'V. • . V ' * Author: Badcock, John Title: The grooms' oracle, and pocket stable directory Place of Publication: Philadelphia V Copyright Date: 1831 Master Negative Storage Number: MNS# PSt SNPaAg040.6 i^i 0 <2063661> * *OCLC* Form:mono 2 InputFMD 008 ENT: 980125 TYP: s DT1: 1831 DT2: LAN: eng 035 (OCoLC)38093228 037 PSt SNPaAg040.6 $bPreservation Office, The Pennsylvania State University, Pattee Library, University Park, PA 16802-1805 090 20 Microfilm D344 reel 40.6 $cmc+(service copy, print master, archival master) 100 1 Badcock, John $dfl. 1816-1830. 245 14 The grooms' oracle, and pocket stable directory $bin which the management of horses generally, as to health, dieting, and exercise, are considered, in a series of familiar dialogues : between two grooms engaged in training horses to their work $cby John Hinds 250 From the 2nd London ed. $bwith notes and an appendix, including extracts from the receipt book of the author. 260 Philadelphia $bE. L. Carey and A. Hart $c1 831 . 300 228p. $bill. $c18cm. 533 Microfilm $bUniversity Park, Pa. : $cPennsylvania State University $d1997. $e1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm. $f(USAIN state and local literature preservation project. Pennsylvania) $f(Pennsylvania agricultural literature on microfilm). 590 Archival master stored at National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD : print master stored at remote facility. 590 This item is temporarily out of the library during the filming process. If you wish to be notified when it returns, please fill out a Personal Reserve slip. The slips are available in the Rare Books Room, in the Microforms Room, and at the Circulation desk. 650 0 Horses. 650 0 Horses $xTraining. 830 0 USAIN state and local literature preservation project. $pPennsylvania. 830 0 Pennsylvania agricultural literature on microfilm. >' t-r ■;A FILMED WHOLE OR IN PART FROM A COPY BORROWED FROM: ^ CORNELL UNIVERSITY > .s i t Sf fss -■ss^^jp- M ' I- e/. / j-^ '.cy 6 • SL I. / X. ■m The^TWo Grooms Exercising A JHal in the Distance. Tuhlished by Carry t Hart FhUadtipTiia,. # GROOMS' ORACLE, AND POCKET STABLE DIRECTORY: IN WHICH THE MANAGEMENT OF HORSES GENERALLY, AS TO HEALTH, DIETING, AND EXERCISE, ARE CONSIDERED, IN A SERIES OF FAMILIAR DIALOGUES, BETWEEN TWO GROOMS ENGAGED IN Srafnfnfl Worses to tliefr s^rorft* BT JOHN HINDS, V. S. AUTHOR OF " THE VETERINARY SURGEON." FROM THE SECOND LONDON EDITION. ) WITH NOTES AND AN APPENDIX, INCLUDING EXTRACTS FROM THE RECEIPT BOOK OF THE AUTHOR. E, L. CAREY AND A. HART. SOLD BY J. OBioG, PhUddelpMa. — o. «fe c, ^ h. carvill AND COLLINS & HANNAY, NeW York. CARTER, HENDEE &, fiABCocK, Boston. — w. & J. NEAL, Baltimore,'^ AND THOMPSON 6& HOMANs, Washington, 1831. i \ '•^Jl ^. ^^ S i» ■l-.-f Ko TO) ga> Si- '•f •^^ ! PREFACE. All knowledge belongs to all men. " The Grooms' Oracle !" was an epithet bestowed, about twenty years ago, in derision, upon one of the best books that had hitherto appeared, in this or any other country, on the ^Teterinary Art* Allowed, from the first, to be the best book, because the easiest to be ''' Tha scandal was repeated by a Mr. W. Percivall, in 1823, with still more angry feelings, though that book had already reach- ed its tenth edition. In sooth, beeaute of that very success, proba- bly ; for hereby would the doctors' half guinea-feo trade receive a salutary check, and wary peolple keep their cash from waste. With the like sort of venal feeling, regarding this volume of Con- versations, did the same partizan candidly avow— ^ We really iDuh Mr. Hinds would write no more books ;" a wish that we readi- ly admit was as sincere and heartfelt, on the part of Mr. P. and his roadjutor^ as it was cheering and consolatory to us two groofns For we really entertain vast reverence for Mr. Percivall's excessive learning, and deeply lament that he does not make himself under stood. " «^*r' » ^ IV FBEFAOE. comprehended by the generality of persons engaged in that pursuit ; and therefore did it become more exten- sively useful than any of its cotemporaries, notwith-. standing its extra-learned detractors hoped to abash its author by that puny, ill-applied imputation ; for Mr. White, the person alluded to, so far from temporising with grooms, frequently lashed their well-known negli- gence and want of foresight, until he has wrought a happy reformation in both respects. Generally speak- ing, they benefitted by this and other means, and at this day, they read, we are pleased to observe, and this is sufficient guarantee that they will study, more than the old grooms could do : may they digest and put in practice the intellectual treat to which we know so many of them are invited by their employers ! They may rest assured that no pains shall be spared to aflTord them the means of acquiring knowledge from books that are adapted to their capacity, notwithstanding the array of writers and doctors just adverted to would nip their pursuits in the bud. One of these, alluded to by name in the margin, and calling himself " the Veterinarian," after some vapouring, becomes serious, thus: — "Now, it is far " from our desire to be considered hypercritical by any " author, and more particularly by Mr, Hmds, lest be " should think fit to rank us among those who, in his es- FREFACE. ';»^ •H "timation, compose 'the ^widnwnc part of the press:' "but really we canffot proceed, and leave our readers, " or even Mr. Hinds's readers, to conceive for a mo- " ment that a groom, admitting even that he can as- " certain a horse's actual state of health, is equally to "'find out the seat of ailment, and the cause thereof!* " If the groom can do all this, what need is there for "the Veterinary Surgeon.^ [What, indeed'?] If Mr. " Hinds's work can qualify the readers of them to take " the medical as well as the hygienal charge of studs, " what further occasion can there be for the Veterinary " College /"* Answer — very little, if any. As regards the latter question, let the writer turn to the Preface prefixed to the new Edition of Osmer's Treatise on the Horse, page viiL and he will perceive that his fellows of the College have been wofully de- ficient in their researches during the first forty years of their infancy — unless those which have been made in the pages of William Osmer ; and an answer to the ^ first question will be found on page xx. of the same Preface — thus, " By the way, we are very much mis- taken (says the Critic) if the grooms' employers may not derive as much pleasure and profit from the peru- sal of these Conversations, as the class of persons for whose use the Volume appears to have been ostensibly designed." r. S:': ••■ A 2 / I Vv4 -«- V \ mzjHZKT . ..-^ VI PliEPAtti PBEPACE. VU » Yes ; let it be avowed, that the present title wdi adopted, and is preserved, for th^urpose of casting a triumphant rebuke in the teeth of those who would wil- lingly smug the curative art within a circumscribed space, misrepresentations (false fads) being one of the worthy means employed. Will it be believed, without asseveration, that one of those hippological critics (as they assume to be) should attempt to decry my volume of Veterinary Surgery, by making alleged quotations from it, twenly-two in number, seventeen of which do' not so appear in the original 1 Hence I was led to observe, that inapplicable criticisms which are ground- ed on their own Lauder-like garbled quotations can do no service to the falsifying parties, only in the same manner as the rod which truants at school are com- pelled to gather for their own backs. Every one will allow that those are the weak subterfuges of paltry gain, if not wicked attempts to withstand the instruc- tion of the lower classes, to darken the light of science which casts its influence over the uninitiated, and in- deed to deny what is quite palpable as regards the horse — that " the Schoolmaster is abroad," and will be heard. Grooms of to-day, then, are not the grooms of thirty to twenty years ago ! They possess as much intellect as other persons of the same standing in society, it is '■ . V ■1» •i ' presumed, and some do acquire book-learning ; whence we are emboldened to ask, without fear of giving ofience to a large class of meritoriq|is persons, how it comes to pass that so many horses died under their hands whilst training for the course or the chase 1 For, the solution of this question is the foundation of all the inquiries set a foot, and resolved in the present volume. This also constitutes our apology, if any be necessary, and is the reason for printing another volume on Horseman' ship\ so soon after having given to the world a some- what elaborate treatise on the physiology and patholo- gy of the Horse, which might seem to have exhausted the subject of his ailments.* But, there are other and more remote causes of disease than the immediate and recent ones therein described, which are brought on by neglect or the inadvertence that constitutes mismanagement of man; whilst he who thinks he can never do enough, in anxious mood, will for ever be doing something, until he commits the mistake of over* management. Among the latter (incredible as it may appear) must be reckoned overfeeding, warm clothing, and hot stabling ; whilst the contraries, poor feed or irregular, exposure, and uncomfortable stables, belong ♦Alluding to "Hinds's Veterinary Surgery," the first Edition of which appeared in August, 1827, the second in July, 1829, much enlarged. .^ *< A m -IT^ VIU PBEFACE. PRSFACS* IX I ^" to the first series of blunders. Both errors fall, chiefly, on the best description of horses, (see page 94,) upon the welfare and fitness whyeof immense fortunes are annually staked, 1st. in the prime cost, or breeding; 2nd. in bringing up properly to go through their work ; f ■ 3rd. at the post, in performance, &c. &c. Whence results an aggregate sum, equalling, almost, the capital employed in the staple manufacture of the kingdom*.:^- On the second, or intermediate point, what care do we not bestow, what expenses lavish, in training our first-rate cattle to win ! How we sometimes fail, after .. all our care, is worth all the pains wc may bestow in the inquiry. We may even save time, and trouble, and expense, and immense anxiety, by investigating in the parlour, what ought to be done in the stable, accord- ing to the test of experience of others ; for this is really the age of improvement in the arts of life, and of ve- terinary knowledge as much as any ; though the com- , municativeness that marks the spirit of liberality in . almost every other, hath not extended itself to the r art of training. So truly is this the case, and so great the dissonance of opinion as to what is right or what wrong in the process, that every horse which dies in training (and they have been lately estimated at three in eleven) may safely be said to die of training, and as purgatives and cordials are the most active materials »^ • ■^ % f'\ by which the people employed in this business hope to accomplishjtheir object, and they use both unreasonably, such horses may be considered as being " purged to death," or morbifically cordialled, until phrensy or visceral inflammation relieves the sufferer of exbtence ; or else, haply falling short of this acute species of attack, a comparatively short time reduces a valuable animal in the scale of beings to which it belongs. That these G)nversations were maintained as here set down would be too much to say ; but, that a good ma- ny points were elicited in argument is evident — though we claim no merit on that account. Each is supposed to occupy a day or single meeting, and the whole aims rather at establishing general principles from particu- lar practices than to enter into all the minor details of the stables. \ - Z. *^' .4 « Our endeavours have been directed towards attain- ing a more rational mode of treatment, one that is somewhat conformable to the laws of nature, such as shall turn aside the prejudices that have too long in- fested the stable. That we have succeeded complete- ly cannot be said at present, neither are our own wishes satisfied ; but we, nevertheless, find great grati- fication in the intelligence that so much good has been achieved by the first and less^ deliberated Edition, In the ]^resent, however, much care has been bestowed in ^^ r^v{^ . ■, .-iM^ •T'^-&>^ PBEFACE. pruning redundancies, in making additions, and such alterations as a year of experience, nearly, might seem to have pressed itself into our service. In doing this,— and indeed in producing this volume, or any other on the Art, we knew, beforehand, the mighty offence it would inflict on those who live by giving ad- vice, but a lingering hope, that they who have abused and beHed us— as before noticed, would have the com- mon prudence to desist when they found their acrimo- ny served but to recoil on themselves with increased force— is yet unrealized; a kindly wish, that we might be spared the trouble of castigation, is yet to be ful- filled. '' r. ^k\,\JLm *- • N^v " ' ? *\ .•*:,'- -<• , - ■. . • ■ i . ». ' >« - f 'v ' '< ■■-. / ••I , J. H: '• Bridpori'Place, - > ■yt'^ ' 1 . • March 14, 1830. * * "• - .i'^V ■ -;•-■' ^'- •:^-'^- ■ '« •w / I • )-^^ ■•■■>■-' ■■"^-' ■ 4 / . ^-' •' * -'-,.. J . ^ a -. •♦: ;^t ' «. ..V. ^ y i > ... ■ - • • ■* 4 r •• ^ ,.v-.v^ N , t ' T" » - • >■ : ' . ♦ "' I - . % ■ • . ' M "" ^ » 1 ■• ' '. ■ l • .»■ "'; ' '.. K' 7 > ■>.]• « •• '• vM, ^:, 7» . i ... . V •v \ ^ ^ ; '. >'• -.,• ' -"TV \ ' ^ ^ » • 1 • ' *> . . • * \ -•*• # ■ a •*■.'; ' ^.' * «< •i It -'.• /f. % ' '1.- CONTENTS. >♦- ■r *• i'?':^'.* ,* ■»i".'«^ ■! «.' >..'iit»!t .^ Page Conversation 1. — Introductory : Groom's first duties : Prognostics of disease : general Health ; the Pulse^ ^ how available. Inbred Disorders ; Young animals and fresh ones, - . 13 Conversation IT. — The foot : Lameness in general ; , how produced ; and of particular Accidents. Ra- cers ; contracted Hoof ; internal Causes ; Foun- der ; Foot Fever ; bleeding Hunters ; run at Grass; stopping, 23 Conversation IH. — Condition : Cordials, use and abuse of; Effects : Indigestion, Colic, Worms : Recove- ry from severe Work ; natural Cordials, . . 43 Conversation IV. — Condition soiling, necessity of: Advantages and Disadvantages ; physicking ; tum- . ing out ; and taking up ; the Humours ; in-door Mistreatment, . . • ,* 47 Conversation V. — General health — Feeding and Exer- cise ; in-door Treatment. Wind. Costiveness ; ^ Speed, Physic. Of blank Days, Rest. Distress. , Watering : Qualities. Stone. Temper, ravenous Horses and tender ones. Gross food. Stretch and "' Length. Foreign Horses, .... 66 Conversation VI.