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK. The lining membrane is a continuation of that of the pharynx above and the trachea below. It is covered with innnmerable follicular glands, from whose mouths there oozes a mucous fluid that moistens and lubricates its surface. It is possessed of very great sensibility, and its function requires it. It is, as has been already stated, the inner guard of the lungs, and tlie larynx must undergo a multitude of changes of form in order to adapt itself to certain changes in the act of respiration, and in order to produce the voice. The voice of the horse is, however, extremely limited, compared with that of tiie human being; the same sensibility, therefore, is not required, and exposed as our quadruped slaves are to absurd and barbarous usage, too great sensibility of any j)art, and particularly of this, would be a curse to the animal. THE TRACHEA OR WINDPIPE. The course of the inspired air from the larynx to the lungs is now to be traced, and it will be found to be conveyed through a singularly constructed tube (6, p. 72), passing along the anterior portion of the neck, and reaching from the lower edge of the cricoid cartilage (11, p. 72) to the lungs. In the connnencement of its course it is somewhat superficially placed, but as it descends towards the thorax it becomes gradually deeper and more concealed. In order to discharge its functions as an air- tube, it is essential that it should always be pervious, or, at least, that any obstruc- tion to the process of respiration should be but momentary. Attached to a part endowed with such extensive motion as the neck, it is also necessary that it should be flexible. It is composed of cartilage, an exceedingly elastic substance, and at the same time possessing a certain degree of ilexibility. The windpipe is composed of cartilage, but not of one entire piece, for that would necessarily be either too thick and firm to be flexible, or if it were suflrciently flexible to accommodate itself to the action of the neck, it would be too weak to resist even common pressure or injury, and the passage through it would often be inconveniently or dangerously obstructed. Besides, it is necessary that this tube should occasionally admit of elongation to a considerable degree. When the neck is extended in the act of grazing or otherwise, the trachea must be lengthened. The structure of the cartilage of the windpipe is admirably adapted to effect every purpose. It is divided into rings, fifty or fifty-two in number, each possessing sufli- cient thickness and strength to resisf ordinary pressure, and each constituting a joint with the one above and below, and thus admitting of all the flexibility that could be required. These rings are connected together by an interposed fibro-ligamentous substance, extensible, elastic, and yet so strong that it is scarcely possible to rupture it; and the fibres of that ligament not running vertically from one to another, and therefore admitting of little more motion than the rotation of the head, but composed of two layers running obliquely, and in contrary directions, so as to adapt themselves to every variety of motion. These rings are thickest in front, and project circularly, opposing an arch-like form. There, too, the ligament is widest, in order to admit of the greatest motion in the direction in which it is most needed, when the head is elevated or depressed. Late- rally these rings are thinner, because they are, to a great degree, protected by the surrounding parts ; and, posteriorly, they overlap each other, and the overlapping portions are connected together by a strong ligamentous substance. This, while it (toes not impede the motion of the tube, gives firmness and stability to it. Within the trachea is another very curious structure. At the points at which posteriorly, tlie rings begin to bend inwardly, a muscle is found stretching across thft windpipe, dividing the canal into two unequal portions — tlie anterior one constitiitin*^ the proper air-passage, and the posterior one occupied by cellular texture. It is in give additional strength to parts. It is the tie which prevents the arch from spurring out. In the natural state of the windpipe this muscle is, probably, (juiescent; but when any considerable pressure is made on the crown of the arch at liic upper ))art by tight reining, or at the lower by an ill-made collar, or any wliere by brutal or accidental violence, this muscle contracts, every serious expansion or depression of the arch is prevented, and the part is preserved from serious injury. It may also be readily imagined that, when in violent exertion, every part of thf respiratory canal is on the stretch, this band may preserve the windpipe from injury TRACHEOTOMY. lt>5 or laceration. There are many beautiful points in the physiology ot the horse which deserve much greater attention than has hitherto been paid to them. The windpipe should project from the neck. It should almost seem as if it were detached from the neck, for two important reasi ns: first, that it may easily enter between the channels of the jaw, so that the horse may be reined up without suffering inconvenience ; and next, that being more loosely attached to the neck, it may more readily adapt itself to the changes required l.han if it were enveloped by fat, or muscle to a certain degree unyielding: therefore, in every well-formt'd neck — and it will be seen in the cut (p. 151*) — it is indispensable that the windpipe should be prominent and loose on tlie neck. This is not required in the heavy cart-horse, and we do not often find it, because he is not so much exposed to those circumstances which will hurry respiration, and require an enlargement in the size of the principal air-tube. When the trachea arrives at the thorax, it suddenly alters its form, in order to adapt Itself to the narrow triangular aperture through w-hich it has to pass. It preserves the same cartilaginous structure ; for if it has not the pressure of the external muscles, or of accidental violence, to resist, it is exposed to the pressure of the lungs when thty are inflating, and it shares in the pressure of the diaphragm, and of the intercostal muscles, in the act of expiration. Having entered the chest, it passes a little to the right, leaving the oesophagus, or gullet, on the left; it separates from the dorsal ver- tebrae ; it passes through the duplicature of tlie mediastinum to the base of the heart, and it divides beneath the posterior aorta. Its divisions are called the bronchial tubes, and have much to do with the well-being of the horse. Its rings remain as perfect as before, but a new portion of cartilage begins to pre- sent itself: it may be traced as high as the tenth ring from the bottom; it spreads over the union between the posterior terminations of the rings; it holds them in closer and firmer connexion with each other ; it discharges the duty of the transverse muscle, which begins here to disappear, and the support of the cervical and dorsal vertebrae; it prevents the separation of the rings when the trachea is distended ; it spreads down upon, and defends the commencement of the bronchial tubes. Some othor small plates of cartilage reach a considerable way down the divisions of the bronchi, and the last ring has a central triangular projection, which covers and defends the bifurcation of the trachea. TRACHEOTOMY. The respiratory canal is occasionally obstructed, to an annoying and dangerous degree. Polypi have been described as occupying the nostrils ; long tumours have formed in them. Tumours of other kinds have pressed into the pharynx. The tumour of strangles has, for a while, occupied the passage. The larynx has been distorted ; the membrane of the windpipe, on the larynx, has been thickened, and ulcers have formed in one or both, and have been so painful that the act of breathing was labo- rious and torturing. In all these cases it has been anxiously inquired whether there might not be established an artificial opening for the passage of the air, when the natural one could no longer be used ; and it has been ascertained that it is both a sim- ple and safe operation, to excise a portion of the trachea, on or below the point of obstruction. The operation must be performed while the horse is standing, and secured by a side-line, for he would, probably, be sutTocated 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, curved needles armed, and a moist sponge. The operator should once more examine the whole course of the windpipe, and the different sounds which he will be able to detect by the application of the ear, and like- wise the different degrees of temperature and of tenderness which the finger will detect, will guide to the seat of the evil. The hair is to be closely cut off from the part, the skin tightened 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 efl:ected when there is no express indication to the contrary on the fifth and sixth rings ; a slip from which, and the connecting ligament above and below, about half the width of each ring, should 166 ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK. be excised with the intervening licrament. The remaining portion will then be strong enough to retain the perfect arched form of the trachea. If the orifice is only to be kept open Avhile some ibreigu body is extracted, or tumour removed, nr ulcer healed, or inflammation subdued, notliing more is necessary than to keep the lips of the wound a little apart, by passing some thread through each, and slither by car- tilage ; and whatever changes may take place in other parts of the frame, tliis cartilage is not converted to bone,'even in extreme old age, although there may, possibly, be some spots of ossific matter found in it. end of cartibfre only, the form of the arch could not have been sustained, but, sooner or later, it must have^bent inward, and so have encroached upon the cavity of the chest as to have compressed the organs of respiration and circulation to that degree that could not but have ended in suflbcation and death of the animal. It was only ihe judicious and well-arranged combination of bone and gristle in the construction of the chest that could answer the ends an ail-wise Providence had in \\ew."— Veterinarian, vol. xv. p. 184. THE CHEST. 169 The point of the breast-bone may be occasionally injured by blows, or by the pres- sure of the collar. It has been, by brutal violence, completely broken oil" from the Bternum ; but oftener, and that from some cruel usage, a kind of tumour has been formed on the point of it, which has occasionally ulcerated, and proved very difficult to heal. 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 together, in addition lo 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 out, , 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 tlie fore limbs, a bend, or standing over, an unnatural lengthiness about the fore parts of the breast, sadly disadvantageous in progression. Theij! is also a posterior appendix to the sternum, which is also cartilaginous. It is called the ensifurm cartilage, although it bears little resemblance to a sword. It is flat and flexible, yet strong, and serves as the commencement of the floor, or support of the abdomen. It also gives insertion to some of the abdominal muscles, and more conveniently than it could have been obtained from ihe body of the sternum. The Intercostal Muscles. — The borders of the ribs are anteriorly concave, thin and sharp — posteriorly rounded, and presenting uaderneath a longitudinal depression, or channel, in which run both blood-vessels and nerves. The space between them is occupied by muscular substance, firmly attached to the borders of the ribs. These muscles are singularly distributed ; their fibres cross each other in the form of an X. There is a manifest advantage in this. If the fibres ran straight across from rib to rib, they might act powerfully, but their action would be exceedingly limited. A short muscle can contract but a little way, and only a slight change of form or dhnen- sion can be produced. By running diagonally from rib to rib, these muscles are double the length they could otherwise have been. It is a general rule, with regard to muscular action, that the power of the muscle depends on its bulk, and the extent of its action on its length. The ribs, while they protect the important viscera of the thorax from injury, are powerful agents in extending and contracting the chest in the alternate inspiration and expiration of air. In what proportion they discharge the labour of respiration, is a disputed question, and into the consideration of which we cannot enter, until something is known of the grand respiratory muscle — the diaphragm. Thus far, however, may be said, that they are not inactive in natural respiration, although they certainly act only a secondary part; but in hurried respiration, and when the demand for arterialised blood is increased by violent exertion, they are valuable and powerful auxiliaries. This leads to a very important 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: — tlie first, to render the blood nutrient and stimulating, and to give or restore to it 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 purified arterialised blood to every part of the frame. In order to produce, and to convey to the various parts, a sufficient quantitv 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 fio-uro 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 expanding 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 15 w 170 THE CHEST. expansion and contraction, is the best — certainly for some animals, and for all under peculiar circumstances, 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. This principle holds good with regard to some breeds of horses. We value the heavy draught-horse not only on account of his simple muscular power, but the weight which, by means of tliat power, he is able to throw into the collar. A light horse may be preferable for light draught; but we must oppose weight to weiirht, when our loads are heavy. In the dray-horse, we prize this circular chest, not only that he may be proportionably heavier before — to him no disadvantage — but that, by means of tiie increased capacity of his chest, he may obtain the bulk and size which best, lit him for our service. But he would not do for speed — he would not do for ordinary quick exertion ; and if he were pushed far beyond his pact, he would become broken-winded, or have intiamed lungs. Some of our saddle-horses and cobs have barrels round enough, and we value them on account of it, for they are always in condition, and they rarely tire. But when we look at them more carefully, there is just that departure from the circular Ibrm of which mention has been made — that happy medium between the circle and the ellipse, which retains the capacity of the one and the expansibility of the other. «Such a horse is invaluable for common purposes, but he is seldom a horse of speed. If he is permitted to go his own pace, and that not a slow one, he will work on for ever; but if he is too much hurried, he is soon distressed. The Broad Deep Chest. — Then for the usual purposes of the road, and more partic- ularly for rapid progression, search is made for that form of the chest which shall unite, and to as great a 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 ex- haustion of vitality. This form of the chest is consistent with lightness, or at least with all the light- ness that can be rationally required. The broad-chested horse, or he that, with mod- erate 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 approaching too near to rotundity is invariably heavy about the shoulders and low in the withers. It is to the mixture of the Ara- bian blood that we principally owe this peculiar and advantageous formation of the chest of tlie 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 ex- hibit the address and gratify the vanity of their riders on the parade or in the ])ark, l)ut they have not the appetite nor the endurance that will carry them throuoh three successive days' hard work. Five out of six of the animals that perish from inflamed lungs are nnrrow-chested, and it might be safely aflinned that the far greater part of those who are lost in the field after a hard day's run, have been horses whose training has been neglected, or Avho have no room for the lungs to expand. The most importnnt of all points in the conformation of the horse is here elucidated. An elevated wither, or oblique shoulder, or powerful quarters, are twoen those of the back. FiVery provision is made for stn-ngth here. The union of the back and loins sliould be carefully observed, for there is sometimes a depression between thein. A kind of line is drawn across, which shows imperfection in the construction of the spine, and is regarded as an indication of weakr\ess. THE WITHERS. — MUSCLES OF THE BACK. 173 THE WITHERS. The spinous or upright processes of the dorsal vertebrae, or bones of the back, above tne upper part of the shoulder, are as remarkable for their length as are the transverse or side processes of the bones of the loins. They are flattened and terminated by rough blunted extremities. The elevated ridge which they form is called the withers. It will be seen in the cuts (pp. 63 and 167), that the spine of the first bone of the back has but little elevation, and is sharp and upright. The second is longer and inclined backward ; the third and fourth increases in length, and the fifth is the longest; — they then gradually shorten until the twelfth or thirteenth, which becomes level with the bones of the loins. High withers have been always, in the mind 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 advantage. The rising of the fore parts of the horse, even in the trot, and more especially in the gallop, depends not merely on the action of the muscles of the legs and shoulders, but on those of the loins, inserted into the spinous processes of these bones of the back, and acting with greater power in proportion as these processes, constituting the withers, are lengthened. The arm of the lever to which the power is applied will be longer; and in proportion to the length of this arm will be the ease and the height to which a weight is raised. Therefore good and high action will depend much on elevated withers. It is not difficult to understand how speed will likewise be promoted by the same conformation. The power of the horse is in his hinder quarters. In them lies the main spring of the frame, and the fore-quarters are chiefly elevated and thrown for- ward to receive the weight forced on them by the action of the hinder quarters. In proportion, however, as the fore-quarters are elevated, will they be thrown farther forward, or, in other words, will the stride of the horse be lengthened. Yet many racers have the forehand low. The unrivalled Eclipse was a remarkable instance of this ; but the ample and finely proportioned quarters, and the muscularity of the thigh and fore-arm, rendered the aid to be derived from the v/ilhers perfectly unnecessary. The hea\'y draught-horse does not require elevated withers. His utility depends on the power of depressing his fore-quarters, and throwing their weight fully into the collar ; but for common work in the hackney, in the farmer's horse, and in the hunter, well-formed withers will be an essential advantage, as contributing to good and safe action, and. likewise to speed. MUSCLES OF THE BACK. The most important muscles which belong to this part of the frame are principally those which extend from the continuation of the ligament of the neck, along the whole of the back and loins ; and likewise from the last cervical bone; — the svpe.rJidaKs and transversalis rnsfarum, or superficial and transverse muscles of the ribs, going from this ligament to the upper part of the ribs to elevate them, and to assist in the expan- sion of the chest; also the large inass of muscle, the Idiigis.siinus dnrsi, or longest mus- cle of the back, from the spinous and transverse processes of the vertebrae to the ribs, and by w^hich all the motions of the spine, and back, and loins, to which allusion has been made, are principally produced; by which the fore-quarters are raised upon the hind ones, or the hind up'm the fore ones, according as either of them is the fixed point. This is the principal agent in rearing and kicking. Tlie last muscle to be noticed is the spinnlh dorsi, the s])inal muscle of the hack, from the spinous processes of some of the last bones of the back to those of the fore part; — thick and strong about the withers, and broadly attached to them; and more powerfully attached, and more strongly acting in pr^^portion to the elevation of the withers ; and proceeding on to the three lowest bones nf the neck, and therefore mainly concerned, as already described, in elevating the fore-quarters, and producing high and safe action, and contributing to speed. Before the roof of tlie chest is left,some accidents or diseases to which it is exposed must be mentioned. The first is cf a very serious nature. 15* 174 THE CHEST. FISTULOUS WITHERS. When the saddle has been suffered to press long upon the withers, a tumour will be formed, hot and exceedingly tender. It may sometimes be dispersed by the cool- ing applications recommended 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 stimulating embrocations, should be diligently applied, in order 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 tumour, so that the whole of the matter may be evacuate^d, and continue to be discharged as it is afterwards formed ; or the knife may be freely used, in order to get at the liottom of every sinus. The knife has succeeded many a time when the seton has failed. The after treatment must be precisely that which was recommended for a similar dis- ease in the poll. In neglected fistulous withers the ulcer may be larger and deeper, and more destruc- tive than in poll-evil. It may burrow beneath the shoulder-blade, and the pus appear at the point of the shoulder or the elbow ; or the bones of the Avithers may become carious. Very great improvement has taken place in the construction of saddles for common use and in the cavalry service. Certain rules have now been laid down from which the saddler should never deviate, and attending to wliich the animal is saved from much suffering, and the mechanic from deserved disgrace. The first rule in the fitting of the saddle is, that it should bear upon the back, and not on the spine or the withers, for these are parts that will not endure pressure. Next in universal application is the understanding that the saddle should have everywhere an equal bearing, neither tilting forward upon the points nor backward upon the seat. When the saddle is on, and the girths fastened, there should remain space sufficient between the withers and the pommel for the introduction of the hand underneath the latter. The points of the tree should clip or embrace the sides without pinching them, or so standing outward that the pressure is all downwards, and upon one place, instead of being in a direction inwards as well as downwards, so as to be distributed \iniformly over every part of the point that touches the side. Horses that have low and thick withers are most likelj^ to have tliera injured, in consequence of the continual riding forward of the saddle, and its consequent pressure upon them. Fleshy and fat shoul- ders and sides are also subject to become hurt by the points of the trees cither pinch- ing them from being too narrow in the arch, or from the bearing being directly down- ward upon them. Injury occasionally results from the interruption which a too forward saddle presents to the working or motion of the shoulder, and the consequent friction the soft parts sustain between the shoulder-blade inwardly, and the points of the saddle-tree outwardly.* WARBLES, SITFASTS, AND SADDLE GALLS. On other parts of the back, tumours and very troublesome ulcers may be produced by the same cause. Those resulting from the pressure of the saddle are called icar- bks, and, when tliey ulcerate, they frequently become siifasfs. Warbles are small 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 tumours, 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, tliat this will perfectly succeed, for by the frequent application of the pressure the skin and the cellular substance nre bruised or otherwise injured, and a permanent sore nr tumour, of a very annoying description, takes plnce. The centre of the sore n-radually loses its vitality. A se]var.ition takes place from the sur- rounding integument, and there is a circular piece of dried and hard skin remaining in the centre. This is curiously called a navel o-all, because it is opposite to the navel. No effort must be made to tear or dissect it off, but stimulating poultices o' fomentations, or, if these fail, a mild blister, will cause a speedy separation; and the * Pcrcivall's Hippopathology, vol. !., p. 199. THE THYMUS GLAND. 175 wnund will then readily heal by the use of turpentine dressings, more or less stiiuu- lalini^. accordinor to circumstances. Saddle galls are tumours, and sometimes galls or sores, arising also from the pres- pure and cliaiing of the saddle. They differ little from the warble, except that there is very seldom the separation of the dead part in the centre, and the sore is larger and varying in its form. The ajiplication of cold water, or salt and water, will generally remove excoriations of this kind. With regard, however, to all these tumours and excoriations, the humane man will have the saddle eased and padded as soon as it begins to be of the least inconvenience to the horse. MUSCLES OF THE BREAST. There are some important muscles attached to the breast connected with that expansion of the chest which every horse should possess. In the cut, page 159, are seen a very important pair of muscles, the pedorales transversi, or pectoral muscles, forming two prominences in the front of the chest, and extending backward between the legs. They come from the fore and upper part of the breast-bone ; pass across the inward part of the arm, and reach from the elbow almost down to the knee. They confine the arm to the side in the rapid motion of the horse, and prevent him from being, what horsemen would call, and what is seen in a horse pushed beyond his natural power, " all abroad." Other muscles, pedorales magvi et parvi, the great and little pectorals, rather above but behind these, go from the breast-bone to the arm, in order to draw back the point of the shoulder, and bring it upright. Anotlier and smaller muscle goes from the breast-bone to the shoulder, to assist in the saiue office. A horse, therefore, thin and narrow in the breast, must be deficient in import- ant muscular power. Between the legs and along the breast-bone is the proper place in which to insert rowels, in cases of inflamed lungs. CHEST-FOUNDER. These muscles are occasionally the seat of a singular and somewhat mysterious disease. The old farriers used to call it anticor and chest-founder. The horse has considerable stiffness in moving, evidently not referable to the feet. There is tender- ness about the muscles of the breast, and, occasionally, swelling. We believe it to be nothing more than rheumatism, produced by suffering the horse to remain too long tied up, and exposed to the cold, or riding him against a very bleak wind. Some- times a considerable degree of fever accompanies this; but bleeding, physic, a rowel in the chest, warm embrocations over the parts affected, warm stabling, and warm clcithing, with occasional doses of antimonial powder, will soon subdue the complaint. CHAPTER VII. THE CONTENTS OF THE CHEST. THE THYMUS GLAND. At the entrance of the trachea into the thorax, and ere it has scarcely penetrated between the first ribs in the young subject, it comes in contact with an irregular glan- dular body, situated in the doublinnr of the anterior mediastinum. It is " tiie thymus gland," or, in vulgar language, the sweet-bread. In the early period of utero-gesta- tion, it is of very inconsiderable bulk, and confined mosth^ to the chest ; but, during the latter months, it strangely developes itself, — the superior cornua protrude out of the thorax and climb up the neck, between the carotids and the trachea. They are evi- dently connected with the thymus gland, and become parts and portions of the parotiil glands. We are indebted to Sir Astley Cooper for the best account of the anatomical struc- »are, anil possible function of the thymus gland. It presents, on being cut into, a 176 CONTENTS OF THE CHEST. ^real number of small cavities, in which the abundant while fluid of the gland is in part contained. From those cavities the iiuid is transmitted into a general reservoir, which forms a common connecting cavity, and is lined by a delicate membrane. Sir Astley, and in this he is supported by Professor Miiller, believes that a peculiar albu- minous fluid is conveyed by the thymus gland to the veins, through the medium of the lymphatics. It has nothing to do with the formation of the blood, in the foetus or the child. These two eminent physiologists exert the better part of discretion, by declining to give any hypothesis of its function beyond this, that it supplies the lymphatics with an albuminous fluid. This gland continues to grow for some time after birth, and remains of considera- ble size during the first year ; it then gradually diminishes, and, about the period of puberty, usually disappears. It has, however, been found in a mare between five and six years old. THE DIAPHRAGM. Bounding the thorax posteriorly, — the base of the cone in the human subject, — the interposed curtain between the thorax and the abdomen in the horse, is the diaphragm. It is an irregular muscular expansion, proceeding from the inferior surface of the lumbar vertebra; posteriorly and superiorly, adhering to the ribs on either side, and extending obliquely forward and downward to the sternum ; or, rather it is a flattened muscle arising from all these prints, with its fibres all converg- ing towards the centre, and terminatinir there in an expansion of tendinous substance. It is lined anteriorly by the pleura or investing membrane of the t';oracic cavity, and posteriorly by the peritoneum or investing membrane of the abdominal cavity. Anatomy of the Diapkragjii. — In the short accoui.t vvhifli it is purposed to give of the structure of the diaphragm, the description of Mr. Percivall will be closely fol- lowed. "The diaphragm maybe divided into the main circular muscle, with its central tendinous expansion forming the lower part, and two appendices, or crura, as they are called, from their peculiar shape, constituting its superior portion. The fleshy origin of the grand muscle may be traced laterally and inferiorly, commencing from the cartilage of the eighth rib anteriorly, and closely following the union of the posterior ribs with their cartilages ; excepting, however, the two last. The attach- ment is peculiarl}' strong; it is denticulated ; it encircles the whole of the lateral and inferior part of tlie chest, as far as the sternum, where it is connected with the ensi- form cartilage. Immediately under the loins are the appendices of the diaphragm, commencing on the right side, from the inferior surfaces of the five first lumbar ver- tebrae by strong tendons, which soon become muscular, and form a kind of pillar; and, on the left, proceeding from the two first lumbar vertebrae only, and from the sides rather than the bodies of these vertebrae, and these also unite and form a shorter pillar, or leg. The left crus or appendix is shorter than the right, that it may be more out of the way of pressure from the left curvature of the stomach, which, v.ith the spleen, lies underneath. Opposite to the 17th dorsal vertebra, these two pillars unite and form a thick niass of muscles, detached from the vertebras, and leaving a kind of pouch between them and the vertebrae. They not only unite, but they decus- sate : their fibres mingle and again separate from each other, and then proceed onward to the central tendinous expansion towards which the fibres from the circular muscle, and the appendices, all converge.'" The diaphragm is the main agent, both in ordinary and extraordinary respiration ; it assists also in the expulsion of the urine, and it is a most powerful auxiliary in the act of parturition. In its quiescent state, it presents its crnvex surface towards the thorax, and its concave one towards the abdomen. The anterior convexity abuts upon the lungs; the posterior concavity is occu})ied by some of the abdominal viscera. The effect of the action of this muscle, cr the contraction of its fibres, is to lessen the convexity towards the chest, and the concavity t( wards the abdomen : or perhaps, by a powerful contraction, to cause it to present a plane surface either way. Tlio abdo- minal viscera that must be displaced in order to effect this, have consideralde b\ilk and weight; and when the stomach is distended with food, and the motion required from the diaphragm in rapid breathing is both quick and extensive, there needs some strong, firui, elastic, substance to bear it. The forcible contiict and violent pressure would bruise and otherwise iniure a mere muscular expansion; and therefore we have this tendi- RUPTURE OF THE DIAPHRAGM. x77 nous expansion, comparatively devoid of sensibility, to stand the pressure and the BhocK. w^hich will always be greatest at the centre. Yet it is subject to injury and disease of a serious and varied character. What- ever may be the original seat of thoracic or abdominal ailment, the diaphragm soon becomes irritable and inflamed. This accounts for the breathing of the horse being so much affected under every inflammation or excitement of the chest or belly. The irritability of this muscle is often evinced by a singular spasmodic action of a portion, or the whole of it. Mr. Castley thus describes a case of it: — "A horse had been very much distressed in a run of nearly thirteen miles, without a check, and his rider stopped, on the road towards home, to rest him a little. ^With difficulty he was brought to the stable. Mr. Castley was sent for, and he says, — ' When I first saw the animal, his breathing and attitude indicated the greatest distress. The prominent symptom, however, was a convulsive motion, or jerking of the whole body, audible at several yards' distance, and evidently proceeding from his inside ; the beats appeared to be about forty in a minute. On placing my hand over the heart, the action of that organ could be felt, but very indistinctly ; the beating evidently came from behind the heart, and was most plainly to be felt in the direction of the diaphragm. Again placing my hand on the abdominal muscles, the jerks appeared to come from before, backwards ; the impression on my mind, therefore, was, that this was a spasmodic affection of the diaphragm, brought on by violent distress in running.' "* Mr. Castley's account is inserted thus at length, because it was the first of the kind on record, with the exception of an opinion of Mr. Apperley, which came very near to the truth. " When a horse is very much exhausted after a long run with hounds, a noise will sometimes be heard to proceed from his inside, which is often erroneously supposed to be the beating of his heart, whereas it proceeds from the excessive motion of the abdominal muscles. "| Mr. Castley shall pursue his case, (it will be a most useful guide to the treatment of these cases) : — " Finding that there was little pulsation to be felt at the submaxillary artery, and judging from that circumstance that any attempt to bleed at that time would be worse than useless, I ordered stimulants to be given. We first administered three ounces of spirit of nitrous ether, in a bottle of warm water; but this producing no good effect, we shortly afterwards gave two drachms of the sub-carbonate of ammonia in a ball, allowing the patient, at the same time, plenty of white water to drink. About a quarter of an hour after this, he broke out into a profuse perspiration, which continued two hours, or more. The breathing became more tranquil, but the convul- sive motion of the diaphragm still continued without any abatement. After the sweating had ceased, the pulse became more perceptible, and the action of the heart more distinct, and I considered this to be the proper time to bleed. When about ten pounds had been extracted, I thought that the beating and the breathing seemed to increase ; the bleeding was stopped, and the patient littered up for the night. In the morning, the affection of the diaphragm was much moderated, and about eleven o'clock it ceased, after continuing eighteen or nineteen hours. A little tonic medicine was afterwards administered, and the horse soon recovered his usual appetite and spirits.":^: Later surgeons administer, and with good effect, opium in small doses, together with ammonia, or nitric ether, and have recourse to bleeding as soon as any reaction is perceived. Over-fatigue, of almost every kind, has produced spasm of the diaphragm, and so has over-distension of the stomach with grass. RUPTURE OF THE DIAPHRAGM. This is an accident, or the consequence of disease, very lately brought under the cognizance of the veterinary surgeon. The first communication of its occurrence was from Mr. King, a friend of Mr. Percivall.§ It occurred in a mare that had been ridden sharply for half a dozen miles, when she was full of grass. She soon afterwards exhibit'='d symptoms of broken-wind, and, at length, died suddenly, while standing in the stable. The diaphragm was lacerated on the left side, through its whole extent, t.hrowing the two cavities into one. * The Veterinarian, 1831, p. 247. t Nimrod on the Condition of Hunters, p. 185 { The "Veterinarian, 1S31, p. 248. ^ The Veterinarian, 1338, p. 101. 5 178 CONTENTS OF THE CHEST. Since that period, from the increasing and very proper habit of examining every dead horse, cases of this accident have rapidly multiplied. It seems that it may follow any act of extraordinary exertion, and efforts of every kind, particularly on a full stomach, or when the bowels are distended with green or other food likely to generate gas.* Considerable caution, however, should be exercised when much gaseous fluid is present; for the bowels may be distended, and forced against the diaphragm to such a degree, as to threaten to burst. An interesting case of rupture of the diaphragm was related by Professor Spooner, at one of the meetings of the Veterinary Medical Association. A horse having been saddled and bridled for riding, was turned in his stall and fastened by the bit-straps. Something frightened liim — he reared, broke the bit-strap, and fell backward. On the following morning, he was evidently in great pain, kicking, heaving, and occasionally lying down. Mr. S. was sent for to examine him, but was not told of the event of the preceding day. He considered it to be a case of enteritis, and treated it accord- ingly. He bled him largely, and, in the cotirse of the day. the horse appeared to be decidedly better, every symptom of pain having vanished. The horse was more lively — he ate with appetite, but his bowels remained constipated. On the following day there was a fearful change. The animal was suffering sadly — the breathing was laborious, and the membrane of tiie nose intensely red, as if it w^ere more a case of inflammation cf the lungs than of the bowels. The bowels were still constipated. The patient was bled and physicked again, but without avail. He died ; and there was found rupture of the diaphragm, protrusion of intes- tine into the thoracic cavity, and extensive pleural and peritoneal inflammation. In rupture of the diaphragm, the horse usually sits en his haunches, like a dog; but this is far from being an infallilde symptom of the disease. It accompanies introsusception, as well as rupture of the diaphragm. The weight of the intestines may possibly cause any protruded part of them to descend again into the abdomen. This muscle, so important in its office, is plentifully supplied with blood-vessels. As the posterior aorta passes beneath the crura of the diaphragm, it gives out some- times a single vessel which soon Infurcates ; sometimes two branches, which speedily plunge into the appendices or crura, while numerous small vessels, escaping from them, spread over the central tendinous expansion. As the larger muscle of the diaphragm springs from the sides and the base of the chest, it receives many ramifica- tions from the internal pectoral, derived from the anterior aorta ; but more from the posterior intercostals which spring from the posterior aorta. The veins of the diaphragm belong exclusively to* the posterior vena cava. There are usually three on either side ; but they may be best referred to two chief trunks which come from the circumference of the diaphragm, converge towards the centrs, and run into the posterior cava as it passes through the tendinous expansion. The functional nerve of the diaphragm, or that from which it derives its principal action, and which constitutes it a muscle of respiration, is the phrenic or diaphragmatic. Although it does not proceed from that portion of the medulla oblongata which gives rise to the glosso-pharyngeus and the par vagxim, yet there is suflicient to induce us to suspect that it arises from, and should be referred to, the lateral column between the superior and inferior, the sensitive and motor nerves, and which may be evidently traced from the pons varolii to the very termination of the spinal chord. The diaphragm is the main agent in the work of respiration. The other muscles are mere auxiliaries, little needed in ordinary breathing, but affording the most important assistance, when the hreathinor is more than usually hurried. The mecha- nism of respiration may be thus explained : — Let it lie supposed that the lungs are in a quiescent state. The act of expiration has been performed, and all is still. From some cause enveloped in mystery — connected with the will, but independent of it — some stimulus of an unexplained and unknown kind — the ]ihrrnic nerve acts on the diaphragm, and that muscle contracts; and. by contracting, its convexity into the chest is diminished, and the cavity of the chest is enlarged. At the same time, and by some consentaneous influence, the intercostal muscles act — with no great force, indeed, in undisturbed breathing; but, in proportion as they act, the ribs rotate on their axes, their edges are thrown outward, and thus a twofold effect ensues : — the posterior margin of the chest is expanded, the cavity is plainly enlarged, and also, by the partial rotation of every rib, the cavity is still more increased. * Percivali's Hippopathology, vol. ii., No. 1, p. 152. THE PLEURA. ,79 By some other consentaneous influence, the spinal accessory nerve likewise exerts its power, and the sterno-maxillaris muscle is stimulated by the anterior division of it, and the motion of the head and neck corresponds with and assists that of the chest; while the posterior division of the accessory nerve, by its anastamoses with the motor nerves of the levator humeri and the splenius, and many other of the muscles of the neck and the shoulder, and by its direct influence on the rhomboideus, associates almost every muscle of the neck, the shoulder, and the chest, in the expansion of the thorax. These latter are muscles, which, in undisturbed respiration, the animal scarcely needs ; but which are necessary to him when the respiration is much disturbed, and to obtain the aid of which he will, under pneumonia, obstinately stand until he falls exhausted or to die. The cavity of the chest is now enlarged. But this is a closed cavity, and between its contents and the parietes of the chest a vacuum would be formed ; or rather an inequality of atmospheric pressure is produced from the moment the chest begins to dilate. As the diaphragm recedes, there is nothing to counterbalance the pressure of the atmospheric air communicating with the lungs through the medium of the nose and mouth, and it is forced into the respiratory tubes already described, and the lungs are expanded and still kept in contact with the receding walls of the chest. There is no sucking, no inhalent power in the act of inspiration; it is the simple enlargement of the chest from the entrance and pressure of the air. From some cause, as inexplicable as that which produced the expansion of the chest, the respiratory nerves cease to act; and the diaphragm, by the inherent elasticity of its tendinous expansion and muscular fibres, returns to its natural form, once more projecting its convexity into the thorax. The abdominal muscles, also, which had been put on the stretch by the forcing of the viscera into the posterior part of the abdomen by means of the straightening of the diaphragm, contract, and accelerate the return of that rnuscle to its quiescent figure ; and the ribs, all armed with elastic cartilages, regain their former situation and figure. The muscles of the shoulder and the chest relax, a portion of the lungs are pressed on every side, and the air with which they were distended is again forced out. There is only one set of muscles actively employed in expiration, namely, the abdominal : the elasticity of the parts displaced in inspiration being almost sufficient to accomplish the purpose. The lungs, however, are not altogether passive. The bronchial tubes, so far as they can be traced, are lined with cartilage, divided and subdivided for the purpose of folding up when the lungs are compressed, but elastic enough to afford a yieldinof resistance against both unusual expansion and contraction. In their usual state the air-tubes are distended beyond their natural calibre; for if the parietes of the thorax are perforated, and the pressure of the atmosphere rendered equal within and without them, the lungs immediately collapse. 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 membrane, so called from the nature of its exhalation, in distinction from the mticnus secretion yielded by the membrane of the air-passages. The serous membrane generally invests the most important organs, and always those that are essentially connected with life ; while the mucous mem- brane 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 which the motion of the various organs is freer and less dangerous. Although the lungs, and the bony walls which contain them, are in constant approxi- mation with each other, both in expiration and inspiration, yet in the frequently hurried and violent motion of the animal, and, in fact, in ever}' act of expiration and inspiration, of dilatation and contraction, much and injurious friction would ensue if the surfaces did not glide freely 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. 180 CONTENTS OF THE CHEST. When the chest is opened soon after death, we recognize it in the steam that arises, and in a few drops of fluid, which, being condensed, are found at the lowest part of the chest. The quantity, however, which is exhaled from all the serous membranes, must be very great. It is perhaps equal or superior to that which is yielded by the vessels on the surface of the body. If very little is found in ordinary cases, it is because the absorbents are as numerous and as active as the exhalents, and, during health, that which is poured out by the one is taken up by the other; but in circumstances of dis- ease, either when the exhalents are stimulated to undue action, or the power of the absorbents is diminished, the fluid rapidly and greatly accumulates. Thus we have hydrothorax or dropsy of the chest, as one of the consequences of inflammation of the chest; and the same disturbed balance of action will produce similar effusion in other cavities. The extensibility of membrane generally is nov^-here more strikingly displayed than in the serous membranes, and particularly in that under consideration. How different the bulk of the lungs before the act of inspiration has commenced, and after it has been completed, and especially in the laborious respiration of disease or rapid exer- tion! In either state of the lungs the pleura is perfectly fitted to that which ii envelopes. The pleura, like other serous membranes, is possessed of very little sensibility. Few nerves from the sensitive column of the spinal chord reach it. Acute feeling would render these membranes generally, and this membrane in particular, unfit for the function they have to discharge. It has too much motion, even during sleep ; and far too forcible friction with the parietes of the thorax in morbid or hurried respiration, to render it convenient or useful for it to possess much sensation. Some of those anatomists whose experiments on the living animal do no credit to their humanity. have o-iven most singular proof of the insensibility, not only of these serous mem- branes", but of the organs which they invest, Eichat frequently examined the S])leen of dogs. He detached it from some of its adhesions, and left it protniding from the wound in the abdomen, in order "to study the phenomena;" and he saw "them teai ino- off that organ, and eating it, and thus feeding npon their own substance," In some experiments, in which part of their intestines were left out, he observed them, as soon as they had the opportunity, tear to pieces their own viscera without any visible pain. Although it may be advantageous that these important organs shall be thus devoid of sensibility when in health, in order that we may be unconscious of their action and motion, and that they may be rendered perfectly independent of the will, yet it is equally needful that, by the feeling of pain, we should be warned of the existence of any dangerous disease": and thence it happens that this membrane, and also the organ which it^'invests, acquire under inflammation the highest degree of sensibility. The countenance of the horse labouring under pleurisy or pneumonia will sufliciently indi- cate a state of suffering ; and the spasmed bend of his neck, and his long and anxious and intense gaze upon'his side, tell us that that suffering is extreme. Nature, however, is wise and benevolent even here. It is not of every morbid affection, 'or morbid change, that the animal is conscious. If a mucous membrane is diseased, he is rendered painfully aware of that, for neither respiration nor digestion could he perfectly carried on while there was any considerable lesion of it; but, en the other hand, we find tubercles in the parenchyma of the lungs, or induration or hepatization of their substance, or extensive adhesions, of which there were few or no indications during life. The pleura adheres intimately to the ribs and to the substance of the lungs; yet it is a very singular connexion. It is not a continuance of the same orfranisation : it ir- not an interchange of vessels. The organ and its membrane, ahhoufrh so closely connected for a particular purpose, yet in very many cases, and wliere it woiild least of all be suspected, have little or no sympathy with each other. Inflammation of tlu' lunn-s will sometimes exist, and will "run on" to ulceration, while the pleura will be very little affected : and, much oftener, the pleura will be the seat of inflammatior. nnd will be attended by increased exhalation to such an extent as to suffocate the animal, and yet the lungs will exhibit little other morbid appearance than that ol mere compression. The disease of a mucous membrane spreads to other parts — thai THE LUNGS — THE HEART. 181 of a serous one is generally isolated. It was to limit the progress of disease that tlu8 difference of structure between the organ and its membrane was contrived. The investing membrane of the lungs and that of the heart are in continual contact with each other, but they are as distinct and unconnected, as if they were placed in different parts of the frame. Is there no meaning in this] It is to preserve the perfect independence of organs equally important, yet altogether different in structure and function — to oppose an insuperable barrier to hurtful sym- pathy between them, and especially to cut off the communication of disease. Perhaps a little light begins to be thrown on a circumstance of which we have occasional painful experience. While we may administer physic, or mild aperients at least, in pleurisy, not only with little danger, but with manifest advantage, we may just as well give a dose of poison as a physic-ball to a horse labouring under pneumonia. The pleura is connected with the lungs, and with the lungs alone, and ihe organisation is so different, that there is very little sympathy between them. A physic-ball may, therefore, act as a counter-irritant, or as giving a new determination to the vital current, without the ])ropagation of sympathetic irritation ; but the lungs or the bronchial tubes that ramify through them are continuous with the mucous mem- branes of the digestive as well as all the respiratory passages ; and on account of the continuity and similarity of organisation, there is much sympathy between them. If there is irritation excited at the same time in two different portions of the same mem- brane, it is probable that, instead of being shared between tiiem, the one will be trans- ferred to the other — will increase or double the other, and act with fearful and fatal violence. THE LUNGS. The lungs are the seat of a peculiar circulation. They convey through their com- paratively little bulk tlie blood, and other fluids scarcely transformed into blood, or soon separated from it, which traverse the whole of the frame. They consist of count- less ramifications of air-tubes and blood-vessels connected together by intervening cellular substance. They 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 mediastinum. 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 perfectly to occupy and fill the chest. If one of these lobes is cut into, it is found to consist of innumerable 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 communication between them, or if perchance such communication exists, it constitutes the disease known by the name of broken loind. On the delicate membrane of which these cells are composed, innumerable minute blood-vessels ramify. They proceed from the heart, through the medium of \he puU monary artery — they follow 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 the pleura — the mediastinum ; by means of which it is supported in its natural 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 pericardium, whose office is of a similar nature. By means of the heart, the blood is circnlated 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 sub- stance 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 16 182 CONTENTS OF THE CHEST. the imlmcnary system; but, united in the manner in whicli they are, their junction contiibutes to their mutual strength, and both circulaiions are carried on at tlie same time Th" first is the arterial circulation. No function can be discharged — life cannot exist, without the presence of arterial blood. The left ventricle that contains it con- tracts, and by the power of that contraction, aided by other means, which the limits of our work will not permit us to describe, tlie blood is driven through the whole arterial circulation — the capillary vessels and the veins — and returns again to the heart, but to the riglit ventricle. The other division of this viscus is likewise employed in circulating the blood tlius conveyed to it, but is not the same fluid which was contained in the left ventricle. It has gradually lost its vital 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 membrane permits some of the principles of the air to permeate it. Tlie oxygen of the atmosphere attracts and combines witli a portion 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 pro- perties 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 dif- fused over the frame. DISEASES OF THE HEART, It may be readily supposed that an organ so complicated is subject to disease. It is so to a fearful extent; and it sympathises with the maladies of every other part. Until lately, however, this subject has been shamefully neglected, and the writers on the veterinary art have seemed to be unaware of the importance of the organ, and the maladies to which it is exposed. The owner of the horse and the veterinary profes- sion generally, are deeply indebted to Messrs. Percivall and Pritchard*^ for much valuable information on this subject. The writer of this work acknowledges his obligation to both of these gentlemen. To Dr. Hope also, and particularly to Laennec, we owe much. Mr. Percivall well says, "This class of diseases may be regarded as the least advanced of any in veterinary medicine — a circumstance not to be ascribed so much to their comparative rarity, as to their existing undiscovered, or rather being confounded during life with other disorders, and particularly with pulmonary aflfections." The best place to examine the beating of the heart is immediately 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 uncertain guide, for it can- not be flatly and evenly applied. Pericauditis. — The bag, or outer investing membrane of the heart, is liable to inflammation, in v.hich the elfused fluid becomes organized, and deposited in layers, increasing the thickness of the pericardium, and the difficulty of the expansion and contraction of the heart. The only symptoms on which dependence can be placed, are a quickened and irregular respiration; a bounding action of the heart in an early stage of the disease; but that, as the fluid increases and becomes concrete, assuming a feeble and fluttering character. Hydrops Perk-ardii is the term used to designate the presence of the fluid secreted in consequence of this inflammation, and varying frcm 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 th3 ., * See Pritchard's papers in the Veterinarian, vol. vi., and Percivall's Hippopathologv, vol II., Part I. DISEASES OF THE HEART. 1S3 cavity of the pericardium is filled; or if he lingers on, most dreadful palpitations and throbbings accompany the advanced stage of the disease. It is seldom or never that this disease exists alone, but is combined with dropsy of the chest or abdomen. Carditis is the name given to inflammation of the muscular substance ot the heart. A well authenticated instance of inflammation of the substance of the heart does not stand on record. Some other organ proves to be the chief seat of mischief, even when the disturbance of the heart has been most apparent. Inflammation of the Lining of the Heart. — Mr. Simpson relates, in the Vete- rinarian 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 extraordi- nary character. Three or four beats succeeded to each other, so violently as to shake the whole frame, and to be visible at the distance 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 membrane of the heart violently inflamed, with spots of ecchymosis. This would seem to be a case of inflammation of the heart ; but in a considerable proportion of tbe cases of rabies, these spots of ecchymosis, and this general inflam- mation of the heart, are seen. Hyperthrophy is an augmentation or thickening of the substance 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 ventricle on one side have been thus enlarged. Mr- Thomson of Bath relates, in The Veterinarian, a very singular case. A horse was brought with every appearance of acute rheumatwm. and was bled and physicked. On the following day he was standing with his Aare legs widely extended, the nos- trils dilated, the breathing quick and laborious, the eyes sunk in their orbits, the pupils dilated, his nose turned round almost to his elbow, sighing, and his counte- nance showing approaching dissolution. The pulse had a most irregular motion, and the undulation of the jugular veins was extending to the very roots of the ears. He died a few hours afterwards. The lungs and pleura were much inflamed; the pericardhim was inflamed and dis- tended by fluid ; the heart was of an enormous size and greatly inflamed ; both the auricles and ventricles were filled with coagulated blood; tlie greater part of the chordae tendineae had given way ; the valves did not approximate to perform their function, and the heart altogether presented a large disorganized mass, weighing thir- ty-four pounds. The animal worked constantly on the farm, and had never been put to quick or very laborious work. Dilatation is increased capacity of the cavities of the heart, and the parietes be- ino- trenerally thinned. It is probable that this is a more frequent disease than is generally supposed ; and from the circulating power being lessened, or almost sus- pended, on account of the inability of the cavities to propel their contents, it is ac- companied by much and rapid emaciation. In the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London this is a disease considerably frequent, and almost uniformly fatal. It attacks the smaller animals, and particularly the quadrumana, and has been found in the deer and the zebra. It is characterised by slow emaciation, and a piteous expression of the countenance ; but the mischief is done when these symptoms ap- pear. Ossification of the Heart. — There are but too many instances of this both in the right and the left auricles of the heart, the aortic valves, the abdominal aorta, and also the bronchial and other glands. Mr. Percivall observes of one of these cases, that " the cavity could have been but a passive receptacle for the blood, and the current must have been continued witho\it any or with hardly any fresh impulse." Of air in the heart destroying the horse, there are some interesting accounts; and also of rupture of the heart, and aneurism, or dilatation of the aorta, both tliorac;c and abdominal, and even firther removed from the heart and in the iliac artery. The symptoms that would certainly indicate the existence of aneurism are yet unknown, except tenderness about the loins and gradual inability to work, are considered as such : but it is interesting to know of the existence of these lesions. Ere long the veterinary surgeon may possibly be able to guess at them, although he will rarely 184 CONTENTS OF THE CHEST. have more power in averting the consequences of aneurism than the human surgeon possesses with regard to his patient. This will be the proper place to describe a little more fully the circulation of the blood, and various circumstances connected with that most important process. THE ARTERIES. The vessels which carry the blood from the heart are called arteries {keeping air — the ancients thought that they contained air). They are composed of three coats; the outer or elastic is that by which they are enabled to yield to the gush of blood, and enlarge their dimensions as it is forced along them, and by which also they contract again as soon as the stream has passed ; the middle coat is a muscular one, by which this contraction is more powerfully performed, and the blood urged on in its course; the inner or membranous coat is the mere lining of the tube. This 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 ailment or pain. The number of pulsations in 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 are forty or forty-two. This is said to be the standard pulse — the pulse of health. It varies singularly littie in horses of the same size and breed, and where it beats naturally there can be litt>e materially wrong. The most convenient place to feel the pulse, is at the lower jaw (p. OS) a little behind the spot where the sub- maxillary artery and vein, and the parotid duct, come from under the jaw. There the number of pulsations will l)e easilj' counted, and the character of the pulse, a matter of fully equal importance, will be clearly ascertained. Many horsemen put the hand to the side. They can certainly count the pulse there, but they can do no- thing more. We must be able to press the artery against some hard body, as the jaw-bone, in order to ascertain the marner in w hich the blood flows through it, and the quantity that flows. When the pulse reaches fifty or fift3'-five, some degree of fever may be apprehended, and proper precaution should be taken. Seventy or seventy-five will indicate a dan- gerous state, and put the owner 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 forming 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 speaks 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 j^erson will approach the patient gently, and pat and soothe him, and even then the circula- tion, 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 iiitick pulse indicate irritation and fever, a s/nu' pulse will likewise characterise 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, but also to more violent action. It may contract more powerfully upon the blood, which will be driven with greater 'orce through the arteries, and the expansion of the vessels will be oT<'ater and mom sudden. Then we have the Jwrd 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 thourrh 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. INFLAMMATION. 185 A weak 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 communicate pulsation to the current. It is the case in sudden inflammation of the lungs. They are overloaded and gorged with blood, which can- not find its way through their minute vessels. This accounts for the well-known faci of a copious bleeding increasing a pulse previously oppressed. A portion being removed from the distended and choked vessels, the remainder is able to flow on. There are many other varieties of the pulse, which it would be tedious here to par- ticularise ; it must, however, be observed, that during the act of bleeding, its state should be carefully observed. Many veterinary surgeons, and gentlemen too, are apt to order a certain quantity of blood to be taken away, but do not condescend to super- intend the operation. This is unpardonable in the surgeon and censurable in the owner of the horse. The animal is bled for some particular purpose. There is some state of disease, indicated by a peculiar quality of the pulse, which we are endeavour- ing to alter. The most experienced practitioner cannot tell what quantity of blood must be abstracted in order to produce the desired eflect. The ciiange 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, comparatively regardless of the quantity, continue to take blood, until, in inflammation of the lungs, the op- pressed pulse becomes fuller and more distinct, or the strong pulse of considerable fever is evidently softer, or the animal exhibits symptoms of faintness. The arteries divide as they proceed through the frame, and branch out into innu- merable minute tubes, termed capillaries (hair-like tubes), and they even become so small as to elude the sight. The slightest puncture cannot be inflicted without wound- ing some of them. In these little tubes, the nourishment of the body and the separation of all the vari- ous secretions is performed, and in consequence of this, the blood is changed. When these capillaries unite together, and begin to enlarge, it is found to be no longer arte- rial, or of a florid red colour, but venous, or of a blacker hue. Therefore the principal termination of the arteries is in veins. The point where the one ends, and the other commences, cannot be ascertained. It is when red arterial blood, having dis- charged its function by depositing the nutritious parts, is changed to venous or black blood. Branches from the ganglial or sympathetic nerves wind round these vessels, and endue them with energy to discharge their functions. When the nerves communicate too much energy, and these vessels consequently act with too much power, injiamnm- iion is produced. If this disturbed action is confined to a small space or a sino-le organ, it is said to be htcal, as inflammation of the eye, or of the lungs ; but when this inordinate action spreads from its original seat, and embraces the whole of the arterial system, /eyer is said to be present, and this usually increases in proportion as the local disturbance is observable, and subsides with it INFLAMMATION. Local inflammation is characterised by redness, swelling, heat, and pain. The redness proceeds from the greater quantity of blood flowing through the part, occa- sioned by the increased action of the vessels. The swelling arises from the same cause, and from the deposit of fluid in the neighbouring substance. The natural heat of the body is produced by the gradual change which takes place in the blood, in passing from an arterial to a venous state. If more blood is driven through the capil- laries of an inflamed part, and in which this change is effected, more heat will neces- sarily be produced there; and the pain is easily accounted for by the distension and pressure which must be produced, and the participation of the nerves in the disturb- ance of the surrounding parts. 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. If we take away the fuel, the fire will go out. All other means are comparatively unimportant, contrasted with bleeding. Blood is generally abstracted from the jugular vein, and so the general quantity may be lessened ; but if it can be taken from the neighbourhood of the dis- eased part, it will be productive of tenfold benefit. One quart of blood abstracted from 16* Y 18C CONTENTS OF THE CHEST, the foot in acute founder, by unloading the vessels of the inflamed part, and enabling them to contract, and, in that contraction, to acquire tone and power to resist future distension, will do more good than five quarts taken from the general circulation. An ounce of blood obtained by scarifying the swelled vessels of the intlamed eye, will give as much relief to tliat oro-an as a copious bleeding from the jugular. It is a prin- ciple in the animal frame which should never be lost sight of by tne veterinary sur- geon, or the horseman, that if by bleeding the process of inflammatron can once be checked, — if it can be s.spended 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 inflanunaticn of the lungs, or of the bowels, or of the brain, or of any important organ. ^lany iiorsts are lost for want or insutiiciency of bleeding, but we never knew one materially injured by tlie most copious extraction of blood in the early stage of acute inflammation. 'J'he horse w ill 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 essen- tial service. Next in importance to bleeding, is purging. Something may 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 v, hich in the horse continues probably more than twenty-four hours, is enormous. While the blood is thus determined to the bowels, less even of that which remains will flow through the inflamed i)art. When the circulation is directed to one set of vessels, it is proportionately diminished in other parts. It was first directed to the inflamed portions, and they Avere overloadea and injured, — it is now directed to the bowels, and the inflamed parts are relieved. While the purging continues, some degree of languor and sickness is felt; and the force of the circulation is thereby diminished, and the ijeneral excitement lessened. The importance of physic in every case of considerable external inflammation, is snfii- ciently evident. If the horse is laid by for a few days from injury of the foot, 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. There is so strong a sympathy between the various contents of the cavity of the chest, that no one of them can be inflamed to any great extent, without all the others being disposed to become so; and, therefore, a dose of physic in inflamed lungs, would perhaps be as fatal as a dose of poison. The excitement produced on the bowels by the purgative may run on to inflammation, which no medical skill can stop. The means of abating external inflammation are various, and seemingly contra- dictory. The heat of the part very naturally and properly led to the api)rication of cold embrocations and lotions. Heat has a strong tendency to equalize itself, or to leave that substance which has a too great quantity of it, or little capacity to retain it, for another which has less of it, or more capacity. Hence the advantage of cold appli- cations, by which a great deal of the unnatural heat is speedily abstracted from the inflamed part. The foot labouring under inflamiu;.tion 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 ])art is wetted with diluted vinegar, or goulard, f r salt aed w.iter. When benefit is derived from these applications, it is to be attributed to their cold n( ss alone. Water, es^pecially uhen cooled below the natural temperature, is as good an application as any that can be used. Nitre dissolved in water, will lev. er the tem- perature of the fluid many deorees; but the lotion must bo a]i])lied immediately after the salt has been dissolved. A bandage may be afterwards applied to strengthen the limb, but during the contii nance of active inf'.ammaticn. it would only confine the heat of the part, or prevent it from benefiting by the salutary influence of the cold produced by the evaporation of the water. Sometimes, however, we n sr rt to warm fomentations, and if benefit is derived from Uieir use, it is to be traced to the warmth of the fluid, more than to any medicinal pro* FEVER. .87 perty 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 recommend. Fomentations 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 i'ormany hours or days without intermission, and perspiration being so long kept np, the dis- tended vessels will be very materially relieved. The advantage derived from a poul- tice 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, objectionable. 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 many hours. It is occasionally very difficult to decide wlicn a cold or a hot application is to be used, and no general rule can be laid down, except that in cases of superficial inflam- mation, and in the early stage, cold lotions will be preferable; but, when the inflam- mation is deeper seated, or fully established, warm fomentations will be most ser- viceable. Stimulating applications are frequently used in local inflammation. When the disease is deeply seated, a stimulating application to the skin will cause some irrita- tion 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 excite it in one, we shall abate it in the other, and also, by the discharge which we establish from the one, we shall lessen the determination of blood to the 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 may 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 this deposit; but, except to hasten the natural process and effects of inflammation, a blister, or stimu- lating application, should never be applied to a part already inflamed. FEVER. Fever is general increased arterial action, either without any local affection, or in consequence of the sympathy of the system with inflammation in some particular part. The first is pure fever. Some have denied that that exists in the horse, but they must have been strangely careless observers of the diseases of that animal. The truth of the matter is, that the usual stable management and general treatment of the horse are so absurd, and various parts of him are rendered so liable to take on inflammation, that pure fever will exist a very little time without degenerating into inflammation. The lungs are so weakened by the heated and foul air of the ill-ventilated stable, and by sudden changes from almost insufferable heat to intense cold, and the feet are so injured by hard usage and injudicious shoeing, that, sharing from the beginning in the general vascular excitement which characterises fever, they soon become excited far beyond other portions of the frame ; and that which commenced as fever becomes inflammation of the lungs or feet. Pure fever, however, 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, unwillins 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 coldness of inflammation of the lungs ; 188 CONTENTS OF THE CHEST. 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 ver)' costive. \\ hile the state of pure fever lasts, the shivering fit returns at nearly the same hour every 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 intiamma- tion appears, or the fever gradually subsides. No horse ever died of pure fever. If he is not destroyed by inflanimation of the lungs, or feet, or bowels succeeding to the fever, he gradually ri-covers. What has been said of the treatment of local inflammation will sufllciently indicate that which should be resorted to in fever. Fever is general increased actiun of the heart and arteries, and therefore evidently appears the necessity for bkediug, regu- lating 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 small quantity of aloes may be given morn- ing 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 tartar, and nitre should be given morning and night, in proportions regulated by the circuuistances of the case. The horse ehould be warmly clothed, but be placed in a cool and well-ventilated stable. Symptonitttic ftvcr is increased arterial action, proceeding Irom some local cause. No oraan of consequence can be much disordered or inflamed without the neighbour- ing 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 tever, 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 arteries terminate occasionally in openings on different surfaces of the body. On the skin they pour out the perspiration, and on the diflerent cavities of the frame they yield the moisture which prevents friction. In other parts they terminate in glands, in which a fluid essentially different from the blood is secreted or separated : such are the parotid and salivary glands, the kidneys, the spleen, and the various organs or laboratories which provide so many and such difl"erent secretions, for the multifarious purposes of life ; but the usual termination of arteries is in veins. THE VEINS. These vessels carry back to the heart the blood which had been conveyed to the difli'erent parts by the arteries. They have two coats, a muscular and a membranous one. Both of them are thin and comparatively weak. They are more numerous and much larger than the arteries, and consequently the blood, lessened in quantity by the various secretions separated from it, flows more slowl}"^ through them. It is forced on partly by the first impulse communicated to it by the heart; also, in the extremities and external portions of the frame, by the pressure of the muscles ; and in the cavity of the chest, its motion is assisted or principally caused by the sudden expansion of the ventricles of the heart, after they have closed upon and driven out their contents, and thereby causing a vacuum which the blood rushes on to fill. There are curious valves in various parts of the \Kins which prevent the blood from flowing backward to its source. BOG AND BLOOD SPAVIN. The veins of the horse, although their coats are thin compared with those of thn arteries, are not subject to the enlargements (varicose veins) which are so frequent, and often so painful, in the legs of the human being. The legs of the horse mav exhibit many of the injurious consequences of hard work, but the veins will, with ono exception, be unaltered in structure. Attached to the extremities of most of the tendons, and between 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 neighbouring parts. From violent exercise these vessels are liable to BLEEDING. 189 enlarge Windgalls and thoroughpins are instances of this. There is one of them on the inside of the hock at its bending. This sometimes becomes considerably increased in size, and the enlargement is called a bug-spavin. A vein passes over this bag, which is pressed 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 distension reaches from this bag as low down as the next valve. This is called a 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, and then it is doubtful whether the lameness should not be attributed to the enlarged mucous bag rather than to the distended vein. Both of these diseases, however, render a horse unsound, and materially lessen his value. Old farriers used to tie the vein, and so cut off altogether the flow of the blood. Some of them, a little more rational, dissected out the bag which caused the disten- sion of the vein : but the modern and more prudent way is to endeavour 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 pressure to that part. It is, however, very difficult to adapt a bandage to a joint which admits of such extensive motion ; therefore most practi- tioners 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. BLEEDING. This operation is performed with a fleam or a lancet. Tlie 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 blood- stick — 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 infiammation'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 tamed 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, bat 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 jugalar at the angle of the jaw (see cut, p. 125). 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 bloodstick or the hand on that part of the back of the fleam immediately over the blade, will cut through the vein, and the blood will flow. A fleam with a large blade should always be preferred, for the operation will be materially shortened, and this will be a matter of some con- sequence 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 instrument. There is no occasion to press so hard aijainst 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 neighbouring muscles. When sufficient blood has been taken, the edsres of the wound should be brought closely and exactly together, and kept together by a small sharp pin being passed through them. Round this a little tow, or a few hairs from the mane of the horse, should be wrapped, 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 rubbing the part against the manger. In bringing the edges of the wound together, and introducing the pin, care 190 BLEEDING. should not be. taken to draw the skin too much from the neck, otherwise blood will insinuate itself between it and the muscles beneath, and cause an 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 to 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 suffered to trickle down the sides, it will not afterwards undergo those changes by which we partially judge of the extent of inflammation. 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 hour? have elapsed, it will be better to make a fresh incision rather than to open the old wound. Few directions are necessary for the use of the lancet. They who are competent to operate with it, will scarcely require any. If the point is sufficiently sharp the lancet can scarcely be too broad-shouldered ; and an abscess lancet will generally make a freer incision than that in common use. Whatever instrument is adopted, too much care cannot be taken to have it perfectly clean, and very sharp. It should be carefully wiped and dried immediately after the operation, otherwise, in a very short time, the edges will begin to be corroded. For general bleeding the jugular vein is selected as the largest superficial one, and most easily got at. In every affection of the head, and in cases of fever or extended inflammatory action, it is decidedly the best place for bleeding. In local inflamma- tion, blood may be taken from any of the superficial veins. In supposed affections of the shoulder, or of the fore-leg or foot, the plate 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 snmetirnes extracted from the snphccna, or thigh-vein, which runs across the inside of the thigh. In foot cases it may be taken from the coronet, or, much more safely, from the toe ; not by cutting out, as the far- rier does, a piece of the sole at the toe of the frog, which sometimes 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 solo at the very toe until the blood flows, and, if necessary, encouraging its discharge by dip- ping 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 shoe over it.* * A great improvement has lately been introduced in the method of arresting arterial haemorrhage. The operation is very simple, and, with coinmon care, successful. The instru- ment is a pair of artery forceps, with rather sharper teeth than the common forceps, and the blades held close by a slide. The vessel is laid bare, detached from the cellular substance around it. and the artery then grasped by the forceps, the instrument deviating a very little from the line of the artery. The vessel is now divided close to the forceps, and behind them, and the forceps are twisted four or five times roimd. 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 bleedina has been applied by several scientific and benevolent men with almost constant sucecss. 