— Gross Habit. Grooming, its Be- - nefits: Litter; Blear Eyes, . , . .70 jr^ ,^ - .._,,«. xu .. CONTENTS. Conversatiaii VII. — The Stable : Ventilation — drain- ing. Properties of Air, Gas, . . . .73 Conversation VIII. — Of preserving health : Work, Tonics. Legs. Misusage. Powers of going- Physicking, its use and abuse ; Preparatives , mode of giving Balls, 81 Conversation IX. — Of Appetite. The Stomach; . how affected, by bad Mouth, and how affecting Con- « ^ dition. Of Lampas ; Paps ; Quidders ; Bad Pro- ' Tender ; Crib Biting ; Worms ; the Straw Yard, . 94 Conversation X. — Inflammatory complaints. First. Of the Stomach and Bowels ; influence the Kidneys and Liver. Colic and inflammatory Complaints ; Adhesion; Jaundice, retention of Urine, Bladder, 109 • • ' ^1 * Conversation XI. — Internal Inflammation, continued : Diseases of the Urinary Organs ; the Kidneys and Liver — the Bladder, incontinence of Urine and Suppression thereof ; Stone, , • - f , 122 Conversation XII. — The Lungs ; — ^Wind Pipe and * . Midriff: a Cold, Catarrhal Inflammation: Broken Wind, Roaring ; Law Suits, . . . .129 Conversation XIIL — Cough, .^ ." . . .134 Conversation XIV. — Inflammation of the Lungs, how ^\ incurred. Pulmonary Consumption. Adhesion of the Parts : Symptoms. Crisis, how denoted : ** Effusion, . n -.:'"*•* 0, r* 145 Conversation XV. — The Liver, its Complaints. Function impeded, and the same over-excited. Adhesion, . /% • Conversation XVI. — Of some necessary operations • and chiefly on Shoeing refractory Horses, . . Appendix. — Hinds* Book of Receipts ; tests for de- tecting adulterated Medicines ; and observations on various dietetics, . . . 153 159 171 ^■4 *• 4iiS» THE I <\t '" GROOMS' ORACIiE, CONVERSATION I. ^ Introductory; GroovCs first Duties; Prognostic* of DU- ^^;! Sr^^f Health ; the Pulse, how available. i«. bred Disorders ; Young Animals and fresh ones. : "It is better to preyent than to cure j to reclaim tlian to puni,h.» — —A PEW cursory remarks, only: No aooloiries T apprehend, will be required ? ' ' ^ • ^""^ apo'og'es, I A. None are necessary : proceed, freely ; and with as much order as you can convenienUy. Q. What IS the first duly of every good groom ? time nS.r^'^'"",.*''^ *""" "-^ ^'^'^ 'lie horses, at any time placed under his care, may be in ; to oreserip »h«; menuhat mt* ""' '^"'' "l^^" ^"^^ ""* thiZt of anJ'aT ment that may occur, and the cause thereof so tha* i/n,.„ be removed as soon as possible, or, arany rate ^LiTuI for you cannot reasonably hone to k^L ,V„ * '•• ^^''' condUion whilst he suffers paT ^ °"^-'" ""^*"'^ Q. Or, inconvenience we may add » ' o' p 1 '^''^" speaking of high-bred cattle. »« ).v 14 FATNESS DEPRECATED : OF FEEDING. [CONV. 1} NEW FCRCHASES : -filEATMENT. 15 pose of circulating the blood, and thereby reducing the size of the muscles, by promoting absorption, and of the foU above all. Never talk of fat again for fast animals, as 'tis an impediment to their speed. Q. I know, I know ; strong exercise and regular phy- sic will alone keep your running-horse up to his paces. But how do you proceed with vl fresh horse, now, general- ly speaking ? ^ , A. By watching his mode of feeding, by ascertaining whether he be craving for water, a ravenous eater, fretful or otherwise ; judging by the quality of his dungings, as to colour, consistence, and frequency, whether he has been MADE UP ; and, by his urine and perspiration at exer- cise and in the stable ; also, whether he soffers any ob- struction internally, to say nothing here of his appearance upon the mew, which may have previously deceived the purchaser himself, or, 'tis to be presumed it would not have been bought at all. Q. Made up on purpose for sale, possibly, by such treat- ment as will assuredly prove the ruin of the animal in a short time after he comes to the stable. A. Its whole system excited, and its health undermined to such a degree by cordials, and figging, and •* things for his wind," and those " good for his eyes,*' that it never fully recovers the effects of so much excitement. * Q. But looking fine, brisk and sleek, nevertheless ? A. Yet being actually very tender, in consequence of the means employed to make him look so. Such new purcha- ses usually acquire diseases of the lungs, or of the skin, the first day of taking them home, or 'tis much else. • Q. Unless you continue the same treatment ; the de- coction of linseed, for example, can do no harm for a lit- tle while. A. Nor any good, except with a view to re-sale ; an event the real gentleman does not look to, you know. But some stand in immediate need of physic, their bellies being so drawn up at the flanks by the fiery things given them by the dealers, to inspire a short-lived vigour, that in- flammation of the intestines is to be apprehended. Q. Or the solids so much afiected from a continuance of the same excitement, that, upon pressing your finger "Y . / V 'I. ■" -^SSw^ *« ■c'^ upon any fleshy part of the carcase, the indentation remains awhile. A. Whereas, the flesh of horses, in full health, and young ones, obliterates such a pressure instantly. Yes, yes, at all events, give to newly-purchased horses plenty of bran- mashes or dilute oat-meal-gruel in the first instance, to neu- tralize the offensive contents of the stomach, dtc. and then procure the three evacuations. Should these not come on regularly, or the urine and dunging be of a bad kind, hide- bound and other diseases of the skin follow ; as they do the disuse of habitual diaphoretics, as sweating powders and the linseed decoction you just now mentioned. We should study the defects of our new acquaintance, however un- gracious the task, especially if it be one we would make free use of, as we do of the horse. Q. He may have been originally ill-formed, and so the inheritor and possessor c f some family disease, as narrow- chested (bad lungs), hollow-backed (injured kidneys), and the like. A. True ; but I Would also desire to discover his ac- quired disorders, that lie concealed from the sight and the touch, those which are brought on hj aouideni, or by the tuisapplication of his powers. Q. Of what nature is the principal of the less evident dnbrders of horses ? A. Heat,* Inordinate heat, occasioned by the great exertions the animal is compelled to make ; and, when ex- cessive, the bad efifecCs thereof descending to the feet and legs, we invariably find these affected with some defect or other, which every act of progression does but exacerbate, especially if the pace be quick ; the pain then endured at the extremities re-acts upon the carcase, or some vital part within it, and though it may produce no marked disease, ir- ritates the stomach and intestines when behind, and prevents the food from doing good, or 'tis rejected aljogethery whereby the horse goes out of condition ; or, if the pain be :: * A very grave gentleman suggested, that phytic was the princi- pal ailment of the horse, pot so much on account of ignorance in the compoundertf as of the^motives to prescribing ; which would luperinduoe giving tooMon, and continuing too long, the "vtry best remedies,— or what the interested party would oall ^^ regular treat- ment." I I 1^ 16 BODILir HEALTH, WHAT ? [oomr. in the fore limbs, the lungs soon suffer from its effects, and that invariably after every long-continued exertidn, and more in hot than in mild seasons. Q. But you would not extend this observation to mere accidents, and the wear and waste of going ? A. Yes, I would, in great measure ; the aggravation we sometimes find to attend the most trivial prick of the foot, or slight touch of one leg by the foot of another in trainings bemg wholly attributable to the bad or the heated state of his blood at the time of its occurring ; for, do we not know that such injuries sometimes happen and go away again without any medical treatment whatever, or any imaginable reason than comparative rest and good bodily health pre- vailing at the time ? Q. How would you come at a knowledge of this hodily health^ as you call it ? A. By the practice of feeling the pulse frequently, where- by we ascertain the degree of heat, and other interesting intelligence as to what is passing withinside. I can go through this part of my duty with our stables full of horses, in half an hour daily, including the time necessary for mak- ing my remarks upoii Rur.h as require it. Owing to the thick- ness of the skin, however, in the minor fcreeds of horses, i find you must regulate the pressure of your finger point so as neither to stop the pulsation entirely, by pressing ^o hard, nor by the direct contrary practice allow yourself to * be deceived on the score of indistinctness in the beats. Q. On what artery is the thinnest skin found ? A. Near the eye, at about an inch and a half from its corner ; but a larger artery may be consulted more instruc- tively, underneath the edge of the jawbone. By applying this teat of health to those particular parts we are enabled to ascertain two or three facts of paramount importance at one and the same ixme,— namely, the number of beats in a minute, and the regularity thereof, as also the /orce of the stroke, or its imbecility ; whereas, by placing the hand, as ia usual, against the left side, under the elbow, the first point of information only is obtained. The heat and dryness of the mouth is also a sure indication of that heat and irritation of the whole system, denominated fever. Q. Well ; and if the pulse beat tiuicher than ordinary, I 0-. ' FULSIl INDICATIVE OF I>ISSASE. 17 r.] what opinion should you form upon it ? What if «lot£?€r than common ? A. In the first case I should conclude the patient had an access of fever, which is always the case, temporarily, when the Janimal has been put on his mettle, and the more so, when he goes in pain ! so, on the contrary, if he feed bad- ly, or has some languishing disorder of the liver, as obstruc- tion thereof, jaundice, or low fever, his pulse would be slower than usual and languid. Q. What, then, do you consider the common medium of pulsation, or healthy state ? A. It varies a little, according to circumstances and the breed of the animal, from thirty-six to forty beats in a mi- nute ; the pulsation of large heavy horses being slower than that of the smaller breeds, and that of young horses quicker than old ones of their own kinds respecttvely.* Q. Are tbere no other indications given by the pulse of the animal's health ? • A. Undoubtedly : irrc^wZaW/y of beating is a sure sign of something being amiss with the nervbus part of the system : : fluctuation in the beating of the pulse tells us, as plainly as words can, when the animal has been flurried in any man- ner ; if by ill-usage, the beats increase in quickness, a few strokes hard, followed by a fewer still indistinct; iftheagi- ^ tation has been caused by pleasurable sensations, as the : sound of horn or hounds, or the near approach to home, then the number of low indistinct beats exceed the hard ones. Animals of bad temper, those with defective eyes, or skittish ones, that are apt to shy, and mares in heat, all evince this irregularity of pulsation ; whereby I first learn- ed to come at a knowledge of eacl^ individual's temper, and ^^I take care to treat him accordingly. Q. That is an excellent distinction pf yours ; I have an idea it may be pushed much farther, to the^benefit of the noble animal, whose merits we are now discussing. A. Undoubtedly, the placid horse which is kindly and docile in his nature, will be found with an equal moderate ^ So is the blood of all young onet thinner, paler, and qi^cker in 'Jh€ circulation than that of old animals ; age increasing its colour, its thickness, or viscidity ; and its resistance to the contraction of the containing vessels is consequently greater, therefore is it slower, in motion. .,•.-■■ B a J- ^t£L _ i_. ' ' I 18 HEGISTER OF HEALTH. [CONV. pulse ; whilst that of the voracious, tear-away craving horse, which is never still, never satisfied even when fore- most, and his pulse shall be from four to six beats a mi- nute quicker than the first mentioned, and not regular either. Q. We will enter more fully into the distinctive attri- butes of the several classes of prime horses at some future ' opportunity. [Conversation ix.] Meantime, have you aught further to say concerning the pulse ? .. A. Not at present. I shall reserve somewhat I have fur- ther to observe, until we come to talk of inflammatory fever and of bleeding ; in both which respects, my plan of daily ascertaining the state of my horses' pulse in health has been found of critical benefit by the actual doctor, when he is called in, as sometimes happens, to consult over a patient. [See Appendix, Pulse.'] Q. Do you, then, keep a register of the state of your horses' pulse ? / A. Yes ; of valuable ones, regularly, throughout the year, along with my Stud-book, Racing Calendar, Trial-book, and Account-book. You form a library of the same ma- terials, do you mind me, with a couple of books on Farrie- ry, and read them with attention ; you'll ride none the hea- vier for it. As to ordinary or working cattle, they are not " so readily afl^ected, nor so dangerously, as horses with some breeding in them, and require less care. Q. Neither do they require routine physicking, like the thorough bred horse, Jlesh being no incumbrance to them : and nature, with the casual relish of green food, doing for such animals all that is necessary. A. Yet, notwithstanding I can recollect tolerably well what state of health every horse is in by a hasty touch, I like to put down my remarks on the book, when any alteration takes place, to look' it over at my leisure, that I may compare one season with another, and the state of one animal with that of another, and all with any change of circumstances. I once had an employer who called the pulse " the index of health ;" and at one time he observed that it " resembled the thermometer,'' or weather-glass, which hnnsa up in the stable. ^ Q. Very like, indeed. By these means, I perceive how persons may also obtain a good insight of each animal's ( ' . * I] MISVSAOE. 