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 intro- duced, 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 wil) have the pleasing consciousness of rescuing many a poor animal from the unnecessary inflic- tion of torture. MEMBRANE OF THE NOSE. 191 CHAPTER VIII. We now proceed to the consiJeration 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 thiclvness, but its vasculari y. The blood-vessels are likewise superficial ; they are not covered even by integument, but merely by an unsubstantial mucous coat. They are deeper seated, indeed, than in the human being, and they are more protected from injury; and therefore there is far less ha;morrhage from the nostril of the horse than from that of the human being, whether spontaneous or accidental. Lying imme» diately under the mucous coat, these vessels give a peculiar, and, to the horseman, a most important tinge to the membrane, and particularly observable on the septum. They present him with a faithful indication of the state of the circulation, and espe- cially in the membranes of the other respiratory passages with which this is con- tinuous. The horseman and the veterinary surgeon do not possess many of the auxiliaries of the human practitioner. Their patients are dumb ; they can neither tell the seat nor the degree of pain; and the blunders of the practitioner are seldom buried with the patient. Well, he must use greater diligence in availing himself of the advantages that he does possess ; and he has some, and very important ones, too. The varying hue of the Schneiderian membrane is the most important of all ; and, with regard to the most frequent and fatal diseases of the horse — those of the respiratory passages — it gives almost all the information with regard to the state of the circulation in those parts that can possibly be required. Veterinarians too generally overlook this. It has not yet been sufficiently taught in our schools, or inculcated in our best works on the pathology of the horse. It is the custom with almost every horseman who takes any pains to ascertain the state of his patient, to turn down the lower eyelid, and to form his opinion of the degree of general inflammation by the colour which the lining membrane of the lid presents. If it is very red, he concludes that there is considerable fever; if it is of a pale pinkish hue, there is comparatively little danger. This is a very important examination, and the conclusion which he draws from it is generally true : but on the septum of the nose he has a membrane more immediately continuous with those of the respiratory organs — more easily got at — presenting a larger surface — the ramifica- tions of the blood-vessels better seen, and, what is truly important, indicating not only the general affection of the membranes, but of those with which he is most of all concerned. We would then say to every horseman and practitioner, study the character of that portion of the membrane which covers the lower part of the membrane of the nose — that which you can most readily brincr into view. Day after day, and under all the varying circumstances of health and disease, study it until you are enabled to recog- nise, and you soon will, and that witii a degree of exactitude you would have scarcely thought possible, the pale pink hue when the horse is in health — the increasing blush of red, and the general and uniform painting of the membrane, betokening some excite- ment of the system — the streaked appearance when inflammation is threatening or commencing — the intensely florid red of inflammation becoming acute — the starting of the vessels from their gossamer coat, and their seeming to run bare over the mem- brane, when the inflammation is at the highest — the pale trrnund with patches of vivid red, showing the half-subdued hut still existing fever — the uniform colour, but some- what redder than natural, indicating a return to a healthy stale of the circulation — the paleness approaching to white, accompanying a state of debility, and yet some radia- tions of crimson, showing that there is still considerable irritability, and that mischief may be in the wind — the pale livid colour warning you that the disease is assuming a typhoid character — the darker livid announcing that the typhus is established, and that the vital current is stagnating — and the browner, dirty painting, intermingling with and subduing the lividness, and indicating that the game is up. These appear- 02 MEMBRANE OF THE NOSE. ances will be guides to our opinion and treatment, which we can never too highly ajipreciate. CATARRH, OR COLD. Catarrh, or Culd, is attended by a slight defluxion from the nose — now and tlien, a slighter weeping from the eyes, and some increased labour of breathing, on account of the uneasiness which the animal experiences from the passage of the air over the naturally sensitive, and now more than usually irritable surface, and from the air- passage being diminished by a thickening of the membrane. When this is a simply local inflammation, attended by no loss of appetite or increased animal temperature, it may speedily pass over. In many cases, however, the inflammation of a membrane naturally so sensitive, and rendered so morbidly irritable by our absurd treatment, rapidly spreads, and involves the fauces, the lymphatic and some of the salivary glands, the throat, the parotid gland, and the membrane of the larynx. 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 associating itself with the local alfection ; and there also being a greater or less degree of pain in the act of swallow- ing, and which, if the animal feels this, he will never cat. Cough now appears more or less frequent or painful ; but with no great acceleration of the pulse, or heaving of the flanks. Catarrh may arise from a thousand causes. Membranes, subjected to so many sources of irritation, soon become irritable. Exposure to cold or rain, change of stable, change of weather, change of the slightest portirn of clothing, neglect of grooming, and a variety of circumstances apparently trifling, and which they who are unaccustomed to horses would think could not possibly produce any injurious effect, are the causes of catarrh. In the spring of the year, and while moulting, a great many young horses have cough ; and in the dealers' stables, where the process of making up the horse for sale is carrying on, there is scarcely one of them that escapes this disease. In the majority of cases, a few warm mashes, warm clothing, and a warm stable — a fvver-ball or two, with a drachm of aloes in each, and a little antimony in the evening, will set all right. Indeed, all would soon be right without any medicine ; and much more speedily and perfectly than if the cordials, of which grooms and farriers are so fond, had been given. Nineteen horses out of twenty with common catarrh will do well; but in the twentieth case, a neglected cough may be the precursor of bronchitis, and pneumonia. These chest affections often insidiously creep on, and inflammation is frequently established before any one belonging to the horse is aware of its exist- ence. 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 abstrac- tion of blood. A physic-ball, however, should not be given in catarrh without much consideration. It can scarcely be known what s}'mpathy may exist between the por- tion of membrane already affected, and the mucous membranes generally. In severe thoracic affection, or in that wliich may soon become so, a dose of physic would be little better than a dose of poison. If. however, careful investigation renders it evi- dent that there is no affection of the lungs, and that the disease has not proceeded beyond the fauces, small doses of aloes may with advantage be united with other medicines, in order to evacuate the intestinal canal, and reduce the faecal discharge to a pultaceous form. If catarrh is accompanied by sore throat ; if the parotids should enlarge and become tender — there are no tonsils, a7iiyirdrilw, in the liorsc — or if the suiunaxillary a;lands should be inflamed, and the animal should quid his food and gulp liis water, this will be an additional reason for bleeding, and also for warm clothing and a com- fortable stable. A hot stable is not meant by the term comfortable, in which the foul air is breathed over and over again, but a temperature some degrees above that of the external air, and whore that determination to the skin and increased action of the exhalent vessels, which in these c; ses are so desirable, may take ])lace. Every stable, both for horses in sickness and in health, should have in it a tliermometer. Some stimulating liniment may be applied over the inflamed gland, consisting of turpentine or tincture of cantliarides, diluted with spermaceti or neat's-foot oil — strong enough to produce considerable irritation en the skin, but not to blister, cr to destroy INFLAMMATION OF THE LARYNX. 193 the hair. A n embrocation sufficiently powerful, and yet that never destroys the hair, consists of equal parts of hartshorn, oil of turpentine, and camphorated spirit, with a small quantity of laudanum. INFLAMMATION OF THE LARYNX. Strictly speaking, this refers to inflammation confined to the larynx ; but either catarrh or bronchitis, or both, frequently accompany 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 auscultation, is decidedly referrible to the larynx. The breathing is sliorter and quicker, and evidently more painful than catarrh ; the mem- brane of the nose is redder; it is of a deep modena colour; and the horse shrinks, and exhibits great pain v/hen the larynx is pressed upon. The paroxysms of cough- ing become more frequent and violent, and the animal appears at times almost suffocated. 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. Con- siderable swelling of the larynx and the pharynx ensue, and also of the parotid, sub- lingual, and submaxillary glands. As the inflammation increases, the cough becomes hoarse and feeble, and in some cases altogether suspended. At the commencement, there is usually little or no nasal defluxion ; 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 cannot be too often repeated, that it is one of the most valuable means which we possess of detecting the seat, intensity, and results of the maladies of the respiratory passages. No insrument is r°quired ; the naked ear can be applied evenly and flatly, and with a very slight pressure, on any part that it is of importance to examine. Tlie healthy sound, when the ear is applied to the windpipe, is that of a body of air passing unint'^rniptedly through a smooth tube ot somewhat considerable calibre : it very much resembles the sound of a pair of forge bellows, when not too violently worked. He who is desirous of ascertaining whether there is any disease in the larynx of a horse, should apply his ear to the lower part of the windpipe. If he finds that the ait passes in and out without interniption, 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 recognise a little gurgling, grating sound. As he continues to ascend, that sound is more decisive, mingled with an occasional wheezing, wh'.-stling 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 whistling, 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 laryn^^itis is of more frequent occurrence than acute. 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 trache- otomy. In acute laryngitis the treatment to be pursued is sufficiently plain. Blood must be abstracted, and that from the juQular vein, for there will then be the combined advantage of general and local bleeding. The blood must be somewhat copiously withdrawn, depending on the degree of inflimmation — the practitioner never for a moment forgetting that he bus to do with inflammation of a mucous membrane, and that what he does ho must do quickly. He will have lost the opportunity of strug- gling 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 anv determinate quantity of blood, and leaves his assistant or his groom 17 " a 194 INFLAMMATION OF THE TRACHEA— ROARING. to abstract it; he must himself bleed, and until the pulse flutters or the constitution is evidently aftected. 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 larynx, if not speedily subdued, produces sad disorganization in this curiously formed and important machine. Lymph is eftused, morbidly adhe- sive, and speedily organised — the membrane becomes thickened, considerably, per- manently so — the submucous cellular tissue becomes cedematous ; the inflammation spreads from the membrane of the larynx to the cartilages, and difficulty of breath- ing, and at length confirmed roaring, ensue. INFLAMMATION OF THE TRACHEA. Inflammation of the membrane of the larynx, and especially when it has run on to ulceration, may rapidly spread, and involve the greater part or the whole of the lining membrane of the trachea. Auscultation will discover when this is taking place. If the disease is extending down tlie trachea, it must be followed. A blis- ter must reach as low as the rattling sound can be detected, and somewhat beyond this. The fever medicines must be ;idniinistered in somewiiat increased doses ; and the bleeding must be repeated, if the state of the pulse does not indicate the con- trary. Generally speaking, however, althongh the inflammation is now approaching the chest, its extension into the trachea is not an unfavourable symptom. It is spread over a more extended surface, and is not so intense or untractable. It is involving a part of the frame less complicated, and where less mischief can be effected. True, if the case is neglected, it must terminate fatally ; but it is coming more within reach, and more under command, and, the proper means being adopted, the change is rather a favourable one. The disorganizations produced in the trachea are similar to some which have been described in the larynx. The same formation of organised bands of coagulated lymph, the same thickening of membrane, diminution of calibre, and foundation for roaring. ROARING. The present will be the proper place to speak of that singular impairment of the respiratory function recognised by this name. It is an unnatural, loud gnmting sound made by the animal in the act of breathing when in quick action or on any sudden exertion. On carefully listening to the smnnl, it will appear that the roaring is pro- duced in the act of inspiration, and not in that of expiration. If the horse is briskly trotted on a level surface, and more partic\ilarly if he is liurried up hill, or if he is suddenly threatened with a stick, this peculiar sound will be heard and cannot be mistaken. When dishonest dealers are showing a horse that roars, but not to any great degree, they trot away gently, and as soon as they are too far for the sound to be heard, show off the best jiaces of the animal ; on returninsr, they gradually slacken their speed when they come within a suspicious distance. This is sometimes techni* cally called " the dealers' long trot." Roaring is exceedingly unpleasant to the rider, and it is manifest unsoundness. It is the sudden and violent rushing of the air through a tube of diminished calibre; and if the imped character in this disease is debility. Not the stiff, unwilling motion of the horse with pn(nunonia, and which has been mistaken for debility — every muscle being needed for the purjioses of res])iration, and therefore imperfectly used in locomotion — but actuiil loss of power in the muscular system generally. The horse staggers from the second dviy. He threatens to fill 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 tn^atment which has been emj)loycd succeeds, or nattire begins to rally. The cough somewhat subsides ; the pulse assumes its natura. standard ; the countenance acquires a little more animation ; the horse will eat a EPIDEMIC CATARRH. 199 small quantity of some choice thing; and health and strength slowly, very slowly indeed, return : but at other times, when there had been no decided change during the progress of the disease, no manageable metastasis of inflammation while there was sufficient power left in the constitution to struggle with it, a strange exacerbation sf symptoms accompanies the closing scene. The extremities become 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 ; it becomes purple, livid, dirty brown, and the discharge is bloody and fcelid, the breath and all the excretions becoming foetid too. The mild character of the disease gives way to malignant typhus : swellings, and purulent ulcers, spread over ditferent parts of th« frame, and the animal is soon destroyed. Post-mortem Examination. — Examination after death sufficiently 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 ; the upper part of the trachea will be filled with adhesive spume, and the lining membrane thickened, injected, or ulcerated ; the lining tunic of the bronchi will exhibit unequivocal marks of inflammation ; the sub- stance of the lungs will be engorged, and often inflamed ; the heart will partake of the same aflTection ; its external coat will be red, or purple, or black, and its internal one will exhibit spots of ecchymosis ; the pericardium will be thickened, and the pericardiac and pleuritic bags will contain an undue quantity of serous, or bloody- serous, or purulent fluid. The oesophagus will be inflamed, sometimes ulcerated — the stomach always so ; the small intestines will uniformly present patches of inflammation or ulceration. The liver will be inflamed — 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 excessive. This disease is clearly attributable to atmospheric influence, but of the precise nature of this influence we are altogether ignorant. It is some foreign injurious principle which mingles with and contaminates the air, but whence this poison is derived, or how it is diffused, we know not. It is engendered, or it is most prevalent, in cold ungenial weather ; or this weather may dispose the patient for catarrh, or prepare the tissues to be affected by causes which would otherwise be harmless, or which may at all times exist. It is most frequent in the spring of the year, but it occasionally rages in autumn and in winter. It is epidemic ; it spreads over large districts. It sometimes pervades the whole country. Scarcely a stable escapes. Its appearance is sudden, its progress rapid. Mr. Wilkinson had 3G new cases in one day. It is said that a celebrated practitioner in London had nearly double that number in less than twenty-four hours At other times it is endemic. It pervades one town ; one little tract of country. It is confined to spots exceedingly circumscribed. It is dependent on atmospheric agency, but this requires some injurious adjuvant and the principle of contagion must probably be called into play. It has been rife enough in the lower parts of the metro- polis, while in the upper and north-western districts scarcely a case has occurred. It has occasionally been confined to a locality not extending half-a-mile in any direc- tion. In one of the cavalry barracks the majority of the horses on one side of the yard were attacked by epidemic catarrh, while there was not a sick horse on the other side. These prevalences of disease, and these exceptions, are altogether unac- countable. The stables, and the system of stable management, have been most carefully inquired into in the infected and the healthy districts, and no satisfactory difference could be ascertained. One fact, however, has been established, and a very important one it is to the horse proprietor as well as the practitioner. The probability of the disease seems to be in proportion to the number of horses inhabiting the stable. Two or three horses shut up in a comparatively close stable may escape. Out of thirty horses, distributed through ten or fifteen little stables, not one may be affected , but in a stable containing ten or twelve horses the disease will assuredly appear, although it may be proportionally larger and well ventilated. It is on this account that postmasters and horse-dealers dread its appearance. In a sickly season their 200 EPIDEMIC CATARRH. stables are never free from it ; and if, perchance, it does enter one of their largest stables, almost every horse will be affected. Therefore also it is that grooms have so iiiuch dread of a distempered stable, and that the odds are so seriously at!ected if tiistemper has broken out in a racing establishment. Does this lead to the conclusion that epidemic catarrh is contagious'? Not neces- .-^arily, but it excites strong suspicion of its being so ; and there are so many facts of the disease following the introduction of a distempered horse into an establishment, that this malady must rank among those that are both contagious and epidemic. There are few well-informed grooms, or extensive owners of horses, and living much among them, or veterinary surgeons of considerable jjraf^tifo, who entertain the least doubt about the matter. Then every necessary precuutiun should be adopted. The horse that exhibits symptoms of epidemic catarrh should be removed as soon as possible. The affected horses should be removed, and not the sound ones, for they, although apparently sound, may have the malady lurking about them, and may more widely propagate the disease. 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 inflamma- tion is occasionally intense. The veterinar}- 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 affected ; and the medical attendant should be present at this first venesection, that he may close the orifice as soon as the pulse begins to falter. This attention to the first bleeding is indispensable. It is the carelessness with which it is. performed — the ignorance of the object to be accomplished, and tlie effect actually produced, tliat destroys half the horses that are lost from this malady. The first falter of the pulse is the signal to suspend the bleeding. Every drop lost afterwards may be v.anted. 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 fa;ces are pultaceous, or even before that, the aloes should be omitted and the fever medicine continued. It will rarely be prudent to continue 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 allowed, but mashes and thin gruel. The water should be entirely taken away, and a bucket of gniel suspended "in the box. This is an excellent plan with regard to every sick horse th-at we do not wish to reduce too much; and when he finds that the morning and evening pass over, and his water is not offered 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 offered; such as grass, tares (the latter especially), lucerne, and, aliove all, carrots. If these cannot be procured, a little hay may be wetted, and offered 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 occa- sion to be in a hurry to drench with cfruel ; it will make the mouth sore, and the throat sore, and tease and disgust: but if he should \on'r continue obstinately to refuse his food, nutriment nmst 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 auscultatii n. He will listen for the mucous rattle, creepinfr down the windpipe, and enterin one. "The disorder has exhibited every phase and degree of intensity, from the slightest perceivable dulness, which has passed ofl' with simply a change in the diet, to an insidious, unyielding, unsubduable pleurisy, ending in hydrothorax, in spite of every- thing that could be done, and most timely done. ISo long as the disease has confined itself to the throat, and that there has been along with that only dejection, prostration, and fever, there has existed no cause for alarm ; but when such symptoms have, after some days' continuance, not abated, and have, on the contrary, rather increased, and others have arisen which but too well have authorised suspicions that ' mischief was brewing in the chest,' then there became the strongest reasons for alarm for the safety of the patient. What is now to be done 1 The practitioner durst not bleed a second time, at least not generally, for the patient's strength would not endure it, although he is certain a pleurisy is consuming his patient. He possesses no effectual means for topical blood-letting. Neither blisters nor rowels, nor plugs nor setcns, will take any efiVct. Cathartic medicine he must not administer; nauseants are uncertain and doubtful in their efficacy ; sedatives, tonics, and stimulants and narcotics, appear counter-indicated, inflammation existing, and, when tried under such circumstances, have, I believe, never failed to do harm. "Dissatisfied with one and all of these remedies in the late influenza — though the losses I have experienced have, after all, not been so very comparatively great, being no more, since the beginning of the year, than three out of nearly forty cases — I repeat, having, as I thought, reason to be dissatisfied for losing even these three cases, considering that they came under my care at the earliest period of indisposition, I determined, in any similar cases that might occur, to have recourse to that medicine which, in all membranous inflannnations in particular, is the physician's sheet-anchor, and which I had exhibited, and still continue to do, myself, in other disorders, though I had never given it a fair trial in epidemics having that tendency which 1 have described the present one uniformly to have indicated, viz., the destruction of life by an inflammation attacking membranous parts, of a nature over which, being forl)idden to bleed, we appeared to possess little or no power. Could we have drawn blood from the sides or breast, by cupping or by leeches, in any tolerable quantity, we might have had some control over the internal disease; but barred from this, and without any remedy save a counter-irritant, which we could not make net, or an internal medicine, whose action became extremely dubious, if not positively hurtful, what was to be done ? I repeat, I made up my mind to experiment with the surgeon's remedy in the same disease, namely, mercury ; and that I have had reason t'tj feel gratified at the result will, I think, appear from the followinn- cases: — " Case I. — April 8. Every symptom of tlie prev;iilinf the Epidemic tif 1705. — M. Gilbert describes a malignant epi- demic which appeared in Paris in 1795, characterized by duhiess, loss of appetite, weakness, pulse at first rapid and full, and afterwards continuing rapid, but gradu- ally becoming small, weak, and intermittent. The boM'els at first constipated, and then violent purgino succeeding. The weakness rapidly increasing, accompanied by fffitid breath, and fa?tid evacuations. Tumours soon appeared about the limbs, tinder the chest, and in the head, the neck and loins. If they suppurated and burst, the animal usually did well ; but otherwise he inevitably perished. The formation of these tumours was critical. If they rapidly advanced, it was considered as a favourable symptom; but if they continued obscure, a fatal termination was prog- nosticated. Bleeding, even in an early stage, seemed here also to be injurious, ;'.nd inereated the debility. Physic was given, and mild and nutritious food, ffvue], and cordials. Deep incisions were made into the tumours, and the cautery applied. iStimulaling frictions were also used, but all were of little avail. These cases have been narrated at considerable length, in order to give some idea of the nature of this disease, and because, with the exception of a short but \CTy BRONCHITIS. 205 excellent account of the malig-nant epidemic in the last edition of Mrs Blaine's Vete- rinary Outlines, there will not be found any satisfactory history of it in ilie writings of our English veterinarians. It is evidently a disease of the mucous membrf.nes, both the respiratory and digestive. It is accompanied by early and great debility, loss of all vital power, vitiation of every secretion, effusions and tumours everywhere, and it runs its course with fearful rapidity. If it was seen at its outset, the practi- tioner would probably bleed; but if a i'ew hours only had elapsed, he v.'ould find with Messrs. I3rognone and Gilbert, that venesection would only hasten the catas trophe. Stimulants should be administered 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 diarrhosa. These medicines should be repeated in a few hours, combined, perhaps, with ginger and o-entian. If these failed, there is little else to be done. Deep incisions into the tu- mours, or blisters over them, might be proper measures ; but the princi])al attention should be directed to the arresting of the contagion. The infected should be imme- diately removed from the healthy. All offensive matter should be carefully cleared away, and no small portion of chloride of lime used in washing the animal, and par- ticularly his ulcers. It might with great propriety be administered internally, while the stable, and everything that belonged to the patient, should undergo a careful ablu- ion with the same powerful disinfectant. BRONCHITIS. This is not generally a primarj'^ disease. That inflammation of the superior respi- ratory passages, constituting catarrh, gradually creeps downwards and involves the larynx and the trachea, and at length, possibly, the farthest and the minutest ramifi- cations of the air-tubes. When it is found to be thus advancing, its progress should be carefully watched by the assistance of auscultation. Tlie distant murmur of the healthy lung cannot be mistaken, nor the crepitating sound of pneumonia; and in bronchitis the blood may be heard filtering or breaking through the divisions of the lobuli, and accounting for that congestion or filling of the cells with mucus and blood, which is found after intense inflammation. Inflammation precedes this increased dis- charge of mucus. Even that may be detected. The inflamed membrane 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; liut 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, m Dre so than in catarrh, and much more so than in pneumonia. The res- piration shoald next be examined, abundantly more rapid than in catarrh, pneumonia, or pleurisy ; generally as rapid and often more so than the pulse, and accompanied by a wheezing sound, heard at some distance. Mr. Percivall relates a case in which the respiration was more than one hundred in a minute. Mr. C. Percivall describes an interesting case in which the respiration was quick in the extreme ; and he remarks, that he does " not remember to have seen a horse with his respiration so disturbed." In addition to these clearly characteristic symptoms, will be observed a haggard countenance, to which the anxious look of the horse labouring 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 frequently an obstinate refusal to do so ; cough painful in the extreme; breath hot, yet no marked pain in the part, and no looking at the side or flanks. As the disease proceeds, there will be considerable discharu'R from the nostrils, much more than in catarrh, because greater extent of membrane is effected. It will be muco-purulent at first, but will soon become amber-coloured or green, or greyish green; an'l that not from any portion of the food being returned, but from the pecu- liar hue of the secretion from ulcers in the bronchial passages. Small organised pieces will mingle with the discharn-e, — portions of mucus condensed and hardened, 18 200 PNEUMONIA — INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. and forced from the inside of the tube. If the disease proceeds, the discharge becomes hlcody, and then, and sometimes earlier, it is foetid. The natural termination of this disease, if unchecked, is in pneumonia. Although we carmot trace the air-tubes to their termination, the inflammation will penetrate into the lobuli, and affect the membranes of the air-cells or divisions which they con- tain. There is metastasis of inflammation oftener here than in pure pneumonia, and the disease is most frequently transferred to the feet. If, however, there is neither pneumonia nor metastasis of inflammation, and the disease pursues its course, the animal dies from suflocation. If the air-passages are clogged, there can be no sup- pi)' of arterialized blood. Like every other inflammation of the respiratory passages, bronchitis is clearly epidemic. There is a disposition to inflammation in the respiratory apparatus gene- rally, but it depends on some unknown atmospheric influence whether this shall take on the form of catarrh, bronchitis, or pneumonia. It has not, however, been yet proved to be contagious. Here again the first step will be to bleed ; and here too will be the paramount necessity of the personal attendance of some well-informed person while the animal is bled. This is a disease of a mucous, — and an extended mucous surface; and while our 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 which Mr. Charles 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 probably eflfect 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 administration 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 suflice. A blister is always indicated in bronchitis. It can never do harm, and it not unfre- quently affords decided relief. It should extend over the brisket and sides, and up the trachea to the larynx. The food, if the horse is disposed to eat, should be mashes. No corn should be offered, nor should the horse be coaxed to eat. PNEUMONIA — INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. The intimate structure of the lungs has never been satisfactorily demonstrated. They appear, however, to be composed of minute cells or pouches, into which the air is at length conducted, and over the delicate membrane constituting the divisions of which myriads of minute blood-vessels are ramifying. The blood is not merely per- meating them, but it is undergoing a vital change in them ; there is a constant decom- i^osition of the air, or of the blood, or of both ; and, during the excitement of exercise, that decomposition proceeds with fearful rapidity. Then it can readily be conceived vhat a membrane so delicate as this must be, in order that its interposition shall be no hindrance to the arterialisation of the blood ; so fragile also, and so loaded with blood-vessels, will be exceedingly subject to inflammation, and that of a most dan- gerous character. Inflammation of the substance of the lungs is the not unfrequent consecpience of all the diseases of the respiratory passages that have been treated on. Catarrh, influenza, bronchitis, if neglected or badly managed, or, sometimes in spite of the most skilful treatment, will spread along the mucous membrane, and at length involve the termination of the air-pr.ssages. 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 fur horses to he attacked by pure pneumonia. A ])r()digiously increased quantity of blood is hurried through these small vessels, for the vast expenditure of arterial blood in rapid progression must be provided for. These minutest of the cai)illaries are distended and irritated, their contractile power is destroyed, inflanmiation is produced, mechanical injury is effected, the vessels are ru|)tured, blood is ]Kiiired into the interstitial texture, and intense inflammation and congestion, with all their train of fiital consequences, ensue The following are the most frequent causes of pneumonia. A sudden transition from heat to cold ; a change from a warm stable to a colder one ; a neglect of the usua PNEUMONIA — INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 207 clothing;; a neglect even of some little comforis ; riding far and fast against a cold wind, especially in snowy weather ; loitering about when unusual perspiration has been excited; loitering tediously by the side of a covert on a chilly blowing morning. It has not unfrecjuently happened that when horses have been turned out too early to grass, or without gradual preparation, pneumonia has supervened. Few are, under any management, so subject to pneumonia as those who, in poor condition and with- out preparation, are turned into a salt-marsh. On the other hand, a sudden and considerable change from cold to heat may be followed by inflammation of the lungs. Many horses perish in the dealers' stables from this cause. The circulation is considerably quickened ; more blood, and that with more than natural rapidity, is driven through the lungs, previously disposed to take on inflammatory action. The sudden removal from a heated stable to the cold air, for the purpose of examination, has also much to do with the production of disease. Whether it is the consequence of previous disease of the respiratory passages, or that intlammalion first appears in the cellular texture of the lungs, pneumonia is usually ushered in by a shivering fit. The horse is cold all over ; this, however, soon passes oft', and we have general warmth, or heat of the skin above the usual temperature, but accompanied by coldness of the extremities — intense deathy cold- ness. This is a perfectly diagnostic symptom. It will never deceive. It is an early symptom. It is found when there is little or no constitutional disturbance ; when the pulse is scarcely affected, 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 existence. The pulse is not always at first much increased in rapidity, and but rarely or never hard ; bat it is obscure, oppressed. The heart is labouring to accomplish its object; the circulation through the lungs is impeded ; the vessels are engorged — they are often ruptured ; blood is extravasated into the air-cells ; it accumulates in the right side of the heart and in the larger vessels ; and in the venous circulation generally there is a mechanical obstruction which the heart has not power to overcome. Hence the obscure, oppressed pulse ; the ineffectual attempt to urge on the blood ; and hence, too, the remarkable result of bleeding in inflammation of the lungs, for the pulse becomes rounder, fuller, quicker. When blood is abstracted, a portion of the opposing force is removed, and the heart being enabled to accomplish its object, the pulse is developed. 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 engorgement 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 cannot be accomplished by one effort is attempted 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 advantage as he stands ; hence, loo, 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 wiiich he derives from certain 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 towards amendment in the case when the answer is in the negative. When the patient, wearied out, lies down, it is only for a moment ; for if the inflammation is not subdued, he cannot dispense with the auxiliarj^ muscles. He frecjuently, 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 bronchitis the horse rarely or never gazes at his flanks. His is a dread of suffocation 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 tne earliest period ; and soon afterwards there is not merely injection, but the membrane is uniformly and intensely red. The variation in this intensity is anxiously 208 PNEUMONIA. — INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. marked by the observant practitioner ; and he regards witli fear and despair the livid or dirty brownish hue that gradually creeps on. The unfavourable symptoms are, increased coldness of the ears and feet, if that be possible ; partial sweats, grinding of the teeth, evident weakness, staffcrering, 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 uj) and down almost every minute, until he is no longer able to rise ; he struggles severely ; he pitcously groans; the pulse becomes more rapid, fainter, and he dies of suil'ocaticn. 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 present' li < . e mass of congestion. The favourable 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 without the auxiliary muscles. These are good symptoms, and they wilT rarely deceive. Congestion is a frequent termination of pneumonia. Not only are the vessels gorged — the congestion which accompanies common inHammation — but their parietea 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, rxilennens, and being supposed by them to indicate an old disease. ]t 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 portion of the blood becomes absorbed, the more solid one becomes organized, the cells are obliterated, and the lung is hepatized, or bears considerable resemblance to liver. In every case of pneumonia, early and anxious recourse should be had to ausculta- tion. Here, again, is the advantage of being perfectly acquainted with the deep distant murmur presented by the healthy lung. This so-md 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 cf the exploration of the chest. There he will make himself best acquainted with the 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 kind will gradually 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 mistaken. It is caused by the infiltration of blood into the air-cells. Its loudness and perfect character will charncterize 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 unafrected, or yet pervious for the function of respiration to be performed, and tlie animal lingers on, or perha])S recovers. Bv care- ful examination with the ear, this also may be ascertained. Where the lung is im- pervious— where no air passes — no sound will be heard, not even the natural murmur. Around it the murmur will be heard, and loudly. It will be a kind of rusliing po\ind ; for the same quantity of blood must be arterialized, and the air must jinss more rapidly and forcibly through the remaining tubes. If there is considerable inflammation or tendency to congestion, the cre])itatinccurrence. Is there any cure for broken-wind ! None ! No medical skill can repair the bro- ken-down structure of the lun<;s. If, however, we cannot cure, we may in some degree palliate broken-wind ; and, first of all, we must attejul carefully to the feeding. The food should lie in little com- pass— plenty of oats and little hay, but no chafl". ChatTis particularly objectionable, from the rapidity with whicii it is devoured, and the stomach distended. Water fihould be given in moderate quantities, but the horse should not be sutTereu 1,0 drink PHTHISIS PULMONALIS, OR CONSUMPTION. 215 A3 much as he likes until the day's work is over. Green meat will always be ser- Ticeable. Carrots are particularly useful. They are readily digested, and appear to have a peculiarly beneficial effect on the respiratory system. It is from the want of proper attention to the feeding that many horses become broken-winded, even in the straw-yard. There is little nutriment in the provender which they find there ; and in order to obtain enough for the support of life, they are compelled to keep the stomach constantly full, and pressing upon the lungs. It has been the same when they have been turned out in coarse and innutritive pasturage. The stomach was perpetually gorged, and the habitual pressure on the lungs cramp- ed and confined their action, and inevitably ruptured the cells when the horse gam- bolled with his companions, or was wantonly driven about. Next in importance stands exercise. The pursive or broken-winded horse should not stand idle in the stable a single day. It is almost incredible how much may be done by attention to food and exercise. The broken-winded horse may thus be ren- dered comfortable to himself, and no great nuisance to his owner; — but inattention to feeding, or one hard journey — the animal unprepared, and the stomach full — may bring on inflammation, congestion, and death. Occasional physic, or alterative medi- cine, will often give considerable relief. Thick-wind and broken-wind exist in various degrees, and many shades of differ- ence. Dealers and horsemen generally have characterised them by names that can boast no elegance, but are considerably expressive of the state of the animal. Our readers should not be ignorant of them. Some horses make a shrill noise when in quick action — they are said to be Pipers. This is a species of Rnaring. There is usually a ring of coagulated matter round the inside of the windpipe, by which the cavity is materially diminished, and the sound produced in quick breathing must evi- dently be shriller. Sometimes the piping is produced by a contraction of the small passages of the lungs. The Wheezer utters a sound not unlike that of an asthmatic person when a little hurried. This is a kind of thick wind, and is caused by the lodgment of some mucous fluid in the small passages of the lungs. It frequently accompanies bronchitis. Wheezing can be heard at all times, even when the horse is at rest in the stable; roaring is confined to the increased breathing of considerable exertion. The Whistler utters a shriller sound than the wheezer, but only when in exer- cise, and that of some continuance. A sudden motion will not always produce it. It seems to be referable to some contraction in the windpipe or the larynx. The sound is a great nuisance to the rider, and the whistler very speedily becomes dis- tressed. A sharp gallop up-hill will speedily detect the ailment. 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 compara- tively quiet. This animal is said to be a High-blower. With all his apparent dis- tress, he often possesses great speed and endurance. The sound is unpleasant, 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. The pressure of the stomach on the lungs, or that of the fat accumulated around the heart, will so much impede the breathing, that the act of forcible expiration will be accompanied with this kind of sound : hut there are some horses who will at all times emit it, if suddenly touched with the whip or spur. They are called Grunters, and should be avoided. There is some altered structure of the lungs, which prevents them from suddenly accommodating themselves to an unexpected demand for exertion. It is the consequence of previous disease, and is frequently followed by thick or broken wind, or roaring. PHTHISIS PULMONALIS, OR CONSUMPTION. When describing the accompaniments and consequences of inflammation of the lungs in the horse, mention was made of this fatal complaint. It is usually connected with or the consequence of pneumonia or pleurisy, and especially in horses of a pecu- liar formation or temperament. If a narrow-chested, flat-sided horse is attacked by inflammation of the lungs, or severe catarrhal fever, experience tells us that we shall have more difficulty in sub- duing the disease in him, than in one deeper in the girth or rounder in the chest The lungs, deficient in bulk according to the diminished contents of the chest, have 216 PHTHISIS PULMONALIS, OR CONSUMPTION. been overworked in supphincr the quantity of arterial blood expended in the various purposes of life, and particularly that which has been required under unusual and violent exertion. Inflammation of the lunors has consequently ensued, and that inflammatory action has acquired an intense character, under circumstances by which another horse would be scarcely aflfected. 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 — belong" continues so — his coat stares — his skin clings to his ribs — his belly is tucked up, notwithstanding that he may have plenty of mashes, and carrots, and green meat, and medicine — his former gaiety and spirit do not return, 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 tlie slightest exertion puts him completely oft" his feed. We observe him more attentively, and, even as he stands quiet in his stall, the flanks heave a little more laboriously than they should do, and that heaving is pain- fully 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 sliglitest exertion. When many of these symptoms are developed, the animal uill 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 foetid, and the emaciation and consequent debility 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. Thej'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 colour; and there are occasional adhesions between the lungs and the sides of the chest. Is this an hereditarv diseased There is some difficulty in deciding the point. It /.as been scarcely mooted among the horsemen. One thing only is known, that the side has been flat, and the hrlly tucked up, ai d the animal has had much more ardour and willingness than physical strength. These conformations, and this disposition, we know to be hereditary, and thus far phthisis may be said to be so too. Low and damp situations, or a variable and ungenial climate, may render horses peculiarly susceptible of chest affections. All the absurd, or cruel, or accidental causes of pneumonia lay the foundation for phthisis ; and, particularlv, those causes which tend to debilitate the frame generally, render the horse more liable to chest aft'ections, and less able to ward off their fatal consequences. I'he most numerous instances of phthisis occur in those poor persecuted animals that are worn out before their time, and they are frequent enouo-h among cavalry horses after tlie deprivations and fatigues of a long campaign. What is the medical treatment of confirmed phthisis'? The practitioner must be guided by circumstances. If tlie horse is not very bad, and it is the spring of the year, a run at ixraas may be tried. It will generally seem to renovate the animal, but the apparent amelioration is too often treacherous. It should always be tried, for it is the best foimdation for other treatment. The summer, however, having set in, the medicinal effect of the grass ceases, and the flies tease and irritate tlie animal. The medical treatment, if any is tried, v\'ill depend on two simple and unerring guides, the pulse and the membrane of the nose. If the first is quick and hard, and the second streaked with red, venesection should be resorted to. Small bleedings of one or two quarts, omitted wi'cn the pulse is quieted and the nostril is pale, may he effected. Cimnter-irrtlnvis will rnrelv do harm. They should be ajiplied in the form of blisters, extending over the sides, and thus brought as near as possible to tho affected part. Sichilive Tindlrh-.a sliould bo perseveringly administered : and here, as in acute inflammation, the chief dependence will be placed ow (li<:i!alis. It should be given in small doses until a sljijhtly intermittent pulse is produced, and that state of the constitution should be maintained by a continued exhibition of the medicine. Nitre may be added as a diuretic, and pnhis antiinimialis as a diaphoretic. Any /o?)/cs here 1 Yes, the tonic effect of mild and nutritious food — green meat of almost every kind, carrots particularly, mashes, and now and then a malt mash PLEURISY. 21? Nothing further than this ? We may try, but very cautiously, those ronics which stimulate the dig'estive system, yet comparatively little aiF'^ct the circulatory one Small closes of chamomile and gentian may be given, but carefully watched and o'mittec if the flanks should heave more, or the cough be aggravated. The treatment of plitbisis is a most unsatisfactory subject of consideration as it regards the practice of the veterinarian. If, after the human being has been subjected to medical treatment for a long course of time and at very considerable expense, he so far recovers that life is rendered tolerably comfortable to him, he and his connexions are thankful and satisfied, and he will submit to many a privation in order to ward off the return of a disease, to which he is conscious tliere will ever be a strong: predispo- sition : but the case is different with the horse; and this, the scope and bound of the human practitioner's hope, is worthless to the veterinarian. His patient must not only live, but must be sound again. Every energy, every capability must be restored. Can we cause the tubercles of the lungs to be absorbed ] Can we disperse or dispel the hepatization ] Can we remodel the disorganised structure of the luno-s! Our consideration, then, will be chiefly directed to the detection of the disease in its earliest state, and the allaying of the irritation which causes or accompanies the o^rowth of the tubercles. This must be the scope and bound of the veterinarian's practice — always remembering that the owner should be forewarned of the general hopelessness of the case, and that the continuance of his efforts should be regulated by the wish of the proprietor and the value of the patient. PLEURISY. The investing membrane of the lungs, and of the thoracic cavity, namely, the pleura, now demands consideration. We are indebted to Mr. .lohii Field, one of the noblest ornaments of the veterinarj' profession — but cut off in the prime of his days — for the greater part of our knowledge of this disease, and for the power of distinguishing between it and pneumonia, as readily and as surely as we do between pneumonia and bronchitis and epidemic catarrh. The prevailing causes of pleurisy are the same as those which produce pneumonia — exposure to wet and cold, sudden alterations 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 in o the thorax and lacerating 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 en either side, or even to patches on that pleura, whether pulmonary or costal. The inflammation of the lungs which occasionally accompanies rabies is characterised by a singular patchy appearance. That produced on the costal pleura, arising from violence or other causes, rarely reaches the pulmonary covering ; and that which is communicated to the tnnic of the lungs, by means of the intensity of the action within, does not often involv9 the costal pleura. In some cases, however, it affects both pleurae and both sides, and spreads rapidly from one to the other. The first symptom is rigor, followed by increased heat and partial sweats : to these succeed loss of appetite aad spirits, and a low and painful cough. The inspiration is a short, sudden eflbrt, and broken off before it is fully accomplished, indicating the pain felt from the distention of the irritable, because inflamed, membrane. This symp- tom is exceedingly characteristic. In the human being it is well expressed by the term stilch, and an exceedingly painful feeling it is. The expiration is retarded as much as possible, by the use of all the auxiliary muscles which the animal can press into the service; but it at length finishes abruptly in a kind of spasm. This pecu- liarity of breathing, once carefully observed, cannot be forgotten. The next character is found in the tenderness of the sides when the costal pleura is affected. Tliis ten- derness often exists to a degrree scarcely credible. 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 indication, both of pain and the region of that pain, — the intercostal muscles, affected by the. contiguous pleura, and in their turn affecting the panniculus carnosus, or subcutaneous muscular expansion without — there are twitchings of the skin on the side — corrugations- waves creeping over the integument. This is never seen in pneumonia. There is 19 2 c ai8 PLEURISY. however, as we may expect, the same disinclination to move, for every motion must give intense pain. Tlie pulse sliould 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. I'he extremities are never deathy cold ; they may be cool, they arc oftener variable, and they sometimes present increased heat. The body is far more liable to variations of temperature ; and the cold aiid 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 dilference of character in the two diseases is here particularly evident en 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 tianks, thus pointing cut 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, spasmodic. The countenance of the one is that of settled distress; the other brightens up occvisionally. The pang is severe, but it is transient, and there are intervals of relief. While neither will lie down or wil- lingly 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 inflamma- tion of the substance of the lungs hangs heavily ; that of the other is protruded. We here derive most important assistance from Jitscullalion. In a case of pleurisy we have no crepitating, crackling sound, referable to the infiltration of the blood through the gossamer membrane of the air-cells; we have not even a louder and distincter murmur. Perhaps there is no variation from the sound of health, or, if there is any ditference, the murmur is fainter; for the pleura] membrane is thick- ened, and its elasticity is impaired, 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 natural, 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 dimir.ish in frequency, and if the animal becrins 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 character of infiammation — if the gaze at the fianks, previously by starts, becomes fixed as well as anxious, and the dithculty of breathing continues (the difficulty of accDinpli.ihing it, although the efforts are oftener repeated) — if patches of sweat break out, and the animal gets restless — paws — shifts his posture every minute — 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 termination is at hand. For some time before his death, the effusion and its extent will be evi- dent enouiih. lie not only walks unwillintrly, but on the sliirhtest e.\(M-cise his pulse is strangely accelerated ; the feeling of sulfocation comes over him, and be stc];S ail of a sudden, and looks wildly about and trembles; but be quickly n^covrrs iiiniself and proceeds. There is also, when the eil'usion is confirmed, o'deina cf s( me external part, and that occasionally to a very great extent. This is rftrnesi observed in the abdomen, the chest, and the point of the breast. The immediate cause of death is etfusiim in the chest, compressinir the lungs on every side, renderinir expiration difficult and at lenoth inipossihie. and dest'-ving the animal by sutTocation. The very commencement of effusion may be detected by au&- PLEURISY. 219 cultation. There will be the cessation of the respiratory murmur at the sternum, and the increased grating — not the crepitating, crackling noise as when congestion is going on — not the feebler murmur as congestion advances ; but the absence of it, begiiuiinL from the bottom of the chest. It is painfully interesting to watch the progress of the effusion — 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 con- sistence, ^lany 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 lliick adventitious coat covering the costal or the pulmonary pleura — rarely much adhesion, but the lungs purple-coloured, flaccid, compressed, not one-fourtii of their usual size, immersed in the fluid, and rendered incap.ible of expanding by its pressure. Here, as in pneumonia, the bleeding should be prompt and copious. Next, and of great importance, aperient medicine should be administered — that, the effect of which is so desirable, but wiiich we do not dare to give when the mucous membrane of tlie respiratory passages is the seat of disease. Here we have to do with a serous mem- brane, and there is less sympathy with the mucous membranes of either cavitv. Small doses of aloes should be given with the usual fever medicine, and repeated morning and night until the dung becomes pnltaceous, when it will always be pru- dent to stop. The sedative medicine is that which has been recommended in pneu- monia, and in the same doses. Next should follow a blishr '^n the chests and sides. It is far preferable to setons, for it can be brought almost iiif > '• 'ntact 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. 'I'he blood, repelled from the skin by the contractile, depressing influence of the cold, would rush with fatal impetus to the neighbouring membrane, to which it was before dangerously deter- mined. Warm and comfortable clothing cannot be dispensed with in pleurisy. The sedative medicines, iiowever, should be omitted mncli sooner than in pneumo- nia, and succeeded by diuretics. The common turpentine is as good as any, made into a ball with linseed meal, and given in doses of two or three drachms twice in 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 of effusion 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 evident that there is considerable fluid in the chest. The operation of Fnraccntesis, 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 sur- geon should pass a moderate-sized trochar into the chest immediately above the car- tilages. He will not have selected the most dependent situation, but as near it as he could with safety select; for there would not have been room between the cartilages if the puncture had been lower; and these would have been injured in the forcino- of the instrument between them, or, what is worse, there would have been great hazard of wounding the pericardium, for the apex of the heart rests on the sternum. Throutrh this aperture, close to the cartilages, the far greater part of the fluid may be evacuated. The operator will now withdraw the stilette, and let the fluid run throuoh the canula. He will not trouble himself afterwards about the wound ; it will heal readily enough; perhaps too quick, for, could it be kept open a few days, it might act as a very useful drain Tfshould be 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 overlaboured lungs, and for the system generally to be recruited. The fluid will be evacuated before the lungs are too much debilitated by laborious 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 220 PLEURISY. of the lung that had been long compressed by tiie fluid, can conceive of the extent to which this is carried. It should be added — a fact important and alarming — that the records of veterinarj' surgfiry contain ver)^ few cases of permanently successful per formance of the operation. This should not discourage the practitioner from attempt- ing it, but should induce him to consider whether he may not ])erform it under happier auspices, before the lungs and the serous membrane whicli lines the cavit}' have been too much disorganised, and the constitution itself sadly del)iliiated. There could not be any well-founded objection to an earlier resort to paracentesis, and he must be a bungler indeed who wounded any imjiortant part. It should be ascertained by auscultation whether there is fluid in both cavities. If there should be, and in considerable quantity, it will not be prudent to ojjcrate on both sides at once. If much fluid is discharoed, tliere will be acceleration and difl[i- culty of respiration to a very great degree. The practitioner must not be alarmed at this ; it will pass over, and on the next da)^ he may attack the other side; or open both at once, if there is but little fluid in either. Having resorted to this operation, a course of diuretics with tonics should be immediately commenced, and the absorbents roused to action before the cavity fills again. There is in pleurisy a far greater tendency to relapse than in pneumonia. The lungs do not peri'cctly recover from their state of collapse, nor the serous membrane from its long maceration in the effused fluid : oedema, cough, disinclination to work, incapability of rapid ])rogression, colicky pains — as the unobservant practitioner would call them — but in truth pleuritic stitches ; these are the frequent sequelse of pleurisy. This will afford another reason why the important operation of paracentesis should not be deferred too long. There is much greater disposition to metastasis than in pneumonia: indeed it is easy to imagine that the inflammation of a mere membrane may more readily and oftener shift than that of the substance of so large a viscus as the lungs. The inflam- mation shitting its first ground, attacks almost every part indiscriminately, and appears under a strangly puzzling variety of forms. Dropsy is the most frequent change. Effusion in the abdomen is substituted for that of the chest, or rather the exhalent or absorbent vessels of the abdomen, or both of them, soon sympathise in the debility of those of the thorax. THE STOMACH. 231 CHAPTER IX. THE ABDOMEN AND ITS CONTENTS. THE STOMACH. a The oesophagus or gullet, extending to the stomach. 6 The entrance of the gullet into the stomach. The circular layers of the muscles are very thick and strong, and which, by their contractions, help to render it difficult for the food to be returned or vomited. e The portion of the stomach which is covered by cuticle, or insensible skin. d d The margin, which separates the cuticular from the villous portion. e e The mucous, or villous (velvet) portion of the stomach, in which the food is 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 pancreas 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 pancreas enters the intestines. The cesophag-us, as has already been stated, consists of a muscular membranous tube, extending from the posterior part of the mouth down the left side of the neck, pursuing its course through the chest, penetrating through the crura of the diaphragm, and reaching to and terminating in the stomach. It does not, however, enter straight into the stomach, and with a large open orifice ; but there is an admirable provision made to prevent the regurgitation of the food when the stomach is filled and the horse sud- denly called upon to perform unusually hard work. The oesophagus enters the .stomach in a somewhat curved direction — it runs obliquely through the muscular and cuticular coats for some distance, and then its fibres arrange themselves around the opening into the stomach. Close observation has shown, that they form themselves into segments of circles, interlacing each other, and by their contraction plainly and forcibly closing the opening, so that the regurgitation of the food is almost im- possible. The following is a simple but accurate delineation of the structure of the termina- tion of the oesophagus, and the manner in which it encircles the orifice of the stomach. We are indebted to Mr. Fermjson, of Dublin, for this interesting discovery. 19* 323 THE ABDOMEN AND ITS CONTENTS. \ microscope of very feeble power will beautifully show this singular construction. It is not precisely either a sphincter muscle or a valve, but it is a strong and almost insuperable obstacle to the regurgitation of the food. The left side of the stomach is ill contact with the diaphragm. It is pressed i.pon b}^ every motion of the diaphragm, and hence the reason why the stomach is so small compared with the size of the animal. It is indeed strangely small, in order tliat it might not press too hardly upon the diaphragm, or painfully interfere v> ith the process of respiration, when the utmost energies of the horse are occasion- ally taxed immediately after he has been fed. At the lower or pyloric orifice, the mus- cles are also increased in number and in size. These are arranged in the same manner, with suificient power to resist the pressure of the diaphragm, and retain the contents of the stomach until they have undergone the digestive process. The situation of the stomach will at once explain the reason why a horse is so much distressed, and sometimes irreparably injured, if worked hard immediately after a full meal. The stomach must be displaced and driven back by every contraction of the diaphragm or act of inspiration ; and in proportion to the fulness of the stomach will be the weight to be overcome, and the labour of the diaphragm, and the exhaus- tion of the animal. If the stomach is much distended, it may be too weighty to be forced sufficiently far back to make room for the quantity of air which the animal in a state of exertion requires. Mcnce the frequency and labour of the breathing, and the quickness with which such a horse is blown, 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 ; and, in like manner, the absurdity and danger of that unpardonable custom of some grooms to gallop the horse after his drink, in order to warm it in his belly, and prevent gripes. The horse was destined to be the servant of man, and to be always at his call whether fasting or full : it would seem, tlicrefore, that, to lessen much inconvenience or danger, a smaller stomach, in proportion to his size, is given to the horse than to almost anv other animal. The bulk of the horse, and the services required of him, demand nmeh nutriment, and that of such a nature as to occupy a very considerable space; yet his stomach, compared with his b-ulk. is not half so laree as that of the human being : therefore, although he, like every oilier animal, feels inconvenience from great exertion immedintely after a full meal, lie suffers not so much as other quadrupeds, for his stomach is small, and his food passes rapidly through it, and descends to a part of the intestines distant from the diapliragm, and where the exist- ence and pressure of the food cannot cause him any annoyance. 'I'he 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 pei-Htmetim — that which stretches round the inside of the stomach. The second is the muscular coat, consisting of two layers of fibres, one running le^igthwavs, and the other circularly, and by means of which a constant p.-ntle motion is communicated to the stomach, mingling the food more intimately together, »nd pre- paring it f(-r digestion, and by the pressure of which the food when properly prepared is urged on into the intestines. The third, or cuticular {s/n'ti-like) coat, r, covers but a portion of the inside of the stomach. It is a centinuation 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 poxtion of the stomach. Tlie cuticular coat occupies nearly one-half of the inside of the stomach. The fourth coat is the mucous or villous (velvet) coat, c, where the work of dig-estion TflE STOMACH. 223 properly commences. The mouths of numerous little vessels open upon it, pourino- nut a peculiar fluid, the gastric (stomach) juice, which mixes with the food already softened, and converts it into a fluid called cJiyme. As this is formed, it passes out of the other orifice of the stomach, the pylorus (doorkeepers),/, and enters the first small intestine ; the harder and undissolved parts being turned back to undergo farther action. Every portion of the muscular coat has the power of successively contracting- and relaxing, and thus, in the language of Dr. ISostock, " the successive contraction of each part of the stomach, by producing a series of folds and wrinkles, serves to anritate the alimentary mass, and. by bringing every part of it in its turn to the surface, to expose it to the influence of the gastric juice, while at the same time the whole of the contents are gradually propelled forwards, from the orifice which is connected with the cEsophagus to that by which they are discharged." The cerebro-visceral nerve is the agent in producing these alternate contractions and relaxations. It is the motor nerve belonging to these parts. It has to keep the parietes of the stomach in contact with the food, and the food in contact with the gastric juice. It has to bring the different ])arts of the food in successive contact with the stomach, and to propel them through this portion of the alimentary canal in ordei that they may be discharged into the duodenum. A viscus thus situated and thus employed must occasionally be subject to inflam- mation, and various other lesions. The symptoms, however, are obscure and fre- quently mistaken. They resemble those of colic more than anything else, and should be met by bleeding, oleaginous purges, mashes, tepid gruel, and the application of the stomach-pump : but when, in addition to the colicky pains, there appear indistinct- ness of the pulse — and a very characteristic symptom that is — pallidness of the mem- branes, coldness of the mouth, frecpient lying down, and in such position that the weight of the horse may rest on the chest, frequently pointing with his muzzle at the seat of pain, and, especially, if these symptoms are accompanied or followed by vomit- ing, rupture of the stomach is plainly indicated. Considering the situation of the stomach, and the concussions and violence to which it is exposed from the diaphrao-m and from the viscera around it, this accident will not appear extraordinary. 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 practice 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. The rupture was at the rio-fit extre- mity of the stomach, and there were several distinct layers of impacted food between it and the liver. The liver seemed to have acted as a kind of valve. The stomach was found still distended, the edges of the rupture hfiving the dull and sodden appearance of an old wound. There was comparativelj' little fluid in the abdominal cavity, and no disposition to vomit occurred duringf any period. f A case showing the insensibility of the stomach, wisely and kindly given, con- sidering the shocks and dann-ers to which this viscus is exposed, is recorded by Mr. Hayes. i: A drench was ordered for a horse. For want of a horn, the stable-keeper made use of a wine-bottle, without examining whether it w"as clean or foul. Shortly afterwards it was discovered that the bottle had contained three or four ounces of liquid blister. This was kept a profound secret until the denth of the animal, and that did not happen until twelve days afterwards. The horse had enten his provender in the same manner as usual, and had jierformed his usual work until about two hours before his death, when he la}' down, rolled about, bruised himself sadlv. and died. The food, consisting of hay, oats, and beans, was lod3St warn- ing-. 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 siiakes himself, and begins to feed ; the respite, however, is but short — the spasm returns more violently — every indication of pain is increased — he heaves at the flanks, breaks out into a profuse pers|)iration, and throws himself more recklessly about. In the space of an hour or two, either the spasms becin to r^ lax, and the remissions are of longer duration, or the torture is augmented at every jtaroxysm ; the intervals of ease are fewer and less marked, and inflammation and death supervene. The pulse is but little affected 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 leading distinctions between them. COLIC. INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. Sudden in its attack. Gradual in its approach, with previous indi- cations of fever. Pulse rarely much quickened in the early Pulse very much quicken'^d, but small, and period of ihe disease, and durmg the intervals often scarcely to be felt. of ease ; but evidently fuller. Legs and ears of the natural temperature. Legs and ears cold. Relief obtained from rubbuig the belly. Belly exceedingly tender and painful to the loach. Relief obtained from motion. Motion evidently increasing the pain. Intervals of rest. Constan;'^pam. 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 very apt to pro- duce this effect. Colic will sometimes follow the exposure of a horse to the cold air or a cold wind after strong exercise. Green meat, 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 urifrequent causes of colic. In some horses there seems to be a constitutional 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 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 oftener the ileum or the jejunum ; sometimes, however, both the CEecum and colon are affected. Fortunately, we are acquainted with several medicines that allay these spasms ; and the disease often ceases almost as suddenly 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 caecum will not be forgotten here. A solution of aloes will be advantageously added to the turpentine and opium. If relief is not obtained in half-an-hour, it will be prudent to bleed, for the continu- ance of violent spasm may produce inflammation. Some practitioners bleed at first, and it is far from bad practice ; for although the majority of cases will yield to tur- pentine, opium, and aloes, an early bleeding may occasionally prevent 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 great fellows. The horse should be wnlked about, or trotted moderately. The motion thus produced in the bowels, and the friction 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 aloes, should be injected. The patent syringe will here be exceedingly useful. A clyster of tobacco- smoke may be throw^n up as a last resort. 20* 2e 234 DISEASES OF THE INTESTINES. When relief has been obtained, the clothing of the horse, saturated with perspira- tion, 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 watei for the two or three uext days. (Some persons give gin, or gin and pepper, or even spirit of pimento, 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 inflammation or tendency to inflammation, it cannot fail to be higlily injurious. FLATULENT COLIC. This is altogether 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 stomach, or small or large intestines, all kinds of vegetable matter are liable to ferment. In consequence of this fermentation, gas is evolved to a greater or less extent — perhaps to twenty or thirty times ihe bulk of the food. This may take place in the stomach ; and if so, the life of the horse is in immediate danger, for, as will plainly appear from the account that has been given «f the oesophagus and tipper orifice of the stomach, the animal has no power to expel this dangerous flatus by eructation. This extrication of gas usually takes place in the colon and ca?cum,and the disten- tion 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. In some ill-conducted establishments, and far oftener on the north than the south of the Tweed, it is a highly dangerous disease, and is especially fatal to horses of heavy draught. An overloaded stomach is one cause of it, and particularly so when water is given either immediately before or after 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 slacken- ing 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, rolls, 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 unlike spasmodic colic, but the real character of the disease soon begins to develope itself. 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 more intense, the horse more violent, and at length death closes the scene. The treatment is considerably diflferent from that of spasmodic colic. The spirit of pimento would he here allowed, or the turpentine and opium drink; but if the pain, and especially the swelling, do not abate, the gas, which is the cause of it, must be be ffot 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 clilorine. Then if some compound of chlorine — llie chloride of lime — dissolved in water, is administered in the form of a drink, the chlo- rine separates from the lime as soon as it comes into contact \\ith the hydrogen, and muriatic gas is formed. This gas having a strong affinity for water, is absorbed by any fluid that may be present, and, quitting its gaseous form, either disappears, <'r does not retain a thousandth part of its former bulk. All this may be very rapidly accomi)]ishe(l, for the fluid is quickly conveyed from the mouth to every part of the intestinal canal. Where these two medicines are not at hand, and the danger is imminent, tiie trochar may be used, in order to open a way for the escape of the gas. The trrchar should be small but longer than that which is used for the cow, and the puncture should he made in the middle of the right flank, for there the larw intestiiK-s are most easily reached. In such a disease it cannot be exjiected that tlie int( stilus shall always l)e found precisely in their natural situations, but usually the ori'jin of the ascendinsr por- tion of the colon, or the; base of the ca?cum, will be pierced. The author 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 animal that this operation should be attempted. IMtK-h of the danger would be avoided by using a very small trochar, and by wiihdrawinj; INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS— ENTERITIS. 235 it as soon as the gas has escaped. The wound in the intestines will then probahly close, from the innate elasticity of the parts. INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. There are two varieties of this malady. The first is inflammation 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 connected with purging. ENTERITIS. The muscular coat is that which is oftenest affected. Inflammation of the external coats of the stomach, whether 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 symptoms should be known. If the horse has been carefully observed, restless- ness 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 will soon express the most dreadful pain by pawing, striking at his belly, looking wildly at his flanks, groaning, and rolling. The pulse will be quickenad and small ; the ears and legs cold; the belly tender, and sometimes hot; the breathing quickened ; the bowels costive ; and the animal becoming rapidly and fearfully weak. The reader will probably here recur to the sketch given in page '233 of the distinc- tion 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 groomed, and kept in a warm stable, is heated with exercise, and has been during some hours without food, and in this state of exhaustion is suffered 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 overfed horse, subjected to severe and long- continued exertion, if his lungs were 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 intestines are an occasional cause of inflam- mation, and colic neglected or wrongly treated will terminate in it. The horse paws and stamps as in colic, but without the intervals of ease that occur in that disease. The pulse also is far quicker than in colic. The breathing is more hurried, and the indication of suffering more evident. " The next stage," in tlie graphic language of Mr. Percivall, "borders on delirium. The eye acquires a Avild, haggard, unnatural stare — the pupil dilates — his heedless and dreadful throes render approach to him quite perilous. He is an object not only of compas>iach covered above and below by a thick coating of cartilage, connected together by strong ligaments, but separated by interposed fluids and mem- branes. The concussion is tlius sfiroad over the whole of them — shared by the vphole of them ; and, by the peculiarity of their connexion, rendered harmless. BROKEN KNEES. 265 These si"x distinct bones, united to each other by numerous and powerful ligaments, will also afford a far stronger joint than the apposition of any two bones, however ^perfect and strong might be the capsular ligament, or by whatever other ligaments it might be strengthened. In addition to the connexion between the individual bones, there is a perfect capsular ligament here, extending from the bone of the arm to those of the leg; and the result of the whole is, that the hardest work and the severest accidents produce little deformity, and no dislocation in the knee : nor do the shocks and jars of many a year cause inflammation or disease. It is an undeniable fact, that such is the perfect construction of this joint, and to so great a degree does it lessen concussion, that the injuries resulting from hard work are, almost without an exception, found below the knee, which seems to escape the injuries of the hock. There is a remarkable difference in the effects of work on the knee and the hock. The knee is subject to enormous concussion in its strict sense. The hock to a some- what different work. The knee altogether escapes bony enlargements and inflam- mations of the ligaments, like spavins ; and, what is more remarkable, it also escapes the damages to which the anterior fetlock is liable from precisely the same concussion as the knee. The seventh bone, the trapezium, so called from its quadrangular figure, is placed (see M, p. 68) behind the others, and does not bear the slightest portion of the weight. It, however, is exceedingly useful. Two of the flexor muscles, already described, proceed from the bone of the arm, and are inserted into it; and being thus thrown off the limb, have a less oblique direction given to them, and, therefore, according to the principle of the lever, act with considerably more power. It is also useful in another way. As the tendons of the various muscles descend the limbs, they are tied down, as we have described, by strong ligamentous bands : this is particulaily the case in the neighbourhood of the joints. The use of it is evident. The exten- sor tendons, which lie principally on the front of the leg, are prevented from starting and strengthened and assisted in their action ; but the flexor tendons which are at the back would be liable to friction, and their motion impeded, if they were bound down too tightly. This projecting bone prevents the annular or ring-like ligament from pressing too closely on the main flexor tendons of the foot; and, while it leaves them room to play, leaves room likewise for a little bag filled with mucus to surround them, which mucus oozing slowly out, supplies the course of the tendons with a fluid that prevents much injurious friction. The knee should be broad. It should present a very considerable width, compared with the arm above, or the shank below. In proportion to the breadth of the kneo is the space for the attachment 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 removed from the centre of motion, in either of which cases much power will be gained. BROKEN KNEES, The treatment of broken knees is a subject of considerable importance, 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 oravel and dirt. It must then be ascertained whether the joint is penetrated. The gratinf 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 off, the st/twvia or joint-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 ouo-ht 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 23 2i 260 THE FORE LEGS. pus is produced on the wound, and then a little friar's balsam will probably effect 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 suffered 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 affected, and a degree of fever will ensue that will destroy the horse : while, in the mean time, of all the tortures that can be inflicted on the poor animal, none can equal that which accompanies inflammation of the membranes lining the joints. The manner of closing the orifice must be left to the judgment of the veterinary surgeon, who alone is capable of properly treating such a case. It may be effected by a compress enclosing 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 apply- ing the hot iron over the wound, and particularly 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 find no difficulty in determining whether the sharp edge of the common firing-iron should be used — as would be the case if the laceration is considerable, 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 neiglibouring parts, as mechanically to close and plug up the orifice. If, however, the opening into the joint is extensive, and the joint-oil continues to flow, and the horse is evidently suffering much pain, humanity will dictate that he should be destroyed. The case is hopeless. A high degree of fever will ere long carry him off, or the inflammation will cause a deposit of matter in the cavity of the joint that will produce incurable lameness. The pain caused by the iron is doubtless great; it is, however, necessary : but let no reader of "The Horse" permit the torturing experiments of the farrier to be tried, who will frequently inject stimulating fluids, and even oil of vitriol, into one of the most sensible and irritable cavities in the whole frame. A person well acquainted with the anatomy of the part will judge of the proba- bility of a favourable result, not merely by the extent, but by the situation of the wound. If it is low down, and opposite to the bottom row of the bones of the knee, a small opening into the joint will be easily closed. A larger one needs not to cause despair, because there is little motion between the lower row and the bones of the leg. If it is high up, there is more danger, because there is more motion. If it is situated opposite to the union of the two rows, the result is most to be dreaded, be- cause between these is the principal motion of the joint, and that motion will not only disunite and irritate the external wound, but cause a dreadful friction between the bones brought into actual contact with each other, through the loss of the joint- oil. Among the various methods of treating opened knee-joint, where the lesion is very considerable, is one introduced by Mr. Turner, of Croydon, which must not be passed over in silence. The wound having been cleansed, a paste is prepared composed of wheaten flour and table-beer, which are stirred together and boiled for five minutes, or until they become of the consistence commonly used by paper-hangers. This is spread on the wound, and round the joint, and four inches above and below it. Pledgets of tow are passed over this and confined in their places by means of a stock- ing, and over the whole is another layer, and another stocking or bandage. This is not removed until the joint has closed, and the synovia ceases to flow. On the second or third day the bandage will become dry and hard, and cause fonsiderahle ])ain. I". must not be meddled with before or behind, but four lontritudinal incisions may he made through the bandages on each side, which will sufliciently liberate the joint and remove the pain.