19 temper : for every one has its peculiardisposition, like man- kind, and each requires a dififerent treatment. A. To be sure they havte : all different, according to the breed, the gestation and rearing, * the manner in which the mounting and breaking, the shoeing, grooming and ex- ercising, have been conducted, with other misusage; to say nothinu of some inward disorders with which horses are occasionally afflicted at the time of foaling, or shortly af- ter— as, when distemper prevails ; t the which, if ever they get over, shews itself in a vicious disposition that nought can cure, though we may alleviate such, by gentle means — and by these only, in our approaches to the afliicted crea- ture. Q. Stop. Misusage is a very undefined expression. What one person would consider so, another might look upon as quite necessary ; — chastisement, for example, of a hard-mouthed, country-bred, headstrong horse ; — it must be rendered tractable, you know, cost what pain it may. A. And never fails to became so under mild manage- ment, nor when employed in its proper work from the be- ginning ; and not pushed onwards, flogged and constrain- ed to exertions beyond its powers, particularly whilst young ; nor at any age, indeed, while suffering under some well-suspected malady. Q. Shoeing particularly disobliges some horses, every fresh shoe being the signal for a fresh battle between smith and horse, the man attacking the animal, as 'twere, in the determination of performing that operation by force ofarmSf ' * Inconsiderate persons about eYery farm, almost, who admire the gambolling of foals, too frequently set them off, for their amuse- ment; and when they arc taken in, the boys will often play tricke with the younkers, and teach them pranks the animals never for- get ; the habit of shying is thus engendered, and leaves us in doubt whether defective vision may not have been caused by this evil habit, as well as causing it. The optic nerve, by being constantly employed and excessively strained at every bugaboo sight, is thus disposed to occasion an access of humours at the part, more than if required naturally to supply the CBquous humours thereof. t Some very judicious and extended instructions for the recove- ry of mares and foals in seasons of the Distemper, may be found (by those who require them) in " Osmer's Treatise on the Horse," a new edition whereof, being the 5th, ro- written by John Hindff wai published in January, 18^. r \'9 90 RESTIV£N£SS. [cowv. .1] BOXJOB RIDIT90 f^rPEBSEDED. tl which a little coaxing would ha? e efftcted equally well if -^ not better. A. Horses so treated, must, I think, be considered as " misused creatures, without taking into account the capri- cious tempers of certain proprietors, and keeping quite out • / of view those occasions when some of them get into jolly ' company, and thereupon become as careless of their own . health as of the valuable animals committed to their charge. You may have observed that an ill-tempered breeding farm- er generally rears vicious horses ; the evil, in such cases, * usually beginning with the mares in foal, whom he scares, or keeps uncomfortably, or works the mother up to the ^ eleventh month. Q. This she communicates to her offspring. 1*11 give you a case in point, as to this fact, of a half-bred mare, be- longing to a Cambridgeshire farmer, which produced five or six times, and every foal grew up as fretful and ill-tem- pered as it was finely shaped and full of fire ; and all sold - at high prices, too, though all committed some mischief or other. One three-year old colt nearly killed the farmer himself, and being sold to a neighbour, Gazzam by name, bis new master reclaimed him by gentle treatment and gtea- dy usage, taking especial care, however, not to over-feed him at any one time, nor too much upon the whole ; thid - he did on the principle that distension of the stomach o young animals always engenders evil disposition, and fills them full of humours — which appear in the form of tu- s mours, of strangles, lampas, and similar luxuriances. A. That is to say, the stomach governs the disposition. In this lies the secret of all animal management, and that of the temper as much as any thing, since you thereby act upon their hopes and expectations of gratifying the appe- tite as much as on their fears of the lash ; in lieu of which the groom can substitute his voice in the correction of any vice he may discover, whereas hasty, petulent correction does but confirm it the more. With this end in view, I al- ways attend to the feeding and rubbing down every new , purchase, of whatever kind, my empbyer sends into the Btables, the better to ascertain its temper, to notice its man- ner of feeding, to watch the state of its blood, which marks ' the distinctive character of most horses, as much as its quantity, and to rtake such other close observations as may enable me to perform my duty as I ought, and which points of intelligence are only to be acquired by those means. Q. Still I must insist, that some vicious horses of robust constitution, are only to be- reclaimed by rough usage ! an absolute conquest over their untoward temper, is necessa- ry to render such animals at all tractable — they must trem- ble at the voice of the rough rider, (as in cases of cavalry remounts,) ere they become fit for service. ' A. Instead of turning Out, like a couple of bullies to fight it out, as I have seen many soldiers enact with such evil disposed brutes, 1 have dealt successfully with two of those untractables, by dint of voice, and mode of feeding, with very little use of the whip, and less of spur. Both cases were those of half bred horses. The exercises were conducted on the usual plan, and at first with the usual kick up between horse and rider. The feeding was not spare, but divided into smaller portions, and oftener ; and accompanied -with rebukes or caresses, as the individual might behave himself. But the main part of the victory was obtained by night work, as I was resolved not to be beaten. I took to the boy*s bed, slept in my clothes, and every two or three hours summoned my restive customer tirom his sleep, got him up, pulled his head a littio, spoke according to circumstances, and occasionally put on the saddle. ^ Q. He would be tame next morning, and still more so on a repetition, I apprehend ; you succeeded by those means ? A. Perfectly"" so ; but I am now past the endurance of so much privation of rest, as such an undertaking re- quires. Q. You are a man of acute perception, I see, and well deserve the eonfidence placed in you ; may you meet your reward. A. I have that already, in the health that prevails in our stables, one and all, and the commendations bestowed upon my management by the noble and distinguished visitors to them. As to money-rewards, they came as matter of course. I am made quite easy on thatfscore, as we scarce- ' ly win a race but I find myself remembered in some shape or other ; not so much (I observe) in proportion to the amount of the stakes^ but, as appears to me» according to i 4 r \ t I 22 VIEWS OF THE PARTIES. [CONV. I. •"> the exertions made, and the goodness of the cattle we may have been opposed to. I hke that vastly. Q. Then, a " walk-over" is not to your taste ? A. Not a bit of it ; give me a neck-and-neck win against the best bred cattle in Christendom ! I don*t care where they come from. How the thoughts of such a race make my old heart to mantle ! But your inquiries do not so much tend to investigate the particular economy of a racing stiid, I perceive ; unless in that general way wherein this agrees with the manage- ment of half'breds, (as we call the main class of horses,) and labouring cattle, not forgetting your well formed hunt- er, which, if it be not three-quarter bred, should at least be strong built, well upon the haunches, and of robust con- • stitution. Come, come, I begin to discover that you desire to worm out of me not only all I know, but whatever I may think upon the subject. But, in saying this, I mean not to object, for I am no undelightful churl, and shall answer freely all your questions. Let us confine our talk to the preliminary at first, or that mistaken course of treatment which superinduceth disorders, as well as the means of avoidance. It is better to prevent than to cure, — niore hu- UlSIltS lu icrv»ia«n« •«»«>»• '^ I-.-.— a- an«4' vi«7«avTVMWSI«> SO iS\J% new ; our countrymen have long learnt that the necessary operations, as dressing, shoeing, and exercising, are aa well accomplished, if not better, by coaxing and watching the temper of horses, as by that constant coercion, force, and brutal language, whicj) formerly disfigured oqr sJ^blQ management, / - -.-.'iv "^ > * - '.^wy/. •a >• •» - ..V. Jr- r- .fV.>'^ ■>».■ '•.'t^-tf / I li. U ': 'fo J" ' J^'J^ I* ^ ^ \ . v;^ '.*» v^.- • 0( ):.- 23 "> '. CONVERSATION II. The Foot ; Lameness in general ; how produced ; and&f particular Accidents, Racers; contracted Hoof ; in- ternal causes; Founder; Foot' Fever ; bleeding Hun- ters ; run at grass ; stopping, 'A. True; lameness may proceed from several causes that may not reside in the foot at all, or, at any rate, not originate there. The inquiry as to which of these exists at any time, and how it has been brought about, is of primary importance towards its removal. Q. With what anxiety every one examines the feet of his horse, or one he is about to purchase! And not without reason ; however good in every other respect, if he fail in this he is good for nothing. A. Less than nothing ; he is an incumbrance. Lame- ness frequently comes on in the fore legs without other cause than brisk work; it goes off after having puzzled us in searching for the seat of pain, and returns again on a re- petition of the same ftist-going — until, at length, 'tis found incurable. Q. Therefore is it extremely desirable to provide an ear- ly remedy, when we have discovered whereabout to apply it ; but sometimes 'tis a long while invisible. Strain of the shoulder, probably ; by some persons termed " shoulder shook!" A. Never, from such a cause; nor unless the horse has sustained an accidental blow there, or has been thrown down, or he has sustained a twisted tread upon uneven ground* which the rider must have noticed at the time of its happen- ing ; in all which cases the person in charge of the sufferer should be invited to declare the fact, and if uncomplying, should be compelled to acknowledge it, by dint of threats, ot ground ash, or of tongue. Similar accident's happen be- hind, at the stifie* or the whirlbonet but jire seldom acknow- ♦.».«■• ■'!"«. ^-S- . -^-i. •f,- ■i ». ♦fl r . I * ■ * MUTILATED PAGE u liAltBNESS IK THAININa. [comr. II.J || TREATMEIfT OF LEO-LAMENESS. 1t6 I ' ledged by ordinary dnvers, with whom they mostly occur in drivmg carelessly through the crowded road, or^non entering the narrow stable-doors with which an ill-iX° ^^^parsimony has unblest a certain description of pr jjSi .1. S^K^'l®" * ^^"^"^ description of horse falls lame undep the like circmstances, we are no better off. A. We try every art to find out the place affected • so to n»1 ,TV^ '^^ '^°''^'^'' fi"*' «ft "P the head of To« patient high, compare the size of his two shoulders let ^o his head abruptly, and he will drop it towards Side hi^ painl.es, when the shoulder will be found swollen ekhel towards the breast or near the withers, and he evinces Da?n upon ite being rubbed down hard. P*" Q. With us they rattle same corn in a sieve behind the oi tne patient s bodily health, will be the amount ofinAam^ iomene*^, and the flinching you speak of: when heat LAi:jw^LT"r' ^"' the par't well with r^Sw : T ^?i ; . • ^ » '^''^" "° swelling is perceivable emnlov Je^.^^^^^ ,he roller.bi'ndin'g. [AZ^Z n«?^.^l^- ^"^ suppose the lame horse does not flinch nor drag his toe on the ground, nor any ofthoL othe^ symptoms you speak of? . : -"^ ^ ^t"®' iusf ;bove it'^hn^ the lameness lie in ihe/oot, or in the leg; befle excLt f'i T '" '^u l","""" ^^^" ^he lameness is oeiore, except, indeed, with blood horses in training which are very liable to " fall lame," as the people Zul them falsely say, unaccountably. ^ ^'^ ^^"""^ ten wit^^racTrs^in" J'"' ""' '^^^ this/aZZin^ Z^^ occurs so of- notwIhstanS 11^ '^" ^^""^ ^"^^ principally, forS S dfsc^^^^^^ ""'" '^^* '« taken, to bring state to the post.^^'^'^ ^^ ^"'^^ ^" ^he very best possiblf A. This may be, and often is, occasioned by the weights put up by being too great for their strength ; the younkers then bringing their four legs close together, the better to sustain the burthen, and when they move onward the legs interfere with each other. * Q. Repetition of the blow enhances the harm thus in- flicted, and continuance of the exercise sends the sufferer home lame. A. Frequently. Boys should be allowed the dis- cretion of walking home from the downs when they dis- cover that such an accident has occurred ; and the imme- diate brisk application of a spoonful of vinegar to the part removes the effect of the blow. Q. Aye, better carry up with them a pewter phial charged with vinegar rather than brandy, which then does harm. A. As jt does in all recent cases of strained sinews. After the heat and tension is gone down, then indeed arl dent spmts may do good. Too much anxiety often de- feats Its own purpose : the very best things may be over- done ; so is hand-rubbing, carried to the extreme, upon the egs of those horses until they become susceptible of the least injury, as may be inferred from the lowering of the pas- tern bone, its inclination downwards increasing as this operation is more assiduously performed. This appears to me to be one of those things in stable management which, being good and beneficial up to a certain point, when pusb^ ed to excess becomes prejudicial, to any description of I'^n! l^ 7''? "^T ^'''" the hunter, jaded with a long ^h. I?' ^/ • "'YL^ T''^" '^'^ '•"^^^"g commences before the tired animal has been suffered to cool. ^ Q. The humours being stirred up by stronir work n^i. country ; so you had best wait awhile ire the rubbing bV gins, or first wash the legs in warm water, wipe and K them quite diy, bandage them spirally (See AppbS with long woo len n,ller binding.*^ Th^ doctrine fhwe tedX'.""'*'' '"'• ■"=***• "P"" "'• The part ha4g S iv ^fj^^'Pl^onseq^ence of the muscle being .b«>r^ e»"'« the fetlocks with warm water, and the knees too, giving the flannels a twist round each jomt, and supplying every one with three or four turns of tfte water, a litt e wanner each time, but no lotion or em- orocatton is employed. A. Of course, you take care to wipe quite dry, and that ftsfore the application is suffered to cool. You will find tha horses with legs too fleshy have the most tendency to con- „?,*:• 1°*™,""*'?*'/"'^ P"*^' "8 "nay be easily felt on grasping the leg before applying the water ; which also dries up sooner the more heat you may find on either foot respectively, as it also is an indication of that heat, if not otherwise noticed by the touch. Q. If the hardness remains, whether of the bone or its ^J^y^'u^''^^''^'- ''"^. subsequently, we wash the legs in Ihf^ ''f^' '?. ^^ «*"»« """"ler, after walkinlout »«f ,5 *;/'"*, S"'® '"™ ^^^ ^""ne exercise immediately af- terthe cold salt water bathing.* " \- hit'.J^'' i"']'"f' ^,*''.* applications to the legs have lain hidden neglected, and despised, for the last half-century • f! ! T/*"^ predicament. A charge or cataplasm of iZ''iral7diSSt" ''' ''' '-'' ''- '^--' ^ £th^srhor^^^^ tnop, tor tis ill devised to shoe the best description of horsesm sight of their own stable. '-"Pi'on oi ho™; l!A'°i; ^^"f ^^"^ ^"'='' '" company of a pad- K ^A r"'',*'^'^^"'' ; *here, let us suppose in fairness, ■ he IS shod m the best manner, yet, if the smith pare the ' sole m large shvers, though altogether no more than is wh.ri!