* When the knee has been much lacerated, although the wound may be healed, some blemish will remain. Tlie extent of this blemish will depend on that of tlie original * A full account of this interesting operation may be found in the Veterinarian for 1829. THE LEG. • 267 wound, and more especially on the nature of the treatment that has been adopted. Every caustic application will destroy a portion of the skin, and leave a certain mark. Should the blemish be considerable, a mild blister may be applied over the part, after the w^ound has healed. It will stimulate the hair to grow more rapidly and thickly round the scar, and particularly hair of the natural colour; and, by contracting the skin, it will lessen the scar itself. Many persons have great faith in ointments that are said to promote the growth of the hair. If they have this property, it must be from their stimulating the skin in which the roots of the hair are imbedded. These ointments usually contain a small portion of blistering matter, in the form of tuqjen- tine, or the Spanish-tly, The common application of gunpowder and lard may, by blackening the part, conceal the blemish, but can have no possible effect in quickening the growth of the hair. In examining a horse for purchase, the knees should be very strictly scrutinised. A small blemish on them should not induce us at once to condemn the animal for a bad rider, for the merest accident may throw the safest horse. A broken knee, how- ever, is a suspicious circumstance, and calls for the most careful observation of the make and action of the horse. If it is accompanied by a thick and upright shoulder, and legs far under the horse, and low slovenly action, he is unwise who does not take the hint. This faulty conformation has produced its natural consequence. But if the shoulder is oblique, and the pastern of the proper length and inclination, and the fore-arm strong, the good judge will not reject the animal because he may have been accidentally thrown. THE LEG. The part of the limb between the knee and the fetlock consists of three bones — a large one before, called the caimun or shank, and two smaller or splint bones behind (see N, p. 68). The shank-bone is rounded in front, and flattened, or even concave, behind. It is the straightest of the long bones, as well as the most superficially situated, for in some parts it is covered only by the skin. The upper head is flat, with slight depressions corresponding with the lower row of the bones of the knee. The lower head is differently and curiously formed. It resembles a double pulley. There are three elevations ; the principal one in the centre, and another on each side. Between them are two slight grooves, and these so precisely correspond with deep depressions and slight prominences in the upper head of the larger pastern, and are so enclosed and guarded by the elevated edges of that bone, that when the shank-bone and the pastern are fitted to each other, they form a perfect hinge. They admit of the bending and extension of the limb, but of no lateral or side motion. This is a circum- stance of very great importance in a joint so situated, and having the whole weio-ht of the horse thrown upon it. The smaller bones are placed behind the larger ones on either side. A slight pro- jection of the head of each can alone be seen in front. The heads of these bones are enlarged, and receive part of the weight conveyed by the lower row of the bones of the knee. They are united to the larger bone by the same kind of substance which is found in the colt between the bone of the elbow and the main bone of the arm ; and which is designed, by its great elasticity, to lessen the concussion or jar when the weight of the animal is thrown on them. 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, as in the elbow, from the animal being worked too soon, or too violently, inflammation ensues — bony matter is deposited 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 powerful 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 neighbouring 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 extend to the neigh- bouring parts. The disposition to deposit bone reaches beyond the circumscribed space between the larger and smaller bones of the leg, and a tumour, first callous, and afterwards bony, is found, with part of its base resting on the line of unioB between these bones. This is called a 268 THE FORE LEGS. SPLINT. The splint is invariably found on the outside of the small bones and g-enerally on the inside of the leg (c, p. 277). Why it should appear on the outside of the small bones it is difficult to explain, except that the space between these bones is occupied by an important mechanism, which will be presently described ; and, as in the case of abscess, a natural tendency was given to them to determine outward, that vital parts might not be injured. The cause of tlieir almost exclusive ajipearance on the inside of the leg admits of easier explanation. The inner splint-bone is placed nearer the centre of the weight of the body than the other, and, from the nature of its con- nexion with the bones of the knee, actually receives mere of the weight than does tiie outer bone, and therefore is more liable to injury, and inflammation, and this con- sequent deposit of bony matter. The inner bone receives the whole of the weight transmitted to the small bone of the knee. It is the only support of that bone. A portion only of one of the bones rests on tlic outer splint-bone, and the weight i? shared between it and the shank. In addition to tliis, there is the absurd practice o( many smiths of raising the outer heel of the shoe to an extravagant degree, which throws still more of the weight of tlie horse on the inner splint-bone. Bony tumours occasionally appear on other parts of the shank-bone, being the consequence of violent blows or other external injuries, and are commonly called splints. When the splint of either sort is forming, the horse is frequently lame, for the periosteum or membrane covering the bone is painfully stretched ; but when this membrane has accommodated itself to the tumour that extended it, the lameness sub- sides, and altogether disappears, unless the splint be in a situation in which it inter- feres with the action of some tendon or ligament, or in the immediate neighbourhood of a joint. Pressing upon a ligament 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 necessaril}'' 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 tumour ; a little strong mer- curial 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 can rarely be advisable to cauterize the part, unless the tumour materially interferes with the action of the suspensory ligament, or the flexor tendon ; for it not unfrequently happens, that, although the splint may have apparently resisted this treatment, 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 frequently cause the disappearance of a splint of either sort. As for the old remedies, many of them brutal enough — bruising the splint with a hammer, boring it with a gimlet, chipping it off" with a mallet, sawing it oft', slitting down the skin and periosteum over it, sweating it down with hot oils, and passing setons over it — the voice of humanity, and the progress of science, will consign them to speedy oblivion. Professor SeweH has introduced a new treatment of splints, which is certainly ingenious, and generally successful. He removes any inflammation about the part by the use of poultices or fomentations, and then, the horse being cast, the operation is commenced by pinching up the skin, immediately above the bony enlargement, w ith the finger and thumb of the left hand, and with the knife, or lancet, or scissors, making an orifice suflicient to introduce a j)robe-pointed bistourj', with the edge on the convex side. This is passed under the skin along the whole length of the ossifi- cation beneath, cutting through the thickened ])eriosteum down to the bone ; and this being efl'ectually completed by drawing the knife l)ackwards and forwards severnl times, a small tape or seton is inserted, and if the timiour is of long stnndintr, kept in during a few days. The operation is attended with very slight pain to the animal. Perhaps slight inflammation may appear, Avhich subsides in a few days, if fomentation SPRAIN OF THE BACK-SINEWS. 2G9 is used. The inflammation being removed, the enlargement considerably subsides, and in many cases becomes quite absorbed.* The inside of the leg, immediately under the knee, and extending to the head of the inner splint-bone, is subject to injury from what is termed the speedy 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 enlargement is the result ; at others, great heat and tenderness ; and the pain 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 air and relieved from the pressure of the weight of 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 like- wise be taken that the shoe is of equal thickness at the heel and the toe, and that the bearing is equal on both sides. Immediately under the knee, is one of those ligamentous rings by which the ten- dons are so usefully bound, down and secured; but if the hinder bone of the knee, the trapezium, described at p. 266, is not sufficiently prominent, 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 below the knee {b, p. 277). Every horseman recognises 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. The reason is plain. The pressure of the ring will produce a degree of friction inconsistent with the free action of the tendons; more force must, therefore, be exerted in every act of progression ; and although the muscles are powerful, and sufficiently so for every ordinary purpose, the repetition of this extra exertion will tire and strain them. A more serious evil, however, remains to be stated. When the back sinews, or tendons, are thus tied down, they are placed in a more oblique direction, and in which the power of the muscles is exerted with greater disadvantage. A greater degree of exertion is required, and fatigue and sprain will not unfrequently result. 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 will 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. The race is decided in a few minutes, and, during that short period, the spirit and energy of the animal may successfully struggle with the disadvantages of form : but where great and long-continued exertion is required, as in the hunter or the hackney, no strength can long contend with a palpably disadvantageous misapplication of muscular power. As they descend the back part of the leg, the tendons of the perforated and per- forating flexor muscles should be far and distinctly apart from the shank-bone. There should be space free from thickening for the finger and thumb on either side to be introduced between them and the bone, and that extending from the knee to the fet- lock. 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, t]^e suspensory liga- ment; and '.indermost 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 (rf, p. 377), and the leg is round instead of flat and deep, there has been what is commonly, but improperlj', called SPRAIN OF THE BACK-SINEWS. These tendons are enclosed in a sheath of dense cellular substance, in order to con- fine them in their situation, and to defend them from injury. Between the tendon and tne sheath, there is a mucous fluid to prevent friction; but when the horse has been over-worked, or put to sudden or violent exertion, the tendon presses upon the delicate Vide Veterinarian, vol. viii. n. 5(>4. 23* 270 THE FORE LEGS. membrane lining the sheath, and inflammation is produced. A different fluid is then thrown 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, I'rom 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 ten- dons; and, when it is more serious, the horse is said to have broken down. It should be remembered, however, that the tendon 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, how- ever, 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 aflection of this kind, care should be taken that the local inflam- mation does not produce general disturbance of the system; and, therefore, the horse should be bled and physicked. The bleeding may be at the toe, by which an import- ant local, as well as general, effect will be produced. The vessels of the heart will be relieved, while fever will be prevented. Let not the bleeding be performed in the farrier's usual way of first paring down the sole, and then taking out a piece of it at the toe of the frog ; in which case a wound is made often diflicult to heal, and through which fungous granulations from the sensible parts beneath will obstinately spring: but, after the sole has been well thinned, let a groove be cut with the rounded head of a small drawing-knife, at the junction of the sole and the crust (see z, in the next cut, p. 272). The large vein at the toe will thus be opened, or the groove may be widened backward until it is found. When the blood begins to appear, the vein may be more freely opened by a small lancet thrust horizontally under the sole, and almost any quantity of blood may be easily procured. The immersion of the foot in warm water will cause the blood to flow more rapidly. A suflicient quantity having been withdrawn, a bit of tow should be placed in the groove, and a patten shoe tacked on, by which the heels may be raised from the ground, and much tension removed from the sinews. The bleeding will, thus, be immediately stopped, and the wound will readily heal. 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. Between the fomentations, the leg should be enclosi d in a poul- tice of linseed-meal. Any herb that pleases the owner may be added to the fomenta- tion, or vinegar or Goulard's extract to the poultice ; for the beneficial eflect of both depends simply on the warmth of the water and the moisture of the poultice. All stimulating applications 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, tlie object to be accomplished is changed. Recurrence of the inflammation must be prevented, the enlargement must be got rid of, and the parts must be strengthened. The two latter purposes cannot be better eflTected 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 ihe swelling is composed, than by moderate jiressure. If the bandage is kept wet with vinegar — to each pint of which a quarter of a pint of spirit of wine has been added — the skin will be slightly stinuilateii and contracted, and the cold produced bj' the constant evapora- tion will tend to subdue the remaining and deep-seated inflammation. This band- age should be daily tightened in proportion as the parts are capable of bearing increased pressur(\ and the treatment 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. Slioulil there, however, remain the slightest lameness or considerable 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 S|)rained may long remain weak, ard subject to renewed iruury, not only from unusual, but even ordinary exertion. If a blister is resorted to, time should be given for it to produce its gradual and full eflect, and the horse should be afterwards turned out for one or two months. We must here WIND-GALLS. 271 be permitted to repeat that a blister should never be used while any heat or tender- ness remains about the part, otherwise the slightest injury may be, and often is, con- verted into incurable lameness. Very severe sprains, or much oftener, sprains badly treated, may require ihe appli- cation of the cautery. If from long-continued inflammation the structure of the part is materially altered — if the swelling is becoming callous, or the skin is thickened 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 principal use of firing is to rouse the absorbents to such increased action that they shall take up and remove the diseased thickness of the skin, and likewise the unnatural deposit in the cellular substance beneath. The firing should be applied in straight lines, because the skin, contracting by the application of the cautery, and gradually regain- ing its elastic nature, will thus form the best bandage over the weakened part. Ii 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. This removal of diseased matter is a work of slow progress. 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. When the animal has been set to work in a few weeks, and the enlargement remains, or lameness returns, the fault is to be attributed to the impatience of the owner, and not to the want of power in the operation or skill in the operator. Farriers are apt to blister immediately after firing. A blister may be useful six W(!eks or two months after firing, if lameness remains ; but can never be wanted immediately after the severe operation of the cautery. If the iron has been skilfully applied, subsequent blistering inflicts on the animal, already sufficiently torturfed, much unnecessary and useless pain, and should never be resorted to by him who possesses the slightest feeling of humanity. In examining a horse for purchase, the closest attention should be paid to the appearance of these flexor tendons. If there is any thickness of cellular substance around them, that horse has been sprained violently, or the sprain has not been pro- perly treated. This thickening will probably fetter the motion of the tendon, and dispose the part to the recurrence of inflammation and lameness. Such a horse, although at the time perfectly free from lameness, should be regarded with suspicion, and cannot fairly be considered as soimd. He is only patched up for a while, and will probably fail at the close of the first day's hard work. WIND-GALLS. In the neighbourhood of the fetlock there are occasionally found considerable enlargements, oftener on the hind-leg than the fore-one, which are denominated, wind-gal/s (e, p. 277). Between the tendons and other parts, and wherever the ten- dons are exposed to pressure or friction, and particularly about their extremities, little bags or sacs are placed, containing and sutfering to ooze slowly from them a mucous fluid to lubricate the parts. From undue pressure, and that most frequently caused by violent action and straining of the tendons, or, often, from some predisposition about the horse, these little sacs are injured. They take on inflammation, and some- times become large and indurated. There are few horses perfectly free from them. When they first appear, and until the inflammation subsides, they may be accompa- nied 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 inflam- mation was often produced, and many a valuable horse destroyed. It is not uncom- mon for wind-galls entirely to disappear in aged horses. A slight wind-gall will scarcely be subjected to treatment; but if these tumours are numerous and large, and seem to impede the motion of the limb, they may he attacked first by bandage. The roller should be of flannel, and soft pads should be placed on each of the enlargements, and bound down tisfhtly upon them. The band- age should also be wetted with the lotion recommended for sprain of the back-sinews. The wind-gall will often diminish or disappear by this treatment, but will too fre- 272 THE FORE LEGS. quently return when the horse is again hardly worked. A blister is a more effec- tual, but too often temporary remedy. Wind-galls will return with the renewal of work. Firing is still more certain, if the tumours are sufficiently large and annoy- ing to justify our having recourse to measures so severe ; for it will not only effect the immediate absorption of the fluid, and the reduction of the swelling, but, by con- tracting the skin, will act as a permanent bandage, and therefore prevent the reap- pearance of the tumour. The iodine and mercurial ointments have occasionally been used with advantage in the proportion of three parts of the former to two of the latter. THE PASTERNS. a The shank-bone. 6 The upper and larger pastern-bone. c The sessamoid-bone. d The lower or smaller pastern-bone. € The navicular or shuttle-bone. /The coffin-bone, or bone of the foot. g The suspensory ligament, in?erted into the sessamoid-bone. h A continuation of the suspensory ligament, inserted into the smaller 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 coffm-bone. m The tendon of the perforating flexor inserted into the coffm-bone, after having passed ovel 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 coffm-bone. s The sensible sole, between the coffin-bone and the horny sole. t The horny sole. u The crust or wall of the foot. V The sensible laminoe to which the crust is attached. to The coronary rinn; of the crust. X The covering of tne coronary ligament from which the crust is secreted. » Place of bleeding at the toe. THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS. 273 At the back of the shank just below the knee, and in the space between the two splint-bones, is found an important ligament, admirably adapted to obviate concus- sion. It orio-inates from the head of the shank-bone, and also from the heads of the splint-bones ; then, descending down the leg, it fills the groove between the splint- bones, but is not attached to either of them. A little lower down it expands on either side, and, approaching the pasterns, bifurcates, and the branches are inserted into two little bones found at the back of the upper pastern, one on each side, called the sessa- moid bones. (See page 272, and in this cut which represents the pastern and foot, sawn through the centre.) The bones form a kind of joint both with the lower head of the shank-bone and the upper pastern-bone, to both of which they are united by ligaments (t and g), but much more closely tied to the pastern than to the shank. The flexor tendons pass down between them through a large mucous bag to relieve them from the friction to which, in so confined a situation, they would be exposed. The suspensory ligament is continued over the sessamoids, and afterwards obliquely forward over the pastern to unite with the long extensor tendon, and downward to the perforated tendon, which it surrounds and fixes in its place, and also to the smaller pastern-bone. It will be easy to perceive, from this description of the situation of the suspensory ligam.ent, why splints placed backward on the leg are more likely to produce lame- ness than those which are found on the side of it. They may interfere with the motion of this ligament, or, if they are large, may bruise and wound it. The principal action of these ligaments is with the sessamoid bones, which they seem to suspend in their places, and they are therefore called the suspensory liga- ments. The pasterns (see cut p. 272) are united to the shank in an oblique direction, differing in degree in the different breed of horses, and in each adapted to the pur- pose 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 weiorht must be communicated to the sessamoids. Much concussion is saved by the yielding of the pasterns, in consequence of their oblique direction ; and the concus sion which would be produced by that portion of weight which falls on the sessa- moid bones is completely destroyed, for there is no bone underneath to receive it. They are suspended by this ligament — an elastic 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 concussion. If the ligament lengthens, the sessamoid bones must descend when the weight is thrown on them, and it would appear that they do so. If the thorough-bred horse with his long pasterns is carefully observed as he stands, the tuft at the fetlock will be some inches from the turf; but when he is in rapid motion, and the weight is thrown violently on this joint, the tuft descends and sweeps the very ground. This, however, is from the combined action of the fetlock and pastern-joints, and the sessa- moid-bones. The sessamoids do not actually descend ; but they revolve, they partly turn over. The strong ligament by which they are attached to the pastern-bone acts as a hinge, and the projecting part of the bone to which the suspensory ligament is united, turns round with the pressure of the weight; so that part of the bone be- comes lower. How is it raised ag-ain ? This ligament, strangely constructed as a ligament, is elastic. It yields to the force impressed upon it and lengthens ; but as soon as the foot is lifted from the ground, and the weight no longer presses, and the f(5rre is removed, its elastic power is exerted, and it regains its former dimensions, and the sessamoid-bono springs back into its place, and by that forcible return assists in raising the limb.* It may be supposed that Mgaments of this character, and discharging such functions, * Mr. Percivall very clearly describes this : " Furthermore it seems to us that these elastic parts assist in the elevation of the feot from the ground in those paces in which they are called into sudden and forcible action. The suspensory licrament. by its reaction, instantaneously after its extension, aids the flexor muscles in bending the pastern-joints. The astonishing activity and c.\p'^di:ion displayed in the movements of the race-horse at speed, seem to be referable, in part, to the promptitude with which the suspensory ligament can act before the .1exor muscles are duly prepared ; the latter, wo should say catch, as it were, and then direct the limb fitst snatched from the ground by the powers of elasticity." — Percivall's Tiecturea oij the Veterinary Art, vol. i. p. 334. 274 THE FORE LEGS. •will occasionally be subject to injur}-, and, principally to strains. Mr. W. C. Spooner* gives a very satisfactory account of this. He says that " hunters and race-horses are considerably more liable to lesions of the suspensory ligament than any other description of horses. The character of these strains is very rarely so acute as that of the tendons. They generally come on gradually with little inflanmiation or lame- ness. Occasionally the injury is sudden and severe, but then it is rarely confined to these ligaments, for although they may be principally involved, the neighbouring parts are generally implicated. Tlie usual symptoms are a slight enlargement and lameness at first, or there may be the former without the latter. The enlargement is commonly confined to the ligament below the place of bifurcation, and sometimes one division alone is affected. With the exception of strains of the flexor sinews, this unfits more animals for racing than any other cause — indeed horses are rarely or never fit for the turf after the suspensory ligaments have been diseased," or for hunting. The case being evidently a lesion of the suspensory ligament, nothing short of firing will be of service. 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 proportion to its obliquity, or the fetlock will be too close to the ground, and, in rapid action, come violently ii.to contact with it. It is necessary that the fetlock should be elevated a certain distance from the ground, and this may be effected either by a short and upright, or a long and slanting pastern. In propor- tion as the pastern is oblique or slanting, two consequences will follow, less weight \\ ill 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 corresponding disadvantage. In proportion to the obliquity or slanting of the pastern, will be the stress on the fet- lock-joint, and, therefore, the liability of that joint to injury and strain; and also the liability to sprain of the back-sinews from the increased action and play of the flexor tendons ; and likewise to injuries of the pastern-joints, for the ligaments will be weak in proportion to their length. 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 hunter who is to unite continuance of exertion with ease of pace. For the hackney there should be sufficient obliquity to give pleasantness of going, but not enough to endanger continuance and strength. Experience among horses will alone point out the most advantageous direction of the pastern, for the purpose required ; but the slightest observation will show the necessity of considerable variety in the structure of this part. Let the reader imagine the heavy dray-horse with his short and upright pasterns contending in the race ; or the race-horse with his long and weak ])asl(rns, endeavouring to dig his toe into the ground in order to move some heavy weight. The concussion which attends the com- mon action of the cart-horse is little, because his movements are slow, and therefore the upright and strong pastern is given to him, which he can force into the ground, and on which he can throw the whole of his immense weight. The oblique pastern is oiven to the race-horse iDCcause that alone is compatible with extent of stride and great speed. 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 pastern 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 cartilages, and contracted feet. Strains of the pastern-joint are not so frequent, nor so severe as those of the fetlock, but tfipy are not uncommon, especially in horses with pasterns naturally too upright. By careless observers liiey are not so readily detected- as in the fetlcck-joint, for *he increased heat round tlic pastern-joint may be overlooked. The treatment will not differ materially from that of the fetlock-joint. LESIONS OF THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT. The suspensory ligament is sometimes strained and even ruptured by extraordinary exertion. The sessamoids, which in their natural state are susj)ended by it, and from which function its name is derived, are in the latter case let down, and the fetlock * Mr. W. C. Spooner on the Foot and Leg of the horse. THE FETLOCK — GROGGINESS — CUTTING. 275 almost touches the ground. This is generally mistaken for rupture 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. Kupturo of this ligament is a bad, and almost desperate case. The horse is frequenrly lame for life, and never becomes perfectly sound. Keeping him altogether quiet, bandaging the leg, and putting on a high-heeled shoe, will atl'ord 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 proportion as the neighbouring parts are involved. This will sometimes yield to rest and cooling treatment; but if the case is obstinate, it will be necessary to have recourse to the actual cautery. The hunter and the race- horse are most subject to lesions of these ligaments — the hunter from leaping the fence, and the race-horse from the violent efforts W'hich nre occasionally demanded from him. In both cases, the neighbouring parts usually share in the injury, and a cure is rarely completely effected. The means of cure are the same as in lesions of other joints, but they must be more seriously and perseveringly applied. THE FETLOCK. The fetlock-joint is a very complicated one, and from the stress which is laid on it, and its being the principal seat of motion below the knee, it is particularly subject to injury. There are not many cases of sprain of the back-sinew that are not accom- panied by inflammation of the ligaments of this joint; and numerous supposed cases of sprain higher up are simple affections of the fetlock. 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 application of cooling lotions, the inflam- mation may be subdued, but, at other times, the horse suffers dreadfully, and is unablo to stand. A serious affection of the fetlock-joint demands treatment more prompt and severe than that of the sheaths of tlie tendons. GROGGINESS. The peculiar knuckling of the fetlock-joint, and the tottering of 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. Indeed it is difficult to fix on any particular joint, unless it is that which is deep in the foot, and where the ilexor tendon runs over 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 trtily 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. CUTTING. 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 outside raised and lowered; and sometimes one operation has succeeded, 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 ara placed too near to each other, or when the feet are turned inward or outward. A * Stewart's Stable CEconomy, p. 3S5. •276 THE FORE LEGS. liorsewith these defects should be carefully examined at the inside of the fetlock, and if there are any sore or callous places from cuttin£r, 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. A consideration of the pasterns will throw more light upon this and other diseases of the extremities. The upper paslern bone (6, p. 272, and a in the first figure, and h in the second in the following cuts) receives the lower pulley-like head of the shank-bone, and forms a hinge-joint admitting only of bending and extension, but not of side motion; it likewise articulates with the sessamoid^-bones. Its lower head has two rounded pro- tuberances, which are received into corresponding depressions in the lower pastern. On either side, above the pastern \oint, 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. 1. Fig. 1. a The upper pastern. b The lower pastern. c The navicular bone. d The coffin-bone. Fig. 2. a The sessamoid bone. h The upper pastern. c The lower pastern. d The navicular bone. e The coffin-bone, with the horny laminae. The luiver pastern {d, p. 272, and h in the first figure, and c in the second in this cut) is a short and thick bone with its larger head downward. Its upper head has two depressions to receive the protuberances on the lower head of the upper bone, bearing some resemblance to a pulley, but not so decidedly as the lower head of the shank-bone. Its lower head resembles that of the other pastern, and has also two prominences, somewhat resembling a pulley, by which it articulates with the coffin- bone ; and a depression in front, corresponding with a projection in the cofiln-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 capsular and the cross ones, are like those of the pastern-joint, exceedingly strong. The tendon of the extensor muscle is inserted into the fore part, botli of the upper and lower pastern-bones as well as into the u|)per part of the coffin-bone (/, p. 272) ; and at the back of these bones the suspensory ligament is expanded and inserted, while a portion of it goes over the fore part of tlie upper pastern to reach the extensor tendon. These attaclimcnts in front o! the bones are seen in the accompanying cut, in which a 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 ; / are the branches of the suspensory liga- ments going to unite witli tlie extensor tendon ; i^ the long extensor tendon ; h ligaments connecting the two pastern-bones together ; and i the lateral cartilages of the foot. SPRAIN OF THE COFFIN-JOINT — RINGBONE. 277 SPRAIN OF THE COFFIN-JOINT The pro--;f of this is when the lameness is sudden, and the heat and tenderness are principally fell round the coronet. Bleedinjj 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 disorganization and mischief in the foot. Sprain of the coffin-joint sometimes becomes a very serious atTair. Not being always attended by any external swelling and being detected only by heal- round the coronet, the seat of the lameness is \^ ^ ^V\ L often overlooked by the groom and the farrier; ■"^ '^ and the disease is suffered to become confirmed 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 tlie pastern-bones, in- flammation takes place in the periosteum, and bony matter is formed, which often rapidly increases, and is recognized by the name of RINGBONE. Ringbone 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 spreading around the pasterns and cartilages, thus derives its name. When the first deposit is on the lower pastern, and on both sides of it, and produced by violent inflammation of the ligaments of the joints, it is recognised by a slight enlargement, or bony tumour on each side of the foot, and just above the coronet. (See / in the accompanying cut.) Horses with short upright joints, and with small feet and high action, are oftenest, as may be supposed, the sub- jects 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 ligamentary injury behind than before; 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 concussion ; 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 inflammation and the disposition to the formation 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 disease proceeds to the cartilages of the foot, and to the union between the lower pastern, and the coffin and 278 THE FORE LEGS. navicular bones. The motion of these parts likewise is 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 pastern-joint, which is situated just above the coronet, the disease has acquired the name of ringbone. On the preceding page we have introduced a bird's-eye view of some of the principal lamenesses to which the fore extremities of the horse are subject. At a is a representation of the capped hock, or 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 pro- ducino- lameness after its first formation, because it does not interfere with the motion of the knee, nor injure the suspensory ligament. d is the situation and appearance of the enlargement accompanying sprain of the back sinew s. This, however, is an aggravated case ; and the sprain may be great, and the lameness distressing, without all this swelling. e is the place of wind-gall. / gives the ajjpearance 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. The fore-legs, when viewed in front, should be widest at the chest, and should gradually approach to each other as we descend towards the fetlock. The degree of width must depend on the purpose for which the horse is wanted. The legs of a heavy draught-liorse can scarcely be too far apart. His rounded chest enables him to throw more^eight into the collar; and not being required for speed, he wants not that occasionally increased expansion of chest which the circular form is not calculated to give. A hunter, a hackney, and a coach-horse should have sufficient expansion of the chest, or the legs sufficiently wide apart, to leave room for the play of the lungs ; but depth more than roundness of chest is here required, because the deep chest admits of most expansion when the horse, in rapid action, and the circulation proportionally quickened, needs most room to breathe: yet if the breast is too wide, there will be considerable weight thrown before, and the horse will be heavy in hand and unsafe. Whether the leos are near to each other or wide apart, they should be straight. The elbow sliould not have the slightest inclination inward or outward. If it inclines towards the ribs, its action will be confined, and the leg will be thrown outward when in motion, and describe a curious and awkward curve. This will give a peculiar rolling motion, unpleasant to the rider and unsafe to the animal. The toe will like- wise be turned outward, which will not only prevent the foot from coming flat on the ground in its descent, but be usually accompanied by cutting, even more certainly than when the toe turns inward. If the elbow is turned outward, the toes will necessarily be turned inward, which is a great unsightliness, and to a considerable deo-ree injurious, for the weight cannot be perfectly distributed over the foot — the bearino- cannot be true. There will also be undue pressure on the inner quarter, a tendency to nnsafeness, and a disposition to splint and corn, 'i'he legs should come down perpendicularly from the elbow. If they incline backward and under the horse, there is undue stress on the extensor muscles ; and, the legs being brought nearer the centre of gravity, too great weight is thrown forward, and the horse is liable to knuckle over and become unsafe. If the legs have a direction forward, the flexor muscles are strained, and the action of the horse is awkward and confined. The toe should be found precisely under the point of the shoulder. If it is a little more .or- ward, the horse will ])robably be deficient in action; if it is more under the horse, unsafeness will be added to still greater defect in going. THE HAUNCH — THE THIGH 279 CHAPTER XIII. THE HIND LEGS. THE HAUNCH. The haunch (see O, p. 68, and the cut, p. 256,) is composed of three bones. The first is the ilium, principally concerned in the formation of the haunch. Its extended branches behind the flanks are prominent in every horse. When they are more than usually wide, the animal is said to be ragged-hipped. 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 (cut, p. 68). The pubis unites with the two former below and behind. From the loins to the setting-on of the tail a line should 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 considera- ble extent of the breeding of the animal. If the bones at D and E, p. 68, take a somewhat arched form, as they do in the cart-horse, it is evident that the haunch- bone O 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 considera- bly impaired. The oblique direction of the haunch and thigh-bones, produced by the straightness of the line of the spine, does not, as is commonly supposed, aflTord 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. It will be seen, from the different cuts, that the angles formed by the fore and hind extremities have different directions. One points forward, and the other backward. The action of the fore legs thus least interferes with the chest, and that of the hind legs with the belly. Width of haunch is a point of great consequence, for it evidently affords more room for the attachment of muscles ; and even though it should be so wide as to subject the horse to the charge 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 ilium can scarcely be too far apart. Many a ragged-hipped horse has possessed both fleetness and strength, while but few that were narrow across the haunch could boast of the latter quality. The opening in the centre of these bones, which constitutes the passage throuo-h which the young animal is expelled from the mother, is large in the mare, and in every quadruped, because there cannot, on account of tlie form of the animal, be any danger of abortion from the weight of the fcetus pressing on the part. The only portion of these bones exposed to injury or fracture are the tuberosities or 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, nnd retaining them in their natural position. The power of nature, however, will gradually unite them, but that union M'ill be attended by deformity and lameness. A charge, or very strong adhesive plaster, across the haunch may be useful, as helping, in some slight degree, to support the parts, and hold them together. THE THIGH. In the lower and fore part of the hip-bones is a deep cavity or cup for the reception of the head of the thigh-bone.* Although in the movement of the hind legs there * This, althouffh the true thigh-bone, is so concealed by thick muscles that its situation and shape are not visible to the eye. It is therefore frequently overlooked by horsemen, who call ihe next bone, extending from the stifle to the hock, the thigh. 280 THE HIND LEGS. cannot be the concussion to which the fore legs are exposed (for the weight of the body is never thrown violently upon them), yet in the powerful action of these limbs there is much strain on the joints, and we shall, therefore, find that there are, in all of them, admirable provisions against injury. The head of the upper bone of the thigh is received into a deep cup (the acetabulum), by which it is surrounded on every side, and dislocation from which would seem almost impossible. But the bony cup may "•ive way 1 Not so, provision is made against this. All three of the haunch-bones unite in the formation of this cup, and the sutures by which they are held together are of such a nature, that, generally speaking, no shock, or exertion, or accident, can dis- unite them. There is even something more in order to make the attachment doubly sure. In addition to the usual capsular and other ligaments, a singularly strong one rises from the base of the cup, and is inserted into tlie head of the thigh-bone, seeming as if it would render separation or dislocation altogether impossible. Such, however, is the strange power of the muscles of the hind limbs, that, with all these attach- ments, sprain of the ligaments of the thigh, or the round bone, as horsemen call it, and even dislocation of it, are occasionally found. The thio-h-bone is both the largest and strongest in the frame. It is short and thick, and exhibits the most singular prominences, and roughnesses, and hollows, for the insertion of the immense muscles that belong to it. Four prominences, in particu- lar, called by anatomists trochunttrs, two on the outside, one on the inside, and one near the head of the bone, aftord attachment to several important muscles. The head of the bone is placed at right angles with its body, by which this important advantage is gained, that the motion of the thigh-joint is principally limited to the act of bending and extending, although it possesses some slight lateral, and even some rotatory action. The lower head of the thigh-bone 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 knee or stifle plays as over a perfect pulley. A short description of the muscles of the hinder extremities may not be uninterest- ing to the horseman. The next cut will contain a few of them. The muscles of the hinder extremity are more powerful than those of any other part of the frame ; therefore an extraordinary provision is made to confine them in their respective situations, and thus contribute to their security and strength. When the skin is stripped from any part, we do not at once arrive at the muscles, but they are thickly covered by a dense, strong, tendinous coat, intended to confine them to their places. This membrane, called the fascia, is of extraordinary strength in the hind quarter, and reaches over the whole of the haunch and thigh, and only ceases to be found at the hock where there are no muscles to be protected. If the power of the muscles is sufficient to dislocate or fracture the thigh-bone, they need the support and confinement of this tendinous coat. When this tendinous band is dissected off, another is found beneath, which is represented at u, in the cut at p. 281, raised and turned back, larger than the former, thicker and more muscular. It proceeds from the haunch-bones to the stifle, upon tlie fore and outer part of the haunch and thigh, and is intended to tighten and strengthen the other. Under the part of this flat and binding muscle, which is represented in our cut as raised from its natural situation, is a large round one, proceeding from the ilium, not far Irom the cup which receives the upper bone of the thigh, and running straight down this bone, and thence its name rectus. It is inserted into the bone of the stifle. An inspection of the cut, p. G8, will show that it is so situated as to be enabled to exert its great power in the most advantageous way. It is a very ]irominent muscle, and possesses immense strength. It terminates in a tendon, which is short and very strono-, and which is, before its insertion into the patella, united with the prolongation of the tendinous substance at sx, in the cut, p. 282, and also with the tendon of the muscle at i, in that cut, and at c, in that on page 281, and which is properly called vastus, from its great hulk. Some have divided this into two nuiscles : the external and internal. The external arising from the outer surface of the upper bone of the thiffh; the internal, from the inner surface; and they are inserted into the upper part of Ihe bone of the stifle, both on the inner and outer side. These muscles act at considerable mechanical disadvantage. They form a very slight angle, not at all approaching to a right angle ; but they are muscles of immense size, and occupy all the fore pari of the thigh,"from the stifle upwards. They are powerful extensors of THE THIGH. 281 the thigh, and of the hinaer leg gene- rally ; for they are all inserted into the bone of the knee, and that is connected by strong tendons with the bone of the true leg. On the inside of the thigh are several other large fleshy muscles, which will be easily recognized on the thigh of the living horse. First is a long, narrow, prominent muscle, the sartun'us, d, arising partly from the lumbar vertebra?, and extending down the thigh — assisting in bind- ing the leg, and turning it inward — giving it a rotatory motion, and also aiding in many of the natural actions of the horse. Next comes a broad, thin muscle, the gracilis, e, occupying tiie greater portion of the surface of the inner part of the thigh, and particularly the prominent part of it. It arises from the lower portion of tho liaunch-bone, and, in its passage downward uniting with the last muscle, is inserted with it into the inner and upper part of the tibia. It acts with great mechanical disad- vantage, but its power is equal to the task. It bends the leg, and rotates it inward. Still, on the inside of the thigh, and forming the posterior edge of the thigh inwards, and contributing much to its bulk, is another import- ant muscle, the pcctineus. Part of it acts with very great mechanical advantage, and powerfully flexes the thigh on the pelvis, and lifts and bends the leg. It is one of the most effectual of the extensor muscles. Considering the weight of limb which it has to raise and flex, it had need to possess great power. We now turn to some of the muscles that are evident to the eye on the outside ot the thigh. First is the glutaeus extermis, situated in the middle of the external part of the haunch. It is of a triangular figure, attached to the antero-superior and to the inferior spines of the ilium, and is inserted into the smaller outer prominence of the upper bone of the thigh. Next is the great glutasus muscle, arising from the spinous and transverse processes of several of the bones of the loins, and from the sacrum, and from the dif- ferent edges of the ilium, and inserted into the great protuberance of the upper bone of the thigh (page 68), behind and a little above the joint that unites the thigh to the haunch-bone. It is seen at c, in the cut on the following page. It constitutes the upper and outer part of the haunch, and gives that fulness and roundness to it which good judges so much admire in the quarters of the horse. It is one of the main instruments in progression. When the thigh has been brought forward under the body by the muscles already described, the plain action of these gluta?i muscles is to extend the haunch, and force or project the body onward. To effect this, they must be very powerful, and therefore they are so large, and rise from such an extensive surface. They ought, also, to act at great mechanical advantage, and so, in one sense, they do. Springing from the loins and the ilium, and the sacrum, they act almost in a right, or perpendicular line ; in that line in which we haie seen that the greatest power is gained. 24* 21. 282 THE HIND LEGS, CUT OF THE MUSCLES OF THE OUTSIDE OF THE THIGH. There is another and smaller glutoeus muscle under that which has been last described, arising likewise from the back of the ilium, inserted into the same protuberance of the thigh-bone, and assisting in the same office. It is not visible in the cut. These muscles, as Mr. Percivall well explains it, are extensors either of the femoris upon the pelvis, or the pelvj« and loins upon the hind quarter. \Vhen the limb has been carried in advance under the body by the muscles of the anterior femoral region, and the toe firmljf set down upon the ground, the glutei, by extending the haur.ch, will carr}^ the trunk forward ; thus becom- ing potent agents in progression, and the niaxinms being the most powerful of them. In the acts both of rearing and kick- ing, these muscles are thrown into vio- lent and forcible contraction. In the former action, the limbs become the fixed points, and the trunk the weight moved, and vice versa in the latter.* There are also several other muscles proceeding from different parts of the haunch-bones, and inserted about the heads of the upper thigh-bone, and per- forming the same work; but there are two muscles to which we must par- ticularly refer. The first occupies the outer part of the quarter behind, and is beautifully developed in the blood- horse ; it is found at e, above. It lises high up from the bones of the spine, from others at the root of the tail, from the protuberances of the ischium (vide cut, p. 68), and from other bones of the pelvis. It in fact consists of two muscles, but is usually described as one muscle with two heads, biceps femoris, the two-headed mus- cle of the thigh. It is situated on the postero-external side of the haunch and thigh, where, being superficial, it is well marked in the living animal. The two divisions of it have an opposite action. The anterior or superior one assists the vasti in extend- ing the thigh — the posterior one flexes it. They both, however, co-operate in abducting the limb, and also in rotating it forward, the hock, at the same time, turn- ing outwards. Those muscles alone have been selected which are particularly prominent in tht thorough-bred horse, and are the source of his strength and speed. Tlie following cut, containing one excellence above and many defects below, will not be unaccepta ble here : — The Os Femoris, or Thigh Bone (see P, page G8), is long and cylindrical, taking an oldique direction from above, downwards, and from behind, forwards. At its upper extremities, and projecting from the Ijody, is a thick flattened neck, terminat- ing in a large smooth hemispherical head, adapted to a hollow, or acetabulum, in the superior ]ioint of the havmcli. This bone is commonly called the Round Bone. It has, in some rare instances, been dislocated and fractured. It is much oftener sprained, but not so frecpiently as the groom or farrier imagi)ies. There is nothing peculiar in the lamenc^,^ to detect injury of this part, except, that the horse will drag his leg after him. Injury sf the * Percivall's Anatomy, p. 14S. THE STIFLE. 283 CUT OF THE HAUNCH AND HIND LEGS. round bone will be principally discovered by heat and tenderness in the situation of the joint. A part so deeply situated is treated with difficulty. Fomentions should at first be used to abate the intiammation, and, after 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 neces- sary to repeat the blister, while absolute rest should accompany every stage of the treat- ment. It may even be requisite to fire the part, — or, as a last resort, a charge may be placed (Jver the joint, and the horse turned out for two or three months. Proceeding from the body of the bone is a large irregular projection, rising from a kind of pyramidal eminence (see p. G8), and into which are implanted various powerful mus- cles. THE STIFLE. The inferior extremity presents a pulley- like articulatory surface in front, over which plays the patella, and two condyles, rounded and smooth, presenting inferiorly and posteri- orly, and which are received into slight de- pressions on the upper surface of the lower bone ; while in front is a curious groove, over which plays a small irregular bone, the pa- tella, or stifle bone. The whole is commonly called the stifle joint. The patella (Q, p. 6S) answers to the kneepan in the human subject. Some of the tendons of the strongest muscles of the upper bone of the thigh are inserted into it, and continued from it over the lower bone. This important joint is hereby much strengthened ; for the proper ligaments be- tween the upper and lower bones, and these additional tendons and ligaments from the patella, must form altogether a very pow- erful union. The patella likewise answers another and even more important purpose. The tendons of some strong muscles are inserted into it. When these muscles aro not in action, the patella lies in the groove which nature has contrived for it ; but when they begin to contract, it starts from its partial hiding-place, becomes promi- nent from the joint, and alters the line of direction in which the muscles act. It increases the angle, and thus very materially increases the power of the muscles. 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, behind (see R, p. 68), reaches not more than a third of the way down. It is united to the shank-bone, like the splint-bone, by a cartilaginous 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 reverse of that which exists between the upper bone and the pelvis. The object of this is twofold, — to obviate concussion, and to give a direction to the muscles favourable to their powerful action; and in proportion to the acuteness of the angle, or the degree in which the stifle is brought under the horse, will these purposes be accomplished. There is much diflference in this in different horses, and 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 tha 284 THE HIND LBGS. 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 or compass of motion. Much endurance would not be expected from a horse witli a thin arm. A horse with thin and lanky thighs will not possess the strength wliich considerable exertion would sometimes require. In the cuts p. 281 and 282, the princijial muscles of this part of the thigh are deli- neated. They are usually somewhat prominent, and may readily be traced in the living animal : a very brief notice of them may not be uninteresting. The continuation from g, p. 282, is the tendinous expansion given to bind and strengthen these muscles. n is a very important muscle. It is the principal extensor muscle of the hind leg {extensor pedis, extensor of tlie foot). It commences by a small flat tendon, common, to it, and the flexor metatarsi. Passing over the tibia it becomes fleshy : but a little above the hock it changes to a flat tendon, and pursues its course in front of the hock in union with the tendon of the peronaius. On the fetlock joint they disunite. It now begins to expand, and is finally inserted into the upper part of the coffin-bone, or bone of the foot, after having given various fibres to both the pasterns. The course of the corresponding tendon in the hind leg is given in the cut p. 282, fig. /. It helps to flex the hock joint, but is principally concerned in the extension of the foot, and also the pastern and ietlock joints. At m, p. 282, is another of tlie extensor muscles, called the peronscvs, from a name given to the fibula. It arises from the whole course of the fibula, and also becomes tendinous before it reaches the hock. About half-way down the shank it is found in the same sheath with the principal extensor muscle, and is inserted with it into the coffin-bone. Its oflTice is to co-operate with the extensor pedis in raising the foot from the ground, and bringing it forward under the body. At 0 is i\\e, flexor pedis, one of the principal flexor muscles of the foot, arising from the upper part of the tibia. As it approaches the hock it is distinguished by its large round tendon, which is seen to enter into a groove at the back of the hock. Its tendon passes down the back of the leg like that of a similar muscle in the fore leg. It is the perforating flexor muscle of the hind leg, and assists in flexing the pastern and fetlock. k is a very slender muscle, arising from the head of the fibula, and proceeding over the external part of the thigh, and, just above the hock, its tendon unites with that of the perforating muscle. j is a very powerful muscle, springing from the head of the upper bone of the thigh, and, midway down the lower bone of it, ending in a flat tendon, which is inserted into the point of the hock. Its use is to extend the hock. It is evidently most advantageously situated for powerful action ; for it acts almost at right angles, and its eff"ect is increased in proportion to the projection of the point of the hock. We will now turn to the inner side. See cut, p. 281. m gives a portion of the muscle which has been just described. n is an inside view of the perforating flexor muscle of the foot. 1 is the peronaeus. 0 is the flexor perforatus muscle, having its origin from near the lower head of the upper bcae of the thigh — becoming tendinous as it passes down the thigh — ex- panding Jver and surrounding the point of the hock, and assisting in extending it. After this the tendon pursues its course down the posterior part of the leg. in a man- ner so much resembling that of similar tendons in the fore leg, that it will be suffi- cient to refer to a description of the perforated and perforating flexor tendons at page 280. At e is a continuation of the gracilis muscle, p. 281, over the stifle. At h is the extensor pedis, already described, p. 282, with its tendon. At i is a muscle used to bend the hock, the flexor rnefatarsi, or liender of the leg; arising from the external condyle of the os femoris, and inserted into the large and small metatarsal bones. It is a muscle of considerable ])ow('r, although disadvanta- geous! y situated, both as to its direction and its being inserted so near to the joint It flexes tlie hock, the joint turning somewhat inwards. At k is a short muscle extending from the upper to the lower thigh-bones (the V'lpd' (cus), bending the stifle and turning the limb inward. THOROUGH-PIN — THE HOCK. 285 These cats represent the situation of some of the principal blood-vessels and nerves of the hind extremities. In the cut of the inside of the thigh, page 2Sl, p represents the course of the prin- cipal artery ; at q are blood-vessels belonging to the groin ; at r is the large cutane- ous vein, or the vein immediately under the skin. The principal nerves on the fore part of the inside of the thigh pursue their course at t, in the direction of the subcu- taneous vein ; and those of the posterior part are seen at s, while at u are those im- portant ligamentous bands at the bending of the hock which confine the tendons. In the cut of the outside of the tliigh, page 282, p will give the course of the an- terior arteries and veins ; q that of the principal nerves, and coming into sight below ; and r the bands described in the former plate. Also, in the cut of the outside of the shoulder and arm, p. 259, the figures 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. In the cut of the inside of the arm, p. 260, 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 subcutaneous vein of the inside of the arm, and i the artery by which it is accompanied. The stifle joint is not often subject to sprain. The heat and tenderness will guide to the seat of injury. Occasionally, dislocation 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 some- times been sprained. This may be detected by diffused heat, or heat on the inside of the thigh above the stifle. Rest, fomentations, bleeding, and physic, will be the proper means of cure. THOROUGH-PIN. Mention has been made of wind-galls and their treatment. A similar enlargement is found above the hock, between the tendons of the flexor of the foot and the exten- sor 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 thorough-pin, a, p. 283. It is an indication of considerable work, but is rarely attended by lameness. The mode of treatment must resemble 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 un- suspected seat of lameness, and the proper formation of v/hich is essentially connect- ed with the value of the horse. It answers to the ancle in the human being. The inferior head of the tibia is formed into two deep grooves, with three sharpen- ed ridges, one separating the grooves, and the other two constituting the sides of them. It is seen at a in the following cut. It rests upon a singularly-shaped bone, b, the astralgus, which has two circular risings or projections, and, with a depression between them, answering exactly to the irregularities of the tibia. These are re- ceived and mortised into each other. At the posterior part its convex surface is re- ceived into a concavity near the base of another bone, and with which it is united by very strong ligaments. This bone, c, is called the os calcis, or bone of the heel, and it projects upwards, flattened at its sides, and receives, strongly implanted into it, the tendons of powerful muscles. These bones rest on two others, the os cuhoides, d (cube-formed), behind, and the larger citneifnnn or wedne-shaped bone e, in front. The larger wedge-shaped bone is supported by two smaller ones. /. and these two smaller ones and the cuhoides by the upper heads of the shank-bone g, and the splint- Dones h. The cuhoides is placed on the external splint-bone, and the cannon-bone, or principal bone of the leg; the small wedge-bone is principally evident on the inner splint-bone, not seen in the cut; and the middle wedge-bone on the shank-bone only, g. These bones are all connected together by very strong ligaments, which prevent dislocation, but allow a slight degree of motion between them, and the surfaces which ■vre opposed to each other are thickly covered by elastic cartilage. 280 THE HIND LEGS. Considering the situation and action of this joint, the weight and stress thrown upon it must be exceedingly great, CUT OF THE HOCK. and it is necessarily liable to much injury in rapid and powerful mo- tion. What are the provisions to prevent injury ? The grooved or pulley-like heads of the tibia and the astragalus, received deeply into one another, and confined by powerful ligaments, admitting freely of hinge-like action ; but of no side motion, to which the joint would otherwise be exposed in rapid movement, or on an un- even surface. A slight inspection of the cut will show that the stress or weight thrown by the tibia a on the astragalus b, does not descend perpendicularly, but in a slanting direction. By this much concussion is avoided, or more readil)^ diflused among the dif- ferent bones; and, the joint con- sisting of six bones, each of them covered with elastic cartilage, and each admitting of a certain degree of motion, the diminished con- cussion is diflused among them all, and thereby neutralised and rendered comparatively harmless. Each of these bones is covered not only by cartilage, but by a membrane secreting synovia ; so that, in fact, these bones are formed into so many distinct joints, separated from each other, and thereby guarded from injury, yet united by various ligaments — possessing altogether sufficient motion, yet bound together so strongly as to def}^ dislocation. When, however, the work which this joint has to perform, and the thoughtlessness and crueltj' with which that work is often exacted, are considered, it will not excite nny surprise if this necessarily complicated mechanism is sometiiues deranged. The hock, from its complicated structure and its work, is the principal seat of lameness behind. ENLARGEMENT OF THE HOCK. First, there is inflammation, or sprain of the hock-joint gencrnJhj, arising from sud- den violent concussion, by some check at speed, or over-weight, 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, or, perchance, firing, the limb recovers its action, and the horse becomes fit for ordinary work. The swellino-. however, does not always subside. Kn'arirement, spread over the whole of tlie bock-joint, remains. Ahorse 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 BOG SPAVIN. 28? (iurins' a If^ng period, without return of lameness; but if one of those emergencies should occur when all his energies require to be exerted, the disorganised and weakened part will fail. The purchase, therefore, of a horse with enlarged hock will depend on circumstances. If he has other excellences, he will not be uniformly rejected ; for he may be ridden or driven moderately for many a year without incon- venience, yet one extra hard day's work may lame him for ever. 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 inclies below its point. It is represented at d. p. -283, 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 violence 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 gallop. Young horses are particularly liable to it, and horses that are cow-hocked (vide cut, p. 283), — 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 inflammation, and this will be most readily accomplished by cold evaporating lotions frequently applied to the part. Equal portions of spirit of wine, water, and vinegar, will aflbrd an excellent applica- tion. 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, p. 281 ; and whether the injury 's 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 the preferable plan, the hair should be cut off, and the part blistered as soon as the heat has been subdued. The blister should be repeated 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 absolute and long-continued rest is more requi- site. It leaves the parts materially weakened, 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 apparent 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 generally 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 the different portions of this complicated joint. Some of these are found on the inside of the joint, which could not be represented in the cut, p. 286. 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 integu- ment— the course of the blood is partially arrested, and a portion of the vein below the impediment, and between it and the next valve, is distended, and causes the soft tumour on the inside of the heck, called Bog or Blood spavin. This is a very serious disease, attended with no great, but often permanent lame ness, and too apt to return when the enlargement has subsided under medical treat 288 THE HIND LEGS. ment. 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 destined to more rapid action, the probability of a relapse should not be forgotten, when the chances of success and the exnenses of treatment are calculated. The cause of the disease — the enlarged mucous capsule — lies deep, and is with difficulty operated upon. Uniform pressure would sometimes cause the absorption of the fluid contained in cysts or bags like these, but in a joint of such extensive 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 dilatation below the obstruction. The old and absurd method of passing a ligature above and below the enlarged portion of the vein, and then dis- secting out the tumour, is not, in the advanced stage of veterinary science, practised 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 effused 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 ol)ject. 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 detriment to his utility ; but he will never do for hard or rapid work. BONE SPAVIN. A still more formidable disease ranks under the name of Spavin, and is an affec- tion of the bones of the hock-joint. It has been stated that the bones of the leg, the shank-bone, g, p. 286, and the two small splint-bones behind, h, support the lower layer of the bones of the hock. The cube-bone, d, rests principally on the shank- 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 slight degree on the shank-bone, but principally, 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 whole of the weight and concussion communicated to the smaller cuneiform bone carried on to it. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that, in the violent action of this joint in galloping, leaping, heavy draught, and especially in young horses, and before the limbs have become properly knit, the inner splint-bone, or its ligaments, or the substance which connects it with the shank-bone, sliould suffer material injury. The smith increases the tendency to this by his injudicious management of the feet. It is a common notion that cutting, and wounds in the feet — from one foot treading on the other — are prevented by putting on a shoe with a calkin on the outer heel — that is, the extremity of the heel being considerably raised from the ground. It is not unusual to see whole teams of horses with the outer heel of the hind foot considerably raised above the other. This unequal bearing, or distribution of the weight, cannot fail of being injurious. It places an unequal strain on the ligaments of the joints, and particularly of the hock-joint, and increases the tendency to spavin. The weight and concussion thus thrown on the inner splint-bone, produce inflam- mation of the cartilaginous substance that unites it to the shank-bone. In conse- quence of it, the cartilage is absorbed, and bone deposited ; the union between the splint-bone and the shank becomes bony, instead of cartilaginous; ihe degree of elastic action between them is destroyed, and there is formed a splint of the hind leg. This is uniformly on the inside of the hind leg, because tlie greatest weiojit and con- cussion are thrown on the inner splint-bones. As in the fore leg. the disposition to form bony matter having commenced, and the cause which produced it continuing to act, bone continues to be di^positi^d, and it generally appears in the form of a tumour, where the head of the splint-bone is united with the shank, and in front of that union. It is seen at c, p. 283. This is called bone spavin. Inflammation of tlu; ligaments of any of the small bones of the hock, proceeding to bony tumour, would equally class under the name of spavin ; but, commonly, the disease commences on the pre- cise spot that has been described. BONE SPAVIN. 269 While spavin is forming, there is always lameness, and that frequenrly to a very great degree : but when the membrane of the bone has accommodated itself to the tumour that extended it, the lameness subsides or disappears, or depends upon the degree in which the bony deposit interferes with the motion of the joint. It is well known to horsemen, that many a hunter, with spavin that would cause his rejection by a veterinary surgeon, stands his work without lameness. The explanation is this : there is no reason why an old bony tumour on the outside of any of the bones of the hock, free from connexion with the next bone, and from any tendon, should be at all injurious ; as, for instance, one immediately under e or/, p. 286 : but, from the com- plicated nature of the hock, it is difficult, if not impossible, to be quite sure of the place, or extent, from inspection, of the tumour ; and, besides, the disposition to throw out bone covered by the tumour, may continue and extend to the joint. The surgeon, therefore, cannot be perfectly safe in pronouncing a bone spavin to be of no conse- quence. Horses with exceedincjly 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 tumour 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 dis- appears, on exercise ; and, therefore, a horse, with regard to which there is any sus- picion 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, /, page 386, for these are nearest to its original seat. They are capa- ble of slight motion, and share in every action of the joint, but their principal de- sign is to obviate concussion. The chief motion of the joint, and that compared with which the motion of the other bones is scarcely to be regarded, is confined to the tibia a, and the astragalus h, and therefore stiffness rather than lameness rnay accompany spavin, even when it is beginning to affect the small bones of the joint. Hence, too, is the advantage of these bones having each its separate ligaments and membranes, and constituting so many distinct joints, since injury may happen to some of them, without the effect being propagated to the rest. When the bony de- posit continues to enlarge and takes in the second layer of bones — the larger wedge- bones e — and even spreads to the cuboid bones on the other side, the lameness may not be very great, because these are joints, or parts of the joint, in which the motion is small ; but when it extends to the union of the tibia a, and the astragalus b — when the joint, in which is the chief motion of the hock, is attacked — the lameness is indeed formidable, and the horse becomes nearly quite useless. Spavined horses are generally capable of slow work. They are equal to the greater part of the work of the farm, and therefore they should not be always rejected by the small farmer, as they may generally be procured at little price. These horses are not only capable of agricultural work, but they generally improve under it. The lameness in some degree abates, and even the bony tumour to a certain degree dimin- ishes. There is sufficient moderate motion and friction of the limb to rouse the ab- sorbents to action, and cause them to take up a portion of the bony matter thrown out, but not enough to renew or prolong inflammation. It cannot be said that the plough affords a cure for spavin, but the spavined horse often materially improves while working at it. 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 can- not long travel far or fiist. The treatment of spavin is simple enough, but far from being always effectual. The owner of the horse will neither consult his own interest, nor the dictates of hu- manity, if he suffers 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 applied. 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 25 3 m 290 THE HIND LEGS. it can be found, and there is no external h^at or enlargement to indicate its seat. Farriers and gTooms pronounce these to be affections of the stifle, or round bone ; or, ,f the gait of the horse and peculiar stiffness of motion point out the hock as the affected part, yet the joint may be of its natural size, and neither heat nor tenderness can be discovered. The groom has his own method of unravelling the mysterj'. He says that it is the beginning of spavin; but months and years pass aAvay, and the snavin does not appear, and the horse is at length destroyed as incurably lame. " Horsemen are indebted to Mr. W. J. Goodwin, V. S. to Her Majesty, for the dis- covery of the seat of frequent lameness behind. The cut, p. 286, represents the two layers of small bones within the hock — the larger wedge-like bone e, above ; and the middle /, and the smaller one below, and it will be seen that almost the whole of the weight of the horse, communicated by the tibia a, is thrown upon these bones. The cube-bone d does little more than support the point of the hock c. It is then easy to imagine that, in the concussion of hard work or rapid travelling, these bones, or the delicate and sensible membranes in which they are wrapped, may be severely injured. Repeated dissections of horses that have been incurably lame behind, without any- thing external, during life, to point out the place or cause of lameness, have shown that inflammation of the membranes lining these joints, and secreting the fluid that lubricates them, has taken place. Mr. Goodwin narrates a very interesting case in corroboration of this account of hock lameness. The author of this work had the honour of being present when the examination took place. " The patient was a harness horse of unusual perfection, both in shape and action, and was a great favourite with an illustrious personage. He suddenly became lame behind on the off-leg, but without the least accident or alteration of structure to account for it. He was turned out for a short time, and the lameness disappeared. He was then incautiously made to perform his usual work, until perfectly incapacitated for it by returning and aggravated lameness. Suspect- ing the seat of lameness to be in the hock, although the joint was perfectly unaltered in form, he was, three m^onths cJter the commencement of the lameness, blistered and fired, and placed either in a loose place or paddock, as circumstances seemed to re- quire. Not the least amendment took place at the end of six months, even in his quiescent state, and, after twelve months from the time of his being given up for treatment, he was destroyed, his case being naturally considered a hopeless one. Ulceration of the synovial membrane was found, taking its origin between the two cuneiform bones. These bones had become carious, and the disease had gradually extended itself to other parts of the joint. Mr. Goodwin had no doubt that if the animal had been suffered to work on for any greater length of time, necrosis, or an- chylosis of every bone concerned in the hock, would have been the result."* — {Vete- rinaria'n, iii. 158.) Much more depends, than they who are not well accustomed to horses imagine, on the length of the os calcis, or projection of the heck. In proportion to the leno;th of this bone will two purposes be effected. The line of direction will be more advanta- geous, 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 extent. 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 char- acter of the OS calcis is of such immense importance. The point of the hock is sometimes swelled. A soft, fluctuating tumour appears on it. This is an enlargement of one of the mucous bags of which mention has been made, and that surrounds the insertion of the tendons into the point of the hock. It is termed, CAPPED HOCK. It is seldom accompanied by lameness, and yet it is a somewhat serious business, for it is usually produced by blows and mostly by the injuries which the horse in- * These opinions of the seat and nature of obscure hock-lamcnnss arc now maintained b • the majority of veterinary surgeons, aliliousih some of them differ a little with repard to 'he articulation that is £rcnerally afiectpd, and tiio manner in which tlie dopresjions or excavations on the surface of these hones is effected. In the loth volume of the ■''Veterinarian," are some valuable observations on this subject by Professor Dick, and Messrs. Pritchard and Spooner. MALLENDERS AND SALLENDERS. -SWELLED LEGS. 291 flicts 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 history of the animal should be carefully inquired into. Does he kick in harness or in the stall, or has he been lying on a thin bed, or on nc bed at all; and tuus rnay the hock have been bruised, and the swelling produced'? It is exceedingly diliicult to apply a bandage over a capped hock ; and puncturinor the tumour, 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 tumour 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 bend of the knee (A, p. 277), there is occasionally a scurfy eruption, called mallendcrs in the fore leg, and sallenders 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 afterwards difficult to stop. They usually indicate bad stable management. 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. 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 diflused, 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 divergent 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 considerable speed. Perhaps they do so ; and it is thus accounted for. The cow- hocked horse has his legs not only turned more outward, but bent more under him, and this increases the distance between the point of the hock and the tendons of the perforating muscle : see h, in the cut, page 283. It increases the suace which is usually occupied by thoroughpin, see a, in the same page. Then tl e point of the hock, moved by the action of the muscles, is enabled to describe a greater portion of a circle ; and in proportion to the increased space passed over by the point of the hock, will the space traversed by the limb be increased, and so the stride of the horse may be lengthened, and, thus far, his speed may be increased. But this advantage is more than counterbalanced by many evils. This increased contraction of the muscles is an expenditure of animal power ; and, as already stated, the weight and the con- cussion being so unequally distributed by this formation of the limbs, some part must be over-strained and over-worked, and injury must ensue. On this account it is that the cow-hocked horse is more subject than others to thoroughpin and spavin ; and is so disposed to curbs, that these hocks are denominated by horsemen curhy hocks. The mischief extends even farther than this. Such a horse is peculiarly liable to windgall, sprain of the fetlock, cutting, and knuckling. A slight inclination to this form in a strong powerful horse may not be very objec- tionable, but a horse decidedly cow-hocked should never be selected. SWELLED LEGS. The fore legs, but oftener the hind ones, and especially in coarse horses, are some- times subject to considerable enlargement. Occasionally, when the horse does not seem to labour 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 very peculiar lame- ness. The pulse likewise becomes quick and hard, and the horse eridently labours under considerable fever. It is acute inflammation of the cellular substance of the legs, and that most sudden in its attack, and mnst violent in its degree, and therefore attended by the effusion of a considerable quantity of fluid into the cellular membrane. It occurs in young horses, and in those which are over-fed and little exercised 292 THE HIND LEGS. Fomentation, diuretics, or purgatives, or, if there is mucli fever, a moderato bleeding will often relieve the distension almost as suddeni)' as it appeared. The kind of swelled legs most frequently occurring and most troublesome is of a different nature, or rather it is most various in its kind and causes, and consequences and mode of treatment. Sometimes the legs are lilled, but there is little lameness or inconvenience. At other times the limbs are strangely gorged, and with a great degree of stifl'ness and pain. Occasionally the horse is apparently well at night, but, on the following morning, one or both of the legs are tremendoush' swollen ; and on its being touched, the horse catches it up suddenly, and nearly falls as he does so. Many horses, in seemingly perfect health, if suffered 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 attacked 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 he had recourse 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 in high condition, these should be preceded or accompanied 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 very speedily have swelled legs, because the difference of food and increase 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 consequence of starvation, or disease that has considerably 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 extremities would sympathise. JMilA diuretics and tonics would therefore be evidently indicated. Horses in the spring and fall are subject to sw'elled legs. The powers of the con- stitution 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. vSwelled legs are often teasing in horses that are in tolerable or go'bd health : but where the work is somewhat irregular the cure consists in giving more equal exercise, walkintT 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 effect, for. nothing tends more to support the capillary vessels, and rouse the action of the absorbents, than moderate pressure. Hay-bands will form a good bandage for the agricultural horse, and their effect will probably be increased by previously dipping them in water. GREASE. The physic, or the diuretic ball, may occasionally be used, but very sparing]}- ; and only when they are absolutely required. In the hands of the owner of the horse, or of the veterinary surgeon, they may be emploj'ed 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 humour or grease. Swelled legs, although distinct from grease, is a disease that is apt to degenerate into it. Grease is a specific inflammation of the skin of the heels, sometimes of the fore-feet, but oftener of the hinder ones. It is not 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 staie there is a secretion of greasy matter from it, in order to prevent excoriation and chap- ping, and the skin is soft and pliable. Too often, however, from bad management, die secretion of this greasy matter is stopped, and the skin of the heel becomes red, GREASE. 293 and dry, and scurfy. The joint still continuing to be extended and flexed, cracks of the skin begin to appear, and these, if neglected, rapidly extend, and the heel becomes a mass of soreness, ulceration, and fungus. The distance of the heel from the centre of circulation, and the position of the hina limbs, render the return of blood slow and difficult. There is also more variation of temperature here than in any other part of the frame. As the horse stands in the closed stable, the heat of this part is too often increased by its being embedded in straw. When the stable door is open, the heels are nearest to it, and receive first, and most powerfully, the cold current of air. When be is taken from his stable to work, the heels are frequently covered with mire and wet, and they are oftenest and most intensely chilled by the long and slow process of evaporation which is taking place from them. No one, then, can wonder at the frequency with which the heels are attacked by inflammation, and the ditSculty there is in subduing it. Much error has prevailed, and it has led to considerable bad practice, from the notion of humours flying about the horse, and which, it is said, must have vent some- where, and attack the heels as the weakest part of the frame. Thence arise the physicking, and the long course of diuretics, which truly weaken the animal, and often do irreparable mischief. Grease is a local complaint. It is prodviced principally by causes that act locally, and it is most successfully treated by local applications. Diuretics and purgatives may be useful in abating inflammation ; but the grand object is to get rid of the inflam- matory action which exists in the skin of the heel, and to heal the wounds, and remedy the mischief which it has occasioned. The first appearance of grease is usually a dry and scurfy state of the skin of 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 ointment, composed of one part plumb, diacet. and seven of adeps suillae, 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. 5ij. et aluminis 3iiij., dis- solved in a pint of water, will often speedily dry them up, and close them. There is sometimes considerable caprice in the application of this lotion, which has induced Professor Morton to have recourse to alumen et terebinthinus vulgaris one part each, and adeps suillas three parts, made into an ointment. If the cracks are deep, with an ichorous discharge and considerable lameness, it will be necessary to poultice the heel. A poultice of linseed meal will be generally effective, unless the discharge is thin and offensive, 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 seldom 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 mild aloetic balls ; gentle diuretics 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, from the danger of bringing back the inflammation of the skin, and the discharge 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 — the 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 35* 29-t THE HIND LEGS. 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 diligenlly used night and day, and especially the carrot- poultice; and when the heat, and tenderness, and stiflness 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. 1'he cracks should likewise be dressed with tlie ointment above-mentioned ; and, the moment the horse can bear it, a flannel bandage should be put on, reaching 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 full of flesii, physic should always precede and sometimes supersede the diuretics. In cases of much debility, 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 expensive, 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 b}' 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 a]>pears. The ulceration extends over the skin of the heel and the fetlock, and a fungus springs from the surface of both, highly sensible, bleed- ing at the slightest touch, and interspersed with scabs. By degTces, portions of the fungus begin to be covered with a horny substance protruding in the form of knobs, and collected together in hunches. These are known by tlie name of grapes. A fcKtid and very peculiar exudation proceeds from nearly the whole of the unnatural substance. The horse evidently suffers much, and is gradually worn down by the discharge. The assistance of a veterinary surgeon is here indispensable. Some horses are more subject to grease than others, particularly draught-horses, both heavy and light, but particularly the former, and if they iiave no degree of blood in them. It was the experience of this which partly contributed to the gradual change of coach and other draught-horses to those of a lighter breed. In the great majority of cases, grease arises from mismanagement and neglect. Everything that has a tendency to excite inflammation in the skin of the heel is a cause of grease. Therefore want of exercise is a frequent source of this disease. The fluid which accumulates about the extremities and is unable to return, is a source of irritation by its continual pressure. When high feeding is added to irregular or deficient exercise, the disease is evidently still more likely to be produced. Want of cleanliness in the stable is a fruitful source of grease. ^^ hen the heels are embedded in filth, they are weakened by the constant moisture surrounding them — irritated by the acrimony of the dung and the urine, and little prepared to endure the cold evaporation to which they are exposed when the horse is taken out of the stable. The absurd practice of washing the feet and legs of horses when they come from their work, and either carelessly sponging them down afterwards, or leaving them to dry as they may, is, however, the most common origin of grease. When the horse is warmed by his work, and the heels share in the warmth, the momentary cold of washing may not be injurious, if the animal is immediately rubbed dry; yet even tlils would be better avoided : but to wash out the heels, and then leave them ])artially dry or ])erfect!y wet, and sutfering from the extreme cold that is produced b}- evaporation from a moist and wei surface, is the most absurd, danger- ous, and injurious practice tliat can b(^ iniatrined. It is worse when the post-horse or the plough-liorse is plungcnl 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 hmgs, and bowels, and feet, and lioola follow. After ihev have been suflVred 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, or carriage, or beginning to dress the horse, the greater part of the dirt which had collected about tlie heels may be got rid of with a dry brush ; and the rest will disaj.pear a quarter of an liour afterwards under the operation of a second brusliincr . The trouble will not be great, and the heels will not be chilled and subject to inflammaticn. THE FOOT, 29i> There has been some dispute as to the propriety of cutting the hair from the heels.* Custom has very properly retained the hair on our farm-horses. Nature would not have given it, had it not been useful. It guards the heel from being injured by the inequalities of the ploughed field ; it prevents the dirt, in which the heels are cor. stantly enveloped, from reaching and caking on, and irritating the skin; it hinders the usual moisture which is mixed with the clay and mould from reaching the skin and it preserves an equal temperature in the parts. If the hair is suffered to remain on the heels of the farm-horses, there is greater necessity for brushing and hand-rub- bing the heels, and never washing them. Fashion and utility have removed the hair from the heels of our hackney and car- riage 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 evaporation begins, or proceeds so far as to deprive the legs of their heat. Grease is the child of negligence and mismanagement. It is driven from our cavalry, and it will be the fault of the gentleman and the farmer if it is not speedily banished from every stable. CHAPTER XIV. THE FOOT. a The external crust seen at the quarter. h The coronary ring. c Tlie little horny plates lining the crust. d The same continued over the bars. e e The two concave surfaces of the inside of the horny frog. / That which externally is the cleft of the frog. g The bars. h The rounded part of the heels, belonging to the frog. This smaller cut exhibits, in as satisfactory a manner, the mechanism and struc- ture of the base of the foot. * Professor Stewart has the following observations: — "During two very wet winters I nad opportunity of observing the resuhs of trimming and no trimming, among upwards of 500 horses. More than 300 of these have been employed in coaching and posting, or work of a similar kind, and about 150 are cart-horses. Grease, and other skin diseases of the heels have been of most frequent occurrence where the horses are both trimmed and washed ; they have been common where the horses were trimmed but not washed, and there have been very few cases where washing or trimming were forbidden or neglected." — Stable (Economy, oage 116. 296 THE FOOT. The foot is composed of the horny box that covers the extremities of the horse, and the contents of that box. The hoof or box is composed of the crust or wall, the coro- nary ring and band, the bars, the horny laminae, the sole, and the horny frog. THE CRUST OR WALL OF THE HOOF. The. crust, or wall, 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 cut, p. 297), 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 sur- face to the ground, ascending obliquely backwards, 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 sole, and the crust is said to have " fallen in." If the obliquity is very much increased, the sole projects, and is said to be pumiced 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 convexity 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 whether 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 accompanied by too great slanting of the pastern, and dis- position 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 fragility, according to the state in which it is kept, and the circumstances that are acting upon it. The exterior wall of the hoof should be smooth and level. Protuberances or rings round the crust indicate that the horse has had inflammation in the feet, and that to such a degree, as to produce an unequal growth of horn, and probably to leave some injurious consequences in the internal part of the foot. If there is a depression or hollow in front of the foot, it betrays a sinking of the coffm-bone, and a flat or pumiced sole. If there is a hollow at the quarters, it is the worst symptom 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 thickness. 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 quarters, it will not appear surprising that these horses are occasionally wounded in shoeing, and especially as some of them are very unmanageable while undergoing this process. \Yhile the crust becomes thinner towards both quarters, it is more so at the innei 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 more into play, and concussion and injury are avoided. When the expansion of the quarters is prevented by their being nailed to an unbending shoe, the inner quarter suffers most. Corns are oftenest found there; contraction begins there; sand-crack is seated there. Nature meant that this should he the most yield- ing part, in order to obviate concussion, because on it the weight is principally 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 THE CORONARY RING. — THE BARS. 297 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 wears away quicker than the outer ; a circumstance that should never be forgotten by the smith. His object 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 anything 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 and weaker quarter lower than the outer ; he throws an uneven bearing upon it; and produces corns and sand-cracks and splints, ivhich a little care and common sense might have avoided. THE CORONARY RING. The crust does not vary much in thickness (see a, page 295, and h, in the accom- panying cut), until near the top, at the coronet, or union of the horn of the foot with the skin of the pasterns, where {w, page 272), it rapidly gets thin. It is in a manner scooped and hollowed out. It likewise changes its colour and consistence, and seems almost like a con- tinuation of the skin, but easily separable from it by maceration or disease. This thin part is called the coronary ring, x, p. 272. It extends round the upper portion of the hoofs, and receives, within it, or covers, a thickened and bulbous prolongation of the skin, called the coronary ligament (see b, in the accompan}'ing cut). This prolongation of the skin — it is nothing more — is thickly supplied with blood-vessels. It is almost a mesh of blood-vessels connected together by fibrous texture, and many of them are employed in secreting or forming the crust or wall of the foot. Nature has enabled the sensible lamina? of the coffin-bone, c, which will be presently described, to secrete a certain quantity of horn, in order to afford an immediate defence for itself when the crust is wounded or taken away. Of this there is proof when in sand-crack or quittor it is necessary to remove a portion of the crust. A pellicle of horn, or of firm hard substance resembling it, soon covers the wound ; but the crust is principally formed from this coronary ligament. Hence it is, that in sand-crack, quittor, and otlier diseases in which strips of the crust are destroyed, it is so long in being renewed, or growing down. It must proceed from the coronarj' ligament, and so gradually creep down the foot with the natural grow'th or lengthen- ing of the horn, of which, as in the human nail, a supply is slowly given to answei to the wear and tear of the part. Below the coronary ligament is a thin strip of horny matter, which has been traced to the frog, and has been supposed by some to be connected with the support or action of that body, but which is evidently intended to add to the securitv of the part on which it is found, and to bind together those various substances which are collected at the coronet. It resembles, more than anything else, the strip of skin that surrounds the root of the human nail, and which is placed there to strengthen the union of the nail with the substance from which it proceeds. 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 the small cut, in page 295, where d repre- sents the base of the crust, and e its inflection 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, h, and c, in the smaller cuts — and the inside of the l)ars, like the inside of the crust — see the first and larger cut — presents a continuance 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 quarters, is admirably contrived both to admit of, and to limit to its pro- per extent, the expansion of the foot. When the foot is placed on the g;round, and thp weio-ht of the animal is thrown on the leaves of which mention has just been made, 2n 298 THE FOOT. these arches will shorten and widen, in order to admit of the expansion of the quar- ters— the bow returning to its natural curve, and powerfully assisting the foot in regaining its usual form. It can also be conceived that these bars must form a power- ful protection against the contraction, or wiring in, of the quarters. A moment's inspection of the cut {g, p. 295) 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 them will also render evident the security which tliey aflbrd 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 for shoeing, that which so many smitlis cut perfectly aw ay. 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 neighbourhood of the 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 thrushy ; and the whole of the heel, having lost the pow er of resilience or reaction which the curve between the bar c and the crust d gave it (vide p. 295, cut), will speedily fall in. THE HORNY LAMINA. The inside of the crust is covered by thin horny leaves (c, p. 295), extending al round it, and reaching from the coronary ring to the toe. They are about 500 in num- ber, broadest at their base, and terminating in the most delicate expansion of horn. They not a little resemble tlie inner surface of a mushroom. In front, thej' 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 shown, with similar cartilaginous 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 h, p. 295), extending from 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 con- cussion, when, by the descent of the bone of the foot, the 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 /, p. 272), because the first and principal stress is thrown on that part. The coffin-bone, /, ia driven forward and downward in that direction. 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 principally 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 he given by a hollow sole. A flat sole, already pressing upon the ground, could not he larought lower ; nor could the functions of the frog be then dis- charged ; nor woidd the foot have so secure a hold. Then if the sole is naturally hollow, and hollow because it must descend, the smith should not interfere with this important action. When the foot will bear it, he must pare out sufficient of the horn to preserve tlie 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 colfin-bone during the lengthening of the elastic ]amina% and the shot will not permit its descent, the sensible part between the coffin-l)one and the liorn wil 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 tf cor.cavity in it, we shall treat when we arrive at diseases of the foot. THE FROG. 299 THE FROG. In the space between the bars, and accurately filling it, is the frog. It is a trian- gular portion of horn, projecting from the sole, almost on a level with the crust and covering and defending a soft and elastic substance called the sensible frog. It is wide at the heels, and there extending beyond a portion of the crust ; narrowing rapidly when it begins to be confined between the bars, and terminating in a point at somewhat more than half the distance from the heel to the toe. It consists of two rounded or projecting surfaces, with a fissure or cleft between them, reaching half- way down the frog, and the two portions again uniting to form the point or toe of the frog. The frog is firmly united to the sole, but it is perfectly distinct from it. It is of a different nature, being softer, and far more elastic ; and it is secreted from a different surface, for it is thrown out from the substance which it covers. It very much resembles a wedge, with the sharp point forwards; and it is placed towards the bade part of the foot. The foot is seldom put flush and flat upon the ground, but in a direction downwards, yet somewhat forwards ; then the frog evidently gives safety to the tread of the animal, for it occasionally ploughs itself into the ground, and pre- vents the horse from slipping. This is of considerable consequence, when some of the paces of the horse are recollected, in which his heels evidently come first to the ground, and in which the danger from slipping would be very great. Reference needs only be made to the gallop, as illustrative of this. The frog being placed at, and filling the hinder part of the foot, discharges a por- tion of the duty sustained by the crust ; for it supports the weight of the animal. It assists, likewise, and that to a material degree, in the expansion of the foot. It is formed internally of two prominences on the sides (see a, p. 295), and a cleft in the centre, presenting two concavities with a sharp projection in the middle, and a gradu- ally rounded one on each side. It is also composed of a substance peculiarly flexible and elastic. What can be so well adapted for the expansion of the foot, when a por- tion of the weight of tlie body is thrown on itT How easily will these irregular sur- faces yield and spread out, and how readily return again to their natural state ! In this view, therefore, the horny frog is a powerful agent in opening the foot ; and the diminution of the substance of the frog, and its elevation above the ground, are both the cause and the consequence of contraction — the cause, as being able no longer powerfully to act in expanding the heels ; and the consequence, as obeying a law of nature, by which that which no longer discharges its natural function is gradually removed. It is, however, the cover and defence of the internal and sensible frog, which will be presently treated of; enough, however, has been said to show the absurdity of the common practice of unsparingly cutting it away. In order to dis- charge, in any degree, some of the offices which we have assigned to it, and fully to discharge even one of them, it must come in occasional contact with the ground. In the unshod horse, it is constantly so : but the additional support given by the shoes, and more especially the hard roads over which the horse is now compelled to travel, render this complete exposure of the frog to the ground not only unnecessary, but injurious. Being of so much softer consistence than the rest of the foot, it would be speedily worn away : occasional pressure, however, or contact with the ground, it must have. The rough and detached parts should be cut off at each shoeing, and the substance of the frog itself, so as to bring it just above or within the level of the shoe. It will then, in the descent 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 Us 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 shock of the weight. This will be the proper guide to the smith in shoeing, and to the proprietor in the direc- tion which he gives. The latter should often look to this, for it is a point of very great moment. A few smiths carry the notion of frng pressure to an absurd extent, and leave the frog beyond the level of the sole, — a practice which is dangerous in the horse of slow draught, and destructive to the hackney or the hunter; but the majority of them err in a contrary way, and, cutting off too much of the frog, lift it above the ground, and destroy its principal use. It should be left just above, or within the level of the shoe. 300 THE FOOT. THE COFFIN-BONE. The interior part of the foot must now be considered. The lower pastern, a small portion of which (see d, page 272) is contained in the horny box, has been already described, p. 276. — Beneath it, and altogether inclosed in the hoof, is the colhn-bone, or proper bone of the foot, (see /, page 272, and d, fig. 1, page 270). It is htted 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. 1, page 276), and filled with numerous minute foramina. Through these pass the blood-vessels and nerves of the fjot, which are necessarily numerous, considering the important and various secretions there carrying on, and the circulation through the foot which could not possibly be kept up if these ves- sels 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 im])ortant surfaces 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. The fore part of the coffin-bone is not only thus perforated, but it is curiously rough- ened for the attachment of the numerous minute lanunee about to be described. On its upper surface it presents a concavity for the head of the lower pastern, p. 276. In front, immediately above d, is a striking prominence, into which is inserted the extensor tendon of the foot. At the back, e, p. 272, it is sloped for articulation with the navicular bone, and more underneath, is a depression for the reception of the per- forating flexor tendon, m, continued down the leg, passing over the navicular bone at «, and at length inserted into this bone. On either side, as seen p. 276, are projec- tions called the wings, or heels of the coffin-bone, and at the bottom it is hollowed to answer to the convexity of the internal part of the sole. That which deserves most attention in the coffin-bone is the production of the nu- merous laminae round its front and sides. They are prolongations of the thick and elastic membrane covering it, and consist of cartilaginous, fleshy plates, proceeding from it, running down the coffin-bone, and corresponding with and received between the horny leaves that line the inside of the hoof-bone — each horny plate being re- ceived between two sensitive plates, and vice versa. These lamina? are exceedingly sensitive and vascular, and elastic, and, as first simply and beautifully explained by Mr. Percivall, their elasticity is not inherent in the lamina, but in the substance which connects these lamina? with the cotlin-bone, and which, while it contains highly elastic properties, affords a convenient bed for the numerous vessels that secrete the lamina;. While the animal is at rest, the whole weight of the horse is supported by them, and not by the sole. This extraordinary fact has been put to the test of expe- riment. The sole, bars, and frog were removed from the foot of a horse, and yet as he stood, the coffin-bone did not protrude, or in the slightest degree descend ; but when the rapidity with which the foot descends is added to the weight of the horse, these little leaves, horny and fleshy, gradually lengthen, and sutler the bones to press upon the sole. The sole then descends, and in descending, expands; and so, b}^ an admirable mechanism, the vioh>nt shock which would be produced by the pressure of such a weight as that of tlie horse, and the velocity with which it descends, is lessoned or destroyed, and tlie cfnni)licated apparatus of the foot remains uninjured. When the foot is aijain lifted, and the weight which pressed upon it is removed, the principle of elasticity is calli d into exercise, and b}' it the sole resumes its con- cavity, and the horny frog its folded state; — the quarters return to their former situ- ation,— the leaves regiiin their former length, and everytliing is jirepared for a rejjeti- tion of action. THE SENSIBLE SOLE. Between the coffin-bone and the horny sole is situated the sensible sole, p. 272, formed above of a substance of a ligamentous or tendinous nature, and below cf a cuticular or skin-like substance, ))lentifullj' supplied with blood-vessels. It was placed between the coffin-ttone and the sole, by its yielding structvire to assist in pre- venting concussion, and also to form a supply of horn for the sole. It extends be- «rond the coffin-bone, but not at all under the frog. Leaving a space for the frog, it THE SENSIBLE FROG— THE NAVICULAR BONE, &c. 301 proceeds over the bars, and there is covered by some laminae, to unite with those that have been described, page 295, 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 will evince. The lameness which ensues from the pressure of a stone or of the shoe on the sole is caused by inflammation of the sensible sole. Corns result from bruise and inflammation of the sensible sole, between the crust and the bar. THE SENSIBLE FROG. The cofBn-bone does not occupy more than one-half of the hoof. The posterior part is filled by a soft mass, partly ligamentous, and partly tendinous (o, p. 272). Its shape below corresponds with the cavities of the horny frog ; in front it is attached to the inferior part of the coffin-bone ; and farther back, it adheres to the lower part of the cartilages of the heels, where they begin to form the rounded protuberances that constitute the heel of the foot. It occupies the whole of the back part of the foot above the horny frog and between the cartilages. Running immediately above the frog, and along the greater part of it, we find the perforans flexor tendo% which passes over the navicular bone, e, p. 272, and is inserted into the heel of the coflin- bone. THE NAVICULAR BONE Is placed behind and beneath the lower pastern-bone, and behind and above the heel of the coffin-bone, e, p. 272, so that it forms a joint with both bones, and answers a very important office in strengthening the union between these parts, in receiving a portion of the weight which is thrown on the lower pastern and in enabling the flexor tendon to act with more advantage. Supposing tliat this tendon were inserted into the coffin-bone without the intervention of the navicular bone, it would act at great mechanical disadvantage in bending the pastern, for it is inserted near the end of the coflUn-bone, and the weight, concentrated about the middle of the bone, is far off, and requires a great power to raise it ; but when the navicular bone is interpos»>l, 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 mus- cular 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 navicular bone ; yet at the same time we are aware of the benefit which accrues (see page 272) from a portion of tlie weight being 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 navicular bone is sometimes, but inaccurately, said to descend with the motion of the foot. It does not do that. It cannot ; for it is connected both with the pastern and coflfin-bones by inelastic ligaments. When, how- ever, the horny bulb, with its tuft of hair, at the back of an oblique fetlock, descends in the rapid gallop, and almost touches the ground, the navicular bone, being, as it were, a part of the pastern, must descend with it. W'ith this exception, both in the extending and the bending of the pastern, the navicular bone turns or rolls upon the other bones rather than descends or ascends, and with this remarkable advantage, that when the pastern is extended (see page 272), the navicular bone is placed in that situation which enables the flexor tendon to act with greatest advantage in again bending the foot. TEIE 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 which receives the extensor tendon e, page 272, occu- pied by cartilage, which, like the crust, is convex outwards and concave inwards. It extends to the very posterior part of the foot, rising about the quarters half an inch or more above the hoof, and diminishing in height forward and backward. These car- tilages occupy a greater portion of the foot than does the coffin-bone, as will be seen in the lowest cut, page 2~Cu where they are represented as extending far behind the coffin-bone. They are held in their situation not merely bv this groove, but by other 2G 302 THE DISEASES OF THE FOOT. connexions with the coffin-bone, the navicular 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, being an elastic bed on which the navicular bone and the tendon (see page 272) can play with security, and without concussion or shock, by which all concussion communicated to the cartilages of the foot are destroyed — by which these cartilages are kept asunder, and the expansion of the upper jart of the foot preserved. As the descent of the sole increases the width of the lower part of the foot, so the elevation of the frog, a portion of it being pressed upward and outward by the action of the navicular bone and tendon, causes the expansion of its upper part. Precisely as the strong muscle peculiar to quadrupeds at the back of the eye (see page 86), being forcibly contracted, presses upon the fatty matter in which the eye is embedded, which may be displaced, but cannot be squeezed into less com- pass, and which, being forced towards the inner corner of the eye, drives before it that importgint and beautiful mechanism the haw, so the elastic and yielding substance the frog, being pressed upon by the navicular bone and the tendon, and the pastern, and refusing to be condensed into less compass, forces itself out on either side of them, and expands the lateral cartilages, which again, by their inherent elasticity, recur to their former situation, when the frog no longer presses them outward. It appears, that by a different mechanism, but both equally admirable, and referable to the same principle, viz. : that of elasticity, the expansion of the npper and lower portions of the hoof are effected, the one by the descent of the sole, the other by the compression and rising of the frog. It is this expansion upward, which contributes principally to the preservation of the usefulness of the horse, when our destructive methods of shoeing are so calculated to destroy the expansion beneath. In draught-horses, from the long-continued as well as violent pressure on the frog, and from the frog on the cartilage, inflammation is occasionally produced, which terminates in the cartilages being changed into bony matter. CHAPTER XV. THE DISEASES OF THE FOOT. Of these there is a long list. That 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 exposed. It will be proper to commence with that wiiich is the cause of many other diseases of the foot, and connected with almost all. INFLAMMATION OF THE FOOT, OR ACUTE FOUNDER. The sensible laminse, or fleshy plates on the front and sides of the coffin-bone, being replete with blood-vessels, are, like every other vascular part, liable to inflammation, from its usual causes, and particularly from the violence with which, in rapid and long-continued action, these parts are strained and bruised. When in a severely con- tested race they have been stretched to their utmost, while, at the fullest stride of the horse, his weight has been thrown on them with destructive force ; or, when the feet have been battered and bruised in a hard day's journey, it will be no wonder if inflam- mation 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 or driven hard is suffered to stand in the cold, or if his feet are washed and not speedily dried, he is very likely to have " fever in the feet." There is no more fruitful source of inliannnatinn in the human being, or the brute, than these sudden changes of temperature. This has been explained as it regards grease, but it bears more 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 INFLAMMATION OF THE FOOT, OR ACUTE FOUNDER. 303 fat In frost and snow, and placed immediately in a hot stable, and littered up to the knees, are attacked by this complaint. The feet and the lung-s are the organs oftenest attacked, because they have previously suffered most by our mismanagement, and are most disposed to take on disease, and that which would cause slight inflammation of other parts, or trifling general derangement, will produce all its mischief on thes-s organs ; tlierefore it is that horses, the crust or lamina; of whose feet are warped or obliquely placed, are most subject to it. vSomt^tiuies there is a sudden change of inflammation from one organ to another. A horse may have laboured for several days under evident inflammation of the lungs; all at once that will subside, and the disease will appear in the feet, or inflammation of the feet may follow similar affections in the bowels or the eyes. In cases of severe inflammation of the lungs, it may not be bad practice to remove the shoes and poultice the feet. To the attentive observer the symptoms are clearly marked, and yet there is no disease so often overlooked by the groom and the carter, and eveYi by the veterinary surgeoij. The disease may assume an acute or chronic form. The earliest symp- toms of fever in the feet are fidgetiness, frequent shifting of the fore-legs, but no pawing, much less any attempts to reach the belly with the hind-feet. The pulse is quickened, the flanks heaving, the nostrils red, and the horse, by his anxious coun- tenance, and possibly moaning, indicating great pain. Presently he looks about his litter, as if preparing to lie down, but he does not do so immediately ; 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 distinguish inflamma- tion 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 dis- tinguish 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 pain- fully distending the inflamed and highly sensible lamina;, 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 indicates. 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 pur- sue 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 difficulty on the other, or perhaps drop at once from intensity of pain. The treatment will resemble that of other inflammations, with such differences 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, p. 27'3, 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 linseed meal, made very soft, should cover the whole of the foot and pastern, and be frequently renewed, which will promote evaporation from the neighbouring parts, and possibly through the pores of the hoof, and, 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, the 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 animal can scarcely bear his feet to be meddled with. There used to be occasional doubt as to the adminis- tration of physic, from fear of metastasis of inflammation which has sometimes occurred, and been generally fatal. When, however, there is so much danger of losing the patient from the original attack, we must run the risk of the other. Sedative and cooling medicines should be diligently administered, consisting of digi- talis, nitre, and emetic tartar. If no amendment is observed, three quarts of blood should be taken from each foot 304 DISEASES OF THE FOOT. on the foll'"\ving day. In extreme cases, a third bleeding of two quarts may be jua- tifiable, and, instead of the poultice, cloths kept wet with water in which nitre has been dissolved immediately 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 must pre- viously be put on the neck of the horse, and the feet must be covered after the blis- ter, 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 lie, in the slightest degree, be coaxed to eat. When he appears to be recovering, his getting on his feet should not be hurried. 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 tlie 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 new 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 matter of calculation with the proprietor of the horse whether he will suffer the medical treatment to proceed. CHRONIC LAMINITIS. This is a species of founder, insidious in its attack, and destructive to the horse. It is a milder form of the preceding disease. 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 symptom is the action of the animal. It is diametrically opposite to that in the navicular disease. The horse throws as much of his weight as he can, on the posterior parts of his feet. The treatment should be similar to that recommended for the acute disease — blood- letting, cataplasms, 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 much of their elasticity, and the coffin-bone, no longer fully supported by them, presses upon the sole, and the sole becomes flattened, or convex, from this unnatural weight, and the horse acquires a puriiced foot. This will also happen when the animal is used too soon after an attack of inflammation of the feet, and before the laminae have regained 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 tlie hoof will "/«// ?n," 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 inflannnation. Undue work, and especially much battering of the feet on the pavement, will extend and sprain tliese laminae so much, that they will not have the power to ctmtract, and thus the cotrin-bone will be thrown backward on the sole. A very important law of nature will unfortunately soon be active here. When pressure is applied to any part, the alisorbcnts become busy in removing" it; so, when the coffin-bone begins to pn ss upon the sole, the sole becomes thin from the increased wear and tear to which it is sut)jected by contact with the ground, and also because these absorbents are rapidly takino- it away. This is one of the diseases of the feet for which there is no cure. No skill is competent to effect a reunion between the separated fleshy and horny laminae, or to restore to them the strength and elasticity c-f which they have been" deprived, or to take up that hard, horny substance v.iuch speedily fills the space between the crust CONTRACTION. 305 and the receding coffin-bone. Some efforts have been made to palliate the disease, but they have been only to a slight degree successful. If horses, on the first ap- pearance of flat feet, were turned out in a dry place, or put into a box for two or three months, sufficient stress would not be thrown on the laminae to increase the evil, and time might be given for the growth of horn enough in the sole to support the coffin-bone; yet it is much to be doubted whether these horses would ever be useful, even for ordinary purposes. The slowest work required of them would drive the coffin-bone on the sole, and the projection would gradually reappear, for no power and no length of time can again unite the separated leaves of the coffin-bone and the hoof. 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 the 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. The occasional removal of the shoe, and compelling the horse to stand for a while on the crust and laminae, has been resorted to. The bar shoe and the leathern sole, and occasional dressing with tar ointment have had their advocates, and it is suffi ciently plain that the pumiced foot should have plenty of cover. A somewhat similar affection, known by the name of a " Seedy Toe," is thus de« scribed by Mr. W. C. Spooner : — " It can scarcely be called a disease, but it is rathei a natural defect, which may be considerably increased by labour and bad shoeing. It arises from too great dryness of the horn, which renders it brittle, and causes ita fibres to separate. There is a want of that tough, elastic material which connects the longitudinal fibres together, and produces that strong bond of union between them and the horny laminae and the sole. There is a hollow space within the foot, which sometimes extends upward and around, so as to admit a large probe. Neither the bone nor the laminae, however, are exposed, but are still protected by the internal por- tion of the crust. The only thing to be done is to anoint the foot occasionally, par- ticularly the affected part, with tar and grease. A blister may also be applied to ex- cite the developement of a new growth of horn, that which is become dry and brittle being occasionally cut away."* CONTRACTION. The cut, page 295, will ccive a fair idea of the young healthy foot, approaching nearly to a circle, and of which the quarters form the widest part, and the inner quar- ter (this is the near foot) rather wider than the outer. This shape is not long pre- served in many horses, fjut the foot increases in length, and narrows in the quarters, and particularly at the heel, and the frog is diminished in width, and the sole be- comes 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 wiring 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 accommodates the parts to the change of form. As the hoof draws in, the parts beneath, and particularly the coffin-bone, and especially the heels of that bone, diminish ; or, after all, it is more a change of form than of capacity. As the foot lengthens in proportion as it narrows, so does the cof- fin-bone, and it is as perfectly adjusted as before to the box in which it is placed, ts 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 be- cause he has contraction. He should undoubtedly be examined more carefully, and with considerable suspicion; but if he has good action, and is otheiwise unexcep- tionable, there is no reason that the purchase should not be made. A horse with contracted feet, if he goes soimd, is better than another with open but weak heels. The opinion is perfectly erroneous that contraction is the necessary consequence of shoeing. There can be no doubt that an inflexible iron ring being nailed tc * Spooner on the Foot of the Horse. 86* 2o 306 THE FOOT. 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 expansion of the heels is prevented they often begin to contract. But here again nature, cut off from oi:e resource, finds others. If one of the jugular veins is lost, the blood pursues its course by other channels, and the horse does not appear to suffer in the slio^htest degree. Thus also if the expansion of the heels below is diminished, that of the cartilages above is made more use of. If the coffin-bone has not so much descent downward, it probably acquires one backward, and the functions of the foot are usefully if not perfectly performed. The plain proof of this is, that although there are many horses that are injured or ruined by bad shoeing, there are others, and they are a numerous class, wlio suffer not at all from good shoeing, and scarcely even from bad. Except it be from accident, how seldom is the farmer's horse lame ! and it might even be farther asked, how seldom is his foot much contracted ] 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. Shoe- ing may be a necessary evil, but it is not the evil which some speculative persons have supposed it to be ; and the undoubted fact is, that when the horse is put to real hard work, and when the injury produced by shoeing in destroying the expansibility of the foot would most of all show itself, the foot lasts a great deal longer than the leg ; nay, horsemen tell us that one pair of good feet is worth two pairs of legs. Having thus premised that contraction is not inevitably accompanied by lameness, and that shoeing, with all its evils, does not necessarily injure the foot, those cases of contraction, too numerous, which are the consequence of our stable management, and which do cripple and ruin the horse, may be considered. 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 manner of going, and his capability for work, must be our guides. Lameness usually accompanies the beginning of con- traction ; it is the invariable attendant on rapid contraction, but it does not always exist when the wiring 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, fortunately, under the control of the owner of the animal. He places at the head of them, neglect of paring. 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 con- traction is the result. The smith might lessen, if not prevent the evil, by carefully thinning the sole and lowering the heels at each shoeing; but the first of these is a matter of considerable labour, and the second could not be done effectually without being accompanied by the first, and therefore they are both neglected. The prejudice of many owners of horses assists in increasing the evil ; they imagine that a great deal of mischief is done by cutting away the foot. Mischief may be the result of injudicious cutting, when the bars are destroyed and the frog is elevated from the ground ; but more evil results from the unyielding thickness of horn impairing the elastic and expansive principle of the foot. If gentlemen would accasionally stand by, and see that the sole is properly thinned, and the heels lowered, they would be amply repaid in the comfort and usefulness of the horse. Ill-judged economy is another source of this disease. If the shoes of one smith will, with ordinary work, last a little more than three weeks, while another contrives to make his last six weeks, he is supposed to be the better workman and the more honest man, and he gets the greater part of the custom. His shoe is suffered to remain on during the whole time, to the manifest injury of the feet, and that injury is materially increased by the greater thickness and weight of these shoes, and the tightness with which they are fastened on, the nails being necessarily placed nearer to the quarters, and possibly an additional nail or two used in the fastenina", and these also applied at the quarters. There is no rule which admits of so little exception, as that, once in about everv 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 CONTRACTION. 307 observed the shape of the horse's foot, must have seen that in proportion to its height or neglected growth, it contracts and closes round tlie coronet. A low-heeled 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 unshod colt has seldom contracted feet, nor does the horse at grass acquire them, because the hoof is kept cool and damp by occasional rain, and by the regular dev/. It is thus rendered supple, and its elasticity is preserved, and the expansive power of the foot is uninjured. The hoof of the stabled horse sometimes has not one drop of moisture on it for several days. The effect of this, in the contraction of the horn, is sufficiently evident. Hence the propriety of stopping the feet where there is the least tendency to contraction. The intelligent and careful groom will not omit it a single night. Cow-duns;, 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 which it was designed to remedy. The usual management of the farmer's horse that is often turned out after his daily task is exacted, or whose work is generally performed where the feet are exposed to moisture, is an excellent preventive against contraction. Some persons have complained much of the influence of litter. If the liofse stands many hours in the day with his feet embedded in straw, it is supposed that the hoof must be unnaturally heated ; and it is said that the horn will contract under the influence of heat. It is seldom, however, that the foot is so surrounded by the littei that its heat will be sufficiently increased to produce this effect. It will be difficult to produce the case in which contraction, or thrush, or tenderness, has been produced by the horse standing on dry litter. There are thousands of horses that stand upon straw twenty hours out of the twenty-four, without receiving the slightest injury from it. The author of this work is not one of those who would, during the day, remove all litter from under the horse. It gives a naked and uncomfortable appearance to the stable. There is a considerable difference in our own feelings whether we stand for an hour or two on the hard stones, or a soft carpet, and especially whether we beat our feet upon the one or the other. Humanity and a proper care of the foot of the horse should induce the owner to keep some litter under the animal during the day ; but his feet need not sink so deeply in it that their temperature becomes much affected. If the straw is suffered to remain until it is wet, hot, and rotten, the effluvia proceeding from it may produce cough, or inflammation of the eyes, or thrushes in the feet; but a light bed of straw, with tolerable attention to cleanliness, can never do harm. " There are horses," says Professor Stewart, " that, in the habit of pawino- and stamping, slip about and sometimes lame themselves on the bare stones; many dis- posed to lie down during the day, will not, or ought not, to do it, with a slight portion of litter under them. It is a frequent observation with regard to road horses, and many others, that the more a horse lies the better he works. Lame or tender-footed horses cannot lie too much, and a great deal of standing ruins the best letrs and feet. Some horses, indeed, do not need this day-bedding, but many are the better for it, and none are the worse."* Thrushes are much oftener the consequence than the cause of contraction. The horny frog, yielding to the pressure of the contracted quarters, is diminished in size, and the lower portion of the fleshy frog becomes imprisoned, irritated, and inflamed, and pus or matter is discharged at the cleft; yet there are many heels in the last stage of contraction that are not thrushy. On the other hand, thrush never lono- existed, accompanied by much discharge, without producing a disposition to con- traction ; therefore, thrush may be considered as both the cause and consequence of contraction. 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 t!ie bars would hasten and aggravate the evil ; but the loss of the bar would not of itself produce contraction. * Stewart's Stable CEconomy, p. 139. 308 DISEASES OF THE FOOT. The contraction, however, that is connected with permanent lameness, although increased by the circumstances which we have mentioned, usuall}' derives its origin from a different source, and from one that acts violently and suddenly. Inflammation of the little plates covering the coffin-bone is the most usual cause ; and a degree of inflammation not sufficiently intense to be characterised as acute founder, but quickly leading to sad results, may and does spring from causes almost unsuspected. There is one fact to which we have alluded, and that cannot be doubted, that contraction is exceedingly rare in the agricultural horse, but frequently occurs in the stable of the gentleman and the coach-proprietor. It is rare where the horse is seemingly neglected and badly shod ; and frequent where every care is taken of the animal, and the shoes are unexcej)tionable and skilfully applied. Something may depend upon the breed. Blood horses are particularly 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 sel- dom one of the number.* In horses of equal blood, not a little seems to depend upcn the colour, 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 symptoms may be easily distinguished. While standing in the stable the horse will point with, or place forward, the contracted foot, or, if both feet are affected, he will alternately place one before the other. When he is taken out of the stable, he will not, perhaps, exhibit the decided lameness which charactetises sprain of the flexor tendon, or some diseases of the foot; but his step will be 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 irregiilarity of surface would throw the animal down, and so it threatens to do, for he is constantly tripping and stumbling. If the fore-feet are carefully observed, one CI both of them will be narrowed across the quarters and towards the heels. In a few cases the whole of the foot appears to be contracted and shrunk ; but in the majo- rity 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 afl'ected, the inner one is wired 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 bot- tom of the foot. This irregularity of 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 unnaturally concave. Of the treatment of contraction attended with lameness little can be said that will be satisfactory. Numberless have been the mechanical contrivances to o])pose the progress of contraction, or to force back the foot to its original shape, and many of them have enjoyed considerable but short-lived reputation. A clip was placed at the inside of each heel, which, resting on the bars, was intended to aftord an insur- mountable obstacle to the further wiring in of the foot, while the heels of the shoe were bevelled outward in order to give the foot a tendency to expand. The foot, however, continued to contract, until the clip was embedded in the horn, and worse lameness was produced. A shoe jointed at the toe, and with a screw adapted to the heels, was contrived, by which, when softened by poulticing, or immersion in warm water, the quarters were to be irresistibly widened. They were widened by the daily and cautious use of the screw until the foot seemed to assume its natural form, and the inventor began to exult in having discovered a cure for contraction : but, no sooner was the common * A valued correspondent suggests, that the difierence between these two kinds of horses may perhaps throw some light on the subject. The long-continued and heavy pressure on the frog in the cart-horse produces ossification of the cartilages, from which the blood-horse is free. In the quickness of the action of the blood-horse, the expansion of the frog is not sufficiently continued to produce this effect ; but the concussion is severe, and the frog and the shorter lamina towards the heel are the first to sufl^er, and contraction ensues. We do not find contraction in the hind feet, where there is little contraction, nor ossification, liecause the pressure is chiefly on the toe. Quick draught-horses have it both ways, but chiefly in con- traction. The reader will form hia own opinion on this subject. NAVICULAR-JOINT DISEASE. 309 shoe again applied, and the horse had returned to his work, than the heels hegan to narrow, and the foot became as contracted as ever. Common sense would have foretold that such must have been the result of this expansive process; for the heels could have been only thus forced asunder at the expense of partial or total separation from the interior portions of the foot with which they were in contact. The contracted heel can rarely or never permanently expand, for this plain reason, that although we may have power over the crust, we cannot renew the laminae, or restore the portion of the frog that has been absorbed. If the action of the liorse is not materially impaired, it is better to let the contrac- tion alone, be it as great as it will. If the contraction has evidently produced consi- derable lameness, the owner of the horse will have to calculate between his value if cured, the expense of the cure, and the probability of faihire. The medical treatment should alone be undertaken by a skilful veterinary surgeon, and it will principally consist in abating any inflammation that n.-ay exist, by local bleeding and physic, paring the sole to the utmost extent that it will bear; rasping the quarters as deeply as can be, without their being too much weakened, or the coronary ring (see b, p. 272) injured ; rasping deeply likewise at the toe, and perhaps scoring at the toe. The horse is afterwards made to stand during the day in wet clay, placed in one of the stalls. He is at night moved into another stall, and his feet bound up thickly in wet cloths ; or he is turned out into wet pasturage, with tips, or, if possible, without them, and his feet are frequently pared out, and the quarters lightly rasped. In five or six months the horn will generally have grown down, when he may be taLen up, and shod with shoes unattached by nails on the inner side of the foot, and put to gentle work. The foot will be found very considerably enlarged, and the owner will, perhaps, tliink 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 expansive process may be resumed : the internal part of the foot, however, has not been healthily filled up with the expansion of the crust. If that expansion has been effected forward on the quarters, 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 inner 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 explanation "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 recollect an instance of this. By reference to the cut, e, page 272, 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 the tendon ; and there is a great deal of motion or play between them in the bending and extension of the pasterns. It is very easy to conceive that, from sudden concussion, or from rapid and overstrained motion, and that, perhaps, after the animal has been sometime at rest, and the parts have not adapted themselves for motion, there may be too much play between the bone and the tendon — the delicate membrane which covers the bone, or the cartilage of the bone, may be bruised, and inflamed, and destroyed ; that all the painful effects of an inflamed and opened joint may ensue, and the horse be irreco- verably 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 amenesses. 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 disorganised and useless. This joint is probably the seat of lameness, not only Iti 311 DISEASES OF IHE FOOT, well-formed and perfect feet, but in those which become lame nflrr contraction ; for in proportion as the inner frog is compressed by the contraction of the heels, and is absorbed by that pressure, and the sole is become concave, and the horny frog, and the coffin-bone too, thereby elevated, there will be less room for the action of this joint, and more danger of the tendon and the delicate membrane of the navicular-bone being cruslied between that bone and the horny frog. Stable management has little to do with the jiroduction of this disease, any farther than if a horse stands idle in the stable several days, and the structure of the foot, and all the apparatus connected with motion, become unused to exertion, and indisposed for it, and he is then suddenly and violently exercised, this membrane is very liable to be bruised and injured. This, amongst other evils, will be lessened by a loose box, in which a horse will always take some exercise.* The cure of navicular disease is diilicult 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 will 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 cjuarters, 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 anat'imy of the foot, and the precise seat of the disease, is competent to treat it. If attacked on its earliest appearance, and before ulceration of the mem- brane of the joint has taken place, it may be radically cured : but ulceration of the membrane will be with difficulty healed, and caries of the bone Mill for ever remain. Blistering tlie coronet will often assist in promoting a cure by diverting the inflam- mation to another part, and it will materially quicken the growth of the horn. A seton passed through the frog by a skilful operator, and approaching as nearly as possible to the seat of disease, has been serviceable. In cases of old contraction, attended by a short and fetlins^ step, neurotomy, or the excision of a portion of the nei-ve (for an explanation of the nature and effects of which see page 113), may be resorted to with decided advantage. Not only will thfe lameness be removed, but, by the foot being again brought fully and firmly upon the ground, the inner side of the shoe being unfettered by nails, a portion of the contrac- tion ma}' be removed by the sole being allowed to descend and the foot to expand at each contact v.ith the ground. Even when the nnvicular-joint is particularly suspected, if there is no apparent inflammation (and that would l)e readily detected by the heat of the foot), neurotomy may be practised with the hope of alleviating the sufferings of the animal, and thus * To Mr. James Turner the veterinary profession is indebted for a knowledge of the seat and cause of this lameness. In the year 1816, he first alluded to it, and the truth and import- ance of his discovery is now universally allowed. According to Mr. Turner, 'coniraciion of the hoof is rnoreTor less apparent in the majority of horff s that have been accusiomed to be shod. This is often loner before they have attainrd the highest value for work, and not unfrequently before tliey are five years old. This contraction is not, however, necessarily connected with lameness — a large proportion oi horses, in the very midst of labour, are perfectly free from lameness. The next deviation from nature is the passive state to which the foot is submitted at least twenty-two or twenty-tlucc hours out of the twenty-iour. and sometimes lor several consecutive days. JiCl this be compared with the few liours during wliii^h the iect of a hor.se at pasture are in a quiescent state, and there will be no cause of surprise in the change of form and position, and cliaraoier, and the slate of contraction — which takes place in the foot deprived of its natural pressure and motion. The first consequence of coniniction is the gradual displacement of the navicular and coffin- bones. They ascend within the hoof An unnatural arch is formed by the ascent of the frog, aiul the delicate synovial niembrr.re linitiii the joint is crushi^d and bruised by the very material whicli nature has bestowed a.s a defence. This bruise of the synovial membrane lining the joint is the veritable souree of this complaint, the actual cause of the whole not consisting in the wear and tear of the part, bin having its orijrin in rest. It is engendered in the stable, but it becomes permanently established by s-iidden violence out of it. (Tcneral contraction of the foot of the horse may take place to a great extent with comparative impunity, bm it is a pa» rial contraction or pressure which is the root of the evil. — Turner on the Navicular Diseaat Vctvrmarian, vol. li, p. 53. SAND-CRACK. ^l"l removing a portion of the lameness ; but if the lameness is extreme, either with or without contraction, and especially if there is heat about the foot, the operation is dan- gerous. 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 action of the horse, the sense of pain being removed, would cause that ulceration or decay to proceed more rapidly until the foot would be completely disorganised, or the tendon would be gradually worn through by rubbing against the roughened surface of the bone. SAND-CRACK. This, as its name imports, is a crack 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 frequently occurs in sandy districts, the heat of the sand applied to the feet giving them a disposition to crack. It occurs both in the fore and the hind feet. In the fore feet it is usually found in the inner quarter (see g, page 278), 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 crust, sometimes natural, but oftener the consequence of mismanagement or disease, which, 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 there- tore a horse, although he may spring a sand-crack within an hour after the purchase, cannot be returned on that account. It is always necessary to examine the inner quarter of the foot at the time of pur- chase ; for it has more than once occurred that, by low dealers, and particularly at fairs, a sand-crack has been neatly covered with pitch, and then, the whole of the hoof having been oiled, the injury was so adroitly concealed, that an incautious per- son might be easily deceived. The crack sometimes does not penetrate through the horn. It then causes no lame- ness ; nevertheless, it must not be neglected. It shows that there is brittleness, which should induce the purchaser to pause; and, if proper means are not taken, it will generally soon penetrate to the quick. It should be pared or rasped fairly out; and if the paring or rasping has been deep, the foot should be strengthened by a coat- ing of pitch, with coarse tape hound over it, and a second coating of pitch covering this. Every crack should be pared or rasped, to ascertain its depth. If it penetrates through the crust, even althougli no lameness exists, a firing-iron, red-hot, should be passed somewhat deeply above and below it, in order to prevent its lengthening — the edges should be thinned, to remove any painful or injurious pressure, and the foot should be bound up in the manner directed, care being taken that the shoe does not press upon the crust immediately under the sand-crack. If the crack has penetrated through the crust, and lameness has ensued, the case is more serious. It must be carefully examined, in order to ascertain that no dirt or sand has got into it; the edges must be more considerably thinned, and if any fungus is beginning 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, because the edges of the horn will not be thickened or roughened, and thus become a source of after-irritation. The iron must then be run deeply across, above, and below the crack, as in the other case ; 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 off, as it will in a few 3i2 DISEASES OF THE FOOT. 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 new horn will gradually and safely descend, but the horse should not be used until sufficient horn has grown down fairly to isolate the crack. In this case, as in almost every one of sand-crack, the horse should be kept as quiet as possible. It is not in the power of the surgeon to effect a perfect cure, if the owner will continue to use the animal. 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 off, the sole pared out, and any bulbous projec- tion 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 303, the sole being covered at the same time with the common cow-dung, or felt stopping. TREAD AND 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. The coronary ring is highly vascular externally, and within it is cartila- ginous ; the blow, therefore, often produces much pain and hemorrhage, and contusion and destruction of the parts. The wound may appear to be simple, but it is often of a sadly complicated nature, and much time and care will need to be expended in repairing the mischief. Mr. Percivall very accurately states that " the wound has, in the first place, to cast off a slough, consisting of the bruised, separated, and deadened parts ; then the chasm thereby exposed has to granulate ; and finally, the sore has to cicatrize, and form new horn."* 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 pipes, and which constitute quillor. Although some mildly stimulating escharotic may be occa- sionally required, the caustic, too frequently used by farriers, should be carefully avoided, not only lest quitter should be formed, but lest the coronary ligament should be so injured as to be afterwards incapable of secreting perfect horn. When pro- perly treated, a tread is seldom productive of much injury. If the dirt is well 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, speedily heal. Should the bruise be extensive, or the wound deep, a poultice may be 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 poultice; 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 vitriol. 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 balsam, and protection from the dirt. There is a singular species of over-reaching, termed forging or clkking. The horse, in the act of trotting, strikes the toes of the hind shoos against the fore ones. This noise of the clicking is unpleasant, and the trick or habit is not altogether free from danger. It is most frequent in young horses, and is attributable to too great activity, or length of stride in the hind legs. The rider may do something l)y keep- ing the head of the horse well up ; but the smith may effect more by making the hind shoes of clicking horses short in the toe, and having the web broad. When they are * Percivall's Hippopathology, vol. i. p. 243. FALSE QUARTER. — QUITTOR. 313 too long, they are apt to be torn off — when too narrow, the hind foot ni,iy 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 througli by any caustic, there will occasionally be a divi- sion 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 occcasionally follows neglected sand-crack, or it may be the consequence of quittor. 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 exceedingly 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 penetrate to the sensible laminae. Inflaiumation will almost of necessity be produced ; and much mischief will be effected. While the energies of the animal are not severely taxed, he may not expe- rience much inconvenience or pain ; but the slightest exertion will cause the fissure to expand, and painful lameness to follow. This is not only a very serious defect, but one exceedingly difficult to remedy. The coronary ligament must be restored to its perfect state, or at least to the dis- charge of its perfect function. Much danger would attend the application of the caustic in order to effect this. A blister is rarely sufficiently active : but the applica- tion, not too severely, of a heated flat or rounded iron to the coronet at the injured part affords 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 when speaking of the treatment 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 bearing at or immediately under the separation of the horn. This will be best effected, when 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 indentation or hollow should be made in the shoe. Strain or concussion 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 wholo and sound horn has begun to be formed there.j In some cases false quarter assumes a less serious character. The horn grows down whole, but the ligament is unable to secrete that which is perfectly healthy, and, therefore, a narrow strip of horn of a different and lighter colour is produced. This is sometimes the best result that can be procured when the surgeon has been able to obliterate the absolute crack or separation. It is, however, to be regarded as a defect, not sufficient to condemn the horse, but indicating that he has had sand- crack, and that a disposition to sand-crack may possibly remain. There will also, in the generality of cases, be some degree of tenderness in that quarter, which may pro- duce slight lameness when unusual exertion is required from the horse, or the shoe is suffered long to press on the part. 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 of 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 direc- * Stewart's Stable (Economy, p. 393. t James Clark, whose works have not been valued as they deserve, expresses in a few words the real state of the case, and the course that should be pursued : — " We may so far paUiate the complaint as to render the horse something usetul by using a ehoe of such a construction as will support the limb without resting or pressing too much upon the weakened quarter." A proper stopping should also cover the sole, on which some coarse tow may be placed, and a piece of leather over that; the whole being confined by o broad web-shoe. 27 2p 314 DISEASES OF THE FOOT. tion, it forces the little fleshy plates of the cofTm-bone, from the horny ones of the crust, or the horny sole from the fleshy sole, or even eats deeply into the internal parts of the foot. These pipes or sinuses run in every direction, and constitute the essence of quittor. If it arises from a wound at the bottom of the foot, the purulent matter which is rapidly formed is pent up there, and the nail of the shoe or the slub remains in the wound, or the small aperture which was made is immediately closed ajrain. This matter, howevsr, continues to be secreted, and separates the horny sole from the fleshy one to a considerable extent, and at length forces its way upwards, and appears at the coronet, and usually at the quarter, and there slowly oozes out, while the aper- ture and tlie quantity discharged are so small that the inexperienced person would have no suspicion of the extent of the mischief within, and the difficulty of repairing it. The opening may scarcely admit a probe into it, yet over the greater part of the quarter and the sole the horn may have separated from the foot, and the matter may have penetrated under the cartihiges and ligaments, and into the coffin joint. Not only so, but two mischievous results may have been produced, — the pressure of the matter wherever it has gone has formed ulcerations that are indisposed to heal, and that require the application of strong and painful stimulants to induce them to heal ; and, worse than this, the horn, once separated from the sensible parts beneath, will never again unite with them. Quittor may occur in both the fore and the hind feet. It will be sufficiently plain that the aid of a skilful practitioner is here requisite, and also the full exercise of patience in the proprietor of the horse. It may be neces- sary 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 probably elapse bel'ore it will be sufficiently grown down again to render the horse useful. Measures of considerable severity are indispensable. The application of some caustic will alone produce a healthy action on the ulcerated surfaces ; but on the ground of interest and of humanity 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. The unhealthy surface must be removed ; but the car- tilages and ligaments, and even portions of the bone, need not to be sacrificed. The experienced veterinary surgeon will alone be able to counsel the proprietor of the horse when, in cases of confirmed quittor, there is reasonable hope of permanent cure. A knowledge of the anatomy of the foot is necessary to enable him to decide what parts, indispensable to the action of the animal, may have been irreparably injured or destroyed, or to save these parts from the destructive eflect of torturing caustics. When any portion of the bone can be felt by the probe, the chances of success are diminished, and the owner and the operator should pause. W hen the joints are exposed, the case is hopeless, 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 introduced into the fistulous orifice on the coronet, the direction of the sinuses or pipes is backward, there is much probability that a perfect cure may be effected ; but if the direction of the sinuses is forward, the cure is at best doubtful. In the first instance, there is neither bone ncr joint to be injured ; in the other, the more important parts of the foot are in danger, and the prin- cipal 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 confined by the curvature of the shoe, will frequently lame the horse. The heat ana tenderness of the part, the occasional redness of the horn, and the absence of punc ture, will clearly mark the bruise. Tlie sole must then l)e thinned, and particularly over the bruised part, and, in neglected cases, it must be pared even to the quick, ir order to ascertain wliether the inflammation has run on to suppuration. Kleeding at the toe will be clearly indicated ; ajul jjoullices, and such other means as have either been described under " Inflammation of tlie Feet," or will be pointed out under the next head. The principal causes of bruises of the foot are leaving the sole too much exposed by means of a narrow-vvebbcd shoe, cr the smith paring out the sole too PRICK OR WOUND IN THE SOLE OR CRUST. 315 closely, or the pressure of the shoe on the sole, or the introduction of gravel or stones between the shoe and the sole. The author subjoins the mode of cure in this disease, as it- has been practised by two veterinary surgeons. They are both excellent, and, so far as can well be the case, satisfactory. Mr. Percivall says: — "The ordinary mode of cure consists in the introduction of caustic into the sinus ; and so long as the cartilage preserves its integrity — by which I mean, is free from caries — this is perhaps the most prompt and etlectual mode of proceeding. The farrier's practice is to mix about half a drachm of corrosive sub- limate in powder with twice or thrice the quantity of flour, 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. Every part of its, interior surface is destroyed, and the dead particles 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. As- certain with a probe the direction of the sinuses, and introduce into them a saturated solution of sulphate of zinc, by means of a small syringe. Place over this dressincr the common cataplasm, 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 ascer- tain 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 valuable, where the synovial fluid has escaped, but not to be used if the inflammation of the parts is great."! PRICK OR WOUND IN THE SOLE OR CRUST. This is the most frequent cause of quitter. 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 frog 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 offending 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 render it evident. When the shoe is removed for this examination the smith should never be permit- ted to wrench it off, but each nail should be drawn separately, and examined as it is drawn, when some moisture appearing upon it will not unfrequently reveal the spo* at which matter has been thrown out. Sudden lameness occurring within two or three days after the horse has oeea shod * Percivall's Hippopathology, vol. i. p. 248. t The Veterinarian vol. i. p. 329. 316 DISEASES OF THE FOOT. •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 sometimes 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. We would plead the cause of the honest portion of an humble class of men, who discharge this mechanical part of their business with a skill and good fortune scarcely credible; but we resign those to the reproaches and the punish- ment of the owner of the horse who too often, and with bad policy, deny that which accident, or possibly momentary carelessness, might have occasioned, and the neglect of which is fraught with danger, although the mischief resulting from it might at the time have been easily remedied. When the seat of mischief is ascertained, the sole should be thinned round it, ana 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 injur)', and remove its conse quences. 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 pledget 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. The part of the sole that is wounded and the depth of the wound should be taken into consideration. It will be seen, by reference to the cut in page 272, that a deep puncture towards the back part of the sole, and penetrating even into the sensible frog, may not he productive of serious consequence. There is no great motion in the part, and there are no tendons or bones in danger. A puncture near the toe may not be followed by much injury. There is little motion in that part of the foot, and the internal sole covering the coffin-bone will soon heal. A puncture, however, about the centre of the sole may wound the flexor tendon where it is inserted into the coffin-bone, or may even penetrate the joint which unites the navicular-bone with the coffm-bone, or pierce through the tendon into the joint which it forms with the navicular-bone, and a degree of inflammation may ensue, that, if neglected, may be fatal. Many horses have been lost by the smallest puncture of the sole in these dangerous points. All the anatomical skill of the veterinarian should be called into requisition, when he is examining the most trifling wound of the foot. If the foot has been wounded by the wrong direction of a nail in shoeing, and the sole is well-pared out over the part on the first appearance of lameness, little more will be necessary to be done. The opening should be somewhat enlarged, the Friar's balsam applied, and the shoe tacked on, with or witlunit a poultice, according to the degree of lameness or heat, and on the following day all will often be well. It may, however, be prudent to keep the foot 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 neighbouring parts, and the horse evidently suffers extr'^e pain, and is sometimes scarcely able to put his foot to the ground, and much matter is poured out when the opening is enlarsed, further precautions must be adopted. The fact must be recol- lected that the living and dead horn will never unite, and every portion of the horny sole that has separated from ilie fleshy sole above must be removed. The scparalion must he followed 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 antimony, some soft and dry tow being spread ^n the part,, the foot slopped, and a poultice placed over all if the inflammation seems to require it. On the following day a thin pellicle of horn will frequently be found over a part or the whole of the wound. This should be, yet very lightly, acain touclied with the caustic; but if there is an ajjpearaiice of fungus sproutinof from the exposed surface, the a])]ilicatinn of tlie butyr must be more severe, the tow being ag<\in placed over it, so as to afford considerable yet uniftirm pressin-e. Many days do not often elapse before the ww horn covers the whole of tlu^ wound. In tlu se exten- sive openings the Friar's balsam will not always be successful, but the cure nnist be c^ecioA by the judicious and never-too-severe use of the caustic. Bleeding at tiie toe, and physic, will be resorted to as useful auxilaries when much inflarnmatior arises. CORNS. 317 In searching the foot in order to ascertain the existence of prick, there is often something very censurable in the carelessness with which the horn is cut away between the bottom of the crust and the sole, so as to leave little or no hold for the nails, although some months must elapse before the horn will grow down sufficiently far for the shoe to be securely fastened. When a free opening has been made below, and matter has not broken out at the coronet, it will rarely be necessary to remove any portion of the horn at the quarters, although we may be able to ascertain by the use of the probe that the separation of the crust extends for a considerable space above the sole. CORNS. In the angle between the bars (c, p. 297) 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 : bearino- 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 pro- duced in that part of the sensible sole, that suppuration follows, and to that, quittor succeeds, and the matter either undermines the horny 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 cut, p. 297), is placed in a kind of vice, and becomes inflamed ; hence it is rare to see a contracted foot with- out corns. When the shoe is suffered to remain on too long, it becomes embedded in the heel of the foot : the external crust grows down on the outside of it, and the bear- ing is thrown on this angular portion of the sole. No part of the sole can bear con- tinued pressure, and inflammation and corns are the result. From the length of wear the shoe sometimes becomes loosened at the heels, and gravel insinuates itself between the shoe and the crust, and accumulates in this angle, and sometimes 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 between the outer crust and the external portion of the bar. The shoe is often made unnecessarily narrow at the heels, by which this angle, seemino-ly 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 irequently neglects to pare away the horn in the angle between the bars and the external crust; or if he cuts away the bars, he scarcely touches the horn at this point ; and thus, before the horse has been shod a fortnight, 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. The unshod colt rarely has corns. The heels have their natural power of expan- sion, and the sensible sole at this part can scarcely be imprisoned, while the projec- tion of the heel of the crust and the bar is a sufficient defence from external injury. Corns seem to be the almost inevitable consequence of shoeing, which, by limiting-, or in a manner destroying, the expansibility of the foot, must, when the sole attempts to descend, or the cofl'm-bone has a backward and downward direction (see cut, p. 272), imprison and injure this portion of the sole. This evil consequence is increased when the shoe is badly formed, or kept on too long, cf when the paring is omitted or injudiciously extended to the bars. By this unnatural pressure of the sole, blood is thrown out, and enters into the pores of the soft and diseased horn which is then secreted ; therefore the existence and the extent of the corn is judged of by the colour and softness of the horn at this place. Corns are most frequent and serious in horses with thin horn and flat soles, and low weak heels. They do not often occur in the outside heel. It is of a stronger con- struction 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 27 •• 318 DISEASES OF THE FOOT. their irons, is Very fallacious. If the horn is naturally thin, the horse ■will shrink under no great pressure although he has no corn, and occasionally the bars are so strong as not to tiive way under any pressure. The cure of old corns is diflicult; 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 ; recent 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 removed. A very small drawing-knife must be used for this pur- pose. The corn must be pared 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 matter 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. Mr. Turner is in the habit of using a shoe that promises to lessen to a very material degree the suffisrings of the horse. The ground surface of the shoe is so bevelled off, that it does not come into contact with the ground, and thus much concussion is saved to the horse. A slight space, however, should be left between the heel of the foot, and that of the shoe ; and which cannot be better occupied than by the leather sole, preventing the insinuation of foreign bodies, and yet preserving the heel from con- cussion. In unusually troublesome cases of corns, recourse should be had to the bar-shoe. Mr. Spooner, of Southampton, very properly states, that the corns occasionally fester, and the purulent matter which is secreted, having no dependent orifice, ascends, torturing the animal to a dreadful extent, and breaks out at the coronet. These cases are very troublesome. Sinuses are formed, and the evil may end in quittor. A large and free dependent orifice must then be made, and a poultice applied ; to which should succeed a solution of sulphate of zinc, with the application of the compound tar ointment. 