«"^°/° '"''j^i »'■««"•'•• b" received enlarged notice else.' f/r« »n 30 CONTRACTION DISPUTED. ^ [CONV. I thus solved ;•— when contraction comes on slowly, as it does with ordinary draught cattle^ no lameness afflicts them, eren though the pommiced sole be as convex as a bowl, but when the higher orders^ as saddle-horses, stagers, hun- ters, experience contraction, it makes rapid strides in pro- ' portion to the quick pace at which the sufferers may be ridden or driven. Comparative rest alleviates the pain and heat, and the contracted hoofs that can be so laid up awhile, never become absolutely lame. Q. Our modern stage-proprietors seems to have found this out by experience, for many of their sets consist of five horses, leaving one idle at the tail of the journey ; or at least they keep a spare wheeler and leader to three or four sets. Besides this, they are become wise enough to run short stages, forward and backward daily ; there's the rub. A. The consequence of both sorts of arrangement is, that we scarcely ever see lame horses in a stage-coach now, as formerly. But the sudden contraction, arising from a harsh, compulsory, unrelenting, unrelaxing, per- formance of its duties, is that which brings on lameness of both fore-feet, if it does not extend to the whole set, and the horse is rendered useless awhile, or ruined for the re- mainder of its days, by quickness of the pace. Q. This, then is lameness from contraction; the for- mer is contraction without the immediate production of lameness. A. But still very liable to become so, if the horse so aiTected be pushed in his work, in pace or lengthy beyond his usual performance. Both degrees are affected alike ; that is to say, the hoofs contract upon its contents^ the coffin and shuttle bones, and the vessels around them that secrete the horny material. When the contraction is gra- dual^ these contents adapt themselves to the new stale of things by degrees ; the secretion then going on with in- creased feverish activity, throws out horn superabundantly^ and what the wall is deficient in shape it acquires in sub- stance. Most horsemen like a strong foot, and this cir- cumstance blind them as to defective shape; for such, most undoubtedly it is, when the heels become low and the front of the hoof sinks or becomes more and more inclined v- n.] SOFT Hoor, not flakev. 31 Q. But many thousand horses — carriage and curricle- have those flat feet you allude to, yet never fall lame of of a sudden. A. Don't say neo^er^ for when they do, they no longer ^o out as such ; they are allowed rest and recover ; rest, phy- sic, and walking exercise is the panacea for all recent, iw- accountable lameness, whether of leg or foot. The feet of this description of horses are sofl ; they are mostly high- goers, and instead of contracting ^growing less), in the manner that your hard feet do, these spread out, expand, flatten ; by which species of distortion unnatural heat is engendered, as in the preceding instance, much horn is furnished to the wall, so as to give it the appearance of strength, and^ perhaps, the reality. But then the heels con- tract, the frog loses it shape, and requires frequent paring off of its rotten surface, as does the sole, little though it be, every ten days or a fortnight, when in full work on hard roads. Q. These large-footed horses seem inspirited by every fresh shoeing, as if conscious of the benefits derived from a moderate use of the butteris and drawing knife ; but their soles are seldom flakey. A. Netaer^ I should think, owing to the sof\ness of the hoof, which seems to direct that such soles as these should be used tenderly, whilst the rotton irog of the same de- mands reduction, and the bars require opening a little. Q. We have been all alon^ thinking of the fore-leff only. A. With its foot. Lameness frequently depends upon some internal dis- order—that is to say, is caused by it, and may be removed by restoring the body to good order. So do original de- fects of the organs of life affect the limbs. Unfavourable growth of the lungs, for instance, affect the fore-feet ; dis- orders of the liver, kidneys, stomach, the bind legs. Q. Of these internal parts let us talk more hereafter, [Conv. xii. and xv.] At present the legs, the feet, de- mand our care. Is it not strange matter for reflection, that so many disorders, all well marked and distinct, should be inheritant to the fore-feet of our horses, which are wholly unknown behind, whilst the only two that afilict the hind-feet very seldom appear on the fore-feet ? Ring- vid I •. ♦ \ ,-/ I , -.• M.' 33 FORE AND HIND LEO. [CONV. hone and grease are the pair of posterior diseases I now ad- vert to. A. " Entirely owing to the act of progression ! I conclud- ed lately, after contemplating over the same subject, and taking into an account the balance which the fore limb and the hind one strike in reckoning up the greater num- ber of disorder? that belong to the hind-leg, which are un- known to the fore-leg. Leaving out of our estimate in- Jlicted disorders, or accidents,) as broken knees, cutting, &.C.) the fore leg, I believe, is subject to but two disorders, the hind-leg to a dozen. Q. All which must be attributed to the superior severi- ty of the beating or battering the fore-foot undergoes in its smart contact with the hard ground, from which the hind- foot is comparatively free^ A. The office of this latter limb, being evidently to propel the body along, that of the fore-limb to sustain the weight, which falls the more heavily as the pace is accele- rated, and the concussion becomes greater the faster the animal goes. Q. 'I'is the pace that finds them out ; but concussion as a word descriptive of this kind of infliction on the fore-fool has been sneered at by the mere controversialists. A. Let them; 'tis nevertheless, a just term, and the thing is as much a disorder as a wound, or other infliction. This new custom of ridiculing the Professor may be reckoned among the excesses of the times ; though he may not be always right, none ought to charge another wrongfully, even with tbe venial offence of surpassing in wisdom, Q. We have settle«l our question, however, that accele- rated speed causes increased concussion of the fore-feet against the stones ; hence, the disorders thus attach to the fore-feet, the hind ones, being simply employed in propul- sion, suffer less concussion — hence less disease of the feet behind. A. So far you fill up my idea justly ; but our question will only be " settled,'\by bringing into estimate how much the rapid act of progression puts a tax upon the lungg to the utmost of their powers to discharge ; nay, be- yond their pow^r, at a quick pace and extra lengths whereby an inflammatory disorder is engendered there, n.] *w AFFECTIONS OF THE LEOS^ 33 at the moment a correspondent one is inflicted upon ; fore-feet, and fellow-feeling or companionship is kept up between them, which is renewed, pro and con, upon every future occasion of inflammation of broken wind, of> foun- der, of cough, or extra hard work. Hence the confusion of people who speak of foot-founder and chMtfounder, mix- edly, as begetting each other : nor were they altogether wrong, as we shall see upon further examination. Q. What a source of ingenious inquiry have yon here opened up ! We must postpone closer investigation of the premises to a future day. [Convertatiotu xii. and xiv.l Meantime, let us turn to " the posterior limb," as the hospitallers of St. Pancras would say. A. Lameness of the hind-hg is almost invariably charff- ed upon-yimwi of the stifle, of the hip-joint or wUrlbow, but generally with as little justice as we lately discoursed regarding shoulder-strain. When either of those large projecting bones are anywise afiected, we may safely as- cribe It to accident, inflicted upon the animal at going into the narrow stable-door-way, or by the driver's running against poste, walls, and carriages in the streets. When tne seat of the dis jrderis ascertained, fomentations of br«a poultices, of marsh-mallows, and of the camphoretted spirita [set down in_ the Apppendix,] maybe applied with good effec ; bu If the stifle swell in consequence of the injury inflicted. It will also feel tender, i. e. the animal will shrink trom the touch; you must then bleed and purge to an amount commensurate with that of the accident; the ten- tV^T, ^ '. " constitution being taken into consideration, ^S! pS^lc"" "''"''''^ '""''' ''^'^' "'^ «-"'"-' wo^t.I**'^!!,-''""''/ u" ""^ treatment for shoulder-lameness pS ^"^ ' """■"'"^' "'^^P* "^ '** '''«*«''»g th« l,m;„i" '1''^ manner, if you do not discover the cause of r,^S *'*,'^«"^« "! ">e upper part of the limb, 'tis oc- ™,nv H ^A*^" TT' ^y ""S ^o^ o' «ome other of iSo many disorders of the hind-i*^, for I presume you wiU ed with that beggarly dworder of a filthy stable, a ninninir frush, or Its equally disgusting. b«t more extended, wc* eessor, canker, which are in fact but one diseaw ; al ', ■*■ 'XSxd^ _.'n- 1*. 84 CAKkER AND THRUSH. [CONV. u.] PRIMCIPLK OF CURE. TREATMENT. 35 Ihbugh some affect to confine one of these terms to the lbre-?oot, the other to the hind one. Canker and Thrush , — by the way, I may observe, are brought on by want of pressure on the frog, and attack the better description of horses occasiona^lly ; but these are in- variably the heavy, fleshy variety, whence I am led to con- clude that this is one of the disorders that this is engendered in the system, probably at the liver or kidneys. Our best London dray and town-cart horses, for example, fall mar- tyrs to this disorder, on account of the high calkens the smiths give to their shoes, whilst those with lower heels, and in poorer keep, escape with impunity. In proof that it is want of pressure on the frog which brings on this dis- ease, I may adduce the fact, that procuring pressure to the parts is the chief means of cure, and which never fails to re- lieve. Q. Pressure of the frog is thus proven beneficial, its absence harmful, to the well being of the sole, if not of the whole foot. A. It promotes secretion of the horny juices ; and al- though these might and do go on secreting, whilst the frog is suspended from the ground, yet no one will pretend to say that secretion proceeds healthfully, when they see such an infernal product of the smith's labours as a running frush, as we now call it. Turn the question how we may, frog-pressure has an effect, and that effect is desirable, not- withstanding the opponents may adduce a hundred instances of horses going well without it. Q. The dispute seems settled on its proper basis ; one party asked for too much belief,, the other denied them any credence ; both were wrong in the extent of their views. ' , You were speaking just now (p. 29.) of the great heat of his body affecting the horse's feet, causing brittle hoof and contraction ; pray how is this evil brought about ; and this again leads me to ask, what is the remedy ? A. You are perfectly correct there, in asking about the remedy, there being but one, and that one comprised in a single sentence, namely, — Reduce the heat, and that of the body first ; ♦ supply the moisture which your acts have de- nied him : work less, or give full rest. * Tho htat here spoken of would be better understood by many ♦^* This is the principle upon which the cure of all dis- eases, of whatsoever kind, must be undertaken, if you mean to succeed, viz. " Take away the cause and the effect ceases ;" unless, indeed, the cause has been neglected so long, or persevered in so ruinously, or the remedy so igno- rantly applied, that part of the effect of either error be- comes permanent and then acquires a different name*— (demanding a different treatment) besides the indiscrimi- nate ones of mere " lameness,"Tor example, or " out of con- dition," or "touched in the lungs" — neither of which means any thing that we can apply a remedy to with pre- cision. Q. Thank ye, my good friend. Must I, then, cool his feet and legs after a hard run, by walking my horse into cold water, or should I stop his foot with cow-dung and soft clay, or any of the other cold things so strongly recom- mended ? A. By no means ; at least, not abruptly, whilst he is yet reekmg hot, nor keep him standing in the water, least of all m wmter ; for such practices are more likely to bring on and confirm lasting diseases of the feet, if they do not cost ma- ny a horse his life at once. Sudden death from inflamma- tion of the blood (and its vessels), by its determining to the bram, bemg most imminent, though similar attacks on the bowels and the lungs, after such chills, are of more common recurrence, and in hot weather more than in cold. We will talk more of those internal parts hereafter. Q. But you yourself practise */o/?pm^ on brittle hoof, I see ; pray do you ever use horse-dung for that purpose ? as »«mTiZafton, of which the horse possesses a good deal naturallr and much more is cast upon him by forced exercise, by the Wmwto-' iion or oats, beans, malt, cordials, instead of the natural green food ; besides the constant irritation upon his memory (mitidn of visible fr&f A^u' ,^^«'r"' ""^^^^^ ** ^*»« ^ig^««t pitch we term cursor of umbihcal inflammation. Thus, the pain which succeed, the pleasurable sensations derived from the use of stimulants, is ll^^ri ?r " *^^^"* ^^*^** primarily on the bowels, so do these «r fr«? ti^« convulsive contraction we call spasmodi7colic, rrip«L n«rf, 1* ""^^ ^7 continuance, reproduce, inflammation of the pa[« . st^Sr'^^;''."^"^*'"^' '"^ ''' adjacencies. 5«/«/«;« al a^ r^Z\il l^l medicines restore the tone ; and both prevent that re.action which is so dangerous in all such cases. .#-: ,i 36 SOFT nOOF, CHILL AFFECTS THB FKBT. [CONV. A. The last thing before bedding up, I often do ; but horse-dung is of too hot a nature, even though you allay its beating qualities with strong solution of nitre, as recom- mended. If erer horse-dung be preferable for stopping, it would be after a hard chase in winter, when the extremi- ties have been suffered to cool below natural heat, as hap- pens to soft hoofs, ere they get flattened : to ascertain which fact, you feel the pulse at the pastern, and by grasping the foot with both hands, compare the general warmth thereof with the quickness of the pulse— or rather say slowness^ on the present occasion. Although most of those applica- tions, as well as the sponge-hoot, are undoubtedly useful in the sequel of attacks on the feet, yet are they no less im- proper whilst the horse is yet jaded, the feet feverish, and susceptible of every variation of temperature. Let the pulse subside and the sweating cease, ere you wet the feet or tl e legs, though this had best be done with toarm water. Q. Am I to understand that neither extreme is good ? For the old practice of applying hot remedies to the feet has been long exploded, I hear, as being detrimental to the growth of horn, and causing the hoof to assume a wry •bape : even the admixture of vinegar must corrode and destroy, whilst its cooling properties are fully acknowledg- ed. A. Yes, most assuredly } hot tar, hot oils, and all heating things, are proveably destructive of animal substances, dead or alive, and therefore to be avoided in every shape ; unless it be a styptic applied to a puncture or sharp wound, and then instead of all other prescription of the oils, fee. of which we once heard so much and so stupidly said, a drop of brandy, or Dutch drops, is as good as any for stanching the blood. On the other hand, colds, fevers, and inflamma- tory complaints of several kinds, are caused by such sudden checks as those just alluded to, being given to the circula- tion of the blood, and is then termed ** chill." More parti- cularly when this takes place at the time the blood flows most determinedly towards the feet, as it does a long time after hard work, or a hard run, it would be evidently dan- ' gerous to walk your horse into cold water, to apply chilling mixtures to his feet, or do any other act that is likely so to produce a revulsion of the animars system ; whereby the r blood is compelled to rush back to its sources (the heart 11.] hVNQS AND THE HI3ND QUARTEB* 37 ^ .'