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 ascer- tained, 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 with tips, will often be serviceable. A horse that has once had corns to any considerable extent should, at every shoeing, have the seat of corn well pared out, and the butyr of antimony applied. The seated shoe (hereafter to be described) 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 frog. Low weak heels should 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. The inner heel should be particularly spared. Corns are seldom found in tlie hind feet, because the heels are stronger, and the feet are not exposed to so much concussion ; and when they are found there, they are rarely or never productive of lameness. There is nothing perhaps in which the improvement in the veterinary art has relieved the horse from so much suffering as shoeing. Where corns now exist of any consequence, they are a disgrace to the smith, the groom, and even to the owner. THRUSH. This is a discharge of offensive matter from the cleft of the frog. It is inflamma- tion of the lower surface of the sensil)le frog, and during which pus is secreted toge- ther with, or instead of horn. When the frog is in its sound state, the cleft sinks but a little way into if; but when it becomes contracted or otherwise diseased, it extend* in length, and penetrates even to the sensible horn within, and through this \ nnatii THRUSH. 319 rally deepened fissure the thriishy discharge proceeds. A plethoric state of the hody may be a predisposing cause of thrush, but tlie iauuediate and grand cause is mois- ture. This should never be forgotten, for it will lead a great way towards the proper treatment of the disease. 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 interferes with the healthy structure and action of the frog. We find it in the hinder feet oftener and worse than in the fore, because in our stable management the hinder feet are too much exposed to the pernicious effects of the dung and the urine, moistening, or as it were macerating, and at the same time irritating them. The distance of the hind feet from the centre of circulation would also, as in the case of grease, more ex])ose them to accumulations of fluid and discbarges of this kind. In the fore feet thrushes are usually connected with contrac- tion. We have stated that they are both the cause and the ell'ect of contraction. The pressure on the frog from the wiring in of the heels will produce pain and inflamma- tion; and the inflauunation, by the increased heat and suspended function of the part, will dispose to contraction. Horses of all ages, and in almost all situations, are sub- ject to thrash. The unshod colt is frequently thus diseased. Thrushes are not 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 examination, or the peculiar smell of the discharge. The frog may not appear to be rendered in the slightest degree tender by it, and therefore the horse may not be considered by many as unsound. Every disease, however, should be con- sidered as legal unsoundness, and especially a disease which, although not attended with present detriment, must not be neglected, for it will eventually injure and lame the horse. All other things being right, a horse should not be rejected because he has a slight thrush, for if the shape of the hoof is not altered, experience tells us that the thrush is easily removed; but if this is not soon done, the shape of the foot and the action of the horse will be altered, and manifest unsoundness will result. The progress of a neglected thrush, although sometimes slow, is sure. The froor fiegins 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 — fungous granulations spring from it — they spread around — ^the sole becomes under-run, and canker steals over the greater part of the foot. There are few errors more commoner more dangerous than this, that the existence of thrush is a matter of little consequence, or even, as some suppose, a benefit to the horse — a discharge for superabundant humours — and that it should not he dried up too quickly, and in some cases not dried up at all. 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 inju- rious when we are endeavouring to dry up thrush in older horses : but the disease can scarcely be attacked too soon, or subdued too rapidly, and especially when it steals on so insidiously, and has such fatal consequences in its train. If the heels once begin to contract through the baneful effect of thrush, it will, with difficulty, or not at all, be afterwards removed. 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 jEgyptiacum (vinegar boiled with honey and verdigrease) is a good liniment; but the most effectual and the safest — drying up the discharge speedily, 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 nig-ht, and removed in the morning before the horse goes to work. Attention should at tlie same time, as in other diseases of the foot, be paid to the apparent cause of the complaint, and that cause should be carefully obviated or removed. Before the 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 intro- tiuced into the cleft of the frog. It will be necessary to preserve the frog moist whilu the cure is in progress, and this may be done by filling the feet with tow, covered by 320 DISEASES OF THE FOOT. common stopping, or using the felt pad, likewise covered with it. Turning oul, would be prejudicial rather than of benefit to thrushy feet, except the dressing is con- tinued, and the feet defended irom moisture. CANKER Is a separation of the horn from the sensible part of the foot, and the sprouting of fungous matter instead of it, occupying 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 difficiilt to cure. It is more frequently 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 putre- faction. It is oftenest 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 had an attack of grease, or their heels are habitually thick and greasy. The disposition to canker is certainly hereditary. The dray horse has likewise this advantage, that in order to give him foot-hold, it is some- times necessary to raise the heels of the hinder feet so high, that all pressure on the frog is taken away ; its functions are destroyed, and it is rendered liable to disease. Canker, however, arises mostly from the peculiar injury to whii-h the feet of these horses are subject from the enormous shoes with which they are covered — the bulk of the nails with which these shoes are fastened to the foot, the strain of the foot in the violent, although short exertion of moving heavy Aveights ; but, most of all, neglect of the feet, and the filthiness of the stable in these establishments. Although 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 separation of the horn from the sensible frog, will most materially lessen the number of cankered feet. Where this disease often occurs, the owner of the team may be well assured that there is gross mismanagement either in himself or his horse-keeper, or the smith, or the surgeon, and it will rarely be a difficult matter to detect the pre- cise nature of that mismanagement. 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 tliis 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 separated from the sensible parts beneath. He will have to discourage the growth of fresh fungus, and to bring the foot into that state in which it will again secrete healthy horn. Here he will remember that he has to do with the surface of the foot; that this is a disease of the surface only, and that there will be no necessity for those deeply-corroding and torturing caustics which penetrate to the very bone. 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 dis- eased, 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 adopti^ as early as possible, and even from the neginning, if the malady is confined to the sole and frog — tjiese means will succeed, if the disease is capable of cure. Humanity, perhaps, will dictate that, considering the long process of cure in a cr.nkered UhA. and the daily torture of the caustic, and the suffering which would otherwise result from so large or exposed a surface, the nerves of the leg should be divided, in order to take away the sense of j)ain; but then, especial care Inust be taken that the horse is placed in such a situation, and exposed to such work, that, being insensible to pain, he may not inj\irious]y batter and bruise the diseased parts. Medicine is not of much avail in the cure of canker. It is a mere local disease; or the only cause of fear is, tliat so great a determination of blood to the extremities having existed during the long progress of cure, it may in sonse degree continue, and OSSIFICATION OF THE CARTILAGES, &c. 321 produce injury in another form. Grease has occasionally followed canker. They have been known to alternate. It may, therefore, be prudent, when the cure of a cankered foot is nearly effected, to subject the horse to a course of alteratives or diuretics. OSSIFICATION OF THE CARTILAGES Mention has been made of the side cartilages of the foot, occupying (see cut, page 276) a considerable portion of the external side and back part of the foot. They are designed to preserve the expansion of the upper part of the foot, and especially when that of the lower part is limited or destroyed by careless shoeing. These cartilages are subject to inflammation, and the result of that inflammation is, that the cartilages are absorbed, and bone substituted in their stead. This ossification of the cartilages frequently accompanies ringbone, but it may exist without any affection of the pastern joint. It is oftenest found in horses of heavy draught. It arises not so much from concussion, as from sprain, for the pace of the horse is slow. The cause, indeed, is not well understood ; but of the effect, there are too numerous instances. Very few heavy draught-horses arrive at old age without this change of structure; and particu- larly if they are much employed in the paved streets. The change commences some- times at the anterior part of the cartilage, but much oftener at the posterior and inferior part. " From the combined operation of great weight and high action, the feet, and particularly the heels, come with great force on the ground. The cartilages, being embedded in the heels of the feet, are, therefore, the parts that receive the greatest degree of concussion, the consequence of which is, that subacute inflammation is set up, and the secreting vessels deposit ossific instead of cartilaginous matter, in the room of that which is absorbed in the usual process of nature."* No evident inflammation of the foot, or great, or perhaps even perceptible lame- ness, accompanies this change ; a mere slight degree of stiffness may have been ob- served, which, in a horse of more rapid pace, would have been lameness. Even when the change is completed, there is not in many cases anything more than a slight increase of stiffness, 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 deci- ded, 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, however, 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 spokep of in page 277. 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 tvenk 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 described 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 it ought to be, but it has not the smooth, even appearance of the good "oot. The surface is sometimes irregularly roughened, but it is much oftener rough- ned 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 circular appearance, with a fullness of frog, that would mislead the inexperienced, and indeed be considered as almost the perfection of structure ; i)ut, being examined more closely, many glar- ing defects will bo seen. The sole is flat, and the smith finds that it will bear little 01 no paring. The bars aro small in size. They are not cut away by the smith, but W. C. Snooner on the Foot of the Horse, page 249. 322 FRACTURES. they can be scarcely said to have any existence. The heels are low, so low that the very coronet seems almost to touc'' the ground; and the crust, if examined, appeals 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 inflanunation 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 possible, and especially on rough roads, may protract for a long pe- riod 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. Accidents of this description are not of frequent occurrence, but 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. The number of valuable animals is far too great that are destroyed under a confused notion of the difficulties of controlling the patient, or the incurable char- acter of the accident. INIcssrs. Blaine and Percivall have given a valuable record of the usual cases and treatment of fracture which occur in the practice of the Eng- lish veterinary surgeon, and the splendid work of Hurtrel d'Arboval contains a re- cord of all that has been attempted or effected on the Continent. The author of this volume must confine himself to a rapid survey of that which they have described, adding a few cases that have been brought under his own observation, or communi- cated to him by others. With the exception of accidents that occur in casting the animal for certain opera- tions, and his struggles during the operation, the causes of Fracture are usually blows, kicks, or falls, and the lesion may be considered as simple, confined to one bone, and not protruding through the skin — or compound, the bone or bones protrud tng 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 re- placing 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 pre- vent any untoward circumstances 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 suspend or sling him. The cut in the next page contains a view of the suspensorj' 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 re- quire. 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 liead 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 speakmg, it is not long ere they become perfi ctly passive. The use of the different buckles and straps which are attached to tlie sail-cloth will be evident on inspection. If the horse exhibits more than usual uneasiness, otJier ropes may be attached to the corners of the sail-cloth. This will afford considerable relief to the patient, as well as add to the securit}^ of the bandages. FRACTURES. 333 ^v h^[M0n being led out she trotted several times along the stable yard, apparently sound, with the exception of moving the limb in a slight degree wider than usual, and so completely was the part recovered that, had it not been for a small scar that remained, a stranger could not have known that such an accident had taken place.* 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 tibia. — This affection is of more frequent occurrence, and of more serious consequence than we were accustomed to imagine it to be. Mr. Trump, twelve years ago, first called the attention of the profession to some singular circum- stances connected with the tibia. A large draught-horse belonging to the Dowlais Iron Company, at Merthyr Tydvil, came in from his labour very lame in the near hind leg, but with no visible sign of any severe injury being received. The foot was searched, but nothing farther was done. He stood in the stable several days, and then was turned into a field, and was discovered one morning with the limb depend- ent, and a fracture of the tibia just above the hock. Fourteen or sixteen months after that, another horse came home from a journey of seven miles, lame, with a slight mark on the inside of the thigh — a mere scratch, and very little tumefaction. There was nothing to account for such severe lameness: but, a few mornings afterwards, the tibia was seen to be fractured. The front of the bone was splintered as from a blow. Two months after that, another horse had been observed to be lame seven or eight days. A slight scratch was observed on the inside of the thigh, with a little swell- * Veterinarian, vol. ii. p. 140. 28 2r 330 FRACTURES. ing, and increased heat and tenderness just above the hock. Mr. Trump had exam- ined the foot during the time that the horse stood in the stable, not being satisfied that the apparently slight injury on the thigh could account for the lameness. He was turned to grass, and three days afterwards the tibia was found broken at the part men- tioned, and evidently from a blow. Were there not positive proof of the circunistance, t would have been deemed impossible that a fracture, and of such a bone, could have existed so long without detection.* 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 w ill, we trust, encourage many another veterinary surgeon to follow his example. "A horse received a blow on the tibia of 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 obliquely fractured about midway between the hock and the stifle, and a small w^ound existing on the inside of the leg. It was set in the follow- ing 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 ban- daged up, so as to render what was a slightly compound fracture a simple one. Tiib local inflammation and sympathetic fever that supervened were kept down by anti- phlogistic 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 ofl", 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 very oiificult to treat, from the almost impossibility of finding means to retain the bone in its situa- tion. A case, however, somewhat simple in its nature occurred in the practice ot Mr. Cartwright. A colt, leaping at some rails, got his leg between them, and, una- ble to extricate himself, hung over on the other side. After being liberated it appeared on examination, that there was a simple horizontal fracture of the whole of the os calcis about the middle. A splint was contrived so as to reach from the middle of the tibia to that of the cannon bone, and this was applied to the front of the leg, keep- ing 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 adhe- sive 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 of 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 of the bone again into appo- sition. A kind of windlass, or a power equal to it, is occasionally necessary to pro- duce suflicient extension 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 knee 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 often 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 tben the animal with his leg bo\md up is turned o\it, if tlie season ])er- mits ; otherwise he is placed in a yard or box, where there is not much straw to incommode 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.§ * Veterinarian, vol. iii. p. 394. t The Transactions of the Vet. Med. Association. Some other eases of the successful treat ment of fractures are related in this worii. t Veterinarian, vol. iii. p. 69. ^ FercivsJl's Ilippopntho vi^) v'ol. i. p ?,G9. FRACTURES. 331 Fracture of the sesamoid bones. — ^There are but two instances of this on record. The first is related by Mr. Fuller of iNIarch. He was galloping steadily and not rapidly a horse of his own, when the animal suddenly fell as if he had been shot. He was broken down in both fore legs. The owner very humanely ordered him to be immediately destroyed. Both the perforans and perforatus tendons of the near fore leg were completely ruptured, just where they pass over the sesamoid bone, which was fractured in a transverse direction. The sesamoid bone of the off leg was frac- tured in the same direction, but the tendons were entire.* The second case is one described by Mr. Harris of Preston. A strong coachlike animal was galloped rapidly. He had not gone more than a hundred yards before he suddenly fell, and it was with great difficulty that he could be led home, a distance of about two miles. There was soon considerable swelling in the off fore leg — great pain on the animal's attempting to walk, and his fetlock nearly touched the ground. Some slight crepitus could be detected, but the exact seat of it could not be ascer- tained. Mr. Harris considered the case as hopeless, but the owner would have some means tried to save the animal. He was accordingly bled and physicked, and cold lotions and bandages were applied to the foot. Two days afterwards some bony spiculaj began to protrude through the skin, and, the case being now perfectly hope- less, the animal was destroyed. The inner sesamoid bone was shivered to atoms. f Fracture of the upper pastern. — 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 hap- pened 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 permitted 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 is turned upward. If the foot is rotated, a crepitus is generally heard. This, however, is not always the case. M. Levrat was requested to examine a horse that had suddenly become lame. The near hind leg was retracted, and the foot was kept from touching the ground. He carefully examined the foot, and dis- covered that much pain was expressed when the pastern was handled. He suspected fracture of the bone, but he could not detect it. He bled the animal, ordered cooling applications to the part, and gave a dose of physic. Three days afterwards he again* saw his patient, and readily detected a fracture, taking a direction obliquely across the pastern.:}; 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 bone, it may be readily and successfully treated — if it extends to the joints above and below, it will proba- bly terminate in anchylosis, 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 suc- cessfully. 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 pasteboard is to be moulded, enveloped afterwards in a linen bandage. 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 ex- tending 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 treat- ment 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 expiration of anothej * Veterinarian, vol. iil. p. 393. t Veterinarian, vol. v. p. 375. t Rec. de Med. Vet., Nov. 1831. 332 FRACTURES. month he was mounted, and went very well at a walking-pace; he was, however, still lame wlien he was trotted. Another horse, treated by the same surgeon, was soon able to rest on the bad leg, in order to change his position — he was allowed three weeks after tha*, and then commenced his former daily work — the drawing of a heav}- cart. He liuijied a little when he was trotted ; but did as much slow work as he was ever accustomed to do. Fracture of the lower pastern. — Although this bone is much shorter than the upper pastern, there are sev-eral instances of fracture of it. The fractures of this bone are conunonly longitudinal, and often present a lesion of continuity extending from the larger pastern to the coffin-bone. It is frequently splintered, the splinters taking this longitudinal direction. Hurtrel d'Arboval relates tiiree cases of tiiis, and in one of them the bone was splintered into four pieces. In several instances, how- ever, this bone has been separated into eight or ten distinct pieces. \\ hen the frac- ture of the bone is neither compound nor complicated, it may be perfectly reduced by proper bandaging, and, in iact, there have been cases, in which union has taken place with slight assistance from art beyond the application of a few bandages. j\I. Gazot relates a very satisfactory termination of fracture of this bone in a car- riage-horse. The animal fell, and was totally unable to rise again. He was placed on some hurdles, and drawn home. A veterinary surgeon being consulted, recognised fracture of the lower pastern in both feet, and advised that th.e animal should be de- stroyed. It was a favourite horse, between live and six years old, and the owner de- termined to give it a chance of recovery. ^I. Gazot was consulted. He plainly recognised a transverse fracture in the lower pastern of the right leg, and a longitudinal one in the left pastern. They were both of them simple fractures. The horse was manageable, and seemed to comprehend the whole atfair. He was a favourite of the groom as well as the master, and it was determined to give him a chance of recovery. He had plenty of good litter under him, which was changed twice in the da)'. The first object that was attempt- ed to be accomplished was the healing of the excoriations that had taken place in drawing him home, and abating the inflammation that was appearing about the pasterns. At the termination of the first week all these were healed, the horse fed well, and was perfectly quiet, except that when he was tired of lying on one side he contrived to get on his knees and then to raise himself on his haunches, and, having voided his 'urine and his dung, he turned himself upon the other side, without the bandages round his pasterns being in the slightest degree interfered with. At the expiration of the second week, he seemed to wish to get up. The groom bad orders to assist him, and a sling was passed under him. Some oats were placed in the manger, and he seemed to enjoy the change for a little while. Soon after- wards he began to be uneasy, and a copious perspiration appeared on every part. He was immediately lowered, when, with evident delight, he stretched out his head and his legs, and lay almost without motion during several hours. On the follow- ing day he was again placed in the sling, and again lowered as soon as he appeared to be fatigued. At the expiration of a month from the time of the accident he could get up without assistance, and would continue standing two or three hours, when he would lay down again, but with a degree of precaution that was truly admirable. l"he bandages around the pasterns had been continued until this period, and liad been kept wet with a spirituous embrocation. The horse was encouraged to walk a little, some corn be ing offered to him in a sieve. He was sadly lame, and the lameness was considera- bly greater in the left than in the right foot. A calculous enlargement coi^ld also be felt in the direction of the fracture on each pastern; but it was greatest in ihe left fetlock, and there was rr-.ison Xn fear the existence of anchylosis, between the pastern bones of the left Icof. That f lot was surrounded with emollient cata])lasms. and, two days afterwards, was pared nut, and the cautery applied over both pasterns, the spirit- uous embrocation i)eing continued. A fortnight afterwards the elVect of the cautery was very satisfactory. The action of the part w-as more free, and there was no longer any fear of anchylosis, (t was, however, deemed prudent to a]i]ily the cautery over the right pastern. Walking ex- ercise was now recommended, and in the course of another month the lameness was ON SHOEING. 333 iimch diminished. It was most on the left side, which, however, had resumed its former degree of inclination. At the expiration of four months, the horse was sent to work. His master, how- ever, doubting the stability of the cure, sold him, for which he ought to have had his own legs broken, and he fell into bad hands. He was worked hardly, and half starved ; nevertheless, the calculus continued to diminish, and the lameness alto- gether disappeared. He soon, however, passed into better hands. He was bought by a farmer at Chalons, in whose service he long remained, in good condition, and totally free from lameness. His last owner gave him the name of Old Broken Leg.* 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 con- siderably— the foot is hot and tender — the pain seems to be exceedingly great, and none of the ordinary causes of lameness are perceived. According to Hurtrel D'Ar- boval, 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. Mr. Percivall very properly remarks, that, " buried as the coffin and navicular bones are within the hoof, and out of the way of all external injury as well as of mus- cular force, fracture of them cannot proceed from ordinary causes. It is, perhaps, thus produced : — in the healthy foot, in consequence of the elasticity of their connec- tions, these bones yield or spring under the impression they receive from the bones above, and thus are enabled to bear great weights, and sustain violent shocks without injury ; but, disease in the foot is often found to destroy this elasticity, by changing the cartilage into bone, which cannot receive the same weight and concussion without risk of fracture. Horses that have undergone the operation of neurotomy more fre- quently meet with this accident than others, because they batter their senseless feet with a force which, under similar circumstances, pain would forbid the others from doing."! Fracture of the navicular bone has been sufficiently considered under the article " Navicular Joint Disease," p. 309. Mr. Mayer sums up his account of the treatment of fractures in a way that reflects much credit on him and the profession of which he is a member. " Let your reme- dies," says he, " be governed by those principles of science, those dictates of humanity, and that sound discretion, which, while they raise the moral and intellectual supe- riority of man, distinguish the master of his profession from the bungling empiric.":}: CHAPTER XVII. ON SHOEING. The period when the shoe began to be nailed to the foot of the horse is uncertain. William the Norman introduced it into our country. We have seen, in the progress of our inquiry, that, while it affords to the foot of the horse that defence which seems now to bs necessary against the destructive effects of our artificial and flinty roads, it has entailed on the animal some evils. It has limited or destroyed the beautiful expansibility of the lower part of the foot — it has led to contraction, although that contraction has not always been accompanied by lameness — in the most careful fixing of the best shoe, and in the careless manufac- ture and setting on of the bad one, irreparable injury has occasionally been done to the horse. We will first attend to the preparation of the foot for the shoe, for more than is g'enerally imagined, of its comfort to the horse and its safety to the rider, depends on this. If the master would occasionally accompany the horse to the forge, more expense to himself and punishment to the horse would be spared than, perhaps, he * Recueil de Med. Vet. 1834, p. 7. No apology is offered for the introduction of cases liko this. The cause of science and of humanity is equally served. + Percivall's Hippopathology, vol. i., p. 272. t Vet. Trana. vol. i., p. 245. 334 ON SHOEING. would tliink possible, provided he will take the pains to understand the matter him self, otherwise he had better not interfere. The old shoe must be first taken off. We have something to observe even here The shoe was retained on the foot by the ends of the nails beinpr twisted off, turned down, and clenched. Tbese clenches should be first raised, which the smith seldom takes the trouble thoroughly to do ; but after looking carelessly round the crust and loosening one or two of the clenches, he takes hold first of one heel of the shoe, and then of the other, and by a violent wrench separates them from the foot : then, by means of a third wrench, applied to the middle of the shoe, he tears it off. By these means he must eidarge every nail-hole, and weaken the future and steady hold of the shoe, and sometimes tear ofl' portions of the crust, and otherwise injure the foot. The horse generally shows by his flinching that he suffers from the violence with which this preliminary operation too often is performed. The clenches should always be raised or filed off; and, where the foot is tender, or the horse is to be examined for lameness, each nail should be partly punched out. According to the common system of procedure, many a stub is left in the crust, the source of future annoyance. The shoe having been removed, the smith proceeds to rasp the edges of the crust. Let not the stander-by object to the apparent violence which he uses, or fear that the foot will suffer. It is the only means that he has to detect whether any stubs remain in the nail-holes ; and it is the most convenient method of removing that portion of the crust into which dirt and gravel have insinuated themselves. Next comes the important process of paring out, with regard to w'ich 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 extent. The act of paring is a work of much more labour 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 accumu- late month after month, until the elasticity of the sole is 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 1 The strong pressure of the thumb of the smith will be the best guide. The buttress, that most destructive of all instruments, being, except on very particular occasions, 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, to the strong pressure of his thumb. The proper thickness of horn will then remain. If the foot has been previously neglected, and the horn is become very hard, the owner must not object if the smith resorts to some other means to soften it a little, and takes one of his flat irons, and having heated it, draws it over the sole, and keeps it, a little while, in contact with the foot. When the sole is really thick, this rude and apparently barbarous method can do no harm, but it should never be permitted with tlie sole that is regularly pared out. The quantity of horn to be removed, in order to leave the proper degree of thick- ness, will vary witli different feet. From the strong foot, a great deal must be taken. From the concave fool, the horn may be remo'.'ed until the sole will yield to a mode- rate pressure. From tlie flat foot, little needs be pared ; while the pumiced foot should be deprived of nothing but the ragged parts. The paring being nearly completed, the knife and the rasp of the smith must be a little watched, or he will reduce the crust to a level with the sole, and thus endanger the bruising of it by its pressure on the edge of the seating. The crust should be reduced to a perfect level all around, but left a little higher than the sole. The heels will require consi(h>rable attention. From the stress which is tlirown on the inner heel, and from the weakness of the quarter tliere, tlie horn usually wears away considerably faster 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, tlierefore, accommndato his parinor to the comparative wear of the heels, and be exceedingly careful to leave them precisely level. If the reader will recollect what has been said of the intention and action of tlie PUTTING ON THE SHOE. 335 oars, he will readily perceive that the smith should be checked in his almost universal fondness for opening the heels, or, more truly, removing that which is the main impedi- ment to contraction. The portion of the heels between the inflexion of the bar and the frog should scarcely be touched — at least, the ragged and detached 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 inflexion, 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 sliould be encouraged ; and it should be scarcely touched when the horse is shod, unless it has attained a level with the crust. The reader will recollect the observation which has been already made, that the destruction of the bars not only leads to contraction, by removing the grand impediment to it, but by adding a still more powerful cause in the slanting direction which is given to the bearing of the heels, when the bar does not contribute to the support of the weight. It will also be apparent, that the horn between the crust and the bar should be carefully pared out. Every horseman has observed the relief which is given to the animal lame with corns, when this angle is well thinned. This relief, however, is often but temporary ; for when the horn grows again, and the shoe presses upon it, the torture of the horse is renewed. The degree of paring to which the frog must be subjected, will depend on its promi- nence, anr" on the shape of the foot. The principle has already been stated, that it must be left so far projecting and prominent, that it shall be just within and above the lower surface of the shoe ; it will then descend with the sole sufficiently 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 those occasioned by thrush, but the degree of paring must depend entirely on the principle just stated. It appears, then, that the office of the smith requires some skill and judgment, in order to be properly discharged ; and the proprietor of horses will find it his interest occasionally to visit the forge, and complain of the careless, or idle, or obstinate fellow, while he rewards, by some trifling gratuity, the expert and diligent workman. He should likewise remember that a great deal more depends on the paring out of the foot, than on the construction of the shoe ; that few shoes, except they press upon the sole, or are made outrageously bad, will lame the horse ; but that he may be very easily lamed from ignorant and improper paring out of the foot. THE PUTTING ON THE SHOE. The foot being thus prepared, the smith looks about for a shoe. He should select rne that as nearly as possible fits the foot, or may be easily altered to the foot. He >vill sometimes, and especially if he is an idle and reckless fellow, care little about this, for he can easily alter the foot to the shoe. The toe-knife is a very convenient instrument for him, and plenty of horn can be struck oft" with it, or removed by the rasp, in order to make the foot as small as the shoe ; while he cares little, although by this destructive method the crust is materially thinned where it should receive the nail, and the danger of puncture, and of pressure upon the sole, is increased; and a foot so artificially diminished in size, will soon grow over the shoe, to the hazard of considerable or permanent lameness. While the horse is travelling, dirt and gravel are apt to insinuate themselves between the web of the foot and the sole. If the shoe were flat, they would be per- manently retained there, and would bruise the sole, and be productive of injury ; but when the shoe'is properly bevelled off, it is scarcely possible for them to remain. They must be shaken out almost every time that the foot comes in contact with the ground. 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 sur- face, so that in the descent of the sole, the frog shall come sufficiently on the ground to enable 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 tihock of the weioht. The nail-holes are, on the ground side, placed as near the outer edge of the shoe as 336 ON SHOEING. they can safely be, and brought out near the inner edge of the seating. The nails thus take a direction inwards, resembling that of tlie crust itself, and have firmer nold, while the strain upon them in the common shoe is altogether prevented, and the weight of the horse being thrown on a flat surface, contraction is not so likely to be produced. The smith sometimes objects to the use of this sh.oe, on account of its not being so easily formed as one composed of a bar of iron, either flat or a little bevelled. It likewise occupies more time in the forging; but these objections would vanish, when the owner of the horse declared that he would have him shod elsewhere, or when he consented — as, in justice, he should — to pay somewhat more for a shoe that required better workmanship, and a longer time in the construction. It is expedient not only that the foot and ground surface of the shoe should be most accurately level, but that tli« 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 colour of the burned horn. This practice has been much inveighed ao-ainst ; 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 jiractice 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 destined for road-work, the heels, and particularly the seat of corn, can scarcely be too well covered. Part of the shoe projecting externally can be of no possible good, but will prove an occasional source of mischief, and especially in a heavy country. A shoe, the web of which projects inward as far it can without touching the frog, afl'ords pro- tection to the angle between the bars and the crust. Of the manner of attaching the shoe to the foot the owner can scarcely be a compe- tent judge; he can only take care that the shoe itself shall not be heavier than the work requires — that, for 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 heels 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 be brought out so high up as is generally practised. CALKINS. 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 r)rof the leg must be the necessary consequence. Few things deserve more the attention of the horseman than this most absurd and injurious of all the practices of the forge. One quarter of rn hours vralk ing, with one side of the shoe or boot raised considerably above the ether, will pain- fully convince us of what the horse must sufier from this too common mrthcd of shoeing. It cannot be excused even in the hunting shoe. If the horse is ridden far to cover, or galloped over much hard and flinty ground, he will inevitably snfi'er from this unequal distribution of the weight. If the calkin is put on the outer heel, in order to prevent the horse from slipping, either the horn of that heel should l)e lowered to a corresponding degree, or the other heel of the shoe should be raised to the same level by a gradual thickening. Of the use cf calkins in the hinder foot wo shall presently speak. CLIPS-THE HINDER SHOE, &.c. 33? CLIPS. These are portions of the upper edge of the shoe, hammered out, and turned up so as to embrace 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 shoe to the foot, and relieving the crust from that stress upon the nails which would other- wise be injurious. A clip at the toe is almost necessary in every draught-horse, and absolutely so in the horse of heavy draught, in order to prevent the shoe from being loosened or torn off by the pressure which is thrown upon the toe in the act of draw- ing. A clip on the outside of each shoe, at the beginning of the quarters, will give security to it. Clips are likewise necessary on the shoes of all heavy horses, and of all others who are disposed to stamp, or violently paw with their feet, and thus incur the danger of displacing the shoe ; but they are evils, inasmuch as they press upon the crust as it grows down, and they should only be used when circumstances abso- lutely 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 which 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. An- other good effect is produced by this, that, the hinder foot being shortened, there is less danger of overreaching or forging, 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 himself 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 distributed 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 to the heel than in the fore shoe, because, from the comparatively 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 be permitted to caution tho horse-proprietor against having his cattle shod by contract, unless he binds down 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 inter- vene between the shoeings, he will do so, although the feet of the horse must neces- sarily suffer. The shoe should never be heavier 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. This 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 acknowledged in the racer, who wears a shoe only sufficiently thick to prevent it from bending when it is used, THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE. The proper form and construction of the shoe is a subject deserving of very senous inquiry, for it is most important to ascertain, if possible, the kind of shoe that will do the least mischief to the feet. A cut is subjoined of that which is useful and valuable for general purposes. It is employed in many of our best forges, and promises gradually to supersede tlie flat and the simple concave shoe, although it must, in manj respects, yield to the unilateral shoe. 29 Cs V 338 ON SHOEING. 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 or fuller, in which the nail-holes are punched, so that, sinking into the fuller, their heads project but a little way, and are soon worn down level with the shoe. The ground surface of the common shoe used in the country is somewhat convex, and the inner rim of the shoe comes first on the ground : the consequence of this is, that the weight, instead of being borne fairly on the crust, is supported by the nails and clenches, which muat be injurious to the foot, and often chip and break it. The web of this shoe is of the same thickness throughout, from the toe to the heel ; and it is sufficiently wide to guard the sole 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 hoise is sustained. Towards the heel this flattened part is w-ider 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 horn 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 extending 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 weak- ness of that quarter. For feet not too large, and where moderate work only is re- quired from the horse, four nails on the outside, and three on the inside, will be suffi- cient; 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 tlie sole. Notwithstanding our iron fetter, the sole does, although to a very inconsiderable extent, descend when tlie foot of tlie 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-hone Avould be bruised, and lameness would ensue. Many of our 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 pos- sibility of much injury, because the sole can never descend in the degree in which THE UNILATERAL SHOE. 339 the shoe is or may be bevelled. A shoe bevelled still farther is necessary to protect the projecting or pumiced foot. THE UNILATERAL, OR ONE SIDE NAILED SHOE. For a material improvement in the art of shoeing-, we are indebted to ]Mr. Turne. of Regent Street. 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 conse- quence was, that in nine cases out of ten the foot underwent a very considerable alter ation in its form and in its usefulness. Before it had attained its full development— before the animal was hve years old, there was, in a gTeat many cases, an evident contraction of the hoof. There was an alteration 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 v.'hole horny cavity, and the value of the horse was materially diminished. What was the grand cause of this? It was the restraint of the shoe. The firm attachment of it to the foot by nails in each 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 maladies to which the foot of the iiorse is subject. The unilateral shoe has this great advantage : it is identified with the grand prin- ciple of the expansibility of the horse's foot, and of removing or preventing the worst ailments to which the foot of the horse is liable. It can be truly slated 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 improvement of the unilateral shoe. 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 situations at which they emerge from the crusi. The two clips will likewise be seen — one in the front of the foot, and the other on the side between the last and second nail. The second cut gives a view of the inner side of the unilateral shoe. The two nails near the toe are in the situation in which Mr. Turner 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 somewhat 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 surface at the heel, and injurious compression or concussion is rendered in a manner impossible. 340 ON SHOEING, There can be no doubt that this one-sided nailing has been exceedinoly useful. It lias, in many a case that threatened a serious termination, restored the elasticity of the foot, and enabled it to discharge ils 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. It is difficult to tell what was the character of " the old English shoe." It certainly was larger than there was any occasion for it to be, and nearly covered the lower sur- face of the foot. The nail-holes were also far more numerous than they are at present. The ground side was usually somewhat convex. "The effect of Ibis," says Mr. W, C. Spooner, " was to place the foot in a kind of hollow dish, which effectually pre- vented its proper expansion, the crust resting on a mere ledge instead of a flat surface ; and, on the ground side, from the inner rim coming to the ground first, the weight was almost supported by the nails and clinches, which were placed, four or five on each side, at some distance from the toe, and approaching nearly to the heels."* It was an improvement to make the ground surface flat, and to take care that it did not press on the sole. At length, however, came the concave-seated shoe of Osmer, which was advocated by Mr. Clark, of Edinburgh, improved by Mr. Moorcroft, and ultimately became very generally and usefully adopted. 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 common concave-seated shoe. Sufli- cient space alone is left for the introduction of a picker between the shoe and the sole, otherwise, in going over heavy ground, the clay would insinuate itself, and by its tenacity loosen, and even tear off the shoe. The heels likewise are somewhat shorter, that they may not be torn off by the toe of the hind-feet when galloping fast, and the outer heel is frequently but injudiciously turned up to prevent slipping. If calkins 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 roond the heels, and by means of it the pressure may be taken off from some tendi^r 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 resorted 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 prea- * A Treatise on the Foot of the Horse, by Mr. W. C. Spooner, p. 113. TIPS. — EXPANDING SHOE. — FELT. 341 sure may be removed from the fissure, and thrown on either side of it, and in rhrushes, 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 dis- ease requires it to be worn, but it must be left off as soon as it 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 ordftr 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 pawing 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. Our subject would not be complete if we did not describe the 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 onl)' of a 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 correspond with those in the quarters, which are unequally expanding at every point. There will be more stress on the 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 portions of the crust. This shoe, in order to answer . the intended purpose, should consist of many joints, running along the sides and quar- ters, 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 as 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 work too severe, omitting all but two on the inner 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 aggra- vates 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 w-ant 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 ten- derness of the foot continues, hut a very bad practice if constantly adopted. The nails cannot be driven so surely or securely when this substance is interposed between the shoe and the foot. The contraction and swelling of the felt or leather from the 29* 342 ON SHOEING. 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 enlarge, and the crust will be broken away. After wounds or extensive bruises of the sole, or where the sole is thin and fiat and tender, it is sometimes covered with a piece cf leather, fitted to the sole, and nailed on w ith the shoe. This may be allowed as a temporary defence of the foot ; but there is the same objection to its permanent use from 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 ac- curately 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 the foot. The general habit of stopping the feet requires some consideration. It is a very good or verj' bad practice, according to circumstances. When the sole is flat and thin it should be omitted, except on the evening before shoeing, and then the appli- cation of a little moisture may render the paring of the foot safer and more easy. If it were oftener used it would soften the foot, and not only increase the tendency to descent, but the occasional 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 during winter, and every se- cond 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 stop- !)ing almost every night. When neglected, especially in dry weather, the sole )ecomes hard and rigid, and the horse goes lame, or becomes lame if he were not so before."* One of two substances, or a mixture of both, is genera.iy 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 property, that it rarely or never becomes too hard or dry. For ordinary work, a mixture of equal parts of clay and cow-dung will be the best application ; either of them, however, must be applied with a great deal of caution, where there is any disposition to thrush. Tow used alone, or with a small quantity of tar, will often be serviceable. In the better kind of stables, a felt pad is frequently used. It was first introduced by Veterinary Surgeon-General Cherry. 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 shoe is sometimes displaced 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 lose a shoe in the middle of a chase, or just as the hounds are getting clear away with their fox over the open country. Mr. Percivall has invented a sandal 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 sub- 8titute 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 roijuire at the same time exercise and daily dressing. The following is a short sketch of the horse sandal. * Stewart's Stable (Economy, p. 127. THE SANDAL. 343 Middle Bar ' Side Bar 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 principal parts, to which the others are appendages ; which are, the tip, 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 appendages 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 iron loops. The heel-clips are two clips at the heels of the side bars, which correspond to the toe-clip ; the latter embracing the toe of the crust, while the former embrace its heels. Through the heel-clips run the rings, which move and act like a hinge, and are double, for the pur- pose 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 com- posed of web, consist of a hoof-strap and a heel and coronet-strap. The hoof-strap is furnished with a buckle, whose office it is to bind the shoe to the hoof; for which purpose it is passed through the lower rings, and both loops of the shoe, and is made to encircle the hoof twice. The heel 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 similar defence to the coronet, in front. The heel-strap runs through the upper rings, crosses the heel, and encircles the 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 grouno. As soon as this is done, the straps are drawn as tight as possible, and buckled. The following cu represents an accurate delineation of the sandal, when properly fastened on the foot. Horses occasionally fall from bad riding, or bad shoeing, or overreaching, or an awkward way of setting on the saddle. The head, the neck, the knees, the back, or the leffs, will oftenest 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 object is, to support the head, and to render it a fixed point from which the muscles may act in •upporting the body. 344 OPERATIONS. It" 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 necessary, the traces must be taken off; 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 proprietor of the horse, but a short account of the manner of conducting 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 dangerous 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 operations of docking, nicking, and slight firing. The long line of the hobbles, or a common cart-roi)e, with a noose at the end, is fast- ened 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 attempted to raise it : neither can he easily use his fore-legs ; or, if he attempts it, one of them may be lifted up, and then he becomes nearly powerless. If necessary, the aid of the twitch, or the barnacles, 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 detennined iissistants ; and we confess that we are no friends to the casting of horses, if it can »)0ssibly be prevented. When both legs are included in the hobble, or rope — as m BLEEDING. 345 another way of using the side-line — the horse may appear to be more secure ; 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 of the improved hobbles, by which any leg may be released from confinement, and returned to it at pleasure ; and, when the operation is ended, the whole of the legs may be set at liberty at once, without danger. The method of putting the legs as closely together 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 oif 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 compelled ; for in the act of falling, and in the struggles after falling, many accidents have occurred, both to the horse and the surgeon.* Among the minor methods of restraint, but suificient for many purposes, are the tivitch 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 from the pressure — sufficiently great, indeed, to render him comparatively inattentive to that which is produced by the operation ; at the same time he is afraid to strugsfle, for every motion increases the agony caused hy the twitch, or the assistant has power to increase it by giving an additional turn to the stick. The degree of pain produced by tlie application of the twitch should never be for- gotten or unnecessarily increased. In no case should it be resorted to when milder measures would have the desired effect. Grooms and horsekeepers 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 inflicted in large establishments is dreadful ; and the temper of many a horse is too frequently completely spoiled. The harnades are the handles of the pincers placed over and inclosing the muzzle, and which, being compressed by the assistant, 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 terri fies him into submission ; but this is not to be depended upon. The twitch should bo resorted to when the least resistance is offered ; and when that, as it occasionally does, renders the horse more violent, recourse must be had to the side-line or the hobbles. In the painful examination of the fore-leg- or foot while on the ground, the other foot should be held up by an assistant; or, if his aid is required in an operation, tho 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 already described (p. 189), but we would remind our readers of the necessity, in every 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 ; and also of the propriety of never determining to take a precise quantity of blood, but of keeping the finger on the artery until the pulse begins to falter, or the strong beating of fever becomes softer, or the animal is faint, or the oppressed pulse of inflammation of the lung;s is rounder and fuller. In cases of inflammation, and in the hands of a skilful practitioner, bleedinir is the sheet-anchor of the veterinarian ; yet few things are more to be reprobated than the indiscriminate bleeding of the groom or the farrier. The change which takes place in the blood after it is drawn from the vein is dili- gently noticed by many practitioners, and is certainly deserving of some attention. * The safest and best hobbles, are those invented by Mr. Gloasr, and improved by Mr. Daws, ae represented in the Veterinarian, vo' x. p. 108, and vol. xi. p. 163. The thumb-screw (fig. 3) should, however, be inverted. 2t 346 OPERATIONS. The blood coagulates soon after it is taken from the vein. The coagulable part is composed of two substances : that which gives colour to the blood, and that in whicn the red particles float. These, by degrees, separate from each other, and the red par- ticles sink to the bottom. If the coagulation takes place slowly, the red particles have more time to sink through the fluid, and there appears on the top a thick, yel- lowish, adhesive substance, called the buffy coat. The slowness of the coagulation and the thickness of buflTy 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 bufly coat is thin. These appearances are worth observing; but much more dependence is to be placed on the char;\''ter and change of the pulse, and the symptoms generally. When the horse is exhausted and the system nearly broken up, the blood will sometimes not coagulate but be of one uniform black colour and loose texture. When the blood runs down the side of the vessel in which it is received, the coagulation 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 coagiilation and appearance of the blood, the pulse, and the general symptoms, should be most atten- tively regarded. A great deal of mystery is associated with bleeding in the management of the racer and the hunter. The labour of the turf and the field having ceased, there is frequently some difficulty in preventing a plethoric state of the constitution — a tendency to inflammatory complaints. If the horse is rapidly accumulating flesh, it may be pru- dent to abstract blood, dependent in quantity on the age and constitution of the ani- mal. Attention to this may prevent many a horse from going wrong; but the custom that once prevailed of bleeding every horse a fortnight or more after the racing or hunting season had passed, is decidedly objectionable. As preparatory to work, bleeding is far from being so much employed as it used to be. As a universal practice, when the horse is first taken from grass, it now scarcely exists. It would not always be objected to, if the horse was fat and full of flesh, but, otherwise, it is a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance. It cer- tainly produces very considerable effect. More rapidly than any species of diet — more rapidly than any sweating or purging; it reduces the condition of the horse, but, we have often thought, at the expense of those essentials to life and health that cannot be easily replaced. BLISTERING. We have spoken of the effect of blisters, when treating of the various diseases to which they are applicable. The principle on which they act is, that no two intense inflammations can exist in neighbouring parts, or perhaps in the system, at the same time. Hence we apply some stimulating acrimonious substance to the skin, in order to excite external inflammation, and thus lessen or remove that which exists in some deeper seated and, generally, not far distant part. Hence, also, we blister the sides in inflammation of the lungs — the abdomen in that of the bowels — the legs in that of the cellular substance surrounding the sheaths of the tendons, or the sheaths them- selves, and the coronet or the heel in inflammation of the navicular joint. Blisters have likewise the property of increasing the activity of the neighbouring vessels : thus we blister to bring the tumour of strangles more speedily to a head — to rouse the absorbents generally to more energetic action, and cause the disappearance of tumours, and even callous and bony substances. The jiulgment of the practitioner will decide whether the desired eflTect will be best produced by a sudden and violent action, or by the continuance of one of a milder character. Inflammation should be met by active blisters; old enlartrenicnls am', swellings will be most certainly removed by milder stimulants — by the process which farriers call sweating down. There are few more active or effectual blisters than the Spanish fly. mixed with the proportions of lard and resin that will be hereafter stated. The best liquid or sweat- ing blister 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 foult is often found Miib FIRING. 347 the ointiTient if the 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 mat, when the sides are blistered, the body-clothes may be so contrived as to prevent the animal from nibbling and blemishing the part, or blistering bis muzzle. At the expi- ration of twenty-four hours, a little olive or neat's foot oil should be applied over the blister, which will considerably lessen the pain and supple the part, and prevent cracks in the skin that may be difficult to heal. The oil should be applied morninir and night, until the scabs peel otf. 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, for 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 sutfered to lie down ; but the possibility of blemishing himself should be prevented by a cradle or wooden necklace, consisting of round strips of wood, strung together, reaching from the lower jaw to the chest, and preventing him from sufficiently turning or bending his head to get at the blistered part. A blister thus treated will rarely produce the slightest blemish. When the scabs are all removed, the blister may be repeated, if the case 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 exten- sive. 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 strangury (inflammation, or spasmodic atfection of the neck of the bladder,) even this new irritation may assist in subduing the first and more dangerous one. In blisterino-, 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. 271, it was stated, that " a blister should never be used while 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 ulcerations might follow, which would render the horse perfectly unserviceable. When there is a tendency to grease, a blister is a dangerous thing, and has often aggravated the disease. In winter, the inflammation of the skin produced by blistering is apt to degenerate into grease; therefore, if it should be necessary to blister the horse during that season, great care must be taken that he is not exposed to cold, and, particularly, that a current of cold air does not come upon the legs. The inhuman practice of blistering all round at the same time, and perhaps bio-h on the legs, cannot be too strongly reprobated. Many a valuable horse has been lost tlirough the excessive general irritation which this has produced, or its violent effect on the urinary organs ; and that has been particularly the case, when corrosive subli- mate 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 infusion suffered to stand until nearly cold, and the clean mucilao-inous fluid then poured off, Three-tpiarters of a pound of Epsom salts should also be given, dissolved in a quart of water, and, after that, a ball every six hours, containing opium and camphor, with linseed 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 urinary 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. N FIRING, Whatever seeming cruelty may attend this operation, it is in many cases indis- pensable. The principle on which we have recourse to it is similar to that which justifies the use of a blister — by producing superficial inflammation we maybe enabled to get rid of a deeper-seated one, or we may excite the absorbents to remove an unnatural bony or other tumour. It raises more intense external inflammation than we can produce by any other means. It may be truly said to be the most powerful agent that we have at our disposal. Humanity, however, will dictate, that on account 348 OPERATIONS. of the inflammation which it excites, and the pain it inflicts, it should only be liad recourse to when milder means rarely succeed. The part which is to be submitted to the operation should be shaved, or the hair cut from it as closely as possible with the trimminp; scissors. This is necessary in order to bring the iron into immediate contact with the skin, and likewise to prevent the smoke that will arise from the burned hair obscuring tlie view of the o])erator. The horse must then be thrown. This is absolutely necessary for the safety both of the operator and the animal. The side line may be applied in a shorter time, and so many hands may not be wanted to cast the horse ; but no person can fire accurately, or with the certainty of not penctratinor the skin, except the animal is etfectually secured by the hobbles. Although accidents have occurred in the act of casting, yet many more have resulted to the operator, the assistants, or the horse, in a protracted operation, when the side-line only has been used. The details of the operation belong to the veterinary surgeon. The grand points to be attended to are to have the edge of the iron round and smooth — the iron itself at, or rather below a red heat — to ])ass it more or less rajjidly over the skin, and with slighter or greater pressure, according to the degree of heat — to burn into the skin until the line produced by the iron is of a brown colour, rather light than dark, and, oj' all means, in common cases, to avoid penetrulinq the skin. Leaving out of the 4uestion the additional cruelty of deep firing, when not absolutely required, we may depend on it that if the skin is burned through, inflammation, and ulceration, and sloughing will ensue, that will be with much dilticulty combated — that will unavoida- bly leave unnecessary blemish, and that has destroyed many valuable horses. It may happen, nevertheless, that by a sudden plunge of the animal the skin will be una- voidably cut through. The act of firing requires much skill and tact, and the practi- tioner cannot be always on his guard against the struggles of the tortured beast. It will, also, and not unfrequently, occur that the skin, partially divided, will separate in two or three days after the operation. This must not be attributed to any neglect or unskilfulness of the surgeon, and the ulceration thus produced will be slight and easily treated, compared with that caused by actually burning through the skin. A very considerable change has taken place in the breed of many of the varieties of the horse, and the labour exacted from him. As illustrations of this we refer to the altered character and pace of the modern hunter and the additional increase of speed required from the coach and the post horse ; the exertion being limited only by the degree to which every muscle and every nerve can be extended, while the calcu- lation between the utmost exaction of cruelty and the expenditure of vital power, is reduced to the merest fraction. The consequence of this is, that the horse is subjected to severer injuries than he used to be. and severer measures are and must be employed to remedy the evil. Hence the horrible applications of the actual cautery to the horse that have disgr;iced the present da}^. Lesions — gashes have been made on either side of the tendon of the leg, which it took no fewer than seven months to lieal. Was there nothing short of this lengthened torture that could have been done to relieve the victim'? Could he not have been more lightly fired for the road or for the purposes of breeding 1 Was there no pasture on which he had earned a right to srraze ? — or could he not have been destroyed ] These sad lesions will occasionallj' come before the practitioner and the owner. It will be for the first, to advocate that, which, on a careful view of the case, mercy prompts ; and the Intter, except there is a reasonable prospect of ultimate enjoyment, as well as usefulness, should never urge a continua- tion of suffering. Supposing, however, that prospect to exist, the surgeon must discharge his duty. These gashes, after a while, begin to close, and then commenr-es the beautiful process of granulation. Little portions of the integument form on the centre of the wound, and the sides of the wound creeji closer together, and the skin steals over t!i(^ surface, until the chasm is perfectlj- clos(>d. In order to insure the continuance of this, a ridge of contracted integument as hard as any cartilagre. but without its elasticity, runs from one end of the lesion to the other, lig-hter. and harder, and more effectual every week, and month, and year, and lasting during the life of the animal. Therefore, the vete- rinary surgeon is not to be too severely censured, if, after due consideration, he is induced to undertake one of these fearful operations : but let him do it ts seldom m he can, and only when every circumstance promises a favourable result. S E T O N S . 349 Some practitioners blister immediately after firing. As a general usage it is highly to be reprobated. It is wanton and useless cruelty. It may be required in bony tumours of considerable extent, and long standing, and interfering materially with the action of the neighbouring joint. Spavin accompanied by much lameness, and ring- bone spreading round the coronet and involving the side cartilages or the pastern joint, may justify it. The inflammation is rendered more intense, and of considera- bly 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 operation, 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 sepa- rate 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, partially 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, there- fore, is lessened in surface. It is tightened over the part, and it acts, as just described, as a salutary and permanent bandage. Of the effect of pressure in removing enlarge- ments of every kind, as well as giving strength to the part to which it is applied, we have repeatedly spoken ; and it is far from being the least valuable effect of the opera- tion of firing, that, by contracting the skin, it affords a salutary, equable, and perma- nent pressure. It was on this principle, but the practice cannot be defended, that colts which were not very strong on the legs, used to be fired round the fetlock, and along the back sinew, or over the hock, in order to brace and strengthen the parts. It is on the same principle that a racer or hunter, that has become stale and stiff, is sometimes fired and turned out. For whatever reason the horse is fired, he should, 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 derived from pressure proceeds still more slowly. In the thickened and tender state of the skin, and the substance beneath, a return to hard work, for some weeks after firing, would be likely to excite new inflammation, and cause even worse mischief than that which before existed. Some weeks pass before the tumefied parts begin to contract, and they only, who have had experience in these cases, can imagine how long, with gentle voluntary exercise, the process of absorption is carried on. He who would expect that much good should accrue from the operation of firing, must be content to give up his horse for three or four months ; but if he will use him sooner, and a worse lameness should follow, let him blame his own impatience, and not the inefficiency of the means, or the want of skill in the surgeon. The firing in every case should be either in longitudinal or parallel lines. On the back sinews, the fetlock, and the coronet, this is peculiarly requisite, for thus only will the skin contract so as to form the greatest and most equable pressure. Some practitioners may pride themselves on the accuracy of their diamonds, lozenges and feathers, but plain straight lines, about half an inch from each other, will consti- tute the most advantajjeous mode of firing. The destroying of deeply-seated inflam- mation, by the exciting of violent inflammation on the skin, is as well obtained ; and common sense Avill determine, that in no way can the pressure which results from the contraction of the skin be so advantageously employed — to which may be added, that it often leaves not the slightest blemish. SETONS Are pieces of tape or cord, passed, by means of an instrument resembling a large needle, either through abscesses, or the base of ulcers with deep sinuses, or between the skin and the muscular or other substances beneath. They are retained there by the ends 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 swollinsf, sotons are highly useful, by discharging tlie purulent fluid and sufferino- any fresh quantity of it that may be secreted to flow 30 350 OPERATIONS. out ; and, by the degree of inflammation wliich they excite on the interior of the vumour, 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 fistulous withers is of so much benefit, Selons are sometimes useful by promoting a discharge in the neighbourhood of an inflamed part, and thus diverting and carrying away a portion of the fluids which dis- tend or overload the vessels of that part : thus a seton is placed with considerable advantage 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 inflammation in the neighbour- hood of a part already inflamed, and especially so deeply seated and so difficult to be reached as the navicular joint, a seton has occasionally been used with manifest ben- efit, but we must peremptorily object to the indiscriminate use of the frog-setoa 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 pre- ferable to a seton ; and a blister is far better than either of them. On the principle of exciting the absorbents to action for the removal of tumours, as spavin or splent, a blister is quicker in its action, and far more effectual than any se- ton. Firing is still more useful. DOCKING. The shortening of the tail of the horse is an operation which fashion and the convenience of the rider require to be performed on most of these animals. The length of the dock, or stump, is a matter of mere caprice. To the close-cropped tail of the wagon-horse, however, we decidedly object, from its perfect ugliness, and because the animal is deprived of every defence against a thousand tortures. The supposition that the blood which would have gone to the nourishment of the tail, causes greater development and strength in the quarters, is too absurd to de- serve serious refutation. It is the rump of the animal being wholly uncovered, and not partly hidden by the intervention of the tail, that gives a false appearance of in- creased bulk. The operation is simple. That joint is searched for which is the nearest to the desired length of tail. The hair is then turned up, and tied round with tape for an inch or two above this joint; and that which lies immediately upon the joint is cut off. The horse is fettered with the side-line, and then the veterinary surgeon Avith his docking-machine, or the farmer with his carving-knife and mallet, cuts through the tail at one stroke. Considerable bleeding ensues, and frightens the timid and the ignorant; but if the blood were suffered to flow on until it ceased of its own accord, the colt, and especially if he were very young, would rarely be seriously injured. As, however, the bleeding would occasionally continue for some hours, and a great quantity of blood might be lost, and the animal might be somewhat weakened, it is usual to stop the hemorrhage by the application of a red-hot iron to the stump. A large hole is made in the centre of the iron, that the bone may not be seared, which would exfoliate 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 hannorrhage. 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 more 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 irritation, 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 dropped. This is a com- NICKING. 351 raendable custom on the score of humanity. No colt was ever lost by it; and neither the growth of the hair, nor the beauty of the tail, is in the least impaired. NICKING. This barbarous operation was once sanctioned by fashion, and the breeder and the dealer even now are sometimes tempted to intlict the torture of it in order to obtain a ready sale ior their colts. It is not, however, practised to the extent that it used to be, nor attended by so many circumstances of cruelty. We must here introduce a small portion of the anatomy of the horse, which we had reserved for this place. The eighteen dorsal vertebrae or bones of the back (see d, p. 167), and the five lumbar vertebra or bones of the loins (/, p. 167), have already been described. The continuation of the spine consists of the sacrum, composed of five bones (k, p. 167), which, although separate in the colt, are in the full-grown horse united into one mass. The bones of the ilium, the upper and side portion of the haunch, articulate strongly with the sacrum, forming a bony union rather than a joint. The spinal marrow and the blood-vessels here generally begin to diminish, and numerous branches of nerves are given out, which, joined by some from the ver- tebrae of the loins, form the nervous apparatus of the hind-legs. The bones of the tail (?, p. 167) are a continuation of those of the sacrum. They are fifteen in number, gradually diminishing in size, and losing altogether the charac- ter of the spinal vertebrse. Prolongations of the spinal marrow run through the whole of them, and likewise some arterial vessels, which are a continuation of those which supply the sacrum. Much attention is paid by persons who are acquainted with the true form of the horse to this continuation of the sacral and tail-bones. From the loins to the setting on of the tail the line should be nearly straight, or inclining only a slight degree downward. There is not a surer test of the breed of the horse than this straight line from the loins to the tail ; nor, as was shown when the muscles of the quarters were described, is there any circumstance so much connected with the mechanical advantage with which these muscles act. The tail seems to be designed to perfect the beauty of the horse's form. There are three sets of muscles belonging to the tail — the erector coccygis, situated on the supe- rior and lateral part of it, and by the action of which (d, p. 282) the tail may be both elevated and drawn on one side — the depressor coccygis, on the inferior and lateral part of it, by the action of which the tail may be both lowered and drawn on one side — and the curvator coccygis, by the action of which the tail may be curved or flexed on either side. The depressor and lateral muscles are more powerful than the erector ones, and when the horse is undisturbed, the tail is bent down close on the buttocks ; but when he is excited, and particularly when he is at speed, the erector muscles are called into action, the tail is elevated, and there is an appearance of energy and spirit which adds materially to his beauty. To perpetuate this, the operation of nicking was contrived. The depressor muscles and part of the lateral ones are cut through, and the erector muscles, left without any antagonists, keep the tail in a position more or less erect, according to the whim of the operator or the depth to which the incisions have been carried. The operation is thus performed. The side-line is put on the horse, or some per- sons 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 w^eight to it. Tike 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, accord- ing 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 incisions 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 hackne}^ or cocktail, a third incision is made ; for fashion has decided that his 352 OPERATIONS. 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 bj' a pair of curved scissors. The same must be done with the projecting portions from between the second and third incisions. The wounds should then be carefully examined, in order to ascer- tain 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 bleed- ing will alone justify any tightness of bandage, and the ill consequences tnat have resulted from nicking are mainly attributable to the unnecessary force that is used in confining these pledgets. Even if the bleeding, immediately after the operation, should have been very great, the roller must be loosened in two or three hours, other- wise swelling and inflammation, and even death, may possibly ensue. Twenty -four hours after the operation, the bandage must be quite removed ; and then, all that is necessary, so far as the healing of the incisions is concerned, is to keep them clean. If, however, the tail were suffered to hang down, the divided edges of the muscles would again come in contact with each other, and close ; the natural depression of the tail would remain ~; and the animal would have been punished for no purpose. The wounds must remain open, and that can 'only be accomplished 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 pulley on cither side of the back of the stall. A weight is hung at either extremity sufficient 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 one of acute pain. It is barbarous 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 keeping it in a certain position for a considerable time, but by the depth of the first incisions, and the degree in which the wounds are kept open. By every ounce of weight beyond that which is necessary to keep the incisions apart, unnecessary suffering is inflicted. Some prac- titioners use only one pulley ; others do not use an)', but put on a light girth, and tie a cord from the end of the tail to the girth, bending it over the back. The double pulley, however, is the least painful to the horse, and more perfectly secures the proper elevation and straight direction of the tail. The dock should not — for the first three or four days — be brought higher than the back. Dangerous irritation and inflammation would probably be produced. It may, after that, be gradually raised to an elevation of fort3r-five degrees. The horse should be taken out of the pulleys, and gently exercised once or twice every day ; but the pulleys cannot 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 conse- quences will usually follow ; but if considerable 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, under 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 coining off, it should be unplaited and combed out every fourth or fifth day. RESTIVENESS. 