-'- - and the liver), or to the head, the skin, or wherever it may expend its malignant force the readiest; the weaker part of the system being most liable to receive the sever- est shock, and the disease is then very significantly said to Jix itself there. Tender horses suffer most in the " lungs,'^ at the iwindpipe, and its lining ; irritable ones — those of them which feed heartily, craving for water, and fretful, suffer in the stomach and kidneys ; whence the effect de- scends to their hind-legs, whilst the fore-legs of those ten- der ones are mainly affected on such occasions. Q. If the same sort of chill were to attack the carcase, the effect there would be the same, I presume ? A. Very nearly ; but does not happen so often as that by the feet, which necessarily suffer more hardships than any part of the frame. In fine, no other treatment seems necessary on such occasions, than permitting the jaded beast to cool gradually, sheltered from a current of air, after scraping off the sweat, loosening the saddle, harness, &c. Walking does all that is necessary in this state of his body, and bringing him to his food restores his spirits, with these, a just circulation of the blood ensues, with renovation of strength : then only it is that washing the feet and stopping the heels can be resorted to with advantage,* as the system of bodily health is now such as to absorb or take up any humours that his former languid dejection may have permitted to subside there.* J So true are these observations, that we may notice a horse which at any tirae has sustained a bodily disorder, always proves It afterward by the ailing state of his feet and legs, though when • Illness affects only one limb, this is no proof of such bodily disorder having been the cause of it. So will the inordinate use of cordiaU ' produce in time bnttle hoof, contracted heels, and one or other of the train of diseases arising from an imperfect secretion of horn, in which the heat prevails over the necessary moisture ; hereupon we endeavour to amend the dfefect by applying artificial exterior moisture, by means of the .sponge-boot, stopping, &c. In like man- ner, but inversely, do accidents at the feet affect the carcase, aa the stoniach and lungs, the liver and kidneys falling into diwase • by a kind of sympathy with these, or communicating it to the two ' first, on suffering greatly from anguish of the feet. The treat- ment tor this apparently complex attack is, however very simple • the disorder at the feet being reduced (according to its nature)! rrll'^^S i^\u^'^''''^ ^° '^ P'^^P®' ^^ "«"*"y «ffecte all the rest LConsult for this purpose Tonict, in the Appendix J ^ D ^ --TS ... 38 EFFECTS OF STRONG WORK. [CONV. f II.] LANCET ; BLEED THE FEET. a9 Q. Aye, aye; the want of sufficient vigour failing to keep up the due circulation of the blood, the animal functions droop. Good. Thus have I found the work has been so severe at times, that the horse can neither walk nor feed ; and at other times so excessive that bleed- ing the bars was found insufficient to make him take his corn — what then ? 1-- A. In that case, bleed him in the neck-vein at once, a quart or three pints, from a large orifice ; for when he is in that state, you will find his pulse quickened and full, though occasionally indistinct, as if its power of flowing were obstructed at intervals. The black state of the blood at the bottom of the receiving vessel will tell how necessary the operation has been ;* give a mild pur- . gative afterwards (see Aloe^, § 10, and Physic, § 3, in Ap- pendix,) and plenty of water-gruel or bran-mashes next day. Give the cordial ball No. 1, in the first instance^ un- less it be an old horse which has been inured to cordials, when No. 2 will be found not over strong. Q. " A stitch in time saves nine," according to the old adage. A. But neglect your horse awhile under those circum- stances, and low feverish symptoms ensue, as certain as does the more acute attack, whose origin I touched upon in the last page. In this event it consists of increasing ex- ' citement of the whole system, in the preceding the animal droops, and the disorder falls into his feet ; for, you will remember, there is always a subsidence of the blood to the feet going on, which tendency is further accelerated by the great exertions the animal is compelled to make, generally over hot roads. Unusual heat of the feet is then prevalent, and is kept up after that of the body has resumed the natu- ral, which may well be considered, " fever of the feet," and as the harbinger of a more defined disorder, with twenty : names, but having only one origin, — viz. drying up of the ♦ The muscle or fleshy parts of all over-driven or hunted ani- mals approach towards mortification, by the fin6r blood vessels be- ing driven full, and detaining their contents until putrescence comes on ; at the head atrophy and sudden death ensues. Meat of the chased stag is purple, so is that of hunted hares ; if shot dead it is red ; but if after being stricken the fallow deer runs (as he is wont) to a ditch and linerers, the meat is naler than usual. moisture that should have supplied new healthy horn, after lubricating the internal parts of the foot. Q. Seeing the benefit of promptness, better carry a.fieam about one, then ? or a lancet, perhaps ? I once saw a sporting doctor, in the north, pull out a lancet and bleed his hunter, and that of another gentleman, in the middle of a ploughed field, where they had knocked up after a severe chase ; whereupon both went away much recovered ; and a cordial, which he carried in his pocket, did the rest. The lancet is the best instrument, is it not ? A. Not for every purpose, nor in everyone's hands : U9e does a good deal, as in the case you mention ; but 'tis an uncertain instrument, when large quantities of blood are required to be drawn off*, not making an orifice sufficiently large, besides being liable to abuse in the hands of ignorant persons. On those occasions, when bleeding in the mouth, the feet, or at the temple, may be deemed requisite, how- ever, it may be employed with reason. . Q. The employment o^the corn or sharpened stag's horn, is generally decried I believe, as too rude forthe present improved state of knowledge : although I have seen it used in bleeding the bars of the mouth, for which it seems parti- cularly well adapted. Pray, would you bleed at the foot for an undefined lameness ? - ' •. ' A. Not always. If fever of the part continued, whilst that of the body was nearly natural, I should think the cause defined enough for my purpose, and be inclined to bleed at the pastern, more especially if I had already bled at the neck-vein, and the lameness were no better for it. It is thas defined to be perfectly local, and has been occa- sioned by the rider or driver constantly making this the leading Jf^oot at setting out. Q. But stopping, if persisted in, efliects amendment. A. If you also change the leading foot in going, the cure inay be completed ; 'tis long continued work and the inflic- tion of the beating on the injured foot that fixes the lame- ness. Q. Ill-built horses, those with the legs badly set on their bodies have always a leading foot ; what is to be done at them. A. Reject them in toto, * m' 40 THE BOOT. ■.> t CQNV. Q. Few stable people are adroit af stopping heels, so as it may remain secure during the night. A. Nor at bandaging either, for fistula, wounds, quittor, &c. Splents of wood, resembling matches, inserted under the inner rim of the issue, retains the mass tolerably well, or a tin slider, entering at the heel. TJlen there is the boot, and a patent sponge-boot, forsooth, which any of our - harness-makers can contrive and adjust to circumstances, according to order ; these are well adapted for retaining moisture or any application deemed necessary to the foot ; the only objection I can see being in cases of fever of the foot, when we so much desire coolness for the paiient, which the boot counteracts after being on the foot three or four hours. Q. For which purpose some persons wash frequently the stable-floor, or contrive to give the ailing horse a standing on sodden or clayey ground, when they cannot turn it out to the homestead, unpaved yard, or loose in a linhay, or shed. A. For working horses that are wanted in turn, either is a good substitute, but nothing like so efficacious as send- ing such horses to field by night in summer, and during the brightest hours of the day in colder seasons ; with these we find no lasting complaints of the feet, besides accidents. All hunters are too tenderly kept ; to my mind none but hearty, robust horses, half-bred and three-quarter bred, should take the field aAer fox or stag. . . " . > -. — -. - - ' ■. Q. The advantage of turning out to such cattle is inesti- mable. ., "^-^ >*"^ ♦ '/; '.7- - " '^. . '^ -v ;• /.:^»\ A. Lungs and hoofs admirable ! Though coals roughish and legs a little fleshy to be sure, requiring occasional phy- sic, and much manual labour ; it has been practiced on a large scale with regard to hunters, also, in mild countries. At Chumlejgh, as fine a stud as ever followed fox, lived in the open air during the hunting season ; what their coats suflfer- ed in appearance was fully compensated by the super-excel- lent manner in which they finished the day's sport. No piping, nor any distress that a slight cordial or warm ale could not banish. Q. They could never be in condition, according to the present accepted phrase, with a sleek and fat exterior. Gentlemen now-a-day, require something handsome to look 'II-. j^SStSBPT, =:*■>■ EFFECTS OF BOILING : DRY FOOD. > 41 II.] at ;' you know as well as 1 do, that a queer-looking set-out, would excite jeers in a crack hunt, any where about Melton, for example. A. Gentlemen must follow their own fancies, but the constitution of a horse 'tis impossible to control by fashion : every one is aware, that 'tis very seldom the sleekest or most spirited horse at the covert-side in the morning, re- turns in the best state to the stable at night ; never, if he owe his apparent condition to cordials, and woollen cloth- ing in a hot stable. Q' . Better to reserve these until the return home, you say. Pray did they cordial the hunters at Chumleigh any ? ' A. Only on emergencies — they would be too tender for the open air else. I speak of 1824-5. No coughs, no foot fever, no affections of the stomach, always ready for their corn, nor any blear eyes as some might expect ; nor, indeed, any days of rest, they took as much exercise on blank days as they chose and went the better for it. " Grass !" I do not think they took any. What made you think so ? You dispute like a Nimrod. Q. You agreed with me, that he was right in keeping up his cattle always in condition, A. Always fit for sale, you mean ; and herein lies the germ of the dispute between that periodical writer and his opponents, who maintaia the lasting benefits of soiling the hunter, unless like him they can attend throughout the summer to a scrupulous regulation of the animal's diges- tive organs, which must otherwise euflfer by the constant stimulation dry food keeps up. Look at his Majesty's hunters, for example, which are annually sent to the neigh- bourhood of Maidenhead to disport in the natural soil ; then look at them when they return to VVinkfield again. The thing speaks for itself. Give me good feet and good wind, the back-sinews large and well-covered, before all the fine coats and full-fed carcases in the world ; health, and vigour, and lastingness, to the end of the chase are sure to follow a summer run at grass, if well-conducted, and the feet looked after, so that little accidents be repaired at once. Such animals return home, laughing, as 'twere, at the fatigues of the day. Then turn up their heels an^ thumb their sol,es : — no flinching there. D 2 ••^ 42 STOPPING, PRECAUTIONS. £C0KV. Q. Very fond of thumbing, I perceive. A. To be sure I am ; at coming home and going out, and whenever danger is to be apprehended, that is my ha- bit. . You may not have observed, that after stopping his heels a few days, the sole will feel soft, or the application would fail m Its effect ; but clean it out, give your horse a lew hours standmg, and the hardness returns naturally. Observe always to renew the stopping afresh at each re- moval ; and also that, although coolness be beneficial to the frogs and bars, yet constant wet is not so, therefore, previous to stopping, let these parts be payed with tar, to defeiid them from soaking too much ; whenever the sole bends to the pressure, discontinue the stopping. Q. Of which fresh cow dung is the basis, with an ad-' mixture of sofl clay ? — A. With the addition of a strong solution of nitre, when greater coolness is required ; but this is not neces- sary for the sound foot or feet, nor do these want renew so often as the lame one. . . , . .^ , ^,: -, Q. What ! Stop three sound feet when one only is af- ^ected ? . ,. . ^ -. ^ ^ J, ..,^, A. Yes, after much fatigue; and the corresponding toot in every case. For this reason,— the lameness owing Its origin to the previous general iJl state of the body, might as readily attack one foot as anoUier, if the same iinmedi- ate cause existed ; but as the lameness we have now under consideration is not denoted by any other symptom except greater heat, has been brought on simply by the horse beat- tng with it, or making it the leading foot in going, we should probably, by stopping one foot only perform a cure as regards that one, leaving the others open to the same influence of his bodily ill health, to say nothing of the sym- pathy that exists through the medium of the lungs between one foot and another before, as it does in a less degree be- hind, through the medium of the kidneys and stomach. I can account for it in no other way. [ .J?' ' ^?^ l^^^m sure. The sole of each foot would difier m the degree of hardness, if treated differentlv, that is evident. A. And then, by affording more moisture infernally to one foot only, we may bring on another kind of lameness, akin to founder. So we should also a disposition to incur II.] ^^ STKAINS.".>*i^"H^:^ *3" 43 others, if the stopping be continued long after the cure has been effected, as would be known by the pulse shewing re- duction of heat for awhile. So much for counteracting in- cipient lameness, and its train of evils. Q. Concerning the more marked and distinct disorders of the feet arising from the same cause, we will say a few words hereafter. (Conv, xii.) A . Next to these, the whole class of strains are most frequently recurring ; some being original disorders of mis- construction of the limbs, or of these being badly placed on the body, but the far greater number is attributable to the crime (let me say) of mounting too early, and the vani- ty of running horses too young. y-v^V^. .. Q. That is a point in horse economy beyond our con- trol, how much soever we may lament the degeneracy, we sometimes witness in the performances of our best-bred race-horses. *... y .* , - - . . /^ i : / ..^ *. 1^ Reject all such as are so misconstructed, or work- ed too early in life, ye who would make a living by the ani- mal, or receive pleasure by its exertions. ^ Q. Good, again. 7 ^. • -.. , ' ' ' ' .-A.:-^ Bad enough, I should think, for those who get hold q( auch things. •«J -:• '"" -> . » ^ * ; . CONVERSATION III. . ^ v .• • \ • • * . t . ^y*^ ' • " . \ ^ . •• :•/. V 'v • ru v" V '"'■■' ^ *'*•'" Condition : Cordials, use and abuse of Effects : In- digestion, Colic, Worms: Recovery from severe work. Natural Cordials, r \*^ ^Q. Your plan of reducing the quantity of blood when the animal is knocked up by his exertions, seems to me at total variance with the general practice of giving cordials on such occasions, and your own admissions. A. Not at all irreconcilable are those means of resta ration: bleeding has the effect of relieving the rigidity of the blood vessels, and with it that of the whole frame, whereby the blood finds free circulation, whilst the cor- dials stimulate to the same end— namely, acceleration of the ^A 44 CORDIALS, WHEN NECESSARY. [CONV. Q. The adoption of the latter means of restoring the animal powers in the first instance, appears to be putting the cart before the horse ; though many persons have re- course to stimulants upon every little occasion, and some sportsmen carry with them cordial-baJls for the purpose, administering these in ale, wine, i&^c. (Appendix, Cor- dials.) >:: ,,. . , y. ;v ' . A. So they may, very properly, upon small occasions of knock up, and these only, provided the pulse beat regu- larly, though low ; but not when quick and slow alternate- ly, as if the animal already laboured under too much ex- citement. Another means of judging when stimulants would not be improper, is found in the circumstance of the now jaded horse having been recently bled and purged at home whence we may reasonably conclude that his system is not then overcharged with ill-humours, and therefore that ex- hausted nature may now receive a fillip advantageously ; in this case, also, his pulse will be regular, however low. Under such circumstances I have known a cordial remove lameness that had been brought on by excessively severe work, and the consequent want of vigour in the circulation of the blood ; but your hunters, to which mv attention has been mostly directed for this half hour past, are bled too frequently, without other cause assigned than custom, or fashion— this is one of the mistakes of superfine manage- mm ICy 1 J C ■ Q. This practice of bleeding at stated intervals, you nave shewn IS — , , ^ A. A mere joh, you know, of certain parties ; so is the boasted "regular physicking" of hunters ; and then the heavy doses usually administered are really destructive of the passages ; aloes lose their efficacy, and do harm bv frequent use. ■ . . _. ■■.^' ■ r ; ^ Q. Is there no mode of alleviating the ill-effects of this very prevalent error ? Horses in quick work and on nigh feed require physic, you know ? A. Less might serve. We will recur to the subject of "physickmg- at some future day. (Conv. viii, and see Appendix.) ' ' • .u ^' 1^"^ ^^^ ^^'■^ mention of physic brings us back to he pulse agam ; when this "index of health" is low, and the horse dejected, and heavy in hand, should we always give cordials, whether orno ? ^ . r 11 I ijajj' ^ . ni.] BAD effects of TOO MUCH. 45 ■" A. Perhaps I might say yes with propriety, but you, I fear, would be apt to carry the admission to extremities, and give them upon trifling occasions. But, remember al- ways, that cordials given to horses operate like drams ta- ken by mankind ; the short-lived vigour thus infused causes the spirits subsequently to flag below par, until the fresh dram and another cordial bring the taker up to his former pitch, and both ultimately become as necessary as food, especially in advanced age. Q. Thorough dram-drinkers are not long-lived. - A. So do cordials wear out the horse. For the ten- dency of all stimulants is to destroy the digestive powers, on which ajl the other functions of life mainly depend ; so that the desire for food daily lessens, the stomach loses its proper tone, and what the horse does eat is taken caprici- ously ; that is to say, either without a relish, or voracious- ly swallowed, without due mastication. Q. What a train of ills is hereby engendered ! ^ ''A. Flatulency, colic, aflfections of the wind, worms,* ' inflammation of the intestines, stacraers. Q. I conclude that the habit of giving cordials is a bad one : at intervals, then ? A. Whenever sufficient occasion demands it, no better * No doubt but that the substances taken for food, if detained *or want of the power to expulsethem from the bowels^ occasioned by torpor or inactivity, will engender insects; although tho larvcR (eggs) of the gadfly which produce that particular worm, which has ^acquired the name of bott should not be present. But in this case, the trorm that is so engendered is without the hooks that characterize botts. This ordinary w(n-m is an effect of full feeding on ill selected hay and corn, neglect of the evacuations and the stubborn costiveness that attends weak intestines^ further weakened by the stimulant nature of cordials. It may be reckoned the dis- order of towns and crowded places ; whilst the bolt ia acquired by the country cattle mostly, the eggs of the breeze or gadfly being taken into the mouths of the animal, and would certainly pass through, as probably multitudes do pass, inoffensively, but for the detention alluded to in the text, and the facilities afforded the bott- worm to fiisten its hook in the thickened soft coats of the stomach and intestines. Insomuch is this the case, that we frequently find the two kinds of bott that are known to enter the mouth in the form of eggs, thickly inhabiting the rectum, or straight gut ; the third sort of bott-fly, they term Oestris equi, is proved, in ** Osmer's Treaties on Horses," to have deposited its eggs at the anus, whence we conclude they are the proper inhabitants of the rectum, or straight gut, though sometimes ascending as high as the stomach. 46 CONTEOVKRSY ON COMDITION. [CONV. restorative can be employed than cordials ; wantonly used, nothing IS so replete with mischief. The drunkard's ^^^^ . J u^" ^ "".^"y '"^^ " '« «t"<="y applicable to the cordialled horse ; the cordials used by him are well said to," wear out the constitution of a horse," as if the speaker nad our present topic in view. w.t^u Y^ "™'ght safely administer cordials at the lowest pitch at which they would do good, I take it ; never give more or stronger than will just restore the animal to his wonted vigour, nor that oftener than is absolutely necessa- A. Then return to the usual mode of feeding graduallu whenever the cordial-giving has been abused. ^T° - . ^ Q. Step by step, eh? , ., ,, . . . -Vj; -.r.. A. Good oats, barley beans— allbroken; a little malt, as hp=Tif ' r ^'^ "^ gradations by which we resume the healthy aliment after the animal has been pampered too much with cordials. Those substances have themselves the eflect of cordials, m various degrees-oa<« being the lowest hough given to the horses which masticates them well, an .nvigoration that is truly surprising ; sodden barley being next in order, and in this state well adapted for agricultur- al horses ; beans are the strongest ; and all the class, when given to excess, predisposing the animal to contrac inflammatory disorders of particular organs, or fever of the whole system, which ultimately fall i;rto tfie feet, if the complaint do not commence there ; of these latter grease LhL 'P^'^^'y. !.1 "' «PPe»'-ancc, if the other, or im- mediate cause, a chill, also conduce thereto. Q. Unless counteracted by physic, as the urine-balls,- A. Vt green food : a turn-out is the best physic, provid- rLT '""rf:r °"'' ^^''^^"^ ^-^'-^^"t to take a holiday, and ruralize a litt e " among the green fields." Many of the grasses partake of some medicinal virtue or other, the cooling principle most evidently. -^ ;.- u>, tion J*r """"J i'^';'''^'!'* ''"PPen to the lower descrip- tion of horses by the] imitative cordialling of they- horses coat^r^ *'"'"^"' ^^'''^ ^"^ '^° their teams with sleek A. And some c6acbmen, too, who would please their' d™&? k^ '*' appearance of their teams ; but this is a practice to be reprobated in them, at any rate, as they can- ,»T4 ni.] FINE COATS DEARLY BOUGHT. 47 not possess the requisite judgment for employing such in- gredients properly ; nor does discretion as to adapting the use of diaphoretics to the animal's work and actual state of body, ever accompany the sycophancy that would pur- chase approbation at so great a risk. >, Q. Eggs can do no harm, I should think — :,A. Nor any good, but to put on a factitious show of fine condition, ' ,- • ■■ -■ r'^-. ., v -. Q. Where the reality is wanting, eh ? >- a • -• A. Besides, I read last year (1828) of a horse of this description which was choked by an egg administered by a driver, and it died before the booby's face, without ex- citing, by its throes, sufficient candour to avow the act he had committed ! V- ^ ^- »' - Q. In another case, that I also read of the surgeon who was called in, broke an egg which in like manner stuck in the gullet, and thus relieved the patient. A. But the preparations of antimony, which are now so well known, effects this desirable appearance when the owner desires it, better than any device of such servants hmvever cunning they may be. [See. Fever powders in the Appendix,! . . '•' t ':> -^ '', "r^ t »■•. "^ . .' ■ ■■ ^ . \ CONVERSATION IV. Condition: soiling, necessity of ; Advantages and Disad- vantages; Physicking; turning-out, and taking up. The humours ; in-door Mis-treatment, .'.*. ..'^V Q. What an immense variety of opinion has been re-- cently broached on this subject alone, that is described in onfe word, and that one misunderstood as to what is meant by It— « condition." Each party seems to have the best of the argument, for both refer to facts and to experience for their assertions ; but how vast the dissonance that exists ! ^ A. Yet IS no contrariety sooner reconciled, if we place ourselves in a situation for forming a right judgment on the point in dispute. If horses remained in a state of na-v ture, they wpuld require natural food only, but they could m w 48 DRY FOOD, ITS EFFECTS. [coisv. nr.] GREEN FOOD ; PURGATIVES. 49 ^ t not thrive during the inclement months for want of proper nourishment ; and man provides for them dried provender and shelter, which improves their breed in every otlier res- pect than wind : he likewise demands their services to the utmost extent, and would keep them in a condition to per- form those services all the year round, by stable man- agement, lie fails however, in accomplishing this to be the extent of the wishes. ' - ' _ Q. How he fails is worth knowing.^' *^ ^ .v •'-''- * A. Dry food, as oats and hay, forms their main support in-doors, keeps up their strent;th, and with it the fullness of the juices ; irregularity in the three evacuations, and a thickening or stagnation of the several secretions from the blood, which we then call ** the humours" follow, where- by disease is quickly engendered. ,^ , .-,. Q. Which man endeavours to amend by medicine — A. Instead of preventing, by assimilating the natural mode of living with the forced or domestic manner o^feed- ing. An abundance of hay, for instance, impedes the action of the lungs of a well bred horse, if he is permitted to stand to his ha^ all his leisure time ; whilst oats givftn lavishly dispose the intestines to costiveness and conse- quent inflammation, with a tendency to several other tedious affections spoken of yesterday [page 46 note^. And notwithstanding both those evil consequences may be assuaged by frequent waterings, yet man has the arrogance to deny his animals this cheap and simple boon, because it affects their external appearance, forsooth, t. .: > Q. He covers them up in hot clothing, with the same end in view. - ~ ' ■ ^ " - '. -v . »* A. Which frequently put an end to their services by ob- stinate catarrh, or to their lives, by incurable inflammation of the lungs. ^' * • • • ' • Q. Close and crowded stabling augments, the long catalogue of evils that surround the mere domestic hori^e. A. By raising an effluvia that becomes more and more noxious as the food may be heating, gross, and tending to thicken the blood, and in time producing similar diseases to those enumerated by me at our last talk, [page 46.] As the heat and acrid stench augments itself, it soon affects the eyesight, inflames the lungs, and causes disease of tlie skin, through excessive perspiration. Only see how a healthful horse will sometimes refuse to enter the door to an already crowded stable, as if prescient of the danger to he encountered within ! 