363 CHAPTER XIX. THE VICES AND DISAGREEABLE OR DANGEROUS HABITS OF THE HORSE. The horse has many excellent qualities, but he has likewise 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 in 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 restiveness, the most annoying and the most dangerous of all. It is the produce of bad temper and worse 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, or 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 his favourites, 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 exceptions, that he neither displays his wisdom nor consults his safety, who attempts to conquer a restive horse. An excellent veterinary surgeon, and a man of great experience in horses, Mr. Castley, truly said, in "The Veterinarian," — "From whatever cause the vicious habits of horses may originate, whether from some mismanagement or from natural badness of temper, or from what is called in Yorkshire a mislech, whenever these animals acquire one of them, and it becomes in some degree confirmed, they very seldom, if ever, altogether forget it. In reference to driving it is so true, that it may be taken as a kind of aphorism, that if a horse kicks once in harness, no matter from what cause, he will be liable to kick ever afterwards. A good coach- man may drive him, it is true, and may make him go, but he cannot make him forget his vice ; and so it is in riding. You may conquer a restive horse — you may make him go quiet for months, nay, almost for years together ; but I affirm that, under other circumstances, and at some future opportunity, he will be sure to return to his old tricks." Mr. Castley gives two singular and conclusive instances of the truth of this doc- trine. " When a very young man," says he, " I remember purchasing a horse at a fair in the north of England, that was offered very cheap, on account of his being unmanageable. It was said that nobody could ride him. We found that the animal objected to have anything placed upon his back, and that, when made to move for- ward with nothing more than a saddle on, he instantly threw himself down on his side with great violence, and would then endeavour to roll upon his back. " There was at that time in Yorkshire, a famous colt-breaker, known by the name of Jumper, who was almost as celebrated in that country for taming vicious horses into submission, as the famed Whisperer was in Ireland. W"e put this animal into Jumper's hands, who took him away, and in about ten days brought him home again, certainly not looking worse in condition, but perfectly subdued, and almost as obedient as a dog ; for he Avould lie down at this man's bidding, and only rise again at his command, and carry double or anything. I took to riding him myself, and may say, that I was never better carried for six or eight months, during which time he did not show the least vice whatever. I then sold him to a Lincolnshire farmer, who said that he would give him a summer's run at grass, and show him as a very fine horse at the great Horncastle fair. " Happening to meet vhis gentleman in the following year, I naturally enough inquired after my old friend. ' Oh,' said he, 'that was a bad business — the horse turned out a sad rebel. The first time we attempted to mount him, after getting him 354 VICES AND DEFECTS OF THE HORSE. up from grass, he in an instant threw the man down with the greatest violence, pitch- ing him several yards over his head ; and alter that, he threw every one that attempted to get on his back. If he could not throw his rider, he would throw himself down. We could do nothing with him, and I was obliged at last to sell him to go in a stage- coach.' " In the next story. Jumper's counterpart and superior, the Irish Whisperer, is brought on the stage, and although he performed wonders, he could not radically cure a restive horse. " At the Spring Meeting of 1804,- Mr. Whalley's King Pippin was brought on the Curragh of Kildare to run. He was a horse of the most extraordinary savage and vicious disposition. His particular propensity was that oi flying at and worry- ing any person who came within his reach ; and if he had an opportunity, he would get his head round, seize his rider by the leg with his teeth, and drag him down from his back. For this reason, he was always ridden with what is called a sword; which is a strong flat slick, having one end attached to the cheek of the bridle, and the other to the girth of the saddle, a contrivance to prevent a horse of this kind from getting at his rider. " King Pippin had long been difficult to manage, and dangerous to go near to; but on the occasion in question, he could not be got out to run at all. Nobody could put the bridle upon his head. It being Easter Monday, and consequently a great holiday, there was a large concourse of people assembled at the Curragh, consisting princi- pally of the neighbouring peasantry ; and one countryman, more fearless than the rest of the lookers-on, forgetting, or perhaps never dreaming that the better part of courage is discretion, volunteered his services to bridle the horse. No sooner had he committed himself in this operation, than King Pippin seized him somewhere about the shoulders and chest, and, says Mr. Watts (Mr. Castley's informant), 'I know of nothing I can compare it to, so much as a dog shaking a rat.' Fortunately for the poor fellow, his body was very thickly covered with clothes, for on such occasions an Irishman of this class is fond of displaying his wardrobe; and if he has three coats at all in the world., he is sure to put them all on. " This circumstance, in all probability, saved the individual who had so gallantly volunteered the forlorn hope. His person was so deeply enveloped in extra integu- Eaents, that the horse never got fairly hold of his skin, and I understand that he escaped with but little injury, beside the sadly rent and totally ruined state of his holyday toggery. "The Whisperer was sent for, who, having arrived, M'as shut up with the horse all night, and in the morning he exhibited this hitherto ferocious animal, following him about the course like a dog — lying down at his command — suffering his mouth to be opened, and any person's hand to be introduced into it — in short, as quiet almost as a sheep. " He came out the same meeting, and won his race, and his docility continued satisfactory for a ■considerable time; but nt the. end of about three years his vice returned^ and then he is said to have killed a man, for which he was destroyed." It may not be uninteresting, in this connexion, to give some account of this tamer of quadruped vice. However strange and magical his power may seem to be, there is no doubt of th€ truth of the account that is given of him. The Rev. Mr. Town- send, in his Statistical Survey of Cork, first introduced him to the notice of the public generally, although his fame had long spread over that part of Ireland. We, hoAv- ever, give the following extract from Croker's Fairy Legends and Traditions of Ire- land, Part II, p. 200, for liis performances seem the work of some elfin sprite, rather than of a rude and ignorant horse-breaker. " He was an awkward, ignorant rustic of the lowest class, of the name of Sullivan, but better known l)y the appellation of the Whisperer. His occupation was horse- breaking. The nickname lie acquired from the vulgar notion of his being able to communicate to the animal what he wished by means of a whisper; and the singu- larity of his method seemed in some degree to justify the supposition. In his own neighbourhood, the notoriety of the fact made it seem less remarkable; but I doubt if any instance of similar subjugating talent is to be found On record. As far as the sphere of his control extended, the boast of vent., vidi, vici, was more justly claimed by SuHivan, than even by Casar himself. " How his art was acquired, and in what it consisted, is likel}'^ to be for ever unknown, as he lias lately (about 1810) left the world without divulging it. His son RESTIVENESS. 355 who follows the same trade, possesses but a small portion of the art, having either never learned the true secret, or being incapable of putting it into practice. The wonder of his skill consisted in the celerity of the operation, which was performed in privacy, without any apparent means of coercion. Every description of horse, or even mule, whether previously broken or unhandled, whatever their peculiar habits or vices might have been, submitted without show of resistance to the magical influ- ence of his art, and in the short space of half an hour became gentle and tractable. This effect, though instantaneously produced, was generally durable. Though more submissive to him than to others, the animals seemed to have acquired a docility unknown before. " When sent for to tame a vicious beast, for which he was either paid according to the distance, or generally two or three guineas, he directed the stable, in which he and the object of the experiment were, to be shut, with orders not to open the door until a signal was given. After a tete-d-tete of about half an hour, during which little or no bustle was heard, the signal was made, and, upon opening the door, the horse appeared lying down, and the man by his side, playing with him like a child with a puppy dog. From that time, he was found perfectly willing to submit to any disci- pline— however repugnant to his nature before. I once," continues Mr. Croker, "saw his skill tried on a horse, which could never before be brought 'to stand for a smith to shoe him. The day after Sullivan's half-hour's lecture, I went, not without some incredulity, to the smith's shop, with many other curious spectators, where we were eye-witnesses of the complete success of his art. This, too, had been a troop- horse, and it was supposed, not without reason, that after regimental discipline had failed, no other would be found availing. I observed that the animal appeared terrified whenever Sullivan either spoke to, or looked at him ; how that extraordinary ascend- ency could have been obtained, is difficult to conjecture. " In common cases this mysterious preparation was unnecessary. He seemed to possess an instinctive power of inspiring awe, the result, perhaps, of natural intre- pidity, in which, 1 believe, a great part of his art consisted ; though the circumstance of the iete-d-teie shows that, on particular occasions, something more must have been added to it. A faculty like this would, in some hands, have made a fortune, and I understand that great offers were made to him, for the exercise of his art abroad. But hunting was his passion. He lived at home in the style most agreeable to his dispo- sition, and nothing could induce him to quit Duhallow and the fox-hounds," Mr. Castley witnessed the total failure of the younger Sullivan. He says, " we have in the regiment a remarkably nice horse, called Lancer, that has always been very difficult to shoe, but seven or eight years ago, when we first got him, he was downright vicious in that respect. When the regiment was stationed at Cork, the farrier-major sought out the present Sullivan, the son of the celebrated Whisperer, and brought him up to the barracks in order to try his hand upon Lancer, and make him more peaceable to shoe ; but I must say this person did not appear to possess any particular controlling power over the animal more than any other man. Lancer seemed to pay no attention whatever to his charm, and at last fairly beat him out of the forge. Time, however, and a long perseverance in kind and gentle treatment, have effected what force could not. The horse is now pretty reasonable to shoe."* * An account, bearing considerable resemblance to the feats of the English horse-tamer, has been lately laid before the public. Mr. Caflin has pubUshed an account, the veracity of which is unimpeached, of his travels among the North American Indians. He thus describes the manner in which the Indian tames the wild horse. " He coils his lasso on his arm, and gallops fearlessly into the herd of wild horses. He soon gets it over the neck of one of the number, when he instantly dismounts, leaving his own horse, and runs as fast as he can, letting the lasso pass out sradu- ally and carefully through his hands, until the horse falls for want of breath, and lies helpless on the ground. The Indian advances slowly towards the horse's head, keeping the lasso tight upon his neck, until he fastens a pair of hobbles on the animal's two fore feet, and also loosens the lasso, giving the horse a chance to breathe, and passing a noose round the under jaw, by which he gets great power over the affrighted animal, that is rearing and plunging when it gets breath, and by which, as he advances, hand over hand, towards the horse's nose, he is able to hold it down, and prevent it from throwing itself over on its back. By this means he gradu- ally advances, until he is able to place his hand on the animal's nose and over its eyes, and at length, to breathe into its nostrils, when it soon becomes docile and conquered ; so that he has little else to do than to remove the hobbles from its feet, and lead or ride it to the camp. 356 VICES AND DEFECTS OF THE HORSE. BACKING OR GI BEING. One of the first kinds of restiveness, taking them in alphabetical order, is backing or gibbing. These are so closely allied that we hardly know how to separate them. Some horses have the habit of backing at first stnrting, and that more from playful- ness than desire of mischief. A moderate application of the whip will usually be effectual. Others, even after starting, exhibit considerable obstinacy and vicious- ness. This is frequently the effect 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 accus- tomed to be started in the break up-hill, and, therefore, all his work coming upon him at once, he gradually acquired this dangerous iiabit. 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 lake a dislike to it, that will occasionally show itself in the form of gibbing as long as he lives. The judi- cious horse-breaker will resort to no severity, even if the colt should go out several times without even touching collar. The example of his companion will ultimately induce him to take to it voluntarily and etTectually. A large and heavy stone should be put behind the wheel before 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 manaoed, so to start that the horse shall have to back up-hill. The difficulty of accomplishing this will soon make him readily go forward. A little coaxing, or leading, or moderate flagellation, will assist in accomplishing the cure. When, however, a horse, thinking he has had enough of work, or has been impro- perly checked or corrected, or beginning to feel the painful pressure of the collar, swerves, and gibs, and backs, it is a more serious matter. Persuasion should first be The animal is so completely conquered, that it submits quietly ever after, and is led or rode away with very little difficulty." Mr. Ellis, B. A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, happened to read tills account, and he felt a natural desire to ascertain how far this mode of hokse-taming might be employed among British horses. He soon had the opportunity of putting the veracity of the story to the test. His brother-in-law had a filly, not yet a year old, that had been removed from bei dain three months before, and since thai time had not been taken out of the stable. A great amateur in everything relating to horses was present, and at his request it was determined that the experiment of the efficacy of breathing into the nostrils should be immediately put to the test. The filly was brought, the amateur leading her by the halter. She was quite wild, and bolted, and dragged the amateur a considerable distance. He had been using a short halter ; he changed it for a longer one, and was then able to lead the little scared thing to the front of the house. The e-xperinient was tried under manifest disadvantage, for the filly was in the open air, several strangers were about her, and both the owner and the amateur were rather seeking amusement from the failure than knowledge from the success of their experi- ment. The filly was restive and frightened, and with great difficulty the amateur managed to cover her eyes. At length he succeeded, and hlew into the nostrils. No particular effect seemed to follow. He then breathed into her nostrils, and the moment he did ao, the filly, who had very much resisted having her eyes blindfolded, and had been very restive, stood perfectly still and trembled. From that time she became very tractable. Another gcntlenuiu also breathed into her nostrils, and she evidently enjoyed it, and kept putting up her nose to receive the breath. On the following morning she was led out again. She was perfectly tractable, and it seemed to be almost impossible to frighten her. A circumstance which, in a great measure corroborated the possibility of easily taming the most ferocious horses, occurred on the next day. A man, on a neighbouring farm, was attempting to break-in a very restive colt, who foiled him in every possible way. After seve- ral manoeuvres the amateur succeeded in breathing into one of the nostrils, and from tha' moment all became easy. The horse was completely subdued. He suffered himself to be led quietly away with a loose halter, and was perfectly at command. He was led through a field in which were four horses that had been his companions. Thfey all surrounded him ; he took no notice of them, but quietly followed his new master. A surcingle was buckled on him, and then a saddle, and he was finally fitted with a bridle. The whole experimer* occupied about an hour, and not in a single instance did he rebel. On the next day, however, the breaker, a severe and obstinate fellow, took him in hand, and, according to his usual custom, began to beat him most cruelly. The horse broke from him, and became as unmanageable as ever. The spirit of the animal had been subdued but DOt broken. BITING. 357 tried ; and, afterwards, reasonable coercion, but no cruelty : for the brutality which is often exercised in attempting to compel a gibbing horse to throw himself habitu- ally 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 whenevi^r any circumstance displeases or annoys him, and the habit will be so rapidly and completely formed, that he will become insensible to all severity. It is useless and dangerous to contend with a horse determined to back, unless there is plenty of room^ and, by tight reining, the driver can make him back in the precise direction he wishes, and especially up-hill. Such a horse should be immediately sold, or turned over to some other work. In a stage-coach as a wheeler, and particularly as the near-wheeler; or, in the middle of a team at agricultural work, he may be serviceable. It will be useless for him to attempt to gtb there, for he will be dragged along by his companions whether he will or not; and, finding the inutility of resistance, he will soon be induced to work as well as any horse in the team. The reformation will last while he is thus employed, hut, like restiveness generally, it "will be delusive when the horse returns to his former occupation. The disposition to annoy will very soon follow the power to do it. Some instances of complete reformation may have occurred, but they are rare. When a horse, not often accustomed to gib, betrays a reluctance to work, or a de- termination not to work, common sense and humanity will demand that some consid- eration should be taken before measures of severity are resorted to. The horse may be taxed beyond his power. He soon discovers whether this is the case, and by re- fusing to proceed, tells his driver that it is so. The utmost cruelty will not induce man/horses to make the slightest eftbrt, when they are conscious that their strength is inadequate to the task. Sometimes the withers are wrung, and the shoulders sadly galled, and the pain, which is intense on level ground and with fair draught, becomes insupportable when he tugs up a steep acclivity. These things should be examined into, and, if possible, rectified ; for, under such circumstances, cruelty may produce obstinacy and vice, but not willing obedience. They who are accustomed to horses know what seemingly trivial circumstances occasionally produce this vice. A horse, whose shoulders are raw, or have fre- quently 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 without 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 niglit and day, for the animal is not able to lie down completely at full length, which the tired horse is always glad to dc. When a horse gibs, not at startiiig, 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 shoulders is softer, and it may be far more accurately eased oflf 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 playful and half in earnest, becomes habitual to him, and degenerates into absolute viciousness. It is not possible to enter the stall of some horses without danger. The ani- mal gives no warning of his intention ; he is seemingly quiet and harmless : but if the incautious by-stander comes fairly within his reach, he darts upon him, and seldom fails to do some mischief. A stallion addicted to biting is a most formi- dable creature. He lifts the intruder — he shakes him — he attacks him with his feet — he tramples upon him, and there are many instances in which he effects irrefJdrable mischief. A resolute groom may escape. W^hen he has once got firm hold of the head of the horse, he may back him, or muzzle him, or harness him ; 358 VICES AND DEFECTS OF THE HORSE. Dut he must be always on his guard, or in a moment of carelessness he may be seri- ously injured. It is seldom that anything can be done in the way of cure. Kindness will aggra- vate the evil, and no degree of severity will correct it. " I have seen," says Professor Stewart, "biters 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 for- bid this horse-play. It is that which can never be considered as operating as a re- ward, and thereby rendering the horse tractable ; nor does it increase the affection of the animal for his groom, because he is annoyed and irritated by being thus inces- santly teased. 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 it gives them over their driver, who by this niancEuvre loses almost all command. Harsh treatment is here completely out of the question. All that can be 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 becomes the expression of anger, and the effort to do mischief. The horse likewise too soon recognises the least appearance of timidity, and takes advantage of the dis- covery. 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 neighbouring 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 fasten- ed against the partition or post will sometimes 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 receive a severe blow: this, and the repetition of it, may. after a time, teacli 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 of 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 perchance 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 which no treatment will always conquer. It will be nltogether in vain to try coercion. If the shafts are very strong and without flaw, or it' they are plated with iron underneath, and a stout kick- ing-strap resorted to which will barely allow the horse the proper use of his liind limbs in progression, but not permit him to raise them sufliciently for the purpose of kicking, he may be prevented from doing mischief; or if he is harnessed to a heavy «art, and thus confined, his efforts to lash out will be restiained : but it is frequently * Stewart's Stable (Ei-onomy, page 160. UNSTEADINESS WHILE BEING MOUNTED— REARING, &.c. So9 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 danger may ensue. A horse that has once begun to kick, whatever may have been the origi- nal 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 may thus become a push, and seldom is injurious. UNSTEADINESS WHILE BEING MOUNTED. When this merely amounts to eagerness to start — very unpleasant, 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 ineffectual attempt to vault into the saddle, the horse has been dancing about to his annoyance and danger ; but the animal had no sooner been transferred 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 unwilling- ness to be ridden, the sooner that horse is disposed of the better. He may be con- quered 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 and occasionally successful effort to unhorse the rider, and consequently a vice. The horse that has twice decidedly and dangerously 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 backward 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 extri- cate himself from the falling horse. If rearing proceeds from vice, and is unprovoked by the bruising and laceration of the mouth, it fully partakes of the inveteracy which attends the other divisions of restiveness. RUNNING AWAY. Some headstrong horses will occasionally endeavour to bolt with the best rider. Others with their wonted sagacity endeavour thus to dislodge the timid or unskilful oiie. 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 certain cure here. The method which affords any probability 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 running 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 cleaned at all. The origin of this is 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 alight on them without an expression of annoyance. In young horses the skin is peculiarly delicate. If they have been curried with a broken comb, or hardly rubbed with an uneven brush. 360 VICES AND DEFECTS OF THE HORSE. the recollection of the torture they have felt makes them impatient, and even vicious, during every succeeding operation of the kind. Many grooms, likewise, seem to delight in producing these exlubitions of uneasiness and vice; although, when they are carried a little too far, and at the hazard 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 injudi- cious or bad usage than of natural vice. It may be expected that there will be some difficulty in shoeing a horse for the first few times. It is an operation that gives him a little uneasiness. — The man to whom he is most accustomed should go with him to the forge ; and if another 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 rebel- lious 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 correction 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-farrier's order; and that a young horse should never be twitched or struck. There are few horses that may not be gradually rendered 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 remem- brance of corporal punishment is connected with shoeing, they will always be fidgety, and occasionally dangerous. This is a very serious vice, for it not only exposes the animal to occasional severe injury from his own struggles, but also from the correction of the irritated smith, whose limbs and whose life being in jeopardy, may be forgiven if he is sometimes a little too hard-handed. Such a horse is very liable, and without any fault of the smith, to be pricked and lamed in shoeing; and if the habit should be confirmed, and should increase, and it at length becomes necessar}' to cast him, or to put him in the trevis, the owner may be assured .that many years will not pass ere some formidable or fatal accident will take place. If, therefore, mild treatment will not correct this vice, the horse cannot be too soon got rid of. Horses have many unpleasant habits in the stable and on the road, which cannot be said to amount to vice, but which materially lessen their value. SWALLOWING WITHOUT GRINDING. Some greedy horses habitually swallow their corn without properly grinding it, and the power of digestion not being adequate to the dissolving of the husk, no nutri- ment 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 eager- ness to get more than his share, bolts a portion of his corn whole. If the farmer, Avithout 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 neighbour. Some horses, however, are naturally greedy feeders, and will not, even when alone, allow themselves time to chew or grind their corn. 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 corn was put into the manger, they will continue to eat on, and their sto- machs will become distended with half-chewed and indigestible food. In consequence of this they will be incapable of considerable exertion for a long time after feeding, and, occasionally, dangerous symptoms of stafrtrers will occur. The remedy is, not to let snch horses fast too long. The nose-bag should be the companion of every considerable journey. The food should likewise be of such ? CRIB -BITING, 361 nature that it cannot be rapidly bolted. Chaff should be plentifully mixed with the corn, and, in some cases, and especially in horses of slow work, it should with the corn, 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 examined. Some of ttiem 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; for tliese animals, as too often happens in sore throat, would rather starve than put themselves to much pain. CRIB-BITING. This is a very unpleasant habit, and a considerable defect, although not so serious a one as some have represented. The horse lays hold of the manger with 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 eifort at simple eructation, arising from indigestion. 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 eifects of crib-biting are plain enough. The teeth are injured and worn away, and that, in an old horse, to a very serious degree. A considerable quantity of corn 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. ]\[uch saliva escapes while the manger is thus forcibly held, the loss of \vhich nmst 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 flesii as others, and have not their endurance. On these accounts crib-biting has very properly been decided to be unsoundness. 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 invete- rate of all habits. The edge of the manger will in vain be lined with iron, or with sheep-skin, or with sheep-skin covered with tar or aloes, or any other unpleasant sub- stance. In defiance of the annoyance which these may occasion, the horse will per- sist in the attack on his manger. A strap buckled tightly round the neck, by com- pressing 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 in 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 purpose as the edge of his manger, and we have often seen him galloping across a field for 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 attempting that which he cannot accomplish, and for a while forget the habit, l)ut, in a majority of cases, the desire of crib-biting will return 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 idleness. The liigh-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 occa- sional 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. 31 2v 362 VICES AND DEFECTS OF THE HORSE. WIND-SUCKING. 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 flatulence 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 sddom 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 whenever he attempts to rein his head in for the purpose of wind-sucking. CUTTING. Of this habit, mention has been made at page 275 ; and we would ad\nse the owner if n cutting horse, without trying any previous experiments of raising or lowering the neels, to put on the cutting foot a shoe of even thickness from heel to toe, not project- ing in the slightest degree beyond the crust, and the crust itself being rasped a little at the quarters. The shoe should be fastened as usual, on the outside, but with only one nail on the inside, and that almost close to the toe. The principle on which this shoe acts, has been explained at page 339. NOT 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 b^ 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. In the trot, one fore leg and the opposite hind leg are first lifted from the ground and moved forward, the other fore leg and the opposite hind leg remaining fixed ; but, to keep the centre of gravity within the base, and as the stride, or space passed over by these legs, is often greater than the distance between the fore and hind feet, it is necessary that the fore feet should be alternately moved out of the way for the hind ones to descend. Then, as occasionally happens with horses not perfectly broken, and that have not been taught their paces, and especially if they have high hinder quarters and low fore ones, if the fore feet are not raised in time, the hind feet will strike them. The fore foot will generally be caught when it has just begun to be raised, and the toe of the hind loot ■will meet the middle of the bottom of the fore foot. It is an unpleasant noise, and not altogether free from danger; for it may so happen that a horse, the action of whose feet generally so much interferes with each other, may advance tlie hind foot a little more rapidly, or raise the fore one a little more slowly, so that the blow may fall on the heel of the shoe, and loosen or displace it; or the two shoes mav be locked together, and the animal may be thrown ; or the contusion may be received even higher, and on the tendons of the leg, and considerable swelling and lameness will follow. If the animal is young, the action of the horse may be materially improved ; other- wise nothing can be done, except to keep the toe of the hind foot as short and a? round as it can safely be, and to bevel off and round the toe of the shoe, like that PAWING— QUIDDING— ROLLING— SHYING. 365 which has been worn by a stumbler for a fortnight, and, perhaps, a little to lower the heel of the fore foot, A blow received on the heel of the fore foot in this manner, has noi (infrequently, and especially if neglected, been followed by quittor.* The heel most frequently suflers in overreaching, although the pastern is sometimes injured. It usually, or almost always, occurs in fast paces on deep ground. The injury is inflicted by the edge of the inner part of the shoe. The remedy is the cut- tincr away the edge of the shoe. An account of the most successful treatment of overreach has been given in page 312. PAWING. Some hot and irritable horses are restless even in the stable, and paw frequentl and violently. Their litter is destroyed, the 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. Except, however, the horse possesses peculiar value, it will be better to dispose of him at once, than to submit to the danger and inconvenience 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 vete- linary surgeon to rasp down, it will be found to be connected with sore-throat, and then the horse will exhibit some other symptom of indisposition, and particularly, the swallowing of water will be accompanied by a peculiar gulping effort. In this case, the disease (catarrh, with sore-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 can not be indulged in the stable without the chance of his being dangerously entangled with the collar rein, and being cast. Yet, although the horse is cast, and bruised, and half-strangled, he will roll again on the following night, and continue to do so aa long as he lives. The only remedy is not a very pleasant one to the horse, nor always quite safe ; yet it must be had recourse to, if the habit of rolling is inveterate. " The horse," says Mr. Castley, " should be tied with length enough of collar 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 91, and observed that while it is often the result of cowardice, or playfulness, or want of work, it is at * Mr. Simpson relates an interesting though unfortunate case of this interference, after the operation of neurotomy: — "An old but splendid horse had been sadly lame in the off fore- foot during some months. Many plans of treatment were adopted, without the desired effect ; and at length it was determined to have recourse to neurotomy. A portion of the metacarpal nerve was excised on both sides, just above the fetlock. Three weeks afterwards, the horse being quite free from lameness, he was put into harness, and driven about twelve miles. He appeared to go very well, but, on arriving at his journey's end, it was found that the off hind- foot was covered with blood, and the heels of the neurotomised foot were dreadfully bruised and cut, from repeated blows from the corresponding foot behind. In order to remedy this, the toe of the hind-foot was ordered to be shortened as much as possible. " Four days afterwards, he was driven again with the same contusions, but did not appear to feel the slightest pain, either when the blows were inflicted, or when he was examined again some days afterwards. " There was not the same activity in this foot that there had been before the operation, and it could not get out of the way of the hind-foot, a circumstance that would hardly have been expected, for it is the general belief that, although sensation is destroyed in the foot, the loco- motive powers of the leg are unimpaired. This deserves future inquiry." — The Veterinarian, vol. viii. p. 242. 364 VICES AND DEFECTS OF THE HORSE. 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 treatment of shying, it is of great importance to distinguish between that which is the consequence of defective sight, and what results from fear, or newness of objects, or mere affectation or skittishness. For the first, the nature of which we have explained at page 91, every allowance must be made, and care nmst be taken that the fear of correction is not associated with the imagined existence of some ter- rifying object. The severe use of the whip and the spur cannot do good here, and are likely to aggravate the vice tenfold. A word half encouraging and half scolding, with a gentle 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. It should be remembered, however, that although a horse that shies from defective siirht may be taught considerable reliance on his rider, he can never have the cause of the habit removed. We may artificially strengthen the hum.an sight, but that of the horse must be left to itself. 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 con- tact with the object by dint of correction, the dread of punishment will afterwards be associated with that object, and, on the next occasion, his startings will be more fre- quent and more dangerous. The way to cuie 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, whatever may have been the object which he chose to select as the pretended cause of affright, he will pass it almost without notice. In page 253, 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 ac- customed .as much as possible to the objects among which his services will be re- quired, he will not possess this annoying vice when he grows to maturer age. Mr. .John Lawrence, in his last work on the Horse, says, "These animals gener- ally fix on some particular shying butt: for example, I recollect having, at different periods, three hacks, all very powerful ; the one made choice of a wind-mill for the object or butt, the other a tilted wagon, and the last a pig led in a string. It so hap- pened, however, that I rode the two former when amiss from a violent cold, and they then paid no more attention to either wind-mills or tilted wagons than to any other objects, convincing me that their shying when in health and spirits was pure affecta- tion; an affectation, however, which may be speedily united with obstinacy and vice. Let it be treated with marked displeasure, mingled with gentle, but decided firmness, and the habit will be of short endurance."* It is now generally admitted by all riding-masters and colt-breakers, that a great deal more is to be ettected by lenient than by harsh treatment. Rewards are found to operate more beneficially than punishments ; and therefore the most scientific and practised riding-masters adopt methods based upon the former. The writer of the present work remembers a very remarkable instance of the efiicacy of this plan, or rather of its vast and decided superiority over violence of the worst description. A * " We will suppose a case — a very common one, an every-day one. A man is riding a young horse upon the high-road iti the country, and meets a stage-coach. What with the noise, the bustle, the imposing appearance altogether, and the slashing of tlie coachman's whip, the animal at its approach en cts its head and crest, pricks his ears, looks affri;.'h!cd, and no sooner comes alongside of the machine titan he suddenly starts out of the rotul. His rider, annoyed by this, instantly conimetices a round of castigation with whip. spur. aiuS curb, in which he persists until the horse, as well as himself, lias lost his temper; and then one whips, spurs, and pulls, tutd the other jumps, plunges, (rets, and throws up bis head, until both, pretty well exhausted by the conflict, grow tranquil again and proceed on their jiring to balance herself, with a stagger- ing motion, upon her half-paralysed hind extremities, as if making preparation' and summoning up resolution for some great effort; and then, when urged, she would plunge headlong forward with snch violence of exertion, as often to lo'se her feet, and tumble down, altogether most pitiable to be seen. This I merely mention," he continues, " as one proof how inveterate the habits of horses are. They are evils, let it always be remembered, more easy to prevent than to cure." 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 liberty to make a leap, and this of itself is often sufficient to restrain him. Punish- ment, or a threat of punishment, will be highly improper. It is only timid or hio-h- spirited horses that acquire this habit, and rough usage invariably increases th°eir agitation and terror. Some may be led out quite at leisure when blindfolded ; others when they have the harness bridle on ; some will best take their own way, and a few may be ridden through the doorway that cannot be led, By quietness and kindness, however, the ht/rse will be most easily and quickly subdued. SLIPPING THE COLLAR. 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 somo- Uines to gorge himself with food, to the imminent danger of staggers; or it exposes 31 * 366 THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE HORSE. him, as he wanders about, to be kicked and injured by the other horses, while his restlessness will often keep the whole team awake. If the web of the halter, being first accurately fitted to his neck, is suffered 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 forehand, and the fore legs being too much under the horse, no one can alter the natural frame of the animal : if it proceeds from tenderness 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 stumbler 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 precautions that should not be neglected, although they are generally of litrle avail; for the inveterate stumbler will rarely be able to save himself, and this tight rein may sooner and farther precipitate the rider. If, after a trip, the horse suddenly starts forward, and endeavours to break into a sharp trot or canter, the rider or driver may be assured that others before him have fruitlessly endeavoured 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 fortnight 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 much 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 dislike to the confinement of the stable. Ahorse 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 at feeding-time. CHAPTER XX. THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE HORSE. This is a most important part of our subject, even as it regards 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 impli citly under the guidance of an idle, and ignorant, and designing groom. We will arrange the most important points of general management under the fol- lowing 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 manage ment of our best stables. 'I'hey have been close, and hot, and foul, instead of airy, and cool, and wholesome. The effect of several horses being shut up in the same stable is completely to empoison the air ; and yet, even in the present day, there are too many who carefully close every aperture by which a breath of fresh air can by possibility gain admission. In effecting this, even the key-hole and the threshold arc not forgotten. What, of necessity, must be the consequence of this] Why! if one VENTILATION. 367 thought is bestowed on the new and dangerous character that the air is assuming, it will be too evident that sore throat, and swelled legs, and bad eyes, and inflamed lungs, and mange, and grease, and glanders, will scarcely ever be long out of that stable. Let this be considered in another point of view. The horse stands twenty or two- and-twenty hours in this unnatural vapour bath, and then he is suddenly stripped of all his clothing, he is led into the open air, and there he is kept a couple of hours or more in a temperature fifteen or twenty degrees below that of the stable. Putting the inhumanity of this out of the question, must not the animal thus unnaturally and absurdly treated be subjected to rheumatism, catarrh, and various other complaints'? Does he not often stand, iiour after hour, in the road or the street, while his owner is warming himself within, and this perhaps after every pore has been opened by a rushing gallop, and his susceptibility to the painful and the injurious influence of cold has been excited to the utmost] It is not so generally known, as it ought to be, that the return to a hot stable is quite as dangerous as the change from a heated atmosphere to a cold and biting air. Many a horse that has travelled without harm over a bleak country, has been suddenly seized with inflammation and fever when he has, immediately at the end of his journey, been surrounded with heated and foul air. It is the sudden change of tem- perature, whether from heat to cold, or from cold to heat, that does the mischief, and yearly destroys thousands of horses. Mr. Clarke of Edinburgh was the first who advocated the use of well-ventilated stables. After him Professor Coleman established them in the quarters of the cavalry troops, and there cannot be a doubt that he saved the government many thousand pounds every year. His system of ventilation, however, like many other salutary innovations, was at first strongly resisted. Much evil was predicted ; but after a time, diseases that used to dismount whole troops, almost entirely disappeared from the army. 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 carried through the roof, with caps a little above them, to prevent the beating in of the rain ; or by gratings placed high up in the walls. These latter apertures should be as far above the horses as they can conveniently be placed, by which means all injurious draught will be prevented. If there is a loft above the stable, the ceiling should be plastered, in order to prevent the foul air from penetrating to the hay above, and injuring both its taste and its wholesomeness ; 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 gazinnr upward for his food, a grass seed may fall into the eye, and produce considerable inflammation. 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 loft to the roof, or by gratinors close to the ceiling. These gratings or openings should be enlarsjed or con- tracted by means of a covering or shutter, so that during spring, summer, and autumn, the stable may possess nearly the same temperature with the open air, and in winter a temperature of not 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 thougfht, cannot be obtained without the former. 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 agricultural horse especially — acquires a thicker and a len^■thened coat, in order to defend him from the surrounding cold. Man puts on an additional and a warmer coveringr, and his comfort is increased and his health preserved by it. He who knows anything 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 8 THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE HORSE. leak. The coat, however, needs not to be so long as to be unsightly ; and wann clothing, even in a cool stable, will, with plenty of honest grooming, keep the hair sufficiently smooth and glossy to satisfy the most fastidious. The overheated air of a close stable saves much of this grooming, and therefore the idle attendant unscru- pulously sacrifices the health and safety of the horse. When we have presently to treat of the hair and skin of the horse, this will be placed in a somewhat diflTerent Doint 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 performed, and all the functions of life are injured. Let the owner of a valuable horse think of his passing twenty or twenty-two out of the twenty-four hours in this debilitating- atmosphere ! Nature does wonders in enabling every animal to accommodate itself to the situation in which it is placed, and the horse that lives in the stable-oven suffers less from it than would 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 of the improperly close and heated stable is still farther contaminated by the urine and dung, which rapidly ferment there, and give out stimulating and un- wholesome vapours. When a person first enters an ill-nianagcd stable, and especially early in the morning, he is annoyed, not only by the heat of the confined 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 in such stables ] It has been ascer- tained by chemical experiment 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 decompositions that are going forward at the same time, this ammoniacal vapour 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 1 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 belonging to a small establishment, and ration- ally 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 experi- ence of every veterinary surgeon, and of every large proprietor of horses, will corro- borate this statement. Agriculturists should bring to their stables the common sense which directs them in the usual concerns of life, and should begin, wlien their plea- sures and their property are so much at stake, to assume that authority and to enforce that obedience, to the lack of which is to be attributed the greater part of bad stable- management and horse-disease. Of nothing are v/e more certain than that the majority of the maladies of the horse, and those of the worst and most fatal character, are directly or indirectly to be attributed to a deficient supply of air, crue) exaction of ■work, and insufficient or bad fare. Each of these evils is to be dreaded — each is, in a manner, watching for its prey; and when they are combined, more than half of the inmates of the stable are often swept away. Every stable should possess within itself a certain degree of ventilation. The cost of this wouhl be trifling, and its saving in the preservation of valuable animals may be immense. Tlie apertures need not be large, and the whole may be so contrived that no direct current of air shall fall on the horse. A jrentleman's stable should never be without a thermometer. The temperature should seldom exceed 70° h\ the summer, or sink below 40° or 50° in the winter. LITTER. Having spoken of the vapour of hartshorn, which is so rapidly and so plentifully given out from the urine of a horse in a lieatod stable, avc 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 tlie consequence of which will be tlic rapid putrefaction of t!ie litter that has been moistened by it. LIGHT. 369 Everything liastening to decomposition should be carefully removed where life and health are to be preserved. The litter that has been much wetted or at all softened by 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. Tlie soiled and macerated portion of that which was left should be removed at night. In the better kind of stables, however, the stalls should be completely emptied every morning. No heap of fermenting dung should be sutfered to remain during the day in the corner or in any part of the stable. With regard to this, 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 vapour from the decomposing fluid and the litter will thus be materially lessened : if, however, the urine is carried away by means of a gutter run- ning along the stable, the floor of the stalls must slant towards that gutter, and the declivity must not be so great as to strain the back sinews, and become an occasional, although unsuspected, cause of lameness. Mr. R. Lawrence well observes, that, "if the reader will stand for a few minutes with his toes higher than his heels, the pain he will feel in the calves of his legs will soon convince him of the truth of this remark. Hence, when a horse is not eating, he always endeavours to find his level, either by standing across the stall or else as far back as his halter will permit, so that his hind-legs may meet the ascent of the other side of the channel." This inclination of the stall is also a frequent cause of contraction of the heels of the foot, by throwing too great a proportion of the weight upon the toe and removing that pressure on the heels which tends most to keep them open. Care, therefore, must be taken that the slanting of the floor of the stalls shall be no more than is suf- ficient to drain off the urine with tolerable rapidity. 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 off 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 graling. The farmer should not lose any of the urine. It is from the dung of the horse that he derives a principal and most valuable part of his manure. It is that which earliest takes on the process of putrefaction, and forms one of the strongest and most durable dressings. "^I'hat which is most of all concerned with the rapidity and the perfection of the decomposition is the urine. 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. The farmer who wants to convert every otherwise useless substance into ma- nure, will have additional reason for adopting this practice : especially as he does not confine himself to that to which in towns and in gentlemen's stables custom seems to have limited the bed of the horse. Pea and bean-haum, and potato-tops, and heath, occupy in the stable of the farmer, during a part of the year, the place of wheaten and oaten straw. It should, however, be remembered, that these substances are disposed more easily to ferment and putrefy than straw, and therefore should be more carefully examined and oftener removed. It is the faulty custom of some farm- ers to let the bed accumulate until it reaches almost to the horse's belly, and the boi- om of it is a mass of dung. If there were not often many a hole and cranny through which tiie wind can enter and disperse the foul air, the health of the animal would materially suffer. 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 trea- tises are principallv desi^r.rd. The farmer's stable is frequently destitute of any glazed window, and has ordy a shrAtcr, which is raised in warm weather, and closed when the weather becr>me3 cold. When the horse is in the stable only duiing a few hours in the day, this is not of ao much consequence, nor of so much, probably, with regard to horses of slow work ; but to carriage-horses and hackneys, so far, at least, 3w 370 " THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE HORSE. as the eyes are concerned, a dark stable is little less injurious than a foul and heated one. In order to illustrate this, reference may be made to the unpleasant feeling, and the utter impossibilitj^ of seeing distinctly, whtn a man suddenly emerges from a dark place into the fall blaze of day. The sensation of mingled pain and giddiness is not soon forgotten ; and some minutes pass before the eye can accommodate itself 1o 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 from 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 inflammation 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. Farmers know, and should profit by the knowledge, that the darkness of the stable is not unfrequently a cover for great uncleanliness. A glazed window, with leaden divisions between the small panes, would not cost much, and would admit a degree of light somewhat more approaching to that of day, and at the same time would ren- der the concealment of gross inattention and want of cleanliness impossible. If plenty of light is admitted, the walls of the stable, and especially that portion of them which is before the horse's head, must not be of too glaring a colour. The constant reflection from a white w'all, and especially if the sun shines into the stable, will be as injurious to the eye as the sudden changes from darkness to light. The per|)etual slight excess of stimulus will do as much mischief as the occasional but more violent one when the animal is taken from a kind of twilight to the blaze of day. The colour of the stable, therefore, should depend on the quantity of light. Where much can be admitted, the walls should be of a grey hue. Where dark- ness would otherwise prevail, frequent whitewashing may in some degree dissipate the gloom. For another reason, it will bo 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. Something 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, and who draw almost as much by the weight of carcass which they can throw into the collar, as by the degree of mus- cular energy of which they are capable. In the quietness of a dimly-lighted stable, they obtain repose, and accumulate flesh and fat. Dealers are perfectly aware of this. They have their darkened staldes, in which the young horse, with little or no exercise, and fed upon mashes and ground corn, is made up for sale. The round and plump appearance, however, which may delude the unwary, soon vanishes with altered treatment, and the animal is found to be unfit for hard work, and predisposed to many an inflammatory disease. The circumstances, then, under which a stable somewhat darkened may be allowed, will be easily determined by the owner of the horse; but, as a general rule, dark stables are unfriendly to cleanliness, and the frequent cause of the vice of starting, and of the most serious diseases of the eyes. GROOMING. Of this, much need not be said to the agriculturist, since custom, and apparently without ill efi'ect, 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 little more to be done to him than to have the dirt brushed oft" his limbs. Regular grooming, l)y ren- dering bis skin more sensible to the alteration of temperature, and the inclemency of the weather, would be prejudicial. The horse that is altogether turned out, needs no grooming. The dandrift", 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 currycomb, 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 EXERCISE. 371 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 stimulating or injurious spices. The horse should be regularly dressed 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 imder pecu- liar circumstances. W'ithout 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 invigo- rated to a degree tiiat cannot be attained in the stable, froni being dressed in the open air. There is no necessity, iiowever, 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 effectual, and a great deal more pleasant to the horse. A hair-cloth, while it will seldom irritate and tease, will be almost sufiicient 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 be readily ascertained whether a horse has been well dressed by rubbing him with one of the fingers. A greasy stain will detect the idleness of the groom. When, however, the horse is changing his coat, both the curry-comb and the brush should be used 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 effects produced by well hand-rubbing the legs of a tired horse. While every enlargement subsides, and the painful stiffness disappears, 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-management 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 exces- sive exertion. 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 witnessed in the stable of the gentleman. Our remarks on exercise, then, must have a general bearing, or have principal reference to those per- sons who are in the micj^le stations of life, and who contrive to keep a horse for busi- ness 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 establishments, must suffer. He is predisposed to fever, or to grease, or, most of all, to diseases of the foot; and if, after three or four days of inactivity, he is ridden far and fast, he is almost sure to have inflammation of the lungs or of the feet. A gentleman or tradesman's horse suffers a great deal more 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 labour can be effected on the road or in the field, without sufficient and regular exercise. It is this alone which can give energy to the system, or develope the powers of any animal. How, then, is this exercise to be given ? As much as possible by, or under the superintendence of, the owner. The exercise given by the groom is rarely to bo 372 THE GENERAL MANAGEMErri' OF THE HORSE. depended upon. It is inefficient or it is extieuic. It is in many cases both irregular and injurious. It is dependent upon the caprice of him wlio is performing a task, and who will render that task subservient to his own pleasure or purpose. In training the hunter and the race-horse, regular exercise is the most important of all considerations, however it may be forgotten in tlie usual management of the stable. The exercised horse will discharge his task, ;md sometimes a severe one, with ease and pleasure; while the idle and neglected one will be fatigued ere half his labour is accomplished, and, if he is pushed a little loo far, dangerous inflammation will ensue. How often, nevertheless, does it happen, that the horse which has stood inactive in the stable three or four days, is ridden or driven thirty or forty miles in the course of a single day! This rest is often purposely given to prepare for extra-exertion ; — to lay in a stock of strength for tlie perlbrmance cf 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 preposterous, as for a person to buy a horse from a dealer's stable, where he has been idly fattening for sale for many a day, and immediately to give him a long run after the hounds, and then to complain bitterly, and think that he has been imposed up( n, if the animal is exhausted before the end of the chase, or is compelled to be led home suflering from violent inflannn;^- tion. Re on both his upland and meadow pasture. Hence we find, in the same field, the ray- ^rass, cominir to perfection only in a loamy soil, not fit to cut until the middle or lat- ter part of July, and yielding little aftermath ; the meadow fox-tail, best cultivated in a clayey soil, fit for the scythe in the beginning of June, and yielding a plentiful aftermath ; the glaucous fescue-grass, ready at the middle of June, and rapidly dete- rioratiaiT in value as its seeds ripen; and the fertile meadow-grass, increasing in value until the end of July. These are circumstances the importance of which will, at no distant period, be recognised. In the mean time, Sinclair's account of the different grasses, or the condensation of the most important part of his work in Sir Humphry Davy's Agricultural Chemistry, or Low's Elements of Practical Agriculture, are well deserving of the diligent perusal of the farmer. Hay is most in perfection when it is about a twelvemonth old. The horse perhaps would prefer it earlier, but it is neither so wholesome nor so nuti"itive, and often has a purgative quality. When it is about a year old, it retains or should retain some- what of its green colour, its agreeable smell and its pleasant taste. It has undergone 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 unwholeso;ne. After the grass is cut, and the hay stacked, a slight degree of fermentation takes place in it. This is necessary for the development of the saccharine principle ; but occasionally it proceeds t^o far and the hay becomes mowburni, in which state it is injurious, or even poisonous. The horse soon shows 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 undue quantity of hay, and tliat generally of the worst kind. If the manger system is good, there can be no necessity for haj^ 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 his 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 distension of the stomach rendering it impossible for the food to be properly digested. It is a good practice to sprinkle the hay with water in which salt has been dis- solved. It is evidently more palatable to the animal, who will leave the bestunsalted 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 pre- ferable way of salting the hay is to sprinkle it over the different layers as the rick is formed. From its attraction for water, it would combine with that excess of moisture which, in wet seasons, 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 incor- porated with the hay. The only objection to its being thus used is, that the colour of the hay is not so bright ; but this will be of little consequence for home consump- tion. 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 afier the pods are formed, but a considerable time before the seeds are ripe. They supply a larger quantity of food for a limited time than almost any other forage-crop. The vicia sa'ira is the most profitable variety of the tare. It is very nutritive, and acts as a gentle aperient. When surfeit-lumps appear on the skin, and the hnrse bejins to ri;h him- self afrainst the divisions of the stall, and the legs swell, and the heels threaten to crack, a few tares, cut up with the chaff, or given instead of a portion of the hay. will afford considerable relief. Ten or twelve pounds may be allowed daily, and half that and trlossy. They got no corn, and only 7 pounds of hay, instead of the ordinary .TllowaRCP. which is 12 pounds. The sugar seemed to supply the place of the corn so well, that it would have been probably given abroad ; but peace came, and the circumstances that rendered the use of susjar for corn desirable rea.sed, and the horses returned to their usual diet. That the sugar might not be appropriated to other purposes it was slightly scented with assafcEtida, which did not produce any apparent effect upon them." 32* 2x . 378 THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE HORSE. weight of hay subtracted. It is an erroneous notion, that, g^iven in moderate quanti- ties, they either roughen the coat or lessen the capability for hard work. RvE Grass affords a valuable article of food, but is inferior to the tare. It is not so nutritive. It is apt to scour and, occasionally, and late in the spring, it has ap- peared to be injurious to the horse. Clover, for soiling the horse, is inferior to the tare and the rye grass, but neverthe- less, is useful M'hen 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 advantage 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 sain-foin is supe- rior to lucern. Although they contain but a small quantity of nutritive matter, it is easily digested, and perfectly assimilated. They speedily put both muscle and fat on the horse that is worn down by labour, and they are almost a specific for hide- bound. Some farmers have thought so highly of lucern 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 propoition of hard meat within him. The Swedish Turnip is an article of food the value of which has not been suffi- ciently appreciated, and particularly for agricultural horses. Although it is far from containing the quantity of nutritive matter which has been supposed, that wiiich it has seems to be capable of easy and complete digestion. It should be sliced with chopped straw, and without hay. It quickly fattens the horse, and produces a smooth glossy coat and a loose skin. It will be good practice to give it once in the day, and that at night when the work is done. Carrots. — The virtues of this root are not sufficiently known, whether as contri- buting 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 chaffs. 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. They also improve the state of the skin. They form a good substitute for grass, and an excellent alterative for horses out of condi- tion. To sick and idle horses they render corn unnecessary. They are beneficial in all chronic diseases connected with breathing, and have a marked influence upon chronii; cough and broken wind. They are serviceable in diseases of the skin, and in combination with oats they restore a worn horse much sooner than 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. Purging 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 potato 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.f A horse fed on potatoes should have his quantity of water materially curtailed. FuH7.E has sometimes been given during the winter months. There is considerable trouble attending the preparation of it, although 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 pre- ceding 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 verv fond of it. If * Stewart's Stable (Economy, p. 183. t Professor Low savs that 1^ lbs. of potatoes yield ns ninrh no^sirishnient as four pounds and a half of oats. Von Thayer asserts that three bushels :ire equal to 112 lbs. of hay ; and Cur- wen, who tried potatoes extensively in the feeding of horses, says that an acre goes as far a& four acres of hay. FOOD. 379 twenty pounds of the furze are given, five pounds of straw, tlie beans, and three pounds of the oats, may be withdrawn. It may not be uninteresting- to conclude this catalogue of the different articles of horse-food with a list of the quantities of nutritive matter contained in each of them ; for although these quantities cannot be considered as expressing the actual value of each, because other circumstances besides the simple quantity of nutriment seem to influence their etfect in supporting the strength and condition of the horse, yet many a useful hint may be derived when the farmer looks over the produce of his soil, and inquires what other grasses or vegetables might suit his land. The list is partly taken from Sir Humphry Davy's Agricultural Chemistry : — 1000 parts of wheat cou- tain 955 parts of nutritive matter ; barley, 920 ; oats, 743 ; peas, 574 ; beans, 570 ; potatoes, 230; red beet, 148; parsneps, 99; carrots, 98. Of tiie grasses, 1000 parts of the meadow cat's-tail contain, at the time of seeding, 98 parts of nutritive matter; narrow-leaved meadow grass in seed, and sweet-scented soft grass in flower, 95; narrow-leaved and flat-stalked meadow grass in flower, fertile meadow grass in seed, and tall fescue in flower, 93 ; fertile meadow grass, meadow fescue, reed-like fescue, and creeping soft grass in flower, 78 ; sweet-scented solt grass in flower, and the aftermath, 77; florin, cut in the winter, 76; tall fescue, in the aftermath, and meadow soft grass in flower, 74 ; cabbage, 73 ; crested dog's-tail and brome, when flowering, 71; yellow oat, in flower, 66; Swedish turnips, 64; narrow-leaved meadow grass, creeping beet, round-headed cocksfoot, and spiked fescue, 59 ; roughish and fertile meadow grass, flowering, 56 ; florin, in summer, 54 ; common turnips, 43 ; sain-foin, and broad-leaved and long-rooted clover, 39; white clover, 32; and lucern, 23. The times of feeding should be as equally divided as convenience will permit; and when it is likely that the horse will be kept longer than usual from home, the nose- bag should invariably be taken. The small stomach of the horse is emptied in a few hours ; and if he is suffered to remain hungry mucli beyond his accustomed time, he will afterwards devour his food so voraciously as to distend the stomach and endanger an attack of staggers. When this disease appears in the farmer's stable, he nTay attribute it to various causes ; the true one, in the majority of instances, is irregularity in feeding. If the reader will turn back to page 97, he will be convinced that this deserves more serious attention tiian is generally given to it. When extra work is required from the animal, l,he system of management is often injudicious, for a double feed is put before him, and as soon as he has swallowed it, he is started. It would be far better to give him a double feed on the previous eve- ning, which would be digested before he is wanted, and then he might set out in the morning after a very small portion of corn 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 corn and a full allowance of beans. Water. — This is a part of stable management little regarded by the farmer. He lets his horses loose morning and night, 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 prepared for them by some unknown influence of the atmosphere, as well as by the deposition of many saline admixtures. The dif- ference 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 obtained 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 or.'400. 382 THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES. those with thicker hides. It reaches from the poll over the whole of the carcase, and down to the arm before, and the stifle behind. By its contraction the skin is pucker- ed in every direction ; and if it acts strongly and rapidly, the horse is not only ena- bled to shake oft' any insect or fly that may aniwy him, but sometimes to displace a great part of his harness, and to render it diflicult for the most expert rider to keep his seat. This muscle also assists the skin in bracing that part of the frame which It covers, and, perhaps, gives additional strength to the muscles beneath. It is called the panniculus carnosus, or fleshy panicle or covering. 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 ten- dons of the legs, on which so mucli stress is frequently thrown, are securely tied down and kept in their ])]aces. It is in order to take additional advantage of this binding and strengthening power that we fire the legs of overworked horses, in whom the sinews have begvm to start, and the ligaments of the joints to swell, or be dis- placed. The skin is tight along the muscles of the back and loins, and down the yet more powerful muscles of the quarters ; but in other places it is loosely attached, that it may not interfere with the motions of the animal. About the brisket, and within the arms and at the flanks, it hangs even in folds. Of its streno-th we have abundant proof, both in the living and dead animal. Its fibres are interlaced in a most curious and intricate manner, so as, when living, to be scarcely lacerable, and converted into leather after death. It is, while the animal is alive, one of the most elastic bodies with which we are acquainted. It not only perfectly adapts itself to the slow growth or decrease of the body, and appears 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 de- gree, in the most powerful action of the muscles, it, in a moment, again contracts to its usual dimensions. It is principally indebted for this elasticity to almost innumerable minute glands which pour out an oily fluid that softens and supples it. When the horse is in health, and every organ discharges 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 experi- ence has proved to be the best proofs of the condition, or, in other words, the general health of the animal. Then, too, from the oiliness and softness of the skin, the hair lies in its natural and proper direction, and is smooth and glossy. When the system is deranged, and especially the digestive system, and the vessels concerned in the nouwshinent of the animal feebly act, those of the skin evidently 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 free almost from a single rough or misplaced hair. We meet with him again towards the winter, when the thermometer has fallen almost or quite to the freezing ])oint, and we scarcely recognize him in his thick, rough, coarse, colourless coat,''and his legs enveloped in long, shaggy hair. The health of the horse is, to a certain degree, deranged. He is dull, languid, easily fatigued. He will break into a sweat with the slightest exertion, and it is almost impossible tho- roughly 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 eftecled a change, and then he once more rallies : but a great alteration has taken place in him — the hair has lost its soft and glossy character, and is become dry and staring. The skin ceases to secrete that peculiar unctuous matter which kept it soft and flexible, and becomes dry and ;■'■ ily ; and the cxhalents on the surface, havino- become relaxed, are frequently pouring out a profuse perspiration, without any apparent adequate cause for it. So passes the approach to winter, and the owner complains sadly of the appear- ance of his steed, and, according to the old custom, gives him plenty of cordia' HIDE-BOUND. 383 balls, — perhaps too many of them, — on the whole not hcing rn<^r'-'.i.:'eable at this critical period, yet not productive of a great deal of good. At ii j.gdi 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 treat- ment that would render all this unnecessary ! This desideratum has been found — a free escape of perspiration, a moist and softened state of the skin, an evident in- crease of health and capability of enduring fatigue, and working on shorter supply of food than he could before. This is said to be performed by the clipping and singe- ing systems. Mr. Thomas Turner, who was almost one of the earliest advocates of these sys- t3ms, states that during the months of October and November an inordinate growth (•f hair is observed over the whole surface of the body, and in many horses as early as the beginning of September, and almost invariably prevails, more or less, in every horse that is not thorough-bred. The debilitating effects thereby induced are profuse perspiration on the least possible exertion — depression of the animal spirits, and tem- porary 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 pharmacopoeia. 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 apparently magical effects of clipping and singeing on the general constitution, and particularly the wind of the horse, or the respiratory functions generally, but there is no doubt of their ex- istence. 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. Mr. Snewing gives an interesting account of the effect of clipping on two horses in his establishment. He had a cob, with a fixed catarrh of several months' stand- ing. It did not interfere with the animal's general health, but was a source of con- siderable annoyance. At length the owner determined to sell him ; but first he had him clipped. After a few days his attention was drawn to the circumstance, that either the horse's cough must have left him, or, from repeatedly hearing it, he had ceased to regard it. He watched the animal, and, truly enough, he found that the rough had entirely disappeared. He rode him through the winter and the following summer, and there was no return of it. The other instance was in a mare which he had after this one was sold. In the months of August, September, and October, 1R41, she was continually the subject of intermittent cough. He had her clipped, and in a few days she ceased to cough, ami has not been heard to cough from that time, HIDE- BOUND, This is not so much a diminution of the cellular or fatty substance between the skin and the muscles beneath, as it is an alteration in the skin itself. It is a hard- ness and unyieldingness of the skin from the want of the oily matter on its surface * Mr. E. Gabriel, V. S., on the Treatment of the Horse in Autumn. — Veterinarian, vol. xiii. 627. t Veterinarian, vol. xiv., 18. In justice, however, to an excellent sportsman, Nimrod, we must quote another opinion, and with that the subject shall be left to the consideration of our readers. " On the subject of clipping, I cannot agree with Mr. Gabriel as to the call for it, much less admit its almost universal adoption. I would clip road-coach horses, and a hunter that had been summered entirely at grass, despairing of condition on any other terms. It is a mere substitute for good grooming. As for its almost universal adoption, such is far from being the case. I did not see three clipped horses last year (1840); at Melton, in the Quorn stables, not one, nor in Mr. Foljambe's. Singed ones I did see to a certain extent ; but a hardy-riding Meltonian told me that he would have no more spirits of wine charged in his groom's book. ' A mere substitute,' said he, 'in my stable for the old-fashioned elhow-gren=e.' In my opinion the horse is not yet foaled which cannot be got into perfect condhion without this outrage on na- ture.'"— The Velprinarian, vol. xiv., p. 35. 384 THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES. and in its substance. It is the difference that is presented to the feeling by well cur- ried and supple leather, and that which has become dry and unyielding. The surface of the skin becoming dry and hard, the scales of the cutii^le 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 o: the vessels everywhere, and particularly those of the stomach and bowels. Hide-bound is not so much a disease as a symj>tom of disease, and particularly of the digestive orgai^ • and our remedies must be applied not so much to the skin — althougli we have, in friction and in warmth, most valuable agents in pro- ducing a healthy condition of the integuments — as to the cause 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 appearance 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 i^. 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, without any apparent disease, we shall generally be warranted in tracing it to sympathy with the actual, althouah not demonstrable, suspension of some important secretion or function, cither of t!ie alimentary canal or the respiratory functions. A few mashes, and a mild dose of phj'sic, are first indi Gated, and, simple as they appear to be, they often have a very beneficial effect. 'I'he regular action of the bowels being re-established, that of all the organs of the frame will speedily follow. If the horse cannot he spared for physic, alteratives may be administered. There is no better alterative for bide-bound and an unthrifty coat, than that which is in common use, levigated antimony, nitre, and sulphur. The peculiar effect of the antimony and sulphur, and electric influence on the skin, with that of the sulphur on the bowels, and of the nitre on the urinary organs, will be here advan- tageously 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 unthrifty coat, and hide-bound, tonics and aromatics should be carefully 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 medicines in common use in the stable, and especially in cases like these, than tonics and cordials. They often arouse to fatal action a ten- dency to fever that would otherwise have slept, or they produce a state of excitement near akin to fever, and apt to degenerate into it. By the 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 effect soon passes over, and a repetition of the stimidus is necessary — the habit is soon formed — the dose must be gradually increased, 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 tliis is one of the most efficacious instruments we can use, to call into exercise the sus])pnded energies either of the absorbent or secreting vessels. Warmth may likewise be had recourse to — not warmtli of stable, which has been shown to he so irijurious, but warmth arising from exercise, and tlie salu- tary, although inexplicable, influence of clipping and singeing. Before this can bo fully considered, th" iiair by which the skin is covered must be described. The base of the bulb whence the hair proceeds being beneath the true skin, it is easy to perceive that the hair will grow again, although the cuticle may have been destroyed. A good blister, although it may remove the cuticle, and seemingly for a while the hair with it, leaves no lasting trace. Even firing, lisrhtly and skilfully per- formed, and not penetrating through the skin, leaves not much blemish ; but when, in broken knees, the true skin is cut through, or destroyed, there will always remain a spot devoid of hair. The method of hastening and perfecting the re-production of thu hair, has been described in page 2()7. PORES OF THE SKIN . — M OU LTl NG. 385 PORES OF THE SKIN. Besides the openings already mentioned, through which proceeds 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. As in the human being, this actually exists in a state of health and quietness, although imper- ceptible; but when the animal is excited by exercise, or labours under some stages of disease, it becomes visible, and appears in the form of drops. 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. This, perhaps, is the case when sheep-skins are applied over the back and loins in " locked jaw." They produce a good effect, acting as a warm poultice over the part, and so contributing to relax the muscular spasms. There are, how- ever, a few medicines, as antimony and sulphur, that have an evident and very con- siderable 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 d.