'Tis scandulous man does not condescend to receive lessons from his horse ! Q. Don't be warm about it; but let me h^r your sen- timents "on condition," as I have seen it titled up half a hundred times lately : is there any mystery in the process fo - training a horse into condition ? , - , \ . A. None whatever, with me, though some training grooms do make a mighty secret of their mode of treat- ment. • ' ^ • > - Q. Quit controversy, then, with its subtle doubts and - flat contradictions, and favour me with a few words of good common sense on the subject. ^■' ' - A. Common sense never entered into the consideration of what condition really meant, or it would have marked the great difference that exists between bringing a horse from grass into condition, and keeping him in that state after being once trained up to the right pitch for doing his work. Q. A hunter cannot go through a hard day's work with green food in him ; I believe that is allowed. A. Tfo ; nor a dray-horse either, unless it be a casual mouthful, or an armful of vetches in the spring ; certainly, . not these or any others af^r h run at grass, the better' bred ones being most easily affected in the bowels by green food. ^ Q. In this case they give three doses of strong physic, and then — A. In nine crsos out of ten, horses from grass do not • stand in need of any such triple physicking. Q. Well, I'm sure, now you do cap me to a fright ! Why, every body gives physic after a run at grass ; always I may say. A. I don't care for that ; though that practice is not now so generally followed as formerly. Has he not for months been taking the physic of nature, in the shape of succulent herbs and grasses of twenty different flavours^ some of which are positively purgative, [See Hay.] And is he not thereby reduced in strength sufficiently, though puff in the flesh, without the farther aid of the doctor ? Hearken a bit : afler your horse has been taken in and put on full allowance of dry food, say ISlbs. of hay and ■v^ ,.»>',! t ^ 50 THE "HUMOURS.'^ OVER niirSICKING. fcOKV. - ■ r • ' • V. . • . ' • :-^ ' three feeds of oats per day, stinted in his allowance of wa- ter, and his exercises scandalously neglected, to be sure his blood-vessels fill rapidly with a superabundance of the humours ;* his perspiration is trivial and clammy, though incessant, his urine scanty and turbid, and even his dunging is impeded and hard— and all this within the first week — then, indeed, brisk physic become^ necessary ; I might say indispensable. * ' ^ . • V > Q. Oh, 1 thought you'd allow it right. * ' / : '; A. Not I, upon my word : your party give physic with- out observing any such caw^e for it as I have just now mentioned ; they also give three doses when one might serve, and those so very strong as to shake the animal's constitution to the foundation. Never give physic or bleed without cause ascertained before hand ; but sure I am, that these condition balls do not effect a benefit by "getting rid of the grass," which rids itself fast enough, but by carrying off the load of dung which begins to ac- . cumulate and to harden from the very first hour of his re- turn to full feed ; 'tis the oats that have effected this change in his body. : - /- . ,. „ /. r ^ • u Q. But Ihey always return from grass full of fogf, with thick legs and loose flesh all over, which the medicine sends away. - • ^'^ A. True, so far, and the reason I'll tell you presently ; but with it there goes also a good deal of the animals' fine bracing vigorous health they had acquired at grass. Per- haps you don't know, that it is a point gained in favour of longevity and sound stamina when we can do that without emnlovine medicine which others only accomplish with it — if they do succeed. . Q. Really I Why, most people employ physic upon ' every occasion, and some upon no occasion at all, as if * Humours. Taking for granted that this word is vulgar, and often wrongly applied, as represented by the doctors, yet I think it ' an allowable one in the mouths of much higher educated perwns than grooms pretend to be, if for Aumowr* these learned persona will understand secretions as meant to be implied ; that is to say, a depravation of the usual secretions having occasioned these to disperse over the body, where they do not belong, and commit harm, instead of coming off in the usual manner, as they ought and do when the health prevails, by the three evacuations, wi. the alvine, the cutaneous, and the urinary evacutionf. - . - .^ ■Hin^M 1^1 f BOWELS, EXCORIATION OF THE, 51 it were a fashion ; what is the effect of all this manage- ment 1 A. Effect ! Why, of many kinds : it wears out the ani- mals' organic functions, and prepares them to receive other disorders than those it cures, like the tinker and his holey kettle ; the stomach is compelled to a feverish secretion of its gastric juices, the bowels exhaust their mucous lining, whereby the former lies open to inflammation, the latter to molten grease or to scouring ; whilst the livery although sti- mulated by some medicines, yet retains its bile as superne- ceesary by the action of others ; and the kidneys being un- der the direct influence of the stomachy secrete urine by hasty instalments, until they cease to act at all. Q. I perceive that no other function goes on regularly while the main canal is thrown into a rude commotion. A. How difficult is it after a fever, for example, to bring back the bowels to their former regular state, in conse- quence of the strong physic employed to " kill the fever," as we say, having thrown them into disorder ? So much are they then affected, that the old farriers in our grandfa- thers' time called it "excoriation of the guts ;" and they were not so far from the fact as they were from elegance of expression ; for, upon noticing the intestines of several such dead subjects that were cut up at our kennel, I remarked that the bowels were quite of a livid red, as was the lower part of the stomach, also, when turned inside out. Q. Ecod ! that is the way to examine into the truth of the matter, in its recesses ! A. Who, then, in their senses, would think of giving three doses of terrible strong physic, or three of any thing that art should devise, so soon after the animal's system had been similarly exhausted by the natural means. Probably, as oflen happens, he may have had a scouring whilst he was out. Q. In consequence of cold wet weather, or wet lying, perhaps ? • • > X' - ^ A. That is a different case altdgetner, fend seldom oc- curs, unless through carelessness in the first turning out ; when spirited horses that enjoy their freedom overmuch usually contract slight affections of the lungs, by wallowing in damp spots to cool the overheated carcase : I contem- plated only the consequence of taking too much grass for \ 'Si-.i ' ^ 1 v\ V. ^ I 52 TENDER HOBSEai TURIVlKa PUT. [cony. the weak bowels to bear of such harshly-physicked horses as ] before alluded to. Q. When the scouring so brought on has ceased^ such animals get fat and puffy on grass. A. This proves the beneficial effects of a run at grass^, men for horses with tender insides ; the jaded and relaxed bowels requiring the cooling regimen ; an effort of nature to relieve itaelf of something offensive takes place, and the old crudities, or indigested particles, being thus thrown off, improvement takes place immediately afler. Q. A process of nature that tells us plainly what estima- ble advantages would accrue from giving green food par« tially in the stable, or in a barn, to horses slowly recovering from illnesses that are ascribable to the harsh remedies which have been given to subdue infiammaiory complaints. [See Conversations xi. xii.l . :. • : .*.--* , A. Just so. They ought rather to be emptied previous to turning out, as well as the more hardy horses, or at least their dunging should be brought into regular order, lest they acquire a cough, and at taking up from grass those tender ones which have thrived upon grass to fat and pufRness also require a mild purgative after a few days of dry feeding. [No* 1. of that class in the Appendix.] This constitutes the single case out of ten I had in my mind's eye when I allowed lately that that proportion might stand in need of physic upon coming from grass ; whilst a single dose is now sufficient, and an alterative laxative is preferable to a purga- tive in every such case. Horses so afflicted with weak lungs and disordered bowels, which is known by the irre- gularity of their dungings and a disposition to habitual cos- tiveness, should neither be put out to grass nor brought in abruptly, but both changes be effected by degrees. They also require light body clothing for the first few days of be- ing out. Q. Subtract from their allowances of corn previous to the turning out, and give small feeds upon first coming in, with a continuance of grass, cut and put in a prickle. A. So, of all other horses, however hardy ; neither bring them into close stables at once, but confine them under a shed or outhouse, with at least one side closed by a pole only. Give a small quantity of green food in-doors, or new hay, and, in a few days, if there is a necessity for bring- LYING OUT, ITS EFFECTS, C^UGlt. 58 ing them into good-looking condition out of hand, clothe them, but not too warm ; a coat that resumes its smooth- ness gradually being worth twenty that are forced by dia- phoretics ; for these do not stand adversities of weather, nor long exposure at the covert side, the horse being ren- dered very tender by the medicine, as well as by the cloth- ing. ' ^ *- * Q. Still harping upon the hunter, I observe. A. Or any other valuable horse that is worth the trou- ble, the hunter being the medium ; thus, the condition that would be considered very fair for a road horse would not pass muster for a hunter, whilst the racer requires to be brought out in a much^n^r state than either. This latter is termed " training," because of the additional care we bestow in bringing up the animal to exert its best strength and pow- #er8 of performing his courses, which he cannot accomplish unless the lungs have been trained to their full inflation by gradual means — weight, distance, and speed well regulat- ed, of which more anon. As to the quantity and kind of clothing proper to be put on, the state of his skin will best direct how these should be regulated, as this will be hotter in comparison with the pulse than was usual with the same animal before he was turned out, and for this good reason among others — namely, one effect of lying out being to close the pores of the skin by the constant refrigeration thereof by the air, and this ceasing altogether in the stable, the heat causes the skin to relax, the pores to open, the perspiration issues, and the loos^ redundant fat being thus reduced, he partly loses the fogg he had acquired at' grass ; hereupon, the flowing of the perspiration freely, in conjunc- tion with the dressing he receives from rubbing and brush- ing, from the hair cloth and towelling, and hand-rubbing the heels, brings him to that condition which enables the horse to perform his work satisfactorily. But here lies the point for your consideration : as the pores do not always o(Sen readily, with aged animals in particular, they must be induced to do so by the use of a mild diaphoretic [as No. I, in Appendix], but not rudely forced : in the mean time, an excessive heat of the skin takes place that is truly disa- greeable to the touch, whilst the pnlse increases. At this period, carefidly exclude a current of air, defer the use (ff woollen clothing, adopt the linen or hempen at first, and E 2 M >.• • . *- • • - ' » . r ■ 1 • •f ■ CONVERSATION V. ^U. *' t "-'. >>^ General Health — Feeding and Exercise, In-door Treat- ment, Wind, Costiveness. Speed. Physic. Of blank Days, Rest. Distress. Watering ; qualities. Stone. Temper, ravenous Horses and tender ones. Gross Food, Stretch and Length, Foreign Horses, Q. Besides those persons who keep their horses up all the summer long, from principle, there are many who are precluded from sending them to grass by imperious circum- stances ; would you then recommend soihng, or bringing the green fodder to them in doors ? ' ^ ' "'• A. This, although doing something by way of altera- tive, will not effect all the benefits io be derived from a complete turning out ; the feet, more than any other part of the horse, require the cooling so necessary for promo- ting the renovation of fresh healthy horn, and the bracing which is only to be attained by running bare-foot on the green sod. Indeed, the whole frame of the horse is refreshed by it ; all his sinews, ligaments, and joints, acquire the springiness of youth, — old age seems forgotten, and a wan- ton coltishness returns the while. Q. The relaxation of the hack sinews, which we call " low in the pastern," increases with horses that are kept up all summer long, fir want of this general bracing of the nerves., A. Let a substitute be found, then, as near as may be, in exercising the horse upon some undressed slip of land, and turn him loose or tether him while taking his green food, for a few hours daily, on a soft sj)ot, patch or straw yard, which almost every establishment offers; if not, let him run loose aSout the stable, outhouse, or linhay, and receive any other indulgence in his natural habits that is similarly calculated to renovate his powers. Give green food of ■^4 '-'J »* li ISl. 56 " •■•^1 GREEN FODDER. A. •> [CONV. various sorts — but very little oats, if any— as clover, grass, saintfoin, lucerne, vetches, &c. fresh cut ; let them be served out alternately or together, until the body is relaxed, and he produces what nnay be considered a natural stool — better still if it amount to a complete purgation. Chopped carrots are also a very useful addition to those greens ; be- sides which, they have the additional recommendation of being available when nought else of the kind can be obtain- ed. [See also, in Appendix, Mangel Wurzel, Lettuce, Hay.] Country people give their ailing horses potatoes, that have been boiled, for food, and where these can be procured while summering your saddle horse at home, may be profitably adopted in moderate quantities for another of those changes in diet which are found so desirable on the alterative plan, Q. For stagers and post horses, also, potatoes would prove a very acceptable provender, instead o^ hay, I should think, during a busy time of it, but never saw it tried on a large scale. A. Nearly half an hour is consumed in eating each pound of hay, that is to say, three hours for a stomach full of hay, whereas the same animal may devour a sufficient ^ meal of potatoes ia a quarter the time ; he wou!d, of course, gain five hours a day for lying down, as such horses are wont to do, in the intervals of their ten or twelve mile sta- ges forward and backward daily. When their labour is much required, more time would also be saved by giving their oats broken, or oatmeal along with the potatoes. Q. You have said very little about exercise, nought concerning dressing or water. . : ' . ,^- - . ,i A. While your horse is upon green food, the craving for water exists no longer. It may be allowed him at will, to which end a shallow vessel may be placed in a come-at- able situation, and be oft replenished, upon the sly, so that we may ascertain what is going forward in this respect. If he now require as much water as ever, 'tis the effect of his exercise, which is thus proved too strong for his present mode of living, and must be abridged ; or 'tis the effect of a feverish habit, and it must be restrained. As to the dressing down your horse, he will require very little whilst on green * food, especially if he can be accommodated with being out-. yA, EXERCISE AND FEEDING. , (^ doors, as I before suggested : whilst your physicked horse in-doors does better for dressing. Q. You would adapt every part of his treatment as near as might be to the out-door system : the open air, I understand from you, is refrigerant of the skin, and serves instead of rubbing down ? A. As far as health is concerned, it is so. Q. But the supply of green food sometimes falls short, not to be had through some devilry or other ; would you in that case return to hay and oats awhile for the hunter ? A. If you do, you must increase the amount of exer- cise, or you will soon have good occasion for physic-giving — which is always to be avoided, and strong doses ever. But better diet him at such intervals on less nutritious sub- stances, though as much in bulk; as oats and chopped hay, or bran with the oats, which some also give on the same days with green food ; whilst others sprinkle these with water, which secures the certainty of mastication— 3i very important feature in horse-keeping, whether as regards health, economy, or work, which would not, of course* be very hard under those circumstances. .