-achms rubbed on the inside of the thighs, will probably produce a greater eflfect than the practitioner desires. From some parts of the skin, there are peculiar secretions, as that of grease in the heel, and mallenders in the knee. MOULTING. Twice in the year, the hair of the body of the horse is changed. The short, fine 3oat of summer would aff'ord little 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 drops off, and a new hair springs at its side from the same bulb. The hair which is produced in the autumn, is evidently different from that which grows in the spring; it is coarser, thicker, 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 affected at these times. That energy, and nervous and vital influence, which should support the whole of the frame, is to a great degree determined to the skin, and the animal is lan- guid, and unequal to much hard work. He perspires greatly with the least unusual exertion, and if he is pressed beyond his strength, becomes seriously ill. The treatment which the groom in tliis case adopts, is most absurd and danorerous. The horse, from the deranged distribution of vital power, is disposed to fever, or he labours under a slight degree of fever, sufficiently indicated by the increased quick- ness of pulse, redness of nose, and heat of mouth. The lassitude and want of appe- tite which are the accompaniments of this febrile state, are mistaken for debility; and cordials of various kinds, some of them exceedingly stimulating, are unsparingly administered. At Inngth, with regard to the hunter, the racer, and even in the hack- nay and the carriage horse, the scissors or the lamp are introduced, and a new method is established of guirding against this periodical debility, setting at defiance the occa- sional exposure to cold, and establishing a degree of health and strength previously unknown. Friction may be allowed, to assist the falling off of the old hair, and to loosen the cuticle for the appearance of the new hair, but it is somewhat more gently applied than it used to be. The curry-comb is in a groat measure banished, and even the brush is not applied too liard or too long. The old hair is not forced off before the young hair is ready tn 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 boar; and, as the summer is short and cold in those northern islands, the coat is rough and shaggy during the whole of the year. In the southern parts of our country, the short, and light and glossy coat of summer gradu , 33 2y 386 THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES. ally yields to the close and heavy, and warm clothing of winter. In the deserts ot 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 excite our admiration. COLOUR. The colour of the hair admits of every variety, and each colour becomes in turn fashionable. Like that of the skin, it is influenced by, or depends on, the mucous mesh-work under the cuticle. There are comparatively few perfectly white horses now remaining. The snow-white palfrey, with its round carcass and barb head, originally from Spain, or perhaps from Barbary, and rarely exceeding the size of a galloway, is nearly extinct. Some, however, yet remain in the possession of the Duke of Montrose. They are of good constitution, and pleasant in their paces. The 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 mix- ture about the joints. Grey horses are of different 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 proportions, 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 promise ; but their principal defect is their feet, which are liable to contraction, and yet that contraction not so often accom- panied by lameness as in many other horses. The dappled grey is generally a handsomer and a better horse. All the angular points of the iron-grey are filled up, and with that whicii not only adds to symmetry, but to use. Whether as a hackney, or, the larger variety, a carriage horse, there are few better, especially since his form has been so materially improved, and so much of his heaviness got rid of, by the free use of foreign i)lood. There are not, however, so many dappled greys as there used to be, since the bays have been bred with so much care. The dappled grey, if dark at first, generally retains his colour to old age. Some of the greys approach to a nutmeg, or even bay colour. Many of these are handsome, and most of them are hardy. The roans, of every variety of colour and form, are composed of white mixed with bay, or red, or black. In some it seems to be a natural mixture of the colours; in others it appears as if one colour 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 so with even a little hard work. The strawberry horse is a mixture of sorrel with white ; usually handsome and pleasant, but more celebrated for these qualities than for strength and endurance. Tlie pied horse is one tlint has distinct spots or patches of different colours, but generally of white with some other colour. They are not liked as hackneys, on account of their peculiarity of colour, nor in teams of horses; but they look well when tolerably matched in a })haeton or light carriage. Their value must depend on theii breed. Of themselves they have noijjeculiar character, except that 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 phaeton. The larger variety is a true farmer's or miller's horse, vvith no great speed or extraordinary strength, yet a good-tempered, good-feeding, good-constitulinnod, useful horse enough. Varieties of the dun, shaded with a darker colour, or dappled, and with some breeding, and not standing too high, are beautiful animals, and nuich sought after for light carriage.;. The cream-colour, 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 perfectljMormed body, his swelling crest, and his SURFEIT. 587 proud and lofty action, as it' conscious of his office, qualify liim for the service thai is exacted from him, but we have little experience how far he would suit ether purposes. Of the chestnuts there are three varieties — the pale red or the 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. Their colour is generally objectionable, and they are supposed to be somewhat deficient in endurance. ^ The 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 sometimes irritable, and generally weak. We must except one variety, the Suffolk punch ; a heavy horse, and adapted for slow work, but perfect of his kind — whom no labour can daunt, no fatigue overcome. This is a breed now, unfortunately, 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; powerful in the quarters, but rather fine in the leo-s ; possessed of great endurance, and with a constitution that rarely knows an ail- ment, except that the feet are small and disposed to contraction, and the horse is occa- sionally of a hot and unmanageable temper. Of the bays, there are rnany 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 colour 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 constitution, and good feet; and, if his conformation is not faulty, will turn out a valuable horse for almost every purpose. The bay-brown has not always so much show and action, but, 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 handsome, and more valuable. When, however, we arrive at the browns, it is necessary to examine the degree of breeding. This colour is not so fashionable, and therefore these horses have been considerably neglected. There are many good ones, and those that are good are valuable ; others, probably, are only a half or a quarter bred, and therefore compara- tively coarse, yet useful for the saddle and for harness — for slow work, and, occasion- ally, for that which is more rapid. The black-brown is generally more neglected so far as its breed is concerned, and should be more carefully examined. It is valuable if it retains the goodness of con- stitution of the brown and bay-brown. Of the black, greater care has been taken. The heavy black of Lincolnshire and the midland counties is a noble animal, and would be almost beyond price if he could be rendered more active. 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, many of our cavalry are mounted. A few black thorough-bred horses and black hunters are occasionally seen, but the improve- ment of horses of this colour 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 colour. This charge is not true to its full extent; but there certainly are a great many worthless black horses in every part of the country. After all, there is an old saying, that a good horse cannot be of a bad colour; and that it is far more necessary to attend to the conformation and points of the animal than to his colour. The foregoing observations, however, although they admit of many exceptions, may be useful in guiding to the judicious purchase of the horse. SURFEIT. Large pimples or eruptions often appear suddenly on the skin of the horse, and especially in the spring of the year. Occasionally they disappear as quickly as they came. Sometimes they seem to be attended with great itching, but. at other times, the annoyance is comparatively little. When these eruptions have remain'ed a few rlays. the cuticle frequently peels off, and a small scaly spot — rarely a sore — is left. 388 THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES. This is called a surfeit, from its resemblance to some eruptiors ' u u.--' skin of th« human being when indigestible or unwholesome food has been taken. 'l"he surfeit is, in soii.e cases, confined to the neck; but it oftener spreads over the sides, back, loins, and quarters. The cause is enveloped in some obscurity. The disease most fre- quently appears when the skin is irritable during or after the process of moulting, or when iv sympathises with any disorder of the stomach. It has been known to follow the eating of poisonous herbs or mowburnt 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 drinking of cold water when the animal was hot. It is obstruction of some of the pores of the skin and swellinn of the surrounding substance, either from primary atftction of the skin, or a plethoric state of the system, or sympathy with the diyestive 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 hidebound in page 476. They should be given on several successive nights. The night is bet- ter than the morning, because the warmth of the stable v.ill cause the antimony and sulphur to act more powerfully on the skin. The horse should be warmly clothed — half an hour's walking exercise should be given, an additional rug being thrown over liim — such green meat 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 virulent character, bleeding anit aloetic physic must be had recourse to, but neither should be carried to any extreme. The physic having set, the alteratives 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 alternate appearances and disappearances, should remain, and the cuticle and the hair begin extensively to peel off, a worse aflection is to be feared, for surfeit is too apt to precede, or degenerate into, mange. This disorder, therefore, must next be considered. MANGE Is a pimpled or vesicular eruption. After a while the vesicles break, or the cuticle and tlie hair fall off, and there is, as in obstinate surfeit, a bare spot covered with scurf — some fluid oozing from the skin beneath, and this changing to a scab, which likewise soon peels off, and leaves a wider spot. This process is attended by consi- derable 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 the mane, and its existence may be suspected even before the blotches appear, and when there is only considerable itchiness of the part, by the e?se 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 spontaneously, but it does readily from 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 .■^lightest contact seems to be sufficient for the communication of this noisome com- plaint. If the same brush or currycomb is used on all the horses, the propagation of mange 18 assured ; and horses feeding in the same pasture with a mangy one rarely escape, from the propensity they have to nibble one another. Mange in cattle has been pro- pagated to the horse, and from the horse to cattle. There are also some well-authen- ticated instances of the same disease being communicated 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 thi; stable. The comfort and the health of the horse demand the strictest cleanliness The eyes and the lungs frequently suffer from the noxious fumes cf the putrefying MANGE. 389 (lung and urine ; but, in defiance of common prejudice, there is no authentic instance of mange being the result. It may, however, proceed from poverty. When the ani- mal is half starved, and the functions of digestion and the power of the constitution are weakened, the skin soon sympathises, and mange is occusionnlly produced instead of surfeit and hide-bound. Every farmer has proof enough of this being the case. If a horse is turned on a common where there is scarcely sufficient herbage to satisfy his appetite, or if he is placed in one of those straw-yards that are under the manage- ment of mercenary and unfeeling men, and are the very abodes of ndsery, the ani- mal comes up a skeleton, and he comes up mangy too. Poverty and starvation are fruitful sources of mange, but it does not appear that filth has nmch to do with it, although poverty and filth generally go hand in hand. The propriety of bleeding in cases of mange depends on the condition of the pa- tient. If mange is the result of poverty, and the animal is much debilitated, bleed- ing will increase the evil, and will probably deprive the constitution of the power of rallying. Physic, however, is indispensable in every case. It is the first step in the progress towards cure. A mercurial ball will be preferable to a common aloetic one, as more certain and eifectual 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 application. There is this additional similarity — that which is most effec- tual in curing the itch in the human being must form the basis of every local appli- cation for the cure of mange in the horse. Sulphur is indispensable in every unguent 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 substances, cannot be so effectual as the pure sublimed sulphur. A toler- ably stout brush, or even a currycomb, lightly applied, should be used, in order to remove the dandriff 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 merely smeared over the part. The rubbing should be daily repeated. The sulphur seems to have a direct influence on the disease — the turpentine has an indirect one, by exciting some irritation on the skin of a different nature from that produced by the mange, and under the influence of which the irritation of mange will be diminished, and the disease more easily combated. During the application of the ointment, and as soon as the physic has set, an alterative ball or powder, similar to those recommended for the other affections of the skin, should be daily given. If, after some days have passed, no progress should appear to have been made, half a pound of sulphur should be well mixed with a pint of oil of tar, or, if that is not to be obtained, a pint of Barbadoes tar, and the affected parts rubbed, as before. On every fifth or sixth day the ointment should be washed off with warm soap and wa- ter. The progress towards cure will thus be ascertained, and the skin will be cleans- ed, 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 meat as he will eat should be given to him, or, what is far better, he should be turned out, if the weather is not too cold. It may be useful to add, that, after 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 apparently 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 wa- ter, to which a fortieth part of the saturated solution of the chloride of lime has been added; after which it should be washed with soap and water, and again washed and soaked in a solution of the chloride of lime. Every part of the harness should un- dergo a similar purification. The currycomb 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 "hloride of lime being added to three o-allons of water. All the wood- 33* 390 SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS. work should then be scoured with soap and water, after which a second washino with the chloride of lime will render all secure. Some farmers have pulled down their stables, when they have been thoroughly infected with mange. This is beino" unne- cessarily cautious. The efficacy of the chloride of lime was not then known; but if that is carefully and sufficiently applied to every part of the stable and its furni- ture, there cannot atterwards be danger. Every case of itchiness of tlie skin should be regarded with suspicion. When a horse is seen to rub the root of his tail, or his head, or neck, against the manger, the varts should be carefully examined. Some of the hair may have been rubbed or torn ufi', but if the roots remain firmly adherent, and there is only redness and not scurfi- ness of the skin, it probably is not mange, but only inflammation of the skin, from too great fulness of blood. A little blood should be abstracted — a purgative admin- istered— and the alteratives given. The mange ointment cannot do harm, and may possibl}- prevent this heat of the skin from degenerating into mange, or arrest the progress of mange if it has commenced. If a scurfiness of skin should appear on any of the points that are pressed upon by the collar or harness, the veterinary sur- geon will do right to guard against danger by alterative medicine and the use of the ointment. WARTS. 'Fnese are tumours of variable size, arising from the cuticle, and afterwards con- nected with the true skin by means of the vessels which supply the growth of the tumours. They are found on the eyelids, the muzzle, the ears, the belly, the neck, the penis, and the prepuce. There are some caustics available, but frequently they must be removed by an operation. If the root is very small, it may be snipped asun- der, 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 w axed silk should be passed firmly round it, and tightened every day. The source of nutriment being thus re- moved, the tumour will, in a short time, die and drop oft". 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 those alone, on the integument of one animal, while others of an altogether different character are found on its neighbour. 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 resirable. It is never safe to ride a horse f:;r 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 lilte chu, it probably neutralizes some acid in the stomach or bowels, that would have, diminished the power of the catechu to a greater degree. It nnist not be given ir conjimction with any metallic salt, for the tannin or crallic acid, on which its powei chiefly or entirely depends, has an affinitv 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, MEDICINE. 40") with the aloes, constitutes all that we want of a balsamic nature for the purpose of Hastening the healinff 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 verdigris. They are princi- pally used to destroy fungous excrescences, or stimulate indolent tumours, or remove portions of cellular substance, or muscle infected by any poison. Creta Preparata, Chalk, 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 levigated chalk remains in the form of an impalpable powder. It is usually administered in doses of two or three ounces. It is externally applied over ulcers that discharge a thin and ichorous matter. Chamomile, Anthemis. — The powder of the flower is a useful vegetable tonic, 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 powerful tonic, the gentian. If no acceleration of pulse, or heat of mouth, or indication of return of fever, accom- panies the cautious use of the 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 into a poultice with linseed meal, and applied to foul and offensive ulcers, and to cracked heels. It re- moves the foetid and unwholesome smell that occasionally proceeds from them. Charges are thick, adhesive plasters spread over parts that have been strained or weakened, and, being applied to the skin, adhere for a considerable time. The fol- lowing mixture makes a good charge — Burgundy or common pitch, five ounces; tar, six 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. Clysters. — These are useful and too often neglected means of hastening the evac- uation of the bowels when the disease requires their speedy action. The old ox- bladder and wooden pipe may still be employed, and a considerable quantity of fluid thrown into the intestine; but the 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 Epsom 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 medi- cine has been previously 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 act as a fomentation to the inflamed and irri- table 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 gruel must be thicker, and four ounces of prepared or pow- dered 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 \?. used for the expulsion of the ascarides, or needle-worms. 406 MEDICINE. In epidemic catarrh, when the horse sometimes obstinately refuses to eat or to drink, his strength may be supported by nourishing clysters ; but tiiey should consist of thick gruel only, and not more than a (juart should be administered at once, A greater quantity would be ejected soon after the pipe is withdrawn. Strong broths, and more particularly ale and wine, are dangerous ingredients. They may rapidly aggravate the fever, and should never be administered, except under the superintendence, 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 intestine, or about 96° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. CoLLYRiA, Lotions for the Eves. — These have been sufficiently described when inflammation of the eyes was treated of. Copaiba, Balsam of Capivi. — 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 properties 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. Verdi s^ris or Subacetate of Copper is the common rust of that metal produced by subjecting it to the action of acetic acid. It is given internally by some practitioners, in doses of two or three drachms daily, as a tonic, and particularly for the cure of farcy. It is, however, an uncertain and dangerous medicine. The corrosive subli- mate, with vegetable tonics, as recommended at page 138, is preferable. Verdigris is, however, usefully applied 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. W hen boiled with honey and vinegar, 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 are 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 Sulphate of Copper is the union of sulphuric acid and copper. It is a favourite tonic with many practitioners, and has been vaunted as a specific for glan- ders; 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 aw'ay. As a tonic, when the horse is slowly recovering from severe illness, it is dangerous, and its internal use should be confined 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. 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 beneficial. 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 rrprobated is the practice of giving frequent cordials, that by their stimulus on the stomach, (the skin sympathising 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 excitement 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 staggers when their labour has been unusually protracted and their sto* MEDICINE. 407 machs left too long empty ; or mixed with diuretic medicine, to fine the legs of the over-worked and debilitated animal ; but in no 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 Mercury. Creasote has very lately been introduced into veterinary practice, and is much valued on account of its antiseptic properties. It is obtained by the destructive dis- tillation of various substances, as pyroligneous acid, tar, wood, smoke, &c. Pure creasote is colourless and transparent; its odour 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 haemorrhages. It acts very powerfully on the general system, and quickly destroys small animals. Professor Morton gives a very inte- resting 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 ex- citant and an antiseptic. 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, caries, excessive suppuration, and the repression of fungous granulations. As a caustic it acts as a powerful stimulant, and it is an antiseptic. Croton TiGLii Semina, Croton Seeds. — The croton-nut has not been long intro- duced into veterinary practice, although it has been used from time immemorial b)'^ 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 stag- gers : and also in dropsy of the chest or belly, from the watery and profuse stools "which it prod\ices ; but it is often uncertain in its operation, and its griping, and the debility which it occasions, are serioiis 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 membrane 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. Demulcents are substances that have the power of diminishing the effect of acri- monious or stimulating substances. The first, by some oily or mucilaginous sub- stance, 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 w.iich it is to be effected. Diaphoretics are medicines that increase the sensible and insensible perspiration of the animal. As it regards the horse, they are neither many nor powerful. Anti- mony 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 assisted 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 condi- tion, 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 solution of blue vitriol is an excellent digestive; so is the tincture of aloes, and the tincture of myrrh. The best digestive ointment is one composed of three parts of calamine ointment (Turner's cerate) and one of common turpentine. Digitalis. — The leaves of the common foxglove, 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 inflamma- tory 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 emetic tartar, and three of nitre, repeated twice or thrice in the day. Digitalis seems to have an immediate effect on the heart, lessening the number of 408 MEDICINE. its pulsations; but effecting this in a singular manner — not by causing the heart to beat more slowly, but producing certain intermissions or pauses in its action. When these become marked — when at every sixth or seventh beat, the pulsations are sus- pended while two or three can be slowly counted, this is precisely the effect tliat is intended to be produced, and, however ill the horse may appear to be, or however alarming this intermittent pulse may seem to the standers-by, from that moment the animal will frequently begin to amend. The dose must then be diminished one-half, and, in a few days, it may be omitted altogether: 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 con- sequence to be apprehended from an over-dose is, that the patient may be reduced a little too low, and his convalescence retarded 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 influence 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 macerating three ounces of the 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 medicines. They stimu- late 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 circula- tion cannot be carried on, and it is generally supplied 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 inflam- mation 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 im- paired, or inflammation may be produced. That inflammation may be of an aciite 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 irre- parable mischief. Hence the necessity of attention to that portion of the food which may have a diuretic power. Mow-burnt hay and foxy oats are the unsuspected causes of many a disease in the horse, at first obscure, but ultimately referable to injury or inflammation of the urinary organs. Hence, too, the impropriety of suffering medi- cines of a diuretic nature to be at the command of the ignorant carter or groom. In swelled legs, cracks, grease, or accumulation of fluid in any part, and in those super- ficial eruptions and inflammations which are said to be produced by humours 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 diuretics, and a list of the safest and best, the reader is referred to page 245. The expensive Castile soap, and camphor, so often resorted to, are not needed, for the common liquid turpentine is quite suflicient 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 troublesome 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 unnecessa- rily nauseate the horse. There are some medicines, however, which must be given in the form of drink, as in colic; and the time, perhaps, is not distant when purga- tives will be thus administered, as more speedy, and safer in their operation. In cases of much debility and entire loss of appetite, all medicine should be given in solution, for the stomach may not have sufficient power to dissolve the paper in which the hall is wrapped, or the substance of the ball. MEDICINE. 409 An ox's horn, the larger end heing 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 stable-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 ofF-side of the horse, and draws out the tongue with the left hand ; he then, with the right hand, introduces the horn gently into the mouth, and over the tongue, and by a dexterous turn of the horn empties tlie whole of the drink — not more than about six ounces — into the hack part of the mouth. The horn is now quickly with- drawn, and the tongue loosened, and the greater portion of the fluid will be swallow- ed. 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 a drink consists in not putting too much into the horn at once; introducing the horn far enough into the mouth, and quickly turning and withdrawing it, without bruising or wounding the mouth, the tongue being loosened at the same moment. A bottle is a disjrraceful and dangerous instrument to use, except it be a flat pint bottle, with a long and thick neck. Ferrum, 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 Sulphate (green vitriol or copperas) 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 deceitful stage or form of glanders, in which there is nothing to charac- terise 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 187. Forge-water used to be a favourite 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. Fomentations open the pores of the skin and promote perspiration 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 eflfect 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 con- ducted. They are rarely continued 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 ; the animal sufl^ers con- ^siderable pain, and more harm is done by the extreme change of temperature than if the fomentation had not been attempted. Gentian stands at the head of the vegetable tonics, and is a stomachic as well as a tonic. It is equall}"^ useful in chronic debility, and in that which is consequent on severe and protracted illness. It is generally united with chamomile, ginger, and, when the patient will bear it, carbonate of iron. Four drachms of gentian, 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 pow der, the veterinary practitioner 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 saw dust of boxwood, and rendered warm and punjent by means of capsicum. Helleborus Albus, White Hellebore. — This is a drastic cathartic, and should be used with of the diuretic ball. Lead, Plumbum. — ^The Carbonate of Lead has a deleterious effect on the biped and the quadruped in the neighbourhood of lead works. They are subject to violent grip- ing pains, and to constipation that can with great difficulty, or not at all, be overcome. Something of the same kind is occasionally observed in the cider counties, and the * Veterinarian, vol. xvi., or i., new series, pp. 325, 441, and 524. 412 MEDICINE. " painter's colic" is a circumstance of too frequent occurrence — the occasional dread- ful pains, and the ravenous appetite extending to everything that comes in the way of the animal. Active purg^adves followed by opium are the most etfectual remedies. The .'Icetaie of Lead, Plumhi Aceias. — Sugar of lead is seldom given externally to the horse, but is used as a coUyrium for inflannnation of the eyes. The Liquor Flumbi Subacetaiis, or Goulard's Extract, or, as it usfd to lie termed at the Veterinary College, the Jqua J'egdo, is a better collyrium, and advantageously used in external and superficial inflammation, and particularly the inflammation that remains after the application of a blister. Li.ME was formerly sprinkled over cankered feet and greasy heels, but there are less jiainful caustics, and more effectual absorbents 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 oflfensive discharge. The foetid smell of fistulous withers, poll- evil, canker, and ill-conditioned 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 remove all infection. Professor Mor- ton, very properly, says that the common practice of merely whitewashing the walls serves only to cover the infectious matter, and perhaps to preserve it for an indefinite length of time, so that when the lime scales off, disease may be again engendered by the exposed virus. The horse furniture worn by a glandered or mangy animal will be effectually 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 ihe skin, to remove deeper-seated pain or inflammation. As an emollient liniment, 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, the same quantity of cam- phorated spirit, an ounce of oil of turpentine, and half an ounce of laudanum, may be mixed together; or or an ounce of camphor may l)e 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. Thin gruel, however, is preferable ; itls as bland and soothing, and it is more nutritious. Linseed meal forms the best poultice for almost every purpose. Magnesia. — The sulphate of magnesia, or Epsom Salts, should be used only in promoting tiie purgative eflect of clysters, or, in repeated doses of six or eight ounces, gently to open the bowels nt the commencement of fever. Some doubt, however, attends the latter practice ; for the dose must occasionally be thrice repeated before it will act, and then, although safer than aloes, it may produce too much irri- tation in the intestinal canal, especially if the fever is the precursor of inflammation of tlie lungs. Mashes constitute a very important part of horse-provender, whether in sickness or health. A mash rriven occasionally to a horse that is otherwise fed on dry mevX prevents him from becoming dangerously costive. To the over-worked and tired horse, nothintr is so refreshing as a warm mash with liis usual allowance of corn in it The art of getting a horse into apparent condition for sale, or giving him a round and plinni) appearance, consists principally in tlie frequent repetition of mashes, and from their easiness of digestion and the mild nutriment wliich they afford, as w-ell as their laxative eflect, they form the principal diet of tlie sick horse. Thev are made by pmiring l)oiling water on bran, and stirring it well, and then cov( ring it over until it is sufliciently cool for the horse to eat. If in the heat of stimniei^a cold mash is preferred, it should, nevertheless, be made with hot water, and then sutTered to remain until it is cold. This is not always sufliciently attended to by the groom, who is not aware that the cfiicacy of the mash depends principallj MEDICINE. 418 on the change which is effected in the bran and the other ingredients by the boiling water rendering them more easy of digestion, as well as more aperient. If the horse refuses the mash, a few oats may be sprinkled over it, in order to tempt him to eat it; but if it is previously designed that corn should be given in the mash, it should be scalded with the bran, in order to soften it and render it more digestible. Bran mashes are very useful 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 whose diet they form a principal part, should be daily and carefully cleaned out. When horses are weakly and much reduced, malt mashes will often be very pala- table 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 oftener given when the horse is rapidly getting weaker from protracted disease, or when he is beginning to recover from a disease 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. Mustard, Sinapis. — ^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. Myrrh may be used in the form of tincture, or it may be united to the tincture of aloes as a stimulating and digestive application to wounds. Diluted with an equal quantity of water, it is a good application for canker in the mouth, but as an internal medicine it seems to be inert, although some practitioners advocate its use, combined with opium, in cases of chronic cough. Nitrous tEther, Spirit of, is a very 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 inconsider able 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 except inconsiderable doses; but it is a pow- erful 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 teta- nus or locked-jaw. As a sedative it relaxes that universal spasm of the muscular system which is the characteristic 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 will necessarily be arrested. Opium should, however, be given with caution. It is its secondary effect that is sedative, and, if given in cases of fever, its primary effect in increasing the excita- tion of the frame may be very considerable and highl}^ injurious. In the early and acute statre 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. Estprnally, it is useful in ophthalmia. In the form of decoction 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 supera- cetate 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 stat" of purity. The best tests are its smell, its taste, its toughness and pliancy, its faw.i or brown colour, and its weight, for it is the heaviest of all the vegetable extracts 35* 414 MEDICINE. except gum arabic ; 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 soft- ness. 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. Pitch is used to give adhesiveness and firmness to charges and plasters. The common pitch is quite as good as the more expensive Burgundy pitch. The best plaster for sandcrack consists of one pound of pitch and an ounce of yellow bees- wax melted together. Physic. — The cases which require physic, the composition of the most effectual and safest physic-ball, and the mode of treatment under physic, have been already described. Potash. — ^Two compounds of potash are used in veterinary practice. The Nitrate of Potash {Nitre) is a valuable 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 furnishes a very cold and useful lotion for sprain of the back sinews, and other local inflamma- tions. The lotion should be used as soon as the salt is dissolved, for it quickly be- comes as warm as the surrounding air. The Bitartrate of Potash {Cream of Tartar) is a mild diuretic, and, combined with ^thiop'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, relieving pain, cleansing wounds, and disposing them to heal. They are applications of the best kind continued much longer than a simple fomenta- tion can be. In all inflammations of the foot they are very beneficial, by softening the horn hardened by the heat of the foot and contracted and pressing on the internal and highly sensible parts. The moisture and warmth are the useful qualities 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 pro- cured from wounds. Linseed meal forms the best general poultice, because it longest retains the mois- ture. Bran, although frequently used for poultices, is objectionable, because it so soon becomes dry. To abate considerable iuflammr.tion, and especially in a wounded part, Goulard 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 living parts, in the process of what is called coring out ; or to hasten the ripening of a tumour that must be opened ; or to cleanse it when it is opened, — two ounces of common turpentine ma}' be added to a pound of linseed meal : but nothing can be so absurd, or is so injurious, as tlie 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 offensively, two ounces of powdered charcoal may be added to the linseed meal, or the poidtice may be made of water, to which a solution of the chloride of lime has 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 preferable to a poultice of mashed carrots with charcoal. For old (jrease some slitrht stimulant must be added, as a little yeast or tlie grounds of tabk'-bcor. There are two errors in the application of a poultice, and particularly 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 prevented, and the disease is increased instead of lessened ; or it is too hot, and unnecessary pain is given, and the inflammation aggravated. PowDF.RS. — Some horses are very difficult to ball or drench, and the violent Strug gle that would accenip-.iijy the attempt to conquer them may heighten the fever or inflammation. To such liorses powders must be given in mashes. Emetic tartar an^ MEDICINE. 415 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 powilcrs are too often an excuse for the laziness or awkwardness of the carter or groom. The horse frequently refuses them, especially if his appetite has otherwise begun to fail; the ])owder and the mash are wasted, and the animal is unnecessarily nauseated. All medicine should be given in the form of ball or drink. ]\AKiNG. — This consists in introducing the hand into the rectum of the' horse, and drawing out any hardened dung that may be there. It may be necessary in costive- ness or fever, if a clyster pij)e cannot be obtained ; but an injection will better effect tiie purpose, and with less inconvenience to the animal. The introduction of the liand 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 urine, for the bladder will be easily felt below the intestine, and, at the same time by the heat of the intestine, the decree of inflammation in it or in the bladder may be detected. Rksin. — The yellow resin is that which remains after the distillation of oil of tur- pentine. 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 five or six drachms made into a ball with soft soap. The common liquid turpentine is, how- ever, preferable. Rowels. — The manner of rowelling has been already described. As exciting inflammation on the surface, and so lessening that which had previously existed in a neighbouring but deeper-seated part, they are decidedly inferior to blisters, for they do 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 intense, has long continued, rowels will be serviceable by pro- ducing an irritation and discharge that can be better kept up than by a blister. A«; promoting a permanent, although not very considerable discharge, and some inflam- mation, 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 pemianent drain. When sprain of the joint or the muscles of the shoulders is suspected, a rowel in the* chest will be serviceable. The wound caused by a rowel will readily heal, and witb little blemish, unless the useless leather of the farrier has been inserted. Secale cornutum, the Ergot of Rye. — This is well known to be an excitant in assisting parturition in cattle, sheep, and dogs. It has been used with success in thf. mare by Mr. Richardson, of Lincoln. It should only be applied in difficult cases, and the dose should be two drachms, combined with some carminative, and given every hour. Sedatives are medicines that subdue irritation, repress spasmodic action, or deaden pain. We will not inquire whether they act first as stimulants : if they do, their effect is exceedingly transient, 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 respec- tive titles. Soda — The Carbonate of Soda is a useful antacid, and probably a diuretic, but it is not nuich used in veterinary practice. The Chloride of Soda is not so efficacious for the removal of unpleasant smells and all infection as the chloride of lime ; but it is exceedingly useful in changing malignant and corroding and destructive sores into the state of simple ulcers, and, in ulcers that are not malignant, it much hastens the cure. Poll evil and fistulous withers are much benefited by it, and all i'arcy ulcers. It is used in the proportion of one part of the solution to twenty-four of w;?ter. Soon CiiLORiDUM, Common Sail, is very extensively employed in veterinary prac- tice. It forms an eflScacious aperient 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 and disinclination to food which remain after severe illness, *ew things will so soon recall the appetite as a drink composed of six or eight ounces of salt in solution. To horses in health it is more useful than is generally imagined, as promoting the digestion of the food, and, consequently, condition. Externally ap- plied, there are few better lotions for inflamed 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 some quantity of water, it is a good embrocation for sore stioulders and backs; ^nd if it i[Q MEDICINE. does not always disperse warbles and tumours, it takes away much of the tenderness of the skin. SoD^ Sulphas, — Sulphate of Snda. — Glauber's Salt. — This medicine is seldom used in the treatment of the horse. It appears to have some diuretic property. Soap is supposed to possess a diuretic quality, and therefore enters into the compo- sition of some diuretic masses. See Resin. By many practitioners it is made an ingredient in the physic-ball, but uselessly or even injuriously so; for if the aloes 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 effect of the aloes. Starch may be substituted with advantage for gruel in obstinate 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 manage- ment. If a horse is irregularly or seldom worked, his feet are deprived of moisture; ihey 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 stopping. In wounds, and bruises, and corns, moisture is even more necessary, in order to supple the horn, and relieve its pressure on the tender parts beneath. As a common stopping, nothing is belter 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 sufficiently confined by the shoe. Having been well saturated with water, they will continue moist during the night. They are very useful in gentlemen's stables; but the cow-dung and clay are sufficient for the farmer. Strychnia. — This drug has frequently been employed with decided advantage in cases of paralysis in the dog; 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. SoLPHUR is the basis of the most effectual applications for mange. It is an excel- lent alterative, combined usually with antimony and nitre, and particularly for mange, surfeit, grease, hidebound, 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 principally of the dross after the pure sulphur has been sepa- rated. Tar melted with an equal quantity of grease forms the usual 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 objection- able. From its warm and drying properties it is the usual and proper basis for thrush ointments; and from its adhesiveness, and slightly stimulating power, it often forms an ingredient in applications for mange. Some practitioners give it, and advantageously, with the usual cough medicine, and in doses of two or three drachms for chronic coujrh. 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, hut it is not to be depended upon. The spirit of tar, mixed with double the quantity offish oil, is, from its peculiar penetrating proper'.y, one of the best applications for hard and brittle feet. It should be well rubbed with a brush, every night, both on the eru^l and sole. Tinctures. — The medicinal properties of many substances are extracted by spirit of wine, but in such small quantities as to be scarcely available f< r internal use iir veterinary practice. So much aloes or opiinn must l)e given in order to produce elTert on the horse, that the quantity of spirit necessary to dissolve it would be irij\irious or might be fatal. As a])plications to wounds or inflamed surfaces, the tinctures of aloes, digitalis, myrrh, and opium, are hiirhly us(Tnl. Tobacco, in the hands of the skilful veterinarian, maybe advantageously employed in cases of extreme costivenrss, or dangerous cholic; but should never be permitted to be used as an external application for the cure of mange, or an inlernal medicine tc promote a fine coat. MEDICINE. 417 Tonics are valuable medicines when judiciously employed; but, like cordials, they have been fatally abused. Many a horse recovering from severe disease has been destroyed by their too early, or too free use. The veterinary surgeon occasionally administers them injuriously, in his anxiety to gratify the impatience of his employer. The mild vegetable tonics, chamomile, gentian, and ginger, and, perhaps, the carbonate of iron, may sometimes be given with benefit, and may hasten the perfect recovery of the patient ; but there are few principles more truly founded on reason and experience, than, tliat disease once removed, the powers of nature are sufficient to re-establish health. Against the more powerful mineral tonics, except for the particular purposes that have been pointed out under the proper heads, the horse proprietor and the vete- rinarian should be on his guard. Turpentine. — The common liquid turpentine has been described as one of the best diuretics, in doses of half an ounce, and made into a ball with linseed meal and pow- dered ginger. It is added to tlie calamine or any other mild o.ntment in order to render 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 antispas- modic. For the removal of cholic 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 ointment. As a stimulant frequently appUed it must be sufficiently lowered, or it may blemish. Wax. — The yellow wax is used in charges and some plasters to render them less brittle. Zinc. — The impure carbonate of zinc, under the name of Calamine Powder, is used in the preparation of a valuable healing ointment, called Turner's Cerate. Five parts of lard and one of resin are melted together, and when these begin to get cool, two parts of the calamine, reduced to an impalpable powder, are stirred in. If the wound is not healthy, a small quantity of common turpentine may be added. This salve justly deserves the name which it has gained, "The Healing Ointment." The calamine is sometimes sprinkled with advantage on cracked heels and superficial sores. The sulphate of zinc. White Vitriol, in the proportion of three grains to an ounce of water, is an excellent application in ophthalmia, 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 the alum or blue vitriol does not appear to succeed. ZiNGiBERis Radix. — Ginger Bool. — This is an admirable stimulant and carminative. It is useful in loss of appetite and flatulent cholic, while it rouses the intestinal canal to its proper action. The cordial mass resorted to by the best surgeons consists ot equal parts of ginger and gentian beaten into a mass with treacle. So THE ASS AND THE MULE, BY J. S. SKINNER. • " He would Have made them mules : who have their provender Only for bearing burdens ; and sore blows For sinkiog under them." Against these humble animals there seems with many, to be a prejudice, more ci.. , ., not more inveterate, than that which prompts every son of Adam, whether he meet him on che high-way or the bye-way, to " bruise the serpent's head !" Can it be that these abiding antipathies to both, are perpetuated by the force of scriptural injunctions against the life of the one and the procreation of the other ? " Thou shall not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind," saith the Scriptures : now, though this command may be admitted as binding upon the Jews not to breed mules, docs it follow that a christian is forbidden the kind treat- ment and judicious use of them? The same chapter and verse which denounces this experiment upon the procreative faculties of God's creatures, also warns the husbandman not to " sow mingled seed" — but what farmer, whether Jew or Gentile, refuses to reap a good crop of mixed clover and .timothy ? and besides, did not King David, a man after God's own heart, indicate his care for his son, and intend it as a complimerit for both him and the mule, when he gave the order, " take with you the servants of your Lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon?" Let me then invoke the liberality of my readers to cast aside all prejudice against this useful and too often abused hybrid, and impartially to hear me " for my cause." To all, and there are many, who entertain a scornful contempt for the whole asinine family, might be commended Sterne's pathetic story of "The Dead Ass," for a touching picture of faithful service, and of mutual friendship in the humblest walks of life — "Shame on the world ! said I to myself. Did we love each other as this poor soul loved his Ass — 't would be something." America, as to its Agriculture, may be likened to a gallant ship, moored in a beautiful harbour, whose owners have no means to buy her cargo or hire sailors to man and send her to sea. The mildew blights her sails, and worms eat out her bottom. So it is with our lands ; with millions on millions of acres, the growth of our population and national wealth is lamentably retarded for want of force to put them in good and profitable tillage. There is no country where labour, and all labour-saving animals and contrivances, are so much a desideratuvi as in ours ! Hence the necessity and the usefulness of every discussion which shall teach the land-holder how and in what form — with what animal or implement, he can with the least outlay, command the greatest amount of ■productive power applicable to agriculture. That power, in a word, whether animate or inanimate, which will work the longest and the cheapest and with most effect Among animals, is it not in the mule that we find this power or machine ? This, reader, is the subject of our inquiry : and first it seems proper to look into its natural history ana qualities, to see whether there be in fact any ground of preference between one and another, or whether a mule is a mule I all being alike, as too many seem to suppose ; and finally to inquire and explain in what the differ- ence of quality, imparting difference of value, consists— such, reader, is the object of this dissertation. Agriculturists, even those who have enjoyed opportunities of becoming more famili.ir with the qualities and uses of this animal, seem to reason, as already hinted, or rather to conclude without reason, 420 THE ASS AND THE MULE. but rather with the hope of making some impression on the public mind, and inducing a higher appreciation of these animals, by presenting at one view tlie opinions, some of them hillierto unpublished, and believed to be very striking, of gentlemen who have enjoyed rare opportunities to judge of the different races of the Ass, and of the temper, habits and capa- bilities of the Mule. True, the Editor professes to be himself not altogether without expe- rience on some of these points; having often, when a boy, been mounted on the back of one, and sent, on Saturday (always on Saturday) in spite of all pouting and sulking, to the weaver, the shoemaker, the tailor, or the country store. On these mournful occasions, the sense of hardship at being disappointed of some well-concerted scheme of rural sport, tbund vent, it may be easily imagined, in acts of spitefulness (not always unretaliated) towards the innocent mule — the poor beast being beaten and the rider sometimes thrown ovej- his head! until now, that though near forty years have passed away since the close of this war of puerile injustice and mulish resentment, it may yet be questioned whether it be exactly fair, that one of the parties should assume to be the limner of the other ! We will en. deavour, however, in weighing the subject, to hold the scales with even hand ; and here, lest it be elsewhere omitted, let one acknowledgment be made, and noted by the advocates of the more sightly and favoured horse, — that though the mule may, as already suggested, be the cause of falls in others, no man ever yet saw a mule fall down ! but we must not anticipate. As already staled, the first inquiry would seem to be as to the progenitors of the mule, to decide how far, on these, depend the qualities and value of the progeny. This point being discussed, the subject leads us to consider the question of rearing and breaking — his age, strength and general usefulness compared with other animals. On all these points we shall rely as before admitted on the views of intelligent writers, and of gentlemen of close obser- vation and of the highest respectability with whom we have recently corresponded. Before proceeding however to quote authorities on tiiese points, there is one proposition or conclusion which reading and inquiry have led us to adopt, and which may as well be here expressed, without stopping to trouble the reader with all the particular grounds of it. It is that the best mules are produced by the union of the Jack with the mare, rather than from cohabita- tion between the Stallion and the Jennet. Independently of any particular facts, and of the few instances in which the Stallion is known to have been so employed, (that alone warrant- ing the inference against its eligibility) we should form the conclusion here announced, that the better produce would be, generally from the smaller sire and the larger dam ; on the clear principles of breeding laid down by Professor Cline of London, in his essay on breeding domestic animals, which is elsewhere referred to and quoted in our introduction to the work on the Horse. In the annals of American agriculture at least, the essay on the mule, which may be regarded as the most elaborate and of the highest authority, is one written by S. VV. Pomerov, Esq., a gentleman who, whether farming, as then, near the " Literary Emporium," or as now, more profitably employed, as we learn and hope, in heaving coal on the banks of the Ohio ; brings light to every circle in which he moves. Of an essay so meritorious, we may be justified in telling the history; and the more so as by so doing we shall give to the positions it maintains more weight with the reader tlian would any dictum of ours. The writer of this, then the Editor of the old American Farmer, being himself bred on a "plantation" where mules were bred and in constant use, and anxious to have the minds of his numerous patrons disabused and enlightened as to the true qualities and value of this, as compared with other and more favoured animals for the usual purposes of husbandry, with- out difficulty persuaded the late venerable Charles Carroll of Carrollton to offer a premium for the best essay on that subject. The competitors were numerous, but the award of the plate, with its appropriate devices and inscriptions, was unanimously and without hesitation, to S. VV. PoMERoY, then of Brighton Massachusetts. It is to that essay we shall now have free recourse ; and first as to THE DIFFERENT RACES OF JACKS. It seems to be a well-established fact, that different races of the Ass exist with properties as distinctly marked as those which characterise the various species of camel. According to the learned Doctor Harris, author of the " Natural History of the Bible," four difTerent races of asses are recognised in the original Hebrew Scriplurcs : viz. I'ara, Chamor, Aton, and Orud. We find, says the author of tlie prize essay referred to, that at a very early period of sacred history, the common domestic a.ss, Chamor, was employed in all the menial labours of a patriarchal family, while a nobler and more estimable animal {Aton) was destined to carry the patriarchs, the well-born, and those on whom marks of distinction were to be conferred. They constituted an imporiant item in a schedule of pastoral wealth of those times. David, we are told, had an officer of high dignity appointed expressly to superintend his stud ^ high-hrcd asses ! Atonoth. THE ASS AND THE MULE. 421 Tho difFerencn h-^tu'cen the different races, for which all writers of research and the most observant travellers uud agriculturists contend, may be plainly traced in the portraits drawn by G. W. Park Custis, Esq., of Arlington, of the two Jacks, the Royal Gift, and the Knight OF Malta, presented to General Washington about the year 1787 — of these Mr. Custis says, " The Gift, with a jennet, was a present from the king of Spain, and said to have been selected from the royal stud. The Knight I believe was from the Marquis de Lafayette, and shipped from Marseilles. "The Gift was a huge and ill-shaped Jack, near sixteen hands high, very large head, clumsy limbs, and to all appearance little calculated for active service ; he was of a grey colour, probably not young when imported, and died at Mount Vernon but little valued for his mules, which were unwieldy and dull. " The Knight was of a moderate size, clean limbed, great activity, the fire and ferocity of a tiger, a dark brown, nearly a black colour, white belly and muzzle, could be managed only by one groom, and that always at considerable personal risk. He lived to a great old age, and was so infirm towards the last as to require lifting. He died on my estate, in New Kent, in the state of Virginia, in the year 1802 or '3. His mules were all active, spirited, and serviceable, and from stout mares attained considerable size. The Knight of .Malta, here anentioned by Mr. Custis, is believed unquestionably to have been " the first Maltese Jack ever brought to the United States." The second one, says Mr. Pomeroy, came in the Frigate Constitution on her return, as he thinks, from the Mediter- ranean, and was sold, it is believed, in the District of Columbia. Since that time a number have been introduced by officers of tlie Navy, and in merchant-ships. The learned Professor Wilson, in an article in the Encyclopedia Brittanica, on the natural history of quadrupeds and whales, says of the Ass : " The races of eastern origin are much more beautiful, with glossy skins, carrying their heads loftily, and moving their limbs in a very graceful manner. They accordingly fetch a very high price." There is no one within the range of our acquaintance whose dealings and whose experi- ence on these subjects, equal those of General James Shelby of Kentucky. Owning and residing upon a magnificent estate of " blue grass land," its resources have been in a good measure dedicated to rearing mules and cattle of improved breeds. The writer had the pleasure to make him a visit in 1839 ; and while partaking festively and intellectually of the hospitalities of his mansion, to learn much of the jnw/e trade, in its various branches. It was like going to New Bedford to be instructed in all the art and mystery of tiie whaling business ! The general's residence is eight miles from Lexington ; and it may be taken as a proof of no mean powers of performance in light harness, that we were taken to his house in his own carriage by a pair of his mules, then in common family use in that way, within the hour, and without a touch of the whip. On the point under consideration, the different breeds of Jacks, General Shelby's opinion is positive, and should carry with it all the weight that habit of close observation and laro-e experience can impart. He maintains, without question, that the Ass belongs to a family, possessing as many varieties as that of the horse; the size, tbrm, and general appearance in the one being as dissimilar, in different races, as in the otlier. By judiciously crossing, says he, tlie different varieties of horses, other varieties have been obtained, better ad.apted to the particular purposes of the breeder — so likewise may the Jack be improved. This list sug- gestion is in strict accordance with the fact stated by Mr. Custis, who, in his letter to Mr. Pome- roy, after exemplifying the remarkable difference of properties which distinguished the Royal Gift and the Knight of Malta, says that (General Washington bred a favourite Jack called Compound from the cross of Spanish and Maltese, putting the Knight of Malta sent out by General Lafayette to the large jennet sent out by the king of Spain along with the Royal Gift. The Jack produced by tliis cross, Mr. Custis says " was a very superior animal, very long bodied, well set, with all the qualities of the Knight iind the weight of the Spanish breed — he was sire of some of the finest mules at Mount Vernon, and died from accident. In full support of tliese views and descriptions of difference of breed in Jacks, we have yet in reserve an authoritj' on whicti we place the highest confidence and value. It is that of J. N. Hambi.eton, Esq., of the United States Navy — whoso profession.! duties carry him to different quarters of the world, and who, moreover, carries with him on his travels very rare advantages and habits, such as, be it said, en passant, it behoves all our young officers to acquire and to pr.ictiso — ho has been studious to gain the command of languages, which he takes with hitn, as so many keys, to utilock and examine the stores that contain whatever is curious or useful, wherever he goes. With thi-se advantages he combines an inquisitive disposition and the ficulty of clear discrijnin.ation. What fruitful sources, these, of intel- lectual enjoyment ! what sure gii irantees of extraordinary inf )rination and usefulness ! Mr Hitnbleton, on the question of di^erent breeds of Asses, states, as the result of inquiry and personal observation during years of service and travel alon;; the shores of the Mediter- ranean, that " The Multese .Ass i-i without ilnubt the best — he has greater activity and en- durance tlian the coarse Jack of Spain and France ; and in his fine limbs and deer-like form, 36 422 THE ASS AND THE MULE. has immense power — the other breeds are often clumsy and sluggfish. — It is the blood-korfs against Conestoga. In Minorca the farmers were extremely anxious to breed from Jacks which our officers of the navy had brougfht from Malta, and confessed their superiority. — There are two kinds at Malta, the black and the grey. The former is always most esteemed. I paid for Peter Sitnple two hundred and fifty Spanish dollars, and he cost me five hundred here. It was considered a high price, but he was known to bo the best Jack of his age in the Isl ind. His sire was carried to England for Admiral Rowley." The Jack here spoken of, I'eter Simple, is one of, if not the finest we have ever seen. Mr. H. adds in a famili.ir letter in answer to one addressed to him on the subjects of this memoir gen- erally, some interesting facts which we take the liberty to transcribe in the unstudied lan- guage (and the better lor that) in which they are written by one friend to another. As to the well-known indifference, not to say antipathy, evinced by snme Jacks to cohabit with a mare, she being of a "diverse kind," he says, " I have heard that it was common for jacks to refuse mares in Spain, and hence the risk of buying them untried. They do not like to sell their breeders, and ask high prices for them. In Majorca I have heard of some that were held as high as SIOOO. I sent in two from Gibraltar which came from Ronda, in An- dalusia : one was a grey, and the other milk-white with a sorrel belly. I was told that he, the white, was of an excellent strain, originally from Barbar^. He was short-legged, very broad over the back, and compactly made ; and took on fat like a pig. He was not clumsy, and was the Jinest ambler I ever saw. Unfortunately he was very slack, and on that account of little value. His colts are good, but have not the spirit of those of Peter Simple. Some of the latter from good mares can compare with the Kentucky mules in size." We shall now bind all that has been asserted in support of the fact that Jacks are of dif- ferent races and tempers, and that the Maltese, among those within our reach and with which we are familiar, is the best, by the following quotation from a friendly letter, written, to use his own expressive phrase, currente calamo, "just as if we were sitting under a tree along shore," from Col. N. Goldborough of Maryland, whose attention to all such matters is known to be as critical as his judgment in them is allowed to be sound and superior. Of Asses and Mules, says the Col., " I know but little of the natural history of the former, but have an experience of some thirty years of the latter. The Maltese Jack in the pro- duction of mules holds the same rank with the Arabian as to horses. I have never seen a dull mule got by the Jack I purchased of you, even from notoriously sluggish mares. I have often wondered that the mule had so much spirit, when the usual qualities attributed to the ass are taken into consideration. I have bred the same mare at different periods to the ass, and to the blood-horse — the horse of fine spirit too, and the progeny of the ass has pos- sessed as much spirit, and in one instance far more than that of the horse." It would be superfluous to multiply authorities or opinions in proof or in description of different races of Jacks, possessing distinct qualities as to conformation and temper: than those already quoted, none can be higher or more conclusive. It was, however, deemed necessary to say thus much, because if, as we expect to show, the mule be highly worthy of more general regard, as an animal whose employment is attended with great economy, is it not essential that those who may be led to breed or purchase, should understand that their value, no less than that of the horse, is affected by and depends in a great measure upon breed? and that if this fact be not kept constantly in mind, both animals are liable to deterioration, leading in time, as with respect to the mule it has already done, to disparagement and rejection. Having indicated, by the opinion of the most competent judges, how much the progeny de- pends for its value on the quality of the sire, it will be seen in the sequel that the influence of the mare is no less than that of the Jack — we have heard large mule traders contend that ' it was greater and more obvious. It is doubtless the greater prevalence of blood in the Ken- tucky mares, fiir example, which stamps the mules of that state witli a blood-like look and air of superiority, which so plainly distinguish them from the coarser mules of Ohio — where racing, until very lately, has been considered almost an ".n born inat ion in the sight of the Lord." We proceed now to view the mule as he is, in a practical point of view — that is in respect of the cost and mode of rearing him — his capacities and uses : to this end we shall take leave to publish, without stopping to separate and systematise the facts they contain, and the arguments they advance, some portions of letters from the friends already spoken of, as well as further quotations from respectable writers who have given their attention to this subject, than which, it is not easy to think of one more interesting to the American husbandman. The great nurseries of the mule, for the supply of Maryland and the yet greater demand for the Southern plantations, have for years past been Kentucky, and more recently Ohio. Before the commencement of this century, the breeding of the nmlc for sale in our own country, and for the plantations in the West Indies, had been confined to New-England ; of its Iiisfory there — the sort of jack employed, and kind of mule then and there produced, the following account is given in the prize essay already sjioken of, and which we connnend to the reader for proof at once of the eagerness and the accuracy of the writer's inquiries info the qualities of the mule. THE ASS AND THE MULE. 423 In Sir George Staunton's account of Lord Macartney's embassy to China, we are told that nuiles are valued in that economical empire at a much hij^her price than horses. In our own country, prior to tiie war of the revolution, a lew Jacks of an ordinary kind were im- ported — a small number of mules bred ; and all exported to the West Indies. I liavc refer- ence to New-England, as I am not aware that any attention was paid to the system in the Middle or Southern States, though it is not improbable that some valuable mules may have been raised by the farmers and planters for their own use. When peace took place, the price of mules in the West Indies excited attention to the breeding of them, which was principally confined to Connecticut; and several cargoes of the small race of Jacks were imported from the Cape de V^erd Islands, and St, Michael's, one of the Azores. It should be observed that the exportation of jacks from Spain, or any of her colonies, was strictly prohibited, and con- tinued to be until after the Peninsular war. There might have been, however, a tew smug- gled Irom the Spanish part of Hispaniola into Cape Fran^fjis, and from thence introduced, but they were vastly inferior to the Spanish Jacks. From this miserable stock a system of breeding mules commenced, the best calculated to deteriorate any race of animals that has been, or could be devised, since their creation. The purchaser of a Jack, when about to coinmetice mule dealer, made little inquiry concerning him but of his capacity to propagate a mule. He placed him in a district where there was the greatest number of mares of quali- ties so inferior that their colts would not compensate their owners for the expense of putting them to a horse, and contracted to purchase their mules at four months old. Those are kept in herds, with precarious shelter in winter, having ample opportunities afforded them to mature and transfer that propensity for kicking, which seems at first merely playful, into an habitual means of defence, to be exercised when the biped or any other race of animals approach them. In this kicking seminary they remain two years, and are then driven to market. At subsequent periods, a few Jacks of higher grades were procured, from which a small number of good-sized mules were bred, and a few of them broke. The breed of Jacks has somewhat improved, and 7nul.e dealers are now located in most of the New-England states and some parts of New- York. But the system as above detailed, with few exceptions, has continued ; and it is from such a race of Jacks, and such a system of breeding and ma- nagement, that the mules have been produced, with which the farmers and planters of Mary- land and Virginia, and the Southern States, have been supplied from New-England; and such have furnished a criterion for a great portion of our countrymen to form an estimate of the value and properties of this degraded animal. On the share of the mare, in affecting the value of the mule, Mr. Custis says emphatically, that General Washington bred nmlcs from "his best coach mares; and found the value of the mule to bear a just proportion to the value of the dam. Four mules sold at the sale of his effects tor upwards of §800, and two more pair at upwards of $100 each pair. One pair of these mules was nearly sixteen hands high." — Now, although it be not here affirmed that these " best coach mares" were blood mares, the fact may be very safely assumed that they were deep in the blood, when we consider that the General himself was of the " race-horse region," — a member and officer of the jockey club at Alexandria — sometimes acting as judge of the race — fond of the turf and of the chase ; in which, according to one, of all merj living, most familiar with his habits, he was " always superbly mounted, in true sporting costume, of blue coat, scarlet vest, buckskin breeches, top-boots, velvet cap and whip with long thong, he took the field at day dawn, with his huntsman Will Lee, his A-iends and neighbours ; and none rode more gallantly in the chase, nor with voice more cheerly awak- ened echo in the woodland, than he who was afterwards destined, by voice and example, to cheer his countrymen in their glorious struggle for independence and empire." — Thus mounted on his famous hunter Blue-skin, says the author of his yet unpublislied memoirs, Washington was always " in at the death, and yielding to no man the honour of the brush.^^ Beintr himself breeder and runner of thorough-bred stock, and well acquainted with the good effect of a generous sprinkling of blood, as well for the road as for the battle-field, it may be fairly inferred that these "best coach mares" had a heavy dash of it, from which were bred mules that commanded $200 each, and were nearly sixteen hands high, " active and spirited." It is well remembered as the opinion of the late Frederick Skinner, (blessed be his me- mory,) father of the writer of this memoir, vrho sent his jennets several years from Calvert County, to the Jacks at Mount Vernon, and who was withal a connoisseur in all such cases, — it was his oflen-expresscd conviction that the activity, endurance, and value of mules was greatly enhanced when bred from mares deep in the blood. But we cannot dismiss our re- spected and cautious author of the prize essay, without availing yet more largely of the result of his careful researches and reflections, founded on personal experience, and so we proceed to transcribe his remarks on the several points of breeding and rearing — economy of keep — steadiness to labour — docility of temper — exemption from disease — and longevity of the animal. The impressions received, says he, when on a visit to the West Indies in my yout!i,byobserv. ing, in the sugar plantations, the severe labour performed by mules in cane mills, induced me, 424 THE ASS AND THE MULE. when I commenced farming, to purchase the first well-broke mule I could light on ; and notwithstanding he was so small as to require a vehicle and harness constructed purposely for him, his services were found so valuable, and the economy of using those animals so evident, that I was stimulated to great exertions for procuring several others of larger size; in this 1 succeeded, after great difficulty, to such an extent, as to have had more labour performed by them on farm and road for thirty years past, tiian any person, I presume, in New England ; and every day's experience has served to fortity my convictioiv of the supe- rior utility of the nmlc over the horse, for all the purposes lor which I have proposed him as a candidate. And it should be considered that those I have used were of an ordinary breed, vastly inferior to such as may be easily produced in our country, by attention to the intro- duction of a suitable race oi Jacks, and a proper system of breeding and management. Tlie question occurs, how is this to be effected ? I will premise, that there exists a strong analogy between three varieties of the horse, and those of the domestic ass, considered the most valuable. VVe have the Arabian, the hunter, and the stout cart-horse. There is the heavy Spanish Jack, with long slouching ears, which Mr. Custis has described, that answers to the cart-horse ; another Spanish breed called the Andalusian, with ears shorter and erect, of tolerable size, plenty of bone, active, more spirited, and answering to the hunter. Then comes the Arabian Jack, with cars always erect, of a delicate form, fine limbs, and full of fire and spirit. Judicious crosses trom these varieties, will be requisite to produce such kind of mules as may be wanted for general purposes. From the small Jack of African origin, with a list down his back and shoulders, are bred a small race of mules, by far the most hardy of any. With attention to selection in breeding the Jacks, with, perliHps, a dash of some cross of the foregoing description, a stock of mules may be produced, preferable to all others for the light lands and cotton culture of the middle and soutJiern states. To procure any number of Arabian Jacks from their native country, is hardly practicable at the present time. Egypt has been celebrated by Sonnini and other travellers, for superb Jacks of the Arabian breed, which probably has been oilen improved by those introduced by the pilgrims from Mecca. I apprehend no great difficulty in obtaining them from that country. There is, however, no question but the Maltese Jacks are of the Arabian race, more or less degenerated. The most of those brought to this country that I have seen, were selected on account of their size, and had been used to the draught. I should recommend the selection of those that are esteemed most suitable for the saddle, as likely to possess greater purity of blood. A Jack of this kind was, a number of years since, imported from Gibraltar, that had been selected by a British officer at Malta ; and very nnich resembled the Knight of Malta, described by Mr. Custis. I found, upon a careful examination, that he differed but little from the description I had heard and read of the true Arabian race; indeed I could discover some prominent points and marks, that agreed with those found, by Profes- sor Pallas, to belong to the Hemionus or wild mule of Mongalia. From this Jack I have bred a stock, out of a large Spanish Jennet of the Andalusian breed, that corresponds very minutely with Mr. Custis's description of Compound, bred by General Washington, and also a mule that now, not three years old, stands fifteen hands, and has other points of great promise. My attention has been but lately directed to breeding rnules ; and those intended only for my own use. The system adopted is to halter them at four months, and have the males emasculated before six months old ; which has great influence on their future conduct, and is attended with much less hazard and trouble, than if delayed until they are one or two years old, as is the general practice. If they are treated gently, and fed occasionally ont of the hand, with corn, potatoes, &.C., they soon become attached ; and when they find that "every man's hand is not against them," will have no propensity to direct their heels against him, and soon tbrget they have the power. In winter they should be tied up in separate stalls, and often rubbed down. By such treatment there is not more danger of having a vicious mule than a vicious horse — and I am decidedly of opinion, that a high-spirited tnule 60 managed, and well broke, will not jeopard the lives or limbs of men, women, or cliildren by any means so nnich as a high-spirited horse, however well he may have been trained. The longevity of the mule lias become so proverbial, that n purchaser seldom inquites his age. J'liny gives an account of one, taken from Grecian history, that was righty years old ; and thougli p ist labour, followed others that were carr^'ing materials to build the temple of Minerva at Athens, and seemed to wish to assist them ; which so pleased the people, tiiat they ordered he should h.ive free egress to the grain market. Dr. Kces mentions ttvo that were seventy years old in England. I saw, myself, in the West Indies, a nude perform his task in a cane mill, that his owner assured inc was forty year.s old. I nf)\v own a 7nnre. mule twenty-five years old, that I have had in constant work twcniy-one years, and can discover no diminution in her powers; she has within a year past often taken upwards of a ton weight in a wagon to Boston, a distance of more th;;n five mile.'". A gentleman in my Deighbourhood ha? owned a very large mule about fourteen years, that cannot be less than THE ASS AND THE MULE. 425 twenty-eight years old. He informed me a few days since, that he could not perceive the least failure in him, and would not exchange him for any farm horse in the country. And I am just informed, from a source entitled to perfect confidence, that a highly respectable gentleman and eminent agriculturist, near Centreville, on the eastern shore of Maryland, owns a mule that is thirty-Jive years old, as capable of labour as at any former period. From what has been stated respecting the longevity of the mule, I think it may be fairly assumed, that lie does not deteriorate more rapidly after twenty years of age than the horse after ten, allowing the same extent of work and similar treatment to each. The contrast in the mule's freedom from malady or disease, compared with the horse, is not less striking. Arthur Young, during his tour in Ireland, was informed that a gentleman had lost several fine mules, by feeding them on wheat straw cut. And I have been informed that a mule- dealer, in the western part of New- York, attributed the loss of a number of young mules, in a severe winter, when his hay was exhausted, to feeding them exclusively on cut straw aod Indian-corn meal. In no other instance have I ever heard or known of a mule being attacked with any disorder or complaint, except two or three cases of inflammation of the intestines, caused by gross neglect in permitting them to remain exposed to cold and wet, when in a high state of perspiration after severe labour, and drinking to excess of cold water. From his light frame and more cautious movements, the mule is less subject to casualties than the horse. Indeed it is not improbable that a farmer may work the same team of mules above twenty years, and never be presented with afarrier^s bill, or find it necessary to exer- cise the art himself Sir John Sinclair, in his "Reports on the Agriculture of Scotland," remarks that "if the whole period of a horse's labour be fifteen years, the first six may be equal in value to the remaining nine; therefore a horse of ten years old, after working six years, may be worth half his original value." He estimates the annual decline of a horse to be equal to fifty per cent, on his price every six years, and supposes one out of twenty-five that are regularly employed in agriculture, to die every year : for insurance against diseases and accidents. He considers five acres of land, of medium quality, necessary for the maintenance of each horse, and the annual expense, including harness, shoeing, farriery, insurance and decline in value, allowing him to cost $230, to exceed that sum about Jive per cent., which is the only difference between the estimate of tiiis illustrious and accurate agriculturist, and that of a respectable committee of the Farmers' Society of Barwell district. South Carolina, who in a report published in the Carlestou Courier, of the 23d of February last (1825,) state, that" the an- nual expense of keeping a horse is equil to his value." The same committee also state, that, "at four years old a horse will seldom sell for more than the expense of rearing him." That " the superiority of the mule over the horse, iiad long been appreciated by some of their moat judicious planters; that two mules could be raised at less ex|)ense than one horse ; that a mule is fit for service at an earlier age, if of sufficient size ; will perform as much labour; and if attended to when first put to work, his gait and habits may be formed to suit the taste of the owner." This report may be considered a most valuable document, emanating, as it does, from enlightened practical firmers and planters, in a section of our country where we may suppose a horse can be m lintained cheaper than in Maryland, or any state farther north. I am convinced that the small breed of mules will consume less, in proportion to the labour they arc capable of perfiirming, than the larger race; but I shall confine the comparison to the latter — those that stand from fourteen and a half to rising of fifteen hands, and equal to any labour that a horse is usu illy put to. From repeated experiments, in the course of two winters, I found that three mules of this description, that were constantly at work, consumed about the same quantity of hay, and only one-fourth the provender that was given to two middling-sized coach horses, moderately worked. And from many years' attentive observa- tion, I am led to believe that a larfre sized mule will not require more than from three-Jifths to two-thirds the food, to keep him in good order, that will be necessary for a horse performing the same extent of labour. Although a mule will work and endure on such mean and hard fare, that a horse would soon give out upon, he has an equal relish for that which is good; and it i'< strict economy to indulge him, tor no animal will pay better for extra keep by extra work. But if by hard fare, or hard work, he is reduced to a skeleton, two or three weeks, rest and good keeping will put him in flesh and high condition for labour. I have vi'itncssed several such examples with subjects twenty years old ; so much cinnot be siid of a horse at half that age. The expense of shoeing a mule, the year round, does not amount to more than one-third that of a horse, his hoofs l)cing harder, more horny, and so slow in their growth, that the shoes require no removal, and hold on till worn out ; and the wear, from the liglitnesa of the animal, is much less. In answer to the charge generally prevalent against the mule, that he la '^ vicious, stubborn and slou)" I can assert, that out of about twenty that have been employed on my estate at JiOorent periods during a course of thirty years, and those picked up, chiefly on account of b(i» 3d 426 THE ASS AND THE MULE. their size and spirit, wherever they could be found, one only had any vicious propensities, and those mi^ht have been subdued by proper management when young. 1 have always found tliem truer pullers and quicker travellers, witli a load, than horses. Their vision and hearing is much more accurate. I have used them in my family carriage, in a gig, and under the saddle ; and have never known one to start or run from any object or noise ; a fault in the horse tliat continually causes the maiming and death of numbers of human beings. Tiie mule is more steady in his draught, and less likely to waste his strength than the horse; hence more suitable to work with oxen; and as he walks faster, will habituate them to a quicker gait. But for none of the purposes of agriculture does his superiority appear more conspicuous tlian ploughing among crops ; his feet being smaller, and follow each other so much more in a line, that he seldom treads down the ridges or crops. The facility of instructing him to obey implicitly the voice of his driver or the ploughman, is as- tonishing. The best ploughed tillage land I ever saw, I have had performed by two mules tandem without lines or driver. There is one plausible objection often urged against the mule, that "on deep soils and deep roads, his feet being so much smaller than those of the horse, sink farther in :" but it should be considered that he can extricate them with as much greater facility. Few can be ignorant of the capacity oftiie mule to endure labour in a temperature of Aeait that would be destructive to the horse, who have any knowledge of the preference for him, merely on that account, in the West Indies, and in the Southern States. It is full time to bring our comparison to a close; which I shall do by assuming the posi- lion, that the farmer, who substitutes mules for horses, will have this portion of his animal labour performed, with the expense of one spire of grass, instead of two ; which may be equal, so far, to making " two spires grow where one grew before." For although a large- sized mule will consume somewhat more than half the food necessary for a horse, as has been observed, yet if we take into the account the saving in the expense o? shoeing, farriery, and insurance against diseases and accidents, we may safely affirm, that a clear saving of one-half can be fully substantiattd. But, in addition to this, the mule farmer may calculate, with tolerable certainty, upon the continuation of liis capital for thirty years; whereas the horse firmer, at the expiration o? Jifteen years, must look to his crops, to his acres, or a Bank, for the renewal of his — or, periiaps, what is worse, he must commence horse-jockey at an ea'ly period. I cannot resist the impulse to exhibit the mule in one other point of view. For the move- ment of machinery, the employment of this animal, when judiciously selected, has met with a most decided preference, in comparison with the horse, independent of the economy of using him. And if we consider the rapid and probably progressive increase of labour-saving ma- chines, in every dep;irtment where tliey can be made subservient to the requirements of so- ciety, it is evident there will be a corresponding demand for animal power, as well as for that, more potent, derived from the elements ; and although the latter may vastly predominate, yet should the horse be employed, and his increase for other purposes continue, as it now does, in the ratio of population, the number, at no very distant period, may become as alarming in our own, as it is at present in our mother country. And notwithstanding we may feel secure, from the extent of our territory, and extreme diversity of soil and climate, but, above all, from being in possession o? Indian-corn, — the Golden Fleece, found by our "Pilgrim Fa- thers," when they first landed on tliese shores; yet such peculiar advantages may not insure us against the visitations of one of the most distressing calamities that a feeling community can possibly be subjected to." The reader cannot fail to be struck with the strong corroborative proof which is brought in support of the vievi's of this well-informed writer, after a lapse of seventeen years, in the testimony which follows, from no less instructive and intelligent observers. On the pre- ceding points generally, we now present the answers, of recent date, unstudied in style, but deliberate as to facts ; received in reply to, and corresponding in order with interrogatories propounded in desultory form to gentlemen whose names we hai'e already taken the freedom to introduce to the reader — beginning with the letter from General Shelby, whose testimony embraces the practical knowledge derived from many years of opportunity to view the subject well in all its aspects. " As to mules,'" says the General, tiieir qualities may be greatly varied from the same Jack, whether tlie diminutive donkej' of three feet, or the Jack of Spain of sixteen hands, by reason of the great variety of mares bred to him. The Maltese Jack of fourteen hands, I consider entitlc;d to the same rank and dignity in his race th-it is accorded to the Arabian Horse in liis. A cross between him and the Spanish .Tack of sixteen hands, will be found to comi)ine all the essential properties of size, form and action, and to facilitate the breeding of mules possessing those requisites — I need only add that, in all respects, whether in breeding, rearing, breaking, using and in selecting — the subject of tiie mule should be considered as in the same ligiit precisely as that of the horse — therefore the grounds •of preference between one Jack and another; in other words, their good and bad points, resul* THE ASS AND THE MULE. 427 from the combination of sufficient size, form and action, and not from any one of tliose nuuli ties. — Tlie same as to mules. Jacks have sold in Kentucky as high as $5000. Their value ;it this time (April, 1S42) is nominal — sixteen hands is the largest size — fifteen is quite common — inuk-s of scvenleen hands are sometimes to be met with. The quality of the mule is improved hij the Iduod of the mare. It is quite common to work mares while going to the Jack, while in lo.il, and while suckling. Mules should be weaned at about five months old — we feed our mulus on grain, corn, oats, or rye, the latter in the form of chop, from season to season until sold. I mean during the winter, our blue-grass being all-sufficient during the rest of tlie year. It is necessary, however, to grain feed them on the grass through the summer they arc fattened for market — we sell the majority of our stock the fall after they are two — mostly to the cotton planters — a few of late to the Pennsylvania iron works, and a tew to Cuba; tiie remainder we sell at a year older. The present prices at a given age are as variant as that of iiorses, cattle, or any thing else whose value depends upon its quality, and the demands and mone- tary condition of the country — sales were effi:cted last fall at from $3.5 to $1:^5. I have known mules sell at weaning-time for $150, and when grown as high as $300. They should be broke at the age you would break a horse ; and, according to my observation, by the same system. They eat as much as horses, and reward a liberal allowance as well, though he may, when unavoidable, be able to witlistand priviition bettor. I have known mules to travel ten miles within the hour in light harness. I drove a pair from Lexington to the Blue Lick in six hours, stopping one hour by the way — the distance is forty miles. What may be the precise difference in " the age of the mule as compared with the horse, under the same treat- ment, on a plantation," I cannot say ; the advantage, however, would be on the side of the former — I know of no particular inconvenience in using them in a carriage. The mule trade in Kentucky is of about forty years' standing. For the first twenty years the number increased gradually, to about eiglit l)undrcd ; during the next fifteen or sixteen years, it went up to four or five thousand ; since when, it has gone hack to where it was twenty years ago. Our farmers who breed mules, prefer to sell them when they put their ' mares to the Jack, or at weaning time. The price rose gradually from twenty to fifty dollars for colts. My last lot cost me in 1838 fifty dollars, and the season of my Jack given in. The mares were selected, and the colts bargained for in the season of 1837. When the price went dowr\ with everything else a few years back, they discontinued, in a great degree, the breeding of them ; so that our present prices result from a greatly insufficient supply for the ordinary demand. I sold my stock of three year olds, (seventy-three head) last fall at $70. I was anxious to retain two or three pair (not the largest) at $250 a pair, but the purchaser objected — but he was equally anxious to select for me some twenty head (and not the least) at thirty-five dollars. I declined taking them. The number of mules annually exported from Kentucky, may be set down at the whole number raised — as the small number broke to service in this state, are sure, at last, to find their way to a foreign market — at a rough guess, I would fix the nett average value, in market, of our mules, at about $70. The reason why mules have been raised in such numbers in Kentucky more than in other states, is the better adaptation of our soil and climate to the production of grain and grass than any other state, and for which we can obtain a market only in the form of live stock. The " cost of raising a mule to be three years old, when corn is twenty-five cents per bushel," charging from the usual time of weaning, 25th of September, may be computed at about thirty dollars, including a fair equivalent for grazing and salting. I have not known of a case of a female nmle breeding — I wish you would tell me on what testimony the Norfolk case rests [it shall be done] I am a sceptic. — Our Jacks are doing but little this season. — They stand at about five dollars to mares, and from that to fifty dollars for Jennies. — The proportion of foals from a Jack and a horse, does not vary materially, in a given number of mares." So much for the views and opinions of one who has, perhaps, bought and sold a greater number of mules than any individual in the United States. We now present, in like man- ner, without leave of the writer, in so many words, and without any studied formality of diction, a letter from Mr. Hambleton, which the reader will agree needs no higher polish of the pen, or greater amplification, to give it interest and value. "I am now, March 5th, 1842, raising three mules, and their ration is four ears of corn a day, each, and straw a, discretion. This from the 1st of October, to the 30th of April, when they will go to grass, would be about one and a quarter barrels each of corn, allowmg seven hundred ears to the barrel. At $3 per barrel, one and aquarter barrels are S3. 75 the first yeai ; .second year add one third, $5 ; the third year add one tliiid, $G.62=$]4.37, the cost lor corn at three years old. As our farmers never sell straw, and consider it a favour for any animal to work it up into manure, the expense of that is not counted. When two years old, the ration should be augmented one-third — you may smile at my statistics, but I can assure you these colts keep in good order on this allowance. Eight years ago, I bought two three-year 428 THEASSANDTHEMULE. olds from a New-England drove, that had never eaten any grain. I gave $105 for the pair, and tiierc is one of them thut I would not take §100 for now. Five ears of corn at a leed is sufficient for a working mule with corn blades. Tiiej' will keep fat on it under the severest labour — I have worked them eight years, exclusively ; never had one sick or lame, and find them fully efficient for any kind of tiirm liibour, in this region (Talbot County, Maryland.) Our soil is txtremely stiff, but a pair of mules will carry a plough through the toughest sward ; and in carting, will move the heaviest lo!ids. In forming our large com- post beds of manure (sometimes 300 loads in a bed,) and having the raw materials to haul, first under the cuttlc, and again to the field after it is made, you may know that our teams have little idle time. After the ground is broke, a single mule carries the plough in culti- vating corn, or ploughing in wheat. Kentucky mules, of large size, three years old, sold last year in this county for $200 a pair: — now they would not bring as much. I paid for one, raised by a neighbour, four years old, $70 ; and after he was peri'ectly broke, refused SI 00 for him. I'hey are easier broke than horses, and do not kick or bite. Negroes, not accustomed to them, regard them as wild beasts, are afraid of them, and tlius many are spoiled in breaking. "Mules are more used in Spain and Portugal than in any other countries I have visited. The king of Spain used them for his carriage when I was in Miidrid — and most of the grandees. In Lisbon I was told SI 500 was often paid for a pair of carriage mules. The Dutchess of Braganza (Don Pedro's widow,) was a decided mule-woman, and drove six of tlie most splendid greys I ever saw. Dona Maria used English horses. 1 went through her stables with her coachman, who was an Englishman. He told me that in that mounliiinous country, native horses were the best for service — mules better than either. 1 travelled in the Diligence from Barcelona to Madrid, via Valencia, 400 miles, and back. Mules were used the whole route, six to the team, and travelled as fast as our stages usually do. Their public vehicles are much heavier than ours. "They have a beautiful race of asses in Egypt — small but exquisitely formed, and of great spirit. They are much used for the saddle. If you should ever go to Alexandria, you will never forget the importunity of the Jackass boys at the landing, where there are always hundreds ready for service. Our hackmen at a railroad depot are nothing to tliem ; and they all speak a little English. — " This a fine Jack, Sir, don't take that one, that lellow 's a d d rogue," &,c. The Egyptian Ass is generally of a mouse colour, with a black streak down ti)e back and cross on the shoulder — some of them blue, (sacre bleu.) "I cannot inform vou the average number of mares impregnated in Talbot by Jacks. If I could, the criterion would not be fair — as it is known that an old Jack is much more err tain tlian a young one; and they are not in their prime till fifteen.* Mules, I think, would hnnars, ib. ; pressure, ib. ; very difficult *o cure, 318; constitute unsoundness, 391. 438 INDEX. Coronary ligament, description of the, 297 ; the crust principally produced from, ib. ; ring, description of the, ib. Coronet, description of the, ib. Corrosive sublimate, treatment under poi- son by, 227 ; a good tonic for farcy, 227, 411. Cortical substance of the brain, description and fraction of, 78. Cough, the nature and treatment of, 209, 210 ; constitutes unsoundness, 392 ; the occasional difficulty with regard to this, 395. Cow hocks, description of, 291. Cradle, a safe restraint upon the horse when blistered, 347. Cramp, the nature and treatment of, 106. Cream-coloured horses, account of, 386 ; pecu- liarity in their eyes, 88. Cream of tartar, a mild diuretic, 414. Creasote, its use in veterinary practice, 407. Creath, races won by, 36, 37. Crib-biting, description of, 361 ; causes and cure, ib. ; injurious to the horse, ib. ; con- stitutes unsoundness, 361, 392. Cricoid cartilage of the windpipe, the, 163. Cropping of the ear, absurdity of, 81. Crossing the breeds, good effect of, 29 ; bad effects of ditto, ib. Croton, the farina of, used as physic, 407. Crust of the foot, description of the, 295 ; com- position of the, 296; consisting within of numerous horny plates, 298 ; proper degree of it, slanting, 296; proper thickness of the, ib. ; brittleness of, remedy for, 298 ; the cause of sandcrack, 311. Crystalline lens, description of the, 90. Cub, race won by, 37. Cuboid bones, description of the, 285. Cuneiform bones, description of the, 77, 285. Curbs, nature and treatment of, 287 ; consti- tute unsoundness, 392. Cuticle, description of the, 3S1. Cutis, or true skin, account of the, ib. Cutting, cause and cure of, 275, 276, 362; constitutes unsoundness, 393 ; away the foot, unfounded prejudice against, 306. Dandriff, the nature of, 381. Darley Arabian, 21. Deafness, 122. Depressor labii inferioris muscle, description of the, 125. Diabetes, the nature and treatment of, 245. Diaphoretics, thiir nature and effects, 407. Diaphragm, description of the, 176; rupture of, 177 ; its connexion witli respiration, 178. Digestion, the process of it described, 222. Digestives, tlieir nature and use, 407. Digitalis, highly recommended in colds and all inflammatory complaints, 407. Dilator miigrms lateralis nuisclo, description of the, 2^5 ; naris lateralis muscle, descrip- tion of the, ib. Distance, 42. Diuretic medicines, the use and abuse of, 408. Docking, method of performing, 350. Dogs, danger of encouraging them about the stable, 100. Doncaster course, the length of, 42. Don Juan, performances of, 57. Dosoris, race won by, 37. Drinks, how to administer, 408; comparison between them and balls, ib. Dropsy of the chest, 219 ; of the heart, 183. Drover, performance of, 58. Drum of the ear, description and use of the, 81. Duane, race won by, 39. Dun horse, account of the, 386. Duodenum, description of the, 229 ; diseases of the, t6. Dura mater, description of the, 78. Dutchman, performances of, 57, 60, 61, 62; height of, 65. Dutchess, performances of, 57, D. D. Tompkins, performances of| 57 ; height of, 65. Duvall, Judge G., services rendered to the turf by, 25. Ear, description of the external parts, 81 ; in- ternal parts, ib.; bones of the, description and use of, 81, 82; labyrinth of the, 81 ; indicative of the temper, ib.; clipping and singeing, cruelty of, ib.; treatment of wounds or bruises of, 121 ; cruel operations on the, ib. Earl of Margrave, race won by, 37. Eclipse, his performances, 30, 39, 41 ; was a high-blower. Edwin Forrest, performances of, 57 ; height of, 65. Elasticity of the ligament of the neck, 77. Elatcrium, poisonous, 226. Elbow, the proper form and inclination of, 264 ; capped, 261 ; fracture of, 328 ; punc- tured, 262. Ellen Thompson, performances of, 57. Emetic tartar, used as a nauseant, diaplioretic, and worm medicine, 402. Empress, performance of, 59. Enamel of the teeth, account of the, 145. English Eclipse, 24. English steeple-chase, description of, 50. English aristocracy, advantages of, 32. English trotters, examples of, 51. Ensiform cartilage, the, 169. Entanglement of the intestines, description oi; 239. Enteritis, account of, 235. Epidemic catarrh, nature and treatment of, 197 ; malignant, nature and treatment ofj 203. Epiglottis, description of (he, 163. Epilepsy, nature and treatment of, 109. Epsom salts, used as a purgative, 412, Epsom course, the length of, 41. Ergot of rye, the action of, 415. I'lhmoid bone, di'scription of the, 77. Euphorbium, the abominable use of it, 226. Eutaw, race won by, 39. INDEX. 439 Ewe-neck, unsightliness and inconvenience of, 160 Excliang-es of horses stand on the same ground as sales, 397. Exercise, directions for, 371 ; the necessity of regular, ib. ; want of, producing grease, '294 ; more injury done by the want of it than by the hardest work, 372. Expansion shoe, description and use of the, 341. Extensor pedis muscle, description of the, 284. Eye, description of the, 82 ; cut of the, 86 ; fracture of the orbit of the, 93 ; healthy appearance of the, 85 ; diseases of the, 116 ; inflammation of, common, 117 ; ditto, spe- cific, ib.; ditto, causes, 118; ditto, medical treatment of, 118, 119; ditto, untractable nature of, 119, 120; ditto, consequences of, 119 ; ditto, marks of recent, 393 ; ditto, constitutes unsoundness, ib. ; ditto, heredi- tary, 119 ; method and importance of exa- mining it, 87, 90 ; indicative of the temper, 82; the pit above, indicative of the age, 71 ; muscles of the, 92. Eyebrows, substitute for, 83. Eyelashes, description of, 83 ; folly of singe- ing them, 84. Eyelid, description of, 83, 84. Eyelids, diseases of the, 116. Exostosis on the orbit of the eye, 94. Face, description of the, 122; cut of the mus- cles, nerves, and blood-vessels of, 125. Falling in of the foot, what, 304. False quarter, nature and treatment of, 313. Fanny VVyatt, race won by, 39. Farcy, a disease of the absorbents of the skin, 136, 137; connected with glanders, 136; both generated and infectious, J38 ; symp- toms of, 137; treatment of, 138; buds, what, 137; the effect of cantharides in, 138, 139; diniodide of copper, 138. Fashion, performance of, 39 ; the winner of the race of races, 33. Feather-weight, a, 42. Feeding, high, connected with grease, 294; regular periods of, necessity of attending to, 379; manner of, has much influence on broken wind, 214. Feet, the general management of, 380 ; atten- tion to, and stopping at night, recommend- ed, ih. Felt soles, description and use of, 341. Femur, fracture of the, 329. Fetlock, description of the, 275. Fever, idiopathic or pure, 187; symptoms of, ib.; symptomatic, 188. Fibula, description of the, 283. Filly by Imp. Trustee, race won by, 37. P'iring, the principle on which resorted to, 347; mode of applying, ib.; should not penetrate the skin, 349 ; absurdity and cruelty of blistering after, ib. ; horse should not be used for some months after, ib. Fistula lacrymalis, 84 ; in the poll, 157. Fits, symptoms, causes, and treatment of, 109. Fleam and lancet, comparison between them, 189. Flexor of the arm, description of the, 263 ; metatarsi muscle, description of the, 284 ; pedis perforatus, the perforated muscle, de- scription of the, 263, 284 ; pedis perforans, the perforating muscle, description of the, 264, 269, 284. Flirtilla, race won by, 38. Flying Childers, the ne plus ultra of success reached in his days, 29. Foal, early treatment of, 251 ; early handling of, important, ib. ; importance of liberal feeding of, ib. ; time for weaning, ib. Fomentations, theory and use of, 409. Food of the horse, observations on, 372 ; a list of the usual articles of, 374 ; should be ap- portioned to the work, 373. Foot, description of the, 295 ; diseases of the, 302 ; canker, 320 ; corns, 317 ; con^actioh, 305; false quarter, 313; founder, acute, 302; chronic laminitis, 304; inflammation, ib. ; navicular joint disease, 309 ; overreach, 312; prick, 315; pumiced, 304; quittor, 313; sandcrack, 311; thrush, 318; tread, 312; weakness, 321 ; wounds, 315 Forceps, arterial, the use of, 190. Forehead, the different form of, in the ox and horse, 78. Fore-legs, description of, 255 ; diseases of them, 267 ; proper position of them, 278. Forge-water occasionally used, 409. Form, on the improvement of, 28. Founder, acute, symptoms, causes, and treat- ment of, 302 ; chronic, nature and treat- ment of, 304. Foxglove, strongly recommended in colds, and all fevers, 407, 408. Fracture of the skull, treatment of, 93 ; gene-' ral observations on fractures, 322 ; of the skull, 323; orbit of the eye, 324; nasal bones, ib.; superior maxillary or upper jaw- bone, 325; inferior ditto, ib.; spine, 326; ribs, ib. ; pelvis, 327 ; tail, 328 ; limbs, ib. ; shoulder, ib. ; arm, ib. ; elbow, ib. ; femur, 329 ; patella, ib. ; tibia, ib. ; hock, 330 ; le^, ib.; sessarnoid bones, 331; pastern, ib.; lower pastern, 332 ; coffin bone, 333 ; navi- cular bone, ib. Frog, horny, description of the, 299 ; sensible, description of the, 299, 301 ; ditto, action and use of the, 299 ; pressure, question of the, ib.; proper paring of, for shoeing, ib., diseases of the, ib. Frontal bones, description of the, 70; sinuses, description of the, 73; ditto, perforated to detect glanders, ib. Furze, considered as an article of food, ^78. Gallatin, race won by, 37. * Gall, account of the, 231 ; bladder, the horse has none, ib. Gall-stones, 243. Gazan, race won by, 37. 440 INDEX. Gentian, the best tonic for the horse, 409. Georg-e Martin, races won by, 36, 38. Gibbing, a bad habit, cause of, and means of lessening, 356. Gigs, formation of, 154. Ginger, an excellent aromatic and tonic, 409, 417. Give and take plate, 42. Glanders, nature of, 129, 131 ; symptoms, 74, 129, 134; slow progress of, 129, 131 ; ap- pearances of the nose in, 74, 129, 131 ; de- tected by injecting the frontal sinuses, 73 ; how distinguished from catarrh, 131 ; ditto from strangles, ib. ; connected with farcy, 130, 132; treatment of, 135; causes, 133; both generated and contagious, 133, 134, 429 ; oflenest produced by improper stable management, 133; mode of communica- tion, 134 ; prevention of, 135 ; account of its speedy appearance, 132, 133. Glands, enlarged, it depends on many circum- stan^s whether they constitute unsound- ness, 393. Glass-eye, nature and treatment of, 121. Glauber's salt, its effect, 416. Glutaei muscles, description of the, 281, 282. Godolphin Arabian, Sir Archy regarded as the, of America, 25. Goulard's extract, the use of it much over- valued, 412. Gracilis muscle, description of the, 281, 284. Grains, occasionally used for horses of slow work, 375. Grapes on the heels, treatment of, 294. Grasses, neglect of the farmer as to the pro- per mixture of, 377. Grease, nature and treatment of, 292 ; cause of, ib. ; farmer's horse not so subject to it as others, 294 ; generally a mere local com- plaint, 293. Greenwich Maid, performances of, 57 ; height, 65. Grey Eagle, race won by, 37. Grey Medoc, race won by, 39. Grey horses, account cf the different shades of, 386. Grinders, construction of the, 145. Grinding, of the food, accomplished by the mechanism of the joint of tlie lower jaw, 146; swallowing without, 360. Grogginess, account of, 275. Grooming, as important as exercise to the horse, 370 ; opiins the pores of the skin, and gives a fine coat, 371 ; directions for, ib. Grunter, the, description of, 215 ; is unsound, 392. Gullet, description of the, 221 ; foreign bodies in, 223. Gum-arabic, for what purposes used, 398. txutta riercna, nature and treatment of, 121. HABits, vicious or dangerous, 353. H« •naturi.'i, 245. Hair, account of the, 381 ; question of cutting it from the lircls, 29."). Haras, establislK;d by Napoleon, 33. Haunch, description of the, 279 ; wide, ad- vantage of, ib. ; injuries of the, ib. ; joint, singular strength of it, ib. ; also of the thigh bones, advantage of the oblique direction of, ib. Haw, curious mechanism of the, 85; diseases of, 117; absurdity and cruelty of destroy- ing it, 85, 86. Hay, considered as food, 373 ; mowburnt, in jurious, 377 ; old preferable to new, ib. Head, anatomy of the, 70 ; the numerous bones composing it, the reason of this, 70, 71 ; section of the. 72 ; beautiful provision for its support, 76. Healing ointment, account of the, 417. Hearing of the horse, the very acute, 81. Heart, description of the, 181 ; its action de- scribed, 182; inflammation of the, 183; dropsy of the, ib. Heels, question of cutting the hair from them. 295 ; low, disadvantage of, 322 ; proper par- ing of, for shoeing, 334 ; washing of the, producing grease, 294. Height of trotting horses, 64. Hellebore, white, used in inflammation cf the lungs and fevers, 409 ; black, its use, ib. Hemlock, given in inflammation of the chest, 410. Henry, match won by, 57 ; height, 65. Heputic duct, the, 231. Hernia, the nature and treatment of, 240. Hide-bound, the nature and treatment of, 383. High-blower, a description of the, 195, 315 ; is unsound, 392. Hind legs, description of the, 279. Hip-joint, the great strength of the, 280. Hips, ragged, what, 279. Hobbles, description of the best, 344. Hock, the advantage of its numerous separate bones and ligaments, 290; capped, 278, 291 ; cow, ib. ; description of the, 285 ; en- largement of tlie, nature of and how affect- ing soundness, 286, 393 ; inflammation of the small bones of, a frequent cause of lameness, 286, 287 ; the principal seat of lameness behind, 286 ; lameness of if, with- out apparent cause, 290 ; fracture of, 330. Hogs' bird, properties of, 399. Hoof, cut of the, 295 ; description of the, 296. Horn of the crust, secreted principally by the coronary ligament, 298; once separated from the .'sensible part within, will never again unite with it, ib. Hornet, sting of the, 225. Horse, the first allusion to him, 17; in Enghnd and Amcficii, 17; English, 20; Biirb, 21; the different cohiurs of the diflcrent breeds, 386; his fossil reni;iins lound in every part of the world, 17, 31 ; tin; general manage- ment of, 366; sublime account of, hy Job, Id; first (iKtilion of race-horse in English annals, 21 ; Arjibi.m r;icr, 27, 28; hciglit of trotting, 64 ; price o'i in Solomon's time, 18 ; sriEfacify of", ib. ; can sec almost in Hark- nesH, 88 ; Englisli, iniprdved under W'illianj the Couqucror, 21, 22; zuological descrip- INDEX. 441 tion of, 67 ; numerous in Britain at the in- vabion of the Romans, 20. Horse, Flanders, introduced by King John, 22 ; Lombardy, imported by Edward II., tb. ; Spanish, imported by Edward III., »6. ; Flemish, characteristics of, ib. ; Darby Ara- bian, 24 ; revolution in the system of breed- ing brought about by the invention of gun- powder, 22 ; first classification for war, the turf, the chase, the road, and the coach, ib. ; value of before the establishment of the Turf Register, 25; Beach, anecdotes of, 26; thrives best within or near the torrid zone, 31 ; influence of climate and food on the form and character of, 31 ; value of since the establishment of the Turf Register, 32 ; ancestors of the present slock of American, 40 ; good blood in, important in a military point of view, 33 ; prevalence of blood of, in Lee's Legion, 33; American trotting, 49 ; superiority of the American trotting over the English, 49, 51 ; speed of, 50, 51. Houri, {Imp.), race won by, 36. Humerus, description of the, 260. Hunter, the, general account of, 48 ; proper degree of blood in, ib. ; form of, ib. ; spirit of, ib. ; English, ib.; shoe, description of the, 340. Hunting Park course, 64. Hydrocyanic acid, poisoning by it, 226; its occasional good service, 399. Hydrothorax, symptoms and treatment of,219. Ileum, description of the, 229. Inflammation, nature of, 185; treatment of, 186; hot or cold applications to, guide in the choice of, ib. ; importance of bleeding in, 185, 345; when proper to physic in, 186; of the bowels, 235; ditto, distinction between it and colic, 233 ; brain, 98 ; eye, 117; foot, 302 ; kidneys, 244 ; larynx, 193 ; lungs, 206; stomach, 223; trachea, 194; veins, 161. Influenza, nature and treatment of, 197. Infusions, manner of making them, 411. Insanity, 115. Intercostal muscles, description of the, 1G9. Intestines, description of the, 228. Introsusceplion of the intestines, treatment of, 238. Invertebrated animals, what, 67. Iodine, usefulness of", in reducing enlarged glands, 41L Iris, description of the, 89. Iron, the carbonate of, a mild and useful tonic, 409 ; sulphate of, a stronger tonic, ib.; ditto, recommended for the cure of glanders, ib. tchiness of the skin should always bs re- garded with suspicion, 390. Jacks. See the A«3. James's powder, 402. Jaundice, sy in [)tonis;ind treatment of,2 13,244. Jaw, the lower, admirable mi^'ianism o*", l'i2; upper, description o1", HI. 3f Jejunum, description of the, 229. Jerry, performance of, 58. Jim Bell, races won by, 36, 39. Jockeys, superiority of American, 51, 65. Jockey Club, rules and regulations of, 42 John Barcombe, race won by, 39. John Causin, race won by, 36. John R. Grymes, race won by, 37. Jointed shoe, the description and use of, 341 Jugular vein, anatomy of the, 190. Jumper, the horse-breaker, anecdotes of his power over animals, 353. Juniper, oil of, use of, 411. Kate Kearney, her dam sold for 13 pounds tobacco currency, 24 ; her fame established by Col. J. M. Selden, ib. Kicking, a bad and inveterate habit, 358. Kidneys, description of the, 243 ; inflamma- tion of, symptoms and treatment of, 244. King Pippin, anecdotes of him as illustrating the inveterateness of vicious habits, 354. Knee, an anatomical description of the, 264; tied in below, 269 ; broken, treatment of, 265, 391, Knowledge of the horse, how acquired, 69. Labyrinth of the ear, description and use of the, 81, Lachrymal duct, description of the, 84 ; gland, description and use of the, ib. Lady Clifden, race won by, 39, Lady Suffolk, performances of) 57, 63, 64; height of, 65. Lady Victory, performances of, 57 ; height of, 65. Lady Warrington, performances of, 57 ; height of, 65. Lady Kate, performances of, 58. Lamellae or laminae, horny, account of the, 298 ; fleshy, account of the, ib. ; weight of the horse, supported by the, ib. Lameness, shoulder, method of ascertaining, 255 ; from whatever cause, unsoundness, 393, Lampas, nature and treatment ofi 143 ; cruelty of burning the bars for, ib. LaminEB of the foot. See Lamellse, Lancet and fleam, comparison between them, 189. Laryngitis, chronic and acute, 193. Larynx, description of the, 163 ; inflammation of the, 193. Laudanum, the use of in veterinary practice, 413. Lead, the compounds of, used in veterinary practice, 411, 412; extract of, its power much overvalued, 412; sugar of, use of, ib.; white, use of, ib. Leather soles, description and use of, 341. Leg, cut of the, 112; description of the, 267; fracture of the, 332. Legs, fore, the situation of, 255; hind, anato- mical description of the, ib. ; swelled, 291. Levator humeri muscle, description of the, 160, 259. 442 INDEX. Lever, muscular action explained on the principle of it, 257. Ligament of the neck, description and elasti- city of the, 76. Light, the degree of, in the stable, 369. Limbs, fracture of the, 328. Lime, the chloride of, exceedingly useful for bad smelling wounds, &c., 412 ; the chlo- ride of, valuable in cleansing stables from infection, ft. Lindsay's Arabian, 34. Liniments, the composition and use of, ib. Linseed, an infusion of, used in catarrh, 376, 412 ; meal forms the best poultice, 412, 414. Lips, anatomy and uses of the, 139 ; lips the hands of the horse, ib. Litter, the, cannot be too frequently removed, 368 ; proper substances for, 369 ; contrac- tion not so much produced by it as some imagine, 307. '"• Liver, the anatomy and use of it, 230 ; diseases of the, 241. Liverpool, account of the course at, 42. Locked jaw, symptoms, cause, and treatment of, 103. Locomotive, performances of, 57 ; height of, 65. Loins, description of the, 172. Longissimus dorsi muscle, description of the, 173. Lucern, considered as an article of food, 378. Lumbricus teres, the, 240. Lunar caustic, a very excellent application, 402, Lungs, description of the, 181 ; symptoms of inflammation of the, 206; causes of, ib.; how distinguished from catarrh and dis- temper, 207, 208 ; treatment of, 208, 209 ; importance of early bleeding in, 209 ; blis- ters preferable to rowels or setons in, 210 ; consequences of, 210, 212, 215. Madness, the symptoms and treatment of, 100. Magnesia, the sulphate of, 412. Mallenders, the situation of, 278 ; the nature and treatment of, 291. Mammalia, the, an important class of animals, 67. Manchester, account of the course at, 42. Mane, description and use of the, 160. Mange, description and treatment of, 388 ; causes of, 388, 389 ; ointment, recipes for, ib. ; highly infectious, 389 ; method of purifying the stable after, ib. Manger-feeding, the advantage of, 373. Mare, put to the horse too early, 248, 250 ; deterioration in, 249 ; her proper form, ib. ; breeding in-and-in, ib.; lime of being at heat, 250 ; time of going with foal, ib. ; best time for covering, ib.; maniigcmciit of, when with foal, ib. ; management of, after foaling, 250. ■» Maria Duke, race won by, 36. Mark of the teeth, what, l46. Marsk, his performances, 30. Mashes, importance of their use, 412; best method of making them, ib, Masseter muscle, description of the, 125, 144. Master Henry, race won by, 38. Matchem, his performances, 30. Maxillary bones, anatomy of the, 141 , frac- tures of, 325. Meadow grasses, the quantity of nutritive matter in, 379. Medicines, a list of the most useful, 398. Medullary substance of the brain, its nature and function, 72, 78, 79. Megrims, cause, 94 ; symptoms, 95 ; treat- ment, ib. ; apt to return, ib. Melt, description of the, 231. Mercurial ointment, the use of, in veterinary practice, 410. Mercury, its use in epidemic catarrh, 201. Mesentery, description of the, 229. Metacarpals, description of the, 267. Midriff, description of the, 176. Minstrel, race won by, 36. Mischief, performance of, 59. Miss Foote, races won by, 39. Mount Holly, performance of, 58. Modesty, performance of, 57 ; height of, 65. Moisture, want of, a cause of contraction, 307. Moon-blindness, the nature of, 117. Moulting, the process of, 385 ; the horse usually languid at the time of, ib. ; no sti- mulant or spices should be given, ib. ; mode of treatment under, ib. Mounting the colt, 253. Mouth of the horse, description of the bones of, 141 ; should be always felt lightly in riding, ib. ; importance of its sensibility, ib. Mowburnt hay injurious, 377. Mule, the, 419; as he is, 422; value of, in China, 423 ; value of the breed of Gen. Washington, ib. ; more valuable when bred from blooded mares, ib. ; longevity of, 424; Pliny's account of a, ib. ; does not deterio- rate more rapidly after twenty years of age than the horse after ten, 425 ; health of, ih. ; economy in food, &c., ib. ; is more steady in his draught tiian the horse, 426 ; trade in Kentucky, 427 ; his obstinacy, 429 ; bad habits, 429, 430 ; number of in the United States, 430 ; a breeding, 432 ; birth of two colts, ib.; death of ditto, 432, 433. Muriatic acid, its properties, 399. Muscles of the back, description of the, 173 ; breast, ditto, 175 ; eye, ditto, 92 ; face, ditto, 125; neck, ditto, 'l58; ribs, ditto, 169; shoulder-blade, 255; lower bone of the shoulder, ib. ; the advantageous direction of, more important than their bulk, 266, 257, 258; should be largo, 28. Muscular action, the [iriticiplu of, 261. Mustard, the use of, 413. Mvrrh. the use of, for canker and wounds, "413. • INDEX. 443 Nasalis labii superioris muscle, description of the, 125. Nasal bones, fracture of, 324 ; description of, 72. gleet, 127. polypus, 126. Navicular bone, description of the, 301 ; the action and use of it, ib. Navicular joint, disease, nature and treatment of the, 309 ; how far connected with con- ■ traction, 310 ; the cure very uncertain, ib.; fracture of, 333. Neck, anatomy and muscles of the, 158, 159 ; description of the arteries of the, 161 ; de- scription of the veins of the, t6. ; bones of the, 158 ; proper conformation of the, ib. ; comparison between long and short, 159 ; loose, what, ib. Nerves, the, construction and theory of, 70 ; spinal, the compound nature of, 79 ; of the face, 125. Neurotomy, or nerve operation, object and effect of it, 111 ; manner of performing it, 112 ; cases in which it should or should not be performed, 113; a vestige of tlie per- formance of it, constitutes unsoundness, 394. Nicking, the method of performing, 351 ; use- less cruelty often resorted to, 352. Nimrod, his objection to clipping, 383; ad- mits the superiority of American trotters, 49, 51. Nitre, a valuable cooling medicine, and mild diuretic, 414. Nitric acid, for what employed, 399. Nitrous ffither, spirit of, a mild stimulant and diuretic, 413. Norman Leslie, match won by, 57 ; height of, 65. Nose, description of the bones of the, 122, 123 ; spontaneous bleeding from, ib. ; the importance of its lining membrane, 123, 191 ; the nose of the horse slit to increase his wind, 124. Nosebag, importance of the, 379. Nostrils, description of the, 122 ; peculiar in- flammation of the membrane of the, 74 ; the membrane of, important in ascertaining disease, 126, 191; importance of an ex- panded one, 124; slit by some nations to increase the wind of the horse, ib. Nutriment, the quantity of, contained in the different articles of food, 379. ATS, the usual food of the horse, 374, 379 ; should be old, heavy, dry, and sweet, 374, 375; kiln-dried, injurious to the horse, 375 ; proper quantity of, for a horse, ib. Oatmeal, excellent for gruel, and sometimes used as a poultice, 375. Occipital bone, description of the, 74. CEnanthe fistulosa, poisonous, 226. CEsophagus, description of the, 221. Olfactory nerves, the importance of them, 124. Olive oil, an emollient, 413. Omega, races won by, 38, 39. Omentum, description of the, 231. Oneida Chief, performance of, 58. Opacity of the eye, the nature and treatment of, 118. Operations, description of the most important, 344. Ophthalmia, 117. Opium, its great value in veterinary practice, 412 ; adulterations of it, ib. Orbicularis muscle of the eye, description of it, 92. Orbit of the eye, fracture of, 93. Os femoris, account of, 282. Ossification of the cartillages, cause and treat- ment of, 321. Over-reach, the nature and treatment of, 312, 362 ; often producing sandcrack or quitter, 363. Ozena, account of, 128. Pachyuermata, an order of animals, 68. Pack-wax, description of the, 76, 157. Palate, description of the, 163. Palm-oil, the best substance for making up balls, 414. Piilsy, the ciuses and treatment of, 109. Pancreas, description of the, 243. Paps or barbs, 154. Parietal bones, description of the, 74. Paring out of the foot for shoeing, directions for, 334 ; neglect of, a cause of contraction, 306. Parotid gland, description of the, and its dis- eases, 125, 153. Parsnips, the nutritive matter in, 379. Passenger, race won by, 37. Pastern, upper, fracture of, 331 ; lower, frac- ture of, 3.32; description of the, 272, 276; bones of the, ib. ; cut of the, 272 ; proper obliquity of the, 274. Patella or stifle bone, description of the, 283 ; fracture of, 329. Paul Pry, performance of, 58. Pawing, remedy for, 363. Payment of the smallest sum completes the purchase of a horse, 396. Peacemaker, race won by, 37. Peas, somtimes used as food, but should be crushed, 376, 379. Pectineus muscle, the, 281. Pectoraies muscles, description of the, 175,260 Pedigrees of American trotters, 54. Pelham, performance of, 58. Pelvis, fracture of the, 327. Pericardium, description of the, 181. PeronsBus muscle, description of the, 284. Perspiration, insensible, no medicines will certainly increase it, 385. Pharyn.Y, anatomy of the, 157. Phrenitis, :)8. Phthisis pulmonalis, description of, 215. Physic balls, method of compounding the best, 401 ; should never be given in inflani mation of the lungs, 181. Physicking, rules for, 237. Fia mater, description of the, 78. 444 INDEX. Pied horse, account of the, 386. Pignientum nigrum, account of the, 88. Piper, description of the, 215. Pit of the eye, the, indicative of the age, 71. Pitch, its use for charges and plasters, 414. Pithing, a humane method of destroying ani- mals, 158. Pleura, description of the, 179. Pleurisy, the nature and treatment of, 181, 217. Pneumonia, the nature and treatment of, 206. Poisons, account of the most frequent, 226, 227 ; tests of the different ones, 227. Poll-evil, the cause and treatment of, 157 ; importance of the free escape of the mat- ter, lb. Popliteus muscle, description of the, 284. Porter's Spirit of the Times, opinion of, 51. Postea spinatus muscle, description of the, 260. Post Boy, race won bv, 37. Post Match, 42. Potash, the compound of, 414. Potatoes, considered as an article of food, 378, 379. Poultices, their various compositions, manner of acting, and great use, 414. Powders, comparison between them and balls, 415. Pressure, race won by, 37. Pressure on the brain, effect of, 94. Prick, in the foot, treatment of, 315 ; injuri- ous method of removing the horn in search- ing for, 317. Prussic acid, treatment of poisoning by, 226. PufSng the glims, a trick of fraudulent horse- dealers, 71. Pulse, tlie natural standard of the, 184; vari- eties of the, ib.; importance of attention to the, 185 ; the most convenient place to feel it, ib. ; the finger on the pulse during the bleeding, ib. Pumiced feet, description and treatment of, 304; do not admit of cure, i6. ; constitute unsoundness, 394. Pupil of the tye, description of the, 89 ; the mode of discovering blindnes^s in it, ib. Purchase, to complete the, there must be a memorandum, or payment of some sum, however small, 396. Purging, violent, treatment of, 235. QgARTKRs of the horse, description of the, 281 ; importance of their muscularity and depth, ib.; fool, descripiion of, 297; the inner, crust thirmcr and weaker at, 298 ; folly of lowering the crust, ib. Quidding the food, ciiusc of, 363; unsound- ness while it lasts, 394. Quinine, the sulphate of, 403. Quittor the nature and treatment of, 313; the treatment often long and difficult, exercis- ing the patience both of the practitioner ^nd owner, 314, 315; is unsouadness, 394. Rabies, symptoms of, 100 Race-courses, different lengths of, 41. Races, among the Arabs, 27 ; best in America on record, 35 ; at mile heats, 36 ; at two mile heals, 37 ; at three mile heats, 38; at four mile heats, 39; miscellaneous exam- ples of, 40 ; prejudices against, 33. Racers may beget trotters, 52, 53. Racks, no openings should be allowed above them, 367. Radius, description of the, 261. Ragged-hipped, what, 279 ; no impediment to action, ib. Raking, the operation of, 415. Rattler, matches won by, 57, 59; height of, 65. Reality, race won by, 37. Rearing, a dangerous and inveterate habit, 359. Recti muscles, of the neck, description of^ 158; of the thigii, 280. Rectum, description of the, 229, 230. Red Bill, races won by, 36, 38. Reins, description of the proper, 140. Resin, its use in veterinary practice, 415 Respiration, description of the mechanism and effect of, 179. Respiratory nerves, the, 79. Restivenes.^, a bad habit, and never cured, 353 ; anecdotes in proof of its inveterate- ness, 353, .354. Retina, description of the, 91. Retractor muscle of the eye,description of it,92. Rheumatism, 1 10. Rifle, performance of, 57. Ribbed-home, advantage of being, 171. Ribs, anatomy of the, 168, 169. Richard of York, race won by, 37. Ringbone, the nature and treatment of, 277, 278 ; constitutes unsoundness, 394. Ripple, race won by, 38. Ripton, matches won by, 57, 63, 64; height of, 65. Roach-backed, what, 172. Roan horses, account of, 386. Roaring, the nature of, 194, 215 ; curious his- tory of, 195; constituics unsoundness, 392; from tight reining, 196; from buckling in crib-biting, ib.; treatment of, 197. Robin Hood, T»ce won by, 36. Rocker, race won by, 37. Rolling, danger of, and remedy for, 363. Roman nose in tlie horse, what, 122. Round-bone, the, can scarcely be dislocated, 282. Round course, length of, 41, Rowels, manner of inserting, and their opera- tion, 415 ; comp:irison between them, blis- ters, and setons, 350. Rules and regulations of the New York Jockey Club, 42. Rules and rcgu!;itions of llic New York Trotting (^lub, 54. Running away, method of reatrnining, 359. Rupture, treatment of, 240; of the suspensory ligament, 193. Ryc-gras8, considered as &n article of foci 37a INDEX. 145 Baddles, the proper construction of, 174; points of, ib. Saddle-backed, what, 172; galls, treatment of, 175. Saddling of the colt, 253. Sailor Boy, race won by, 36. Sainfoin used as an article of food, 378 Sal ammoniac, the medical use of, 401. Saliva, its nature and use, 153. Salivary glands, description of the, ib. Sallenders, nature and treatment of, 291. Sally Shannon, race won by, 37. Sally Miller, match won by, 57 ; height of, 65. Sally Walker, race won by, 38. Salt, use of in veterinary practice, 415 ; value of, mingled in the food of animals, 377. Sandal, Mr. Percivall's, 343. Sandcrack, the situation of, 278 ; the nature and treatment of, 311; most dangerous when proceeding from tread, 312 ; liable to return, unless the brittleness of the hoof is remedied, 313; constitutes unsoundness, 394. Sarah Bladen, race won by, 38. Sarah Washington, race won by, 38. Sartorius muscle, description of the, 281. Savin, dangerous, 226. Scapula, description of the, 255. Sclerotica, description of the, 87. Scouring, general treatment of, 234v' Screwdriver, performances of, 57 ; height of, 65. Secale cornutum, the effect of, 415. Sedatives, a list of them, and their mode of action, 415. Serratus major muscle, description of the, 168, 255, 259. Sessamoid bones, admirable use of in obviating concussion, 273 ; fracture of, 331. Setons, mode of introducing, 349 ; cases in which they are indicated, ib. ; comparison between them and rowels and blisters, 350. Shakspeare, performance of, 57 ; height of, 65. Shank-bone, the, 267. Shark, his performances, 30, 36. Shoe, the concave-sea(ed, cut of, 338; de- scribed and recommended, 337 ; the man- ner in which the old one should be taken off, 334 ; the putting on of the shoe, 335 ; it should be fitted to the foot, and not the 'bot to the shoe, ib.; description of the .linder, 337; the unilateral, or one side nailed shoe, 339 ; the bar shoe, 340 ; the tip, 341 ; the hunting, 340 ; the jointed, or expansion, 341. Shoeing, not necessarily productive of con- traction, 307 ; preparation of the foot for, 333 ; the principles of, 334. Shoulder, anatomical description of the, 255 ; slanting direction of the, advantageous, 256, 257 ; when it should be oblique, and when upright, 258; sprain of the, 255; lameness, method of ascertaining, ib,; frac- ture of the. 328. 38 Shoulder-blade, muscles oi the, 255 , why united to the chest by muscle alone, ib. ; lower bone of the, description of, 260 ; mus- cles of the, 262, 263. Shying, the probable cause of, 91, 363 ; treat- ment of, 364 ; on coming out of the stable, description of, ib. Side-line, description of the, 344. Sight, the acute sense of, in the horse, 80. Silver, the nitrate of, an excellent caustic, 402. Singeing, recommendation of, 383. Sinuses in the foot, necessity of following them as far as they reach, 319 ; frontal, of the head, 72. Sir Archy, indebted for his fame to American Turf Register, 25 ; regarded as the Godol- phin Arabian of America, ib. Sir Lovel, race won by, 37. Sir Peter, match won by, 57 ; height of, 65. Sir William, race won by, 37. Sitfasts, treatment of, 174. Skeleton of the horse, description of the, 68, 69. Skin, anatomical description of the, 381 ; function and uses of it, 381, 382 ; pores of it, 385 ; when the animal is in health, is soft and elastic, 382. Skull, anatomical description of the, 70 ; arch, ed form of the roof, 77 ; fracture of the, 93, 323. Slipping the collar, remedy for, 365, 366. Smell, the sense and seat of, 124 ; very acute in the horse, ib. Snowing, Mr., his advocacy of clipping, 383 Soap, its use in veterinary practice, 41 6. Soda, chloride of, its use in ulcers, 415 ; sul- phate of, ib. Sole, the horny, description of, 298 ; descent of, i6. ; proper form of, ib.; management of, in shoeing, ib. ; the sensible, 299 ; felt or leather, their use, 341. Sore-throat, symptoms and treatment of, 193. Sorrow, (imp.), race won by, 37. Soundness, consists in their being no disease or alteration of structure that does or is likely to impair the usefulness of the horse, 390, 391 ; considered with reference to the principal causes of unsoundness, 391. Spasmodic colic, nature and treatment of, 232. Spavin, blood, the nature and treatment of, 188; is unsoundness, 394; bog, cause, na- ture and treatment of, 188, 189, 287 ; bone, 288; why not always accompanied by lameness, 289 ; is unsoundness, 394. Spavined horses, the kind of work they are capable of, 289. Speedy-cut, account of, 269. Sphenoid bone, description of the, 77. Spinalis dorsi muscle, description of the, 173 Spine, description of the, 167; fracture of 326. Spirit of the Times, remarks of, 30. Spleen, description of the, 231, 243. Splenius muscle, description of the, 158. 446 INDEX. Splint, nature and treatment of, 268, 278 ; when constituting unsoundness, 395 ; bones, description of the, 268. Sprain of the back sinews, treatment of, 269, 278; sometimes requires firing, 271; any remaining tliickening constitutes unsound- ness, 395 ; sprain of the shoulder, 255. Stables, dark, an occasional cause of inilam- nialion of the eye, 119; hot and foul, a frequent one of inflammation of the eye, ib.; ditto, lungs, 367 ; ditto, glanders, 133, 134; should be large, compared with tlie number of horses, 367 ; the management of, too much neglected by the owner of the horse, j7(. ; the ceiling of, should be plaster- cd, if there is a loft above, ib. ; should be so contrived that the urine will run off, 369 ; the stalls should not have too much decli- vity, ib. ; should be sufficiently light, yet without any glaring colour, 369, 370. Staggers, stomacli, symptoms, cause, and treatment of, 95, 96, 379 ; generally fatal, 96; producing blindness, 98; sometimes epidemic, ib. ; mad, symptoms and treat- ment, ifr. Staling, profuse, cause and treatment of, 245. Stallion, description of the proper, for breed- ing, 248 ; size and form of, prescribed by Henry VIII., 22; contests between, 26. Starch, useful in superpurgation, 416. Stargazer, the, 159. Sternum, or breast-bone, description of the, 168,260. Stifle, description of the, 283 ; accidents and diseases of the, 285. Stomach, description of the, 221, 222; very small in the horse, 222 ; inflammation of the, 223 ; pump recommended in apoplexy, 97. Stone in the bladder, symptoms and treatment of, 246 ; kidney, ib. Stoppings, the best composition of, and their great use, 416. Stranger, performance of, 38. Strangles, symptoms and treatment of, 154 ; distinguished from glanders, 131 ; the im- portance of blistering early in, 155. Strangury, produced by blistering, 347 ; treat- ment of, ib. Strawberry horse, account of the, 386. Stringhalt, nature of, 107; is decidedly un- soundness, 109, 395. Structure of the horse, importance of a know- ledge of, 69. Strychnia, account of, 416. Stud-book, English, reliance to be placed on, Stureshly, race won by, 37. Stylo-maxillaris muscle, description of the, 125. Sublingual gland, description of the, 154. Submaxillary glands, description of the, 153; artery, description of the, 126. Sub-scapulo hyoideus muscle, description of the, 125. Sugar of lead, use of, 412. Sullivan, the Irish whisperer, anecdotes of his power over the horse, 354 ; the younger, did not inherit the power of his father, an* ecdote of this, 355. Sulphate of copper, use of in veterinary prao tice, 406 ; iron, 409 ; magnesia, 412 ; zinc, 417. Sulphur, an excellent alterative and ingre- dient in all applications for mange, 416. Surfeit, description and treatment of, 387 ; im- portance of bleeding in, 388. Suspensory ligament, beautiful mechanism of the, 275; rupture of the, 276; suspen- sory muscle of the eye, description of the, 92. Swallowing without grinding, 360. Swelled legs, cause and treatment of, 291 ; most frequently connected with debility, 292. Sweetbread, description of the, 231. Sympathetic nerves, description of the, 80. Tail, anatomy of the, 167; fracture of the, 328; docking, 350 ; nicking, 351. Tar, its use in veterinary practice, 416. Tares, a nutritive and healthy food, 377. Tartar, cream of, 413. Tayloe, B. O., his views of the American turf| 23, 24, 32. Tears, the secretion and nature of the, 84 ; how conveyed to the nose, ib, ; sometimes shed by the horse from pain and grief, ib. Teeth, description of the, as connected with age, 144 ; at birth, ib. ; 2 months, ib. ; 12 months, 145; 18 months, 146; the front sometimes pushed out, that the next pair may sooner appear, and the horse seem to be older than he is, 147 ; 3 years, 146; 3J years, 147; 4 years, ib.; 4i years, 148; 5 years, ib.; 6 years, ib.; 7 years, 149; 8 years, ib,; change of the, 146; enamel of the, 145; irregular, inconvenience and danger of, 151 ; mark of the, 145; frauds practised with regard to the, 147 ; diseases of the, 151. Temper denoted by the eye, 82 ; by the ear, 80. Temperature, sudden change of, injurious in its effect, 367. Temporal bones, description of the, 74. Tendons of the leg, 267. Tetanus, symptoms, causes and treatment o£ 103. Thick wind, nature and treatment of, 212 214, 215; often found in round-chesteu horses, 213. Thigh and haunch bones, description of, 279 ; form of, 260 ; should be long and muscula' ib. ; description of the muscles of the inside of the upper bone of, ib. ; do. of the outside, ib. ; mechanical calculation of their power 28J. Thompson's description of the bull, 54. Thorough-pin, the nature and treatment of, 285 ; is not unsoundness, 395. Thrush, nature and treatment of, 318 j the INDEX. 447 consequence, rather than the cause of con- traction, 319 ; its serious nature and conse- quences not sufficiently considered, ib,; constitutes unsoundness, 395. Thymus gland, the, 175. Thyroid cartilage of the windpipe, description of the, 163. Tibia, account of the, 283, 285 ; fracture of, 329. Tied in below the knee, nature and disadvan- tage of, 269. Timoleon, race won by, 36. Tinctures, account of the best, 417. Tips, deseription and use of, 341. Tobacco, when used, 417. Toe, bleeding at the, described, 190. Tom Thumb, his performances, 58, 59. Tongue, anatomy of the, 152 ; diseases of, ib. ; bladders along the under part of, 153. Tonics, an account of the best, 417 ; their use and danger in veterinary practice, ib. Topgallant, performance of, 57, 58; height of, 65. Top Sawyer, performance of^ 58. Torsion, the mode of castration by, 254 ; for- ceps, description of, ib. Trachea, or windpipe, description of, 164; inflammation of, 194. Tracheotomy, 165 ; operation of, ib. Trapezius muscle, description of the, 258. Trapezium bone, description of the, 265. Tread, nature and treatment of, 312 ; often producing sandcrack or quittor, ib. Treasurer, races won by, 37, 38. Trenton, race won by, 37. Tripping, an annoying and inveterate habit, 366. Trochanter of the thigh, description of the, 280. Trochlearis muscle, the, 93. Trotter, American, 49. Trotters, American, 49 ; superiority over Eng- lish, 49, 51 ; speed of, 50, 51 ; speed of American attributed to management rather than to breed, 51 ; should not be put in training too young, 52. Trotting, American horses excel English, 49; great number of clubs in America, 50 , ex- traordinary match, 60; height of horses, 64,65. Trotting on the Beacon course, 63; tables, 57 ; horses should do nothing but trot, 54. Turbinated bones, description of the, 124. Turner, Mr. T., on clipping, 383. Turnips, considered as an article of food, 379. Turpentine, the best diuretic, 243 ; a useful ingredient in many ointments, 417. Tushes, description of the, 198, 199. Twitch, description of the, 345. Ulcers in the mouth, treatment of, 151, 152. Ulna, description of the, 261. Unguiculata, a tribe of animals, 67 Ungulata, a tribe of animals, 68. << Unilateral -shoe, 339. Unsoundness, contraction does not always cause it, 307 ; being discovered, the animal should be tendered, 397 ; ditto, but the ten- der or return not legally necessary, ib. ; the horse may be returned and action brought for depreciation in value, but this not ad- visable, ib. ; medical means may be adopted to cure the horse, they are, however, bettet declined, lest in an unfortunate issue of the case they should be misrepresented, 396. Unsteadiness whilst mounting, remedy for, 359. Urine, albuminous, 245 ; bloody, ib. Vastus muscle, description of the, 280. Veins, description of the, 188 ; of the arm, description, &.C., 285; of the neck, ditto, 161 ; of the face, ditto, 125 ; of the shoulder, ditto, 252 ; inflammation of the, treatment of, 161. Velocity, race won by, 37. Vena portarum, the, 231. Verdigris, an uncertain medicine, when given internally, 406 ; a mild caustic, ib. Vermin, account oi, 390. Vertebrae, the dorsal and lumbar, 167. Vertebrated animals, what, 67. Vices of horses, account of the, 353. Vicious to clean, a bad habit that should l)e conquered, 359 ; to shoe, a bad habit that may also be conquered, 360. Vinegar, its use in veterinary practice, 398. Vines, Mr., his use of the Spanish fly in glan- ders, 404. Viper, account of the bite of, 225. Vision, theory of, 88. Vitreous humour of the eye, account of the, 91. Vitriol, blue, use of, in veterinary practice, 406. Volcano, performance of^ 58. Wagner, races won by, 39. Wall-eyed horses, what, 89 ; whether they become blind, ib. Warbles, treatment of, 174. Warranty, the form of a, 395 ; breach of, how established, t6. ; no price will imply it, 396 ; when there is none, the action must be brought on the ground of fraud, ib. Warts, method of getting rid of, 390. Washington, match won by, 57 ; height of, 65. Washing of the heels, productive of grease, 295. Washy horses, description and treatment of, 236. Wasps, treatment of the sting of, 225. Water-dropwort, poisonous, 226; hemlock, poisonous, ib. ; parsley, poisonous, ib. Water, generally given too sparingly, 379 , management of on a journey, 380 ; the dif- ference in effect, between hard and soft, 379 ; spring, principally injurious on ac- count of its coldness, ib. ; stomach of the horse, the, 230. Water farcy, nature and treatment of, 138. 448 INDEX. Wax used in charges and plasters, 417, Weakness of the foot, what, 321. Weaving^ ind'icating an irritable temper, and no cure for it, 366. Whalebone, performance of, 57, 59 ; height of, 65. Wheat, considered as food for the horse, 375, 379 ; inconvenience and danger of it, 375. Wheezer, description of the, 215; is unsound, 392. Whisperer, the anecdotes of his power over the horse, 354. Whistler, description of the, 215 ; is unsound, 392. White lead, use of, 411 ; vitriol, its use in ve- terinarj practice, 417. Wind, broken, nature and treatment of, 213; galls, description and treatment of, 271, 278 ; ditto, unsoundness when they cause lameness, or are likely to do so, 395 ; thick, nature and treatment of, 212. Windpipe, description of the, 164; should be prominent and loose, 165. Wind-sucking, nature of, and remedy for, 362. Withers, description of the, 158, 173; high, advantage of, ib. ; fistulous, treatment of, 174. Worms, different kinds, and treatment of, 239. Wounds in the feet, treatment of, 315. Yankee Sal, performance of, 58. Yellows, symptoms and treatment of the, 242. Yew, the leaves of, poisonous, 226. Zinc, its use in medicine, 417. Zoological classification of the horse, 67. Zygomatic arch, reason of the strong con- struction of the, 75. Zygomaticus muscle, description of the, 125. THK ENI>. MISCELLANEOUS WORKS PUBLISHED BY LEA AND BLANCHARD, Acton's Modern Cookery, with cuts, 12mo., cloth. 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BY CHARLES ELME FRANCATELLI, Pupil of the celebrated Careme, and late Maitre WHdtel and Chief Cook to her Majeslij the Queen. In one large octavo volume, extra cloth, with numerous illustrations. It appears to be the book of books on cookery, being a most comprehensive treatise on that art preservative and conservative. The work comprises, m one large and elegant octavo_ volume, 1,447 recipes for cooking dishes and deserts, with numerous illustrations ; also bills of fare and directions for dinners for every naonth in the year, for companies of six persons to twenty-eight. — Nat. Inlelligeyicer. The ladies who read our Magazine, will thank us for calling attention to this great work on the noble science of cooking, in which everybody, who has any taste, feels a deep and abiding interest. Francatelli is The Plato, the Shakspeare, or the Napoleon of his department ; or perhaps the La Place, for his performance bears the same relation to ordinary cook books that the Mecanique Celeste does to Daboli's Arithmetic. It is a large octavo, profusely illustrated, and contains everything on the philosophy of making dinners, suppers, etc., that is worth knowing. — Graham^s Magazine. Kirby and Spence's Entomology, for Popular Use. AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY; OR, ELEMENTS OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF INSECTS; COMPRISLNCi AN ACCOUNT OF NOXIOUS AND USEFUL INSECTS. OF THEIR Mlr'.TAMORPMOSKS, FOOD, STRATAGEMS, HABITATIONS, SOCIETIES, MOTIONS, NOISES, HYBERNATION, INSTINCT, &c., &c. With Plates, Plain or Colored. BY WILLIAM KIRBY, M. A., F. R. S. AND WILLIAM SPENCE, Esa., F. R. S. From the sixth London edition, which was corrected and considerably enlarged. In one jarge octavo volume, extra cloth. We have been greatly interested in running over the pages of this treatise. There is scarcely, in the wide range of natural science, a more interesting or instructive study than that of insects, or one that is calculated to excite more curiosity or wonder. The popular form of letters is adopted by the authors in imparling a knowledge of the subject, which ren- ders the work peculiarly fitted for our district school libraries, which are open to all ages and classes. — Hunt's Merchants' Magazine. laiLLWRIGHT'S GUIDE. THE rOUN8 MILLWRIGHTS AND MILLER'S GUIDE, Illustrated by twenty-eight descriptive plates, BY OLIVER EVANS. Eleventh edition, with additions and corrections, BY THOxMAS P. JONES ; And a description of an improved Merchant Flour Mill, with engravings, BY C. & O. EVANS, Engineers. In one octavo volume, well bound. THE FQETIGAL WORKS OF THOMAS CAMPBELL, WITH A MEMOIR BY WASHINGTON IRVING, AND AN ESSAY ON HIS GENIUS BY JEFFREY. In one beautiful volume, crown octavo, with illustrations. 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It is sufl5cient for us to thank Lord Campbell for the honest industry -with which he has thus far prosecuted his large task, the general candor and liberality with which he has analyzed the lives and characters of a long succession of influential magistrates and min- isters, and the manly style of his narrative. We need hardly say that we shall expect with great interest the continuation of this performance. But the present series of itself is more than sufBcient to give Lord Campbell a high station among the English authors of his age. — Quarterly Rev. 1* LAW BOOKS PUBLISHED BY LEA AND BLANCHARD. WHEATON'S INTERNATIONAL LAW. ELEMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, BY HENRY WHEATON, LL. D. Minister of the United States at the Court of Prussia, ^-c. Third edition, revised and corrected. In one large and beautiful octavo volume of six hundred and fifty pages. Extra cloth, or fine law sheep. "In preparing for the press the present edition of the Elements of International Law, the work has been subjected to a careful revision, and has been considerably augmented. The author has endeavored to avail himself of the most recent questions which have occurred in the intercourse of States, and has especially sought for those sources of information in the diplomatic correspondence and judicial decisions of his own country, which form a rich collection of instructive examples. He indulges the hope that these additions may be found to render it more useful to the reader, and to make it more worthy of the favor with which the previous editions have been received." — Preface. Hon. Chancellor Kent says : — " The book is admirably got up as to paper, type and bind- ing, and the merits of the work are well worthy of all that attention and care. I entertain no doubt that the demand will equal your expectations." Professor Greenleaf says: — "It is a beautiful book, and does great credit to the pub- lishers, as the work itself has already done to the distinguished author." " We are not surprised that a third edition of this profound and invaluable work has been called for. Its appearance at this juncture, when the exigencies of the country have directed every intelligent and inquiring mind to the study of the mutual rights and duties of nations, is opportune. To the study of this glorious science, Mr. Wheaton has brought a powerful, and enlightened mind, vast energies in research, and a comprehensive and philosophical spirit. He is profound without being heavy; and his style, while it has all the dignity which the subject demands, is animated and agreeable. The work is especially valuable in this country, as it treats, with great fulness, of the American decisions and views bearing upon the subject. Mr. Wheaton's work is indispensable to every diplomatist, statesman and lawyer; and necessary indeed to all public men^ To every philosophic and liberal mind the study must be an attractive, and in the hands of our author it is a delightful one. The work is 'got up' by the publishers in a style that might be adopted as a model for that class of publications. We are glad to see that the war against eyes, so long prosecuted in printing professional works, is being abandoned; those who have not been already blinded by the mote-like minuteness of the type in the publications of some years back, will appreciate and enjoy the clear and expanded pages now before us." — North American. HILL ON TRUSTEES. A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE LAW RELATING TO TRUSTEES; THEIR POWERS, DUTIES, PRIVILEGES AND LIABILITIES. BY JAMES HILL, OF THE INNER TEMPLE, BARRISTER AT LAW. EDITED BY FRANCIS J. TROUBAT, OF THE PHILADELPHIA BAR. In one large octavo volume. " As to the merits of the author's work, the editor can confidently say that, in his opinion* it far surpasses any other on the same subject. Every lawyer who peruses or consults it, will most certainly discover that Mr. Hill writes like a man who has a reputation to lose and not to build up. Such writers are few and precious. The editor begs leave to iterate the important observation made by the author, that his work is principally intended for the instruction and guidance of trustees. That single feature very much enhances its practical value." — American Preface. LAW BOOKS PUBLISHED BY LEA AND BLANCHARD. 7 SFSNCB'S HQUXTV JURISDICTION. THE EQUITABLE JUEISDICTION OF THE COURT OF CHANCERY, COMPRISING ITS RISE, PROGRESS AND FINAL ESTABLISHMENT. To which is prefixed, with a view to the elucidation of the main subject, a concise account of the leading doctrines of the Common Law, and of the course of procedure in the Courts of Common Law, with regard to Civil Rights ; with an attempt to trace them to their sources. And in w^hich the various alterations made by the Legislature down to the present day are noticed. BY GEORGE SPENCE, Esq., one of her Majesty's counsel. In two octavo volumes. Volume I, embracing the Principles, is now ready. Volume II is rapidly pre- paring and will appear early in 1847. ' It is based upon the work of Mr. Maddock, brought down to the present time, and embracing so much of the practice as counsel are called on to advise upon. "If Mr. Spence's professional engagements should admit of his completing with due accuracy, a work of this elaborate and comprehensive character, he will have conferred a lasting service on his profession. This gentleman's qualifications for the task are undoubt- edly great. To say nothing of his great practical experience, he is the author of the valu- able ' Inquiry into the Origin of the Laws of Modern Europe,' " &,c.— Warren's Law Studies, p. 241. " Mr. Spence has entitled himself to these thanks by the production of the volume now before us, in which we find, as the result of inquiries that must have been painfully labori- ous, a deeply interesting account of the origin and gradual growth of the Court of Chancery, and of its equitable principles." — London Jurist, July, 1846. FB.ZSa'CZFIiSS OF €WiTM.TS!S£LIi ZiAW. In one small volume. Being part of the series of '■'■ Small Books on Great Subjects.' Price twenty-five cents. TAYLOR'S JTJKISPE^TJDHlTail. MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. BY ALFRED S. TAYLOR, LECTURER ON MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE AXD CBEMISTRT AT GUl's HOSPITAL. With numerous Notes and Additions, and References to American Law. BY R. E. GRIFFITH, M.D. In one volume, octavo, neat law sheep. OHITTIT^S MEDICAL JURISFRUD£SNCE. In one octavo volume, sheep, with numerous woodcuts. TRAILL'S MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. In one small octavo volume, cloth. PREPARING FOR PRESS. A TREATISE ON THE LAW OF CONTRACTS AND ON PARTIES TO ACTIONS, EX CONTRACTU, BY C. G. ADDISON, Esq., OF THE INNER TEMPLE, BARRISTER AT LAW. With Notes and Additions, adapted to American Practice. 8 LAW BOOKS PUBLISHED BY LEA AND BLANCHARD. HILLIARD ON HEAL ESTATE, NOW READY. THE AMERICAN LAW OF REAL PROPERTY, SECOND EDITION, REVISED, CORRECTED, AND ENLARGED. BY FRANCIS HILLIARD, Counsellor at Law. In two large octavo volumes, beautifully printed, and bound in best law sheep. This book is designed as a substitute for Cruise's Digest, occupying the same ground in American law which that work has long covered in the English law. It embraces all that portion of the English Law of Real Estate which has any applicability in this country ; and at the same time it embodies the statutory provisions and adjudged cases of all the States upon the same subject ; thereby constituting a complete elementary treatise for American students and practitioners. The plan of the work is such as to render it equally valuable in all the States, embracing, as it does, the peculiar modifications of the law alike in Massa- chusetts and Missouri, New York and Mississippi. In this edition, the statutes and decisions subsequent to the former one, which are very numerous, have all been incorporated, thus making it one-third larger than the original work, and bringing the view of the law upon the subject treated quite down to the present time. The book is recommended in the highest terras by distinguished jurists of different States, as will be seen by the subjoined extracts. Judge Story says: — "I think the work a very valuable addition to our present stock of juridical literature. It embraces all that part of Mr. Cruise's Digest which is most useful to American lawyers. But its higher value is, that it presents in a concise, but clear and exact form, the substance of American Law on the same subject. I know no work that we possess, whose practical utility is likely to be so extensively felt." " The wonder is, that the author has been able to bring so great a mass into so condensed a text, at once comprehen- sive and lucid." Chancellor Kent says of the work (Commentaries, vol. ii., p. 635, note, 5th edition) : — " It is a work of great labor and intrinsic value." Hon. Rufus Choate says : — " Mr. Hilliard's work has been for three or four years in use, and I think that Mr. Justice Story and Chancellor Kent express the general opinion of the Massachusetts Bar." Professor Greenleaf says :— " I had already found the first edition a very convenient book of reference, and do not doubt, from the appearance of the second, that it is greatly improved." Professor J. H. Townsend, of Yale College, says :— "I have been acquainted for several years with the first edition of Mr. Hilliard's Treatise, and have formed a very favorable opinion of it. I have no doubt the second edition will be found even more valuable than the first, and I shall be happy to recommend it as I may have opportunity. I know of no other work on the subject of Real Estate, so comprehensive and so well adapted to the state of the law in this country." The work before us supplies this deficiency in a highly satisfactory manner. It is beyond all question the best work of the kind that we now have, and although we doubt whether this or any other work will be likely to supplant Cruise's Digest, we do not hesitate to say, that of the two, this is the more valuable to the American lawyer. We congratulate the author upon the successful accomplishment of the arduous task he undertook, in reducing the vast body of the American Law of Real Property to " portable size," and we do not doubt that his labors will be duly appreciated by the profession.— Law> Reporter, Aug., 1846. LIBRARY OF LITERATURE PUBLISHED BY LEA AND BLANCHARD. 9 BY G. B. NIEBUHR. Complete in two large octavo volumes, done up in extra cloth, or five parts in paper, price §1 each part. Translated by JULIUS CHARLES HARE. M. A. WILLIAM SMITH, PH.D. CONNOP THIRL WALL, M.A. LEONHARD SCHMITZ, PH.D. With a Map. The last three parts of this invaluable book have never before been pub- lished in this country, having only lately been printed in Germany, and translated in England. They complete the history, bringing it down to the time of Constantine. THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES FOR THE RECOVERY AND POSSESSION OF THE HOLY LAND: BY CHARLES MILLS. In one part, paper, price one dollar. THE HISTORY OF CHIVALRY; OR KNIGHTHOOD AND ITS TIMES; BY CHARLES MILLS. In one part, paper, price SI. Also the two works, Crusades and Chivalry, in one volume, extra cloth. PROFESSOR RANKE'SJISTGRIGAL WORKS. HISTORY OF THE POPES, THEIR CHURCH AND STATE, IN THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES: BY LEOPOLD RANKE. TRANSLATED FROM THE LAST EDITION OF THE GEK3IAN, BT WALTER K. KELLT, ESa-j B.A. la two parts, paper, at $1 each, or one large volume, extra cloth. This edition has translations of the Notes and Appendices. THE TURKISH AND SPANISH EMPIRES, IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY AND BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTEENTH, BY PROFESSOR LEOPOLD RANKE. TRANSLATED FROM THE LAST EDITION OF TUE GERMAN, BY WALTER K. KELLT, ESQ. Complete in one part, paper, price 75 cents. BY PROFESSOR LEOPOLD RANKE. Parts First and Second now ready. Price twenty-five cents each. TRANSLATED FROM TUE SECOND EDITION BY SARAH AUSTIN. To be completed in about five parts, each part containing one volume of the London edition, This book will conclude the series of Professor Ranke's valuable historical works. A HISTORY OF THE HUGUENOTS; A NEW EDITION, CONTINUED TO THE PRESENT TIME, BY W. S. BROWNING. The object of this work is to give a clear detail of the circumstances connected with the troubles generally called the Rtligioys icars of France. Those events are interwoven with our own history, and are frequently refered to in the present lime. Among the many works which relate to the Huguenots, there is scarcely one that comprises the whole in a connected narrative; and not one, in the English language at least, which is exclusively historical, and divested of all theological discussion. In the present edition, the progress of events is traced to the present lime, comprehending the fullest account as yet given of the tragical proceedings a I Nismes, on the restoration of the Bourbons in 1815. iffliiiHOEirig ©IF liiam laiiE^isr ©if lEnisr® ©3i®m©is imiiE s'smiiiiog BY HOHACE WALPOLE, YOUNGEST SON OF SIR ROBERT WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD. Now first published from the original manuscript, edited, with Notes,by Sir Denis le IMarchant, Bart. •VrAJ^TOlMH^S ZTEW XiETTZSRS. THE LETTERS OF HORACE WALPOLE, Earl of Orford, TO SIR HORACE MANN, His Britan- nic Majesty's Resident at the Court of Florence, from 1760 to 1785. Now first published from the original MSS. In four parts, paper, at one dollar each, or two handsome octavo volumes, cloth. L. & B. have still on hand a few copies of Walpole's Early Letters, in four large octavo volumes. They will shortly publish his " Journals," which have been recently brought to light in England. HISTORICAL MEMOIRS OF MY OWN TIMES, By Sir N. 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INSTRUCTIONS ^TO YOUNG SPORTSMEN IN ALL THAT RE- LATES TO GUNS AND SHOOTING. BY LIEUT. COL. P. HAWKER. From the enlarged and improved ninth London edition. Edited, with many alterations and additions, BY W. T. PORTER, Esq., Editor of the N. Y. Spirit of the Times. In one large octavo volume, with numerous Illustrations. THE HORSE, BY WILLIAM YOUATT. A NEW EDITION, WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. TOGETHER WITH A ^llMl^^L [H]QiT©[lY ©[F TUE UO^^Eb A DISSERTATION ONTHE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE; HOW TRAINED AND JOCKEYED. AN ACCOUNT OF HIS REMARKABLE PERFORMANCES : AND AN ESSAY ON THE ASS AND THE MULE, BY J. S. SKINNER, ASSISTANT POST-MASTER GENERAL, AND EDITOR OF THE TURF REGISTER. This edition of Youatt's well-known and standard work on the Management, Diseases and Treatment of the Horse, has already obtained such a wide circulation throughout the country, that the Publishers need say nothing to attract to it the attention and confidence of all who keep Horses or are interested in their improvement. TM.m BO BY WILLIAM YOUATT; CONTAINING THE HISTORY OF THE DOG, HIS VARIETIES, QUALITIES, ANATOMY, DIS- EASES, TREATMENT, BREEDING, &c., &c. EDITED, WITH ADDITIONS, BY E. J. LEWIS, M. D. In one beautiful volume, with all the illustrations carefully executed. (Just ready.) STABLE TALK AND TABLE TALK, OR SPECTACLES FOR YOUNG SPORTSMEN. BY HARRY HIEOVER. In one very neat duodecimo volume, extra cloth. THE SPORTSMAN'S LIBRARY, OR HINTS ON HUNTERS, HUNTING, HOUNDS, SHOOTING, GAME, DOGS, GUNS, FISHING, COURSING, &c., &c. In one well printed volume, duodecimo, extra cloth. EVERY MAN HIS OWN FARRIER; CONTAINING THE CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND MOST APPROVED METHODS OF CURE OF THE DISEASES OF HORSES. BY FRANCIS CLATER, AtTTHOR OP " EVERT MAN HIS OWN CATTLE DOCTOR." AND HIS SON JOHN CLATER. First American from the twenty-eighth London edition, with notes and additions, by J. S. Skinner, In one 12nio. volume, cloth. EVERY MAN HIS OWM CATTLE DOCTOR. CONTAINING THE CAUSES, SYMPTO.MS AND TREATMENT OF ALL DISEASES INCIDENT TO OXEN, SHEEP AND SWINE ; AND A SKETCH OF THE ANATOMY AND PHYSI- OLOGY OF NEAT CATTLE.— By FRANCIS CLATER. Edited. Revised, and almost Rewritten, by William Youatt. With numerous Additions, embracing an Essay on tlie Use of Oxen, and the Improvement in the Breed of Sheep, by J. S. Skinner, Asst. P. M, General. In one duodecimo volume, cloth, with numerous illustrations. 12 VALUABLE WORKS PUBLISHED BY LEA AND BLANCHARD. GRAHAME'S COLONIAL HISTORY, HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 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Edited by R. Bridges, M. D. In one large 12mo. vol., with many cuts. IN PRESS. Elements of Natural Philosophy, being an Experimental Introduction to the Physical Sciences, with three hundred wood cuts, by Golding Bird, M. D., &c., «Scc. [For the Public Ledger.] The Horse Disease. Messkp. Editors :— Epizooty is a name Im- DlviDE a disease prevalent nmoug animals, a8 epiaemlc is a term appaed lo a disease pre- vailing among tlie human spedes. bome- llmesan epizooty confines Itself to one kind of animal, and sometimes to another. Tbus horned cattle, sheep, dojjs, and cats may each separately be attacked by an epizooty. The nroximate cause of such disease is doubtless something of a very subtile nature floating In the air at certain seasons and times, Inde- pendent of any local cau^«^, though doubtless inodifledby local conditions, buch diseases, though not contagious, or propa:iated from oue animal to another, may, under some cir- cumstances, become so. ,,,„,_ The epizooty prevailing at the present time among horses at the Norm, is a catarrhal al- fection or influenza, all^'xled by febrile "•" sta- toras of more or ■ '^.Q'=^- * "DiW^^^.uiniecViuS r son; ehem\'>^' T'-^ence. ^"^ VoPP'^^^^^Ar^them ti>oj , veutiiai are ^.1 ta^esluefo^'V^^or coatm^ °;,e tViroat . 1 return t\ disease J-aj^r/embr^^^'f.rt and oi <- jn6lal>if° thechai the «viacoa9|^s of ^-^^^nvlaut ^° T^^owder v?dl and bill terior P^Xle^^^V ^""'^oni^. ^h^s .^"^ tar, »» veiled V Ulsua'io^^eof a"^'Voca%oUcftcVd o'^ jogiue has been the presen^|,gr^bie to c^r sia^^lesuu and fevt be fop"",' ?J xised m VUe a^ aismfeclan\ , end of l\ was largely , ^nply^"^ \!ln \u t»^e ^''f w heated a\ -war- _.. time lor aPP| ^v,c bed lOnghy he adds. The best ^,joreOia^;«ras been t^^^^ ^je s^J thanthat isiousei ^^^^ ^nr ibio <^^Vn Ihe "lorn .ng^ the horse, ing, ,^ » dostlng oj/'^v^-iU. ^° oUiei aPP^^*^ character, swept. »« over n^ io,anolu butedtotiUolentlo^^^ thesla^^ , ---^"i^d^^:^-^"^^"" In regartl att^T cjl ,, horse diseal tioo »"" \rciD«^'^*'^'^*\*,1n tors differ i\ « »ii hoaP A^hlurn, and t^en more than pir/sici^ns called to treat human diseases. The latter have onegreat advantage over the former, as their patients can explain their feelin;;s and leaa to a better understand- standing of the natura of their allmente. Whereas, veterinarians, although they are capable of judging of tlie nature pi many of the ailments of animals, are left in the dark about others. Wherever any doubts exist in regard to the exact natuire and proper, treatment, an appeal should be made to the dictates of common sense, one of which is to resort to nothing in doubt- lul cases which might do harm. /^ia^^V vio- lent remedies are resorted to, which, unless the na ure of the case is clear, instead of being curative, lessen the chances of re- covery. Among such uieasures are: ludls- crimiuate oleeding, drastic purgina, and aitl- ficlal sweating, either or all ot which may fend to reduce=*the strength of the animal so B8 to lessen his recuperative forces. The sick horse Should le made as comfortable as poasl- ble, and. il lucUned to lake food or drink, sup- plii'd with emuicent decoctions f^J ^'''^ mashes mai'.e of ground flaxseed mixed with bran or meal, with as much good hay or com blades as he wants, but little or no grain until .^ecldecfly convalescent. A little Baltpeire, or EDSom or Glauber's salts may be added to big drinks or mashes. The propriety of active Frenches In the treatment o^ this epizooty 18 at least questionable, CouMOS bisi'SK.