* ' c * Q. Must we then withhold the horse's food when he lies idle, and increase it when he is worked : that is to say, in strong exercise, and so <* the more work the more food?" ■ ' ; - •• .^ V - '» A. ' Not exactly so ; you go too fast for me ; 'tis the reproach of youth that they always run into extremes ; though I really don't know, my fine fellow, whether an over-fed horse would not derive as much benefit as man does, from being compelled to observe a maigre day, oc- casionally,— only this must not be tried on whilst he is training into condition, and is wanted. My objection is to the excess of either food or exercise ; the constipation pro- duced in this way upon racers in strong exercise is ever extremely obstinate ; and the quantity of aloes must be then increased to a harmful amount, or grossness appears on the skin — like farcy. When the hunter is brought back from grass to oats and hay, the willing exercise he recently took while at large should not be relaxed in the least, but augmented by little and little, as you increase his daily quantity of oats, until these are given to the full allowance ; bis exercises should then amount nearly to a sweat, on al- •'•i l:^^ U^^ 58 EXERCISE AND FEEDING. [CONV. V.J LUNGS, MIDRIFF ; DISTRESS. COUGH. 69 ternate days, in the morning, and a shprt gallop every af- ternoon— if he be cut out for speed ; but if calculated for a lasting one over a deep country, to go after heavy hounds, two long breathings a day does better. In the case of a thorough-bred in training for the race, which has not been at soil, the effect of dry feeding and strong exercise is to cause constipation ; this begets the necessity of purging this class of horses, whilst so training, as the costiveness is daily becoming more obstinate when neglected, and he de- clines in the extent of his stretch. But, whatever your horse is designed for, let him begin at short exercises, and do each day a little more than the preceding, until you have « brought him to his wind," or the best length he can do without distress, (which includes also a trial or two of his greatest strength and best speed united, doing at last near- ly as much as he will have to perform in the actual chase, race, or journey, according to what he may be cut out for* • ■ . ' '** ^ Q. Aye, thus it is you find out the bottom of your hunter, and improve his wind, if the horse be not taken out for strong work too soon after feeding, nor absolutely empty of a morning. A. No hay on his stomach, at any rate, though you do not feed ; and if the going out be very early, no occasion {or feeding ; if not early, then a small feed betimes will be proper — a double handful ; he will perform his day's work the more easily with it than without it, and this fact ought to possess sufficient recommendation of the practice. Q. Speed will be impeded by its adoption, be assured ; moreover, after the corn the horse would crave for drink, which would ruin all. 4- > ,. -^• • A. Not after so small a quantity as a quart or less of corn, or a handful of crushed beans to an old hunter. But neither on this or any other occasion give your horse to drink immediately after feeding, nor just before it : for by the latter method you fill the large gut, and by the for- mer distend the already large stomach. And as to speed, I have yet to learn in what way that of a hearty, ravenous horse, full-grown, let us suppose, which is entered to run heats, or over a Craven or King's plate course, can be re- tarded, when the main tug of the race— its termination, .',*. *.-. rather tries its strength than its fleetnes, which is then prct- ty well taken out of the whole lot. Q. For three-year olds, I perceive, you think the case is different. , A. Much depends upon the ground itself; if heavy, and strength is requisite to bring the younger ones over a long mile-and-three-quarters course, racing all the way, a lasting quality is indispensable to winning, rather than mere speed. On such occasions the best trainers give something more than bread and butter for breakfast, seven or eight hours before running. The old plan of running horses quite "empty," is not worth a straw. - Q. Your mode of gradually increasing the exercise of the unconditioned horse, inures the lungs by degrees to fill to their utmost capacity, which promotes his lasting qual- ities. •- , - -• . ^ 'j r u A. It promotes the expansion of his ribs, and of the muscle that joins them together, braces the membranous lining of his windpipe, (which in aged horses is liable to collapse,) and promotes the due action of the diaphragm, or rather the skirt thereof. Be sure you go on gradually, step by step ; for if you distress your cattle, or cause a cough to come on at the end of a gallop, as would be the case if you proceed abruptly, or if you have previously given dry hay, or the stomach is near full -of corn, you must then desist and abridge the length of your gallops, beginning again on a future day at the lowest length. Avast heaving ! ere you rupture the cells of your horse's lungs, and cause a minor description of broken wind, that time and a repetition of the same speed confirms. Q. Your six-mile gallops are too much for three-years- old, and such — A. At any time ; the strongest cattle tire at it, more than is desirable under any circumstances. Indeed, [our training, in all its departments, is carried to extremes that often destroy the purpose intended. Partial lameness fol- lows the distress that is so occasioned. >^ Q. Distress is known by great facility of perspiration, by a certain uneasiness of manner, by faltering in his A It may further be known by the pulse continuing irregular, as well as quick, long after the gallop, and by a I'-'-i li?, "-41 > .t.» *.ll ' _^ _-^; _:^^ 60 WOHK AND CORN EQUALIZED. [CONV. v.] KEST» SEA-YOYAGES 61 kind of catch in the breathing, wherein the inspirations are tardy and defective, though each expiration be as right as a trivet : chronic cough is superinduced by repeatedly over- marking your horse thus, in pace and length. Q. Though many horses also become broken- winded by being worked on a full stomach, I apprehend that mo- derate work of any sort, especially if that be slow, upon a middling feed of corn, never affects the lung/f. ' A. Though, if much dry hay occupy the stomach, with a denial of water, the lining of the throat is affected, which occasions a wheezing cough in his endeavours to get rid of the particles that tickle and irritate the passage. Oh, never fear working a hunter well with a moderate feed in him, provided he have taken it early— say at six o'clock, when the appointment is ten or later, according to the fashion of " these degenerate days." ^f " little work less corn" be worth aught as a maxim to keep down flesh, then the reverse, " much corn much work " must be a wiser, — and a still better than either is " the more work the more corn," to keep up the strength. The opinion of our forefathers on these points appears, from some old sayings, to have tallied pretty even with my own. Here is one of them ; — > ■■■..< «. ^%' # r ^. . : .V. u*rHE HORSE TO HIS MASTER." ' ' • Take care of me a mile out and a mile in ; ^ ... \ 'r ^ Up the hill, spur me not, ^ *" . .^ Down the hill, push me not, ^* - . On the plain, spare me not, ^ ' '^. . In the stabJe,/or^c/ mc »to/. . . / . •''••.'•' - - .« ^ , • • Q. But you would not withhold his regular feed on the days of rest, I think you said ? A. There are no days of rest in nature : when man do- mesticated the horse with high keep, he had no right to deny it the exercise that was designed by the great Author of all for digesting his food — it was a cruel proceeding. Q. It might be given to him prepared, partly digested, i. e. cooked, — See Barley , in Api»ENDrx. A. So be it; but being carried to its extreme, this course would alter the power of digestion in a horsft so treated ; bad blood would accumulate, or it would becoro« .^ .>. >*■ too rich, lose its fluidity, cease to flow naturally, and dis- ease would spring out of the obstructions thus occasion- ed. Q. Unless the use of salt with such provender is freely adopted, the humours would become visible on the skin : I now perceive that I did not examine the affair close enough to form a safe opinion. A . No ! You looked no further than your nose ; as usual with all those of your age and standing in society. * Q. I'll owe you one for that. But I have seen horses on board ship take so much rest, thai when set on shore they have staggered as if groggy. I doubt much whether some of them ever recovered the perfect use of their limbs. A. I have the like doubt. This must have happened during one of your sea-voyages, 1 guess ; but why did you not prevent this stiffness of the joint by artificial action ? Though the horses be slung up, the means of giving mo- tion and a temporary resting place to the hoof^ seems to me easily contrived. Do you know, that the Arab horses recently brought to this country by the Mediterranean sea, never turned out so good as those which formerly came to us through France ? And this I take to be one reason why — but we begin to deviate. ' * . Q. Would you take out a hunter on the blank days ? Would you not at least give him complete rest the day be- fore an appointment. ' - '" . '-^ ','• A. No! Nor the day after, either; I would give him a breathing rather, though not amounting to a sweat, to prepare him for the coming day ; and the day following a hard run he should also go out, at any rate a little further than to water. The fresh air revives the spirits. I would carry the principle to every gradation of cattle ; and were I in charge of such, even the dray-horse should be walked forth on Sundays. Q. A pretty sight, truly ; Messrs. Whitbreads' thirty greys, for example, taking an airing on the Sabbath-day, would sound well over the stones ! A. They would be the better for it, notwithstanding, and then be less disposed at any time to stand and sleep, as is usual with old ones of that breed, which I have seen fall whilst stopping in the streets. One of their teams did not lie down for several years, I find ; and Mr. Shore, the mil- F * - 1 *.}■ '.« t J I—. ^x 62 DAILY exercise: hokses sleep. [coifv. V ler, of Nottingham (Somerset), had a horse which did not fairly lie down for sixteen years, to 1 828, when he fell and broke a leg. * ^^< Q. A log hung at his tail would have prevented this ac- cident, I should think t A. So should I ; as I have observed such horses ever tumble forward ; the log would act as a counterpoise, and has been tried, I hear. ♦ Q. Well then, out every day, am I to understand ? A. Every horse of the better sort every day exercised, from eight to twelve miles. Meantime, all the litter out, the stables emptied and well cleansed ; racks cleared out and re-filled, gutters washed and drain- holes opened, — in warm weather, employ a profusion of water. All which operations, if performed while the cattle are in-doors, af- ford cause of such discomfort, especially to ihe high bred and the irritable. Then also, all windows and door open, at all seasons, except only during sharp frosts and fogs. The practice of watering horses at a distant stream is a good one, inasmuch as it insures a two or three mile airing each time ; it pos^sses no other advantage, however, the same water being commonly found nearer home, except cantering home, and the pleasure the animal derives from going to take it, being more natural to him than swallow- ing half a pail full all at once, and standing still with it cold in his inside. ., -r Q. Which makes him sweat unnaturally, I have ob- served, by the hair becoming roughish, in a short time, if it do not turn and begin to stare immediately. , A. By checking the action of the stomach and intes- tines, I believe, and causing those spasmodic affections thereof, which we next day detect and^term cholic or gripes, and give the cordials ; though when the cold water has done its utmost mischief, colic is not then the disorder the animal has incurred, but another much more virulent, namely inflammation of the intestines — when the exhibition of those same cordials would kill the patient outright. Q. I have known colic which consists of twisting of ihe guts, caused by giving eold water in the stable to a fine horse in full stay-at-home condition. A. Hal none other incur it, than your high fed cattle, out of work. Here again, the exhibition of Glauber^s v.] temper; ravenous horses, arabs. 63 * salta is a good preventative, I have lately found, as is the common house salt, given to such gross feeders to the amount of four ounces a day ; though the disorder is not properly a twisting, this appearance being an effect, only, of the disorder. The strangulation of the gut, so termed, is occasioned by an encysted tumelied gland detaching it- self from the mesentery, and hanging down by a corded pendulum thereof, ties a knot of the gut, and destroys the animal in a (ew hours, by mortification. You see, how dangerous is the giving such an attack that term, or in- deed, merely inflammation, or colic, which admit of cure, the other not so. Q. Concerning which two disorders I mean to tax your .■ ' patience a little more in the sequel. [Conversations x. xiv.] . ^ At present food, air, and exercise claim our undivided at- tention. I am now aware how much the continuance of health depends on regularity, in the hours and quantity of feeding and watering, likewise on airing and grooming, as affording the horse pleasurable sensations ; all which, com- bined, conduce as much to his condition almost as the meat betakes. , v . v- •' ; :- * A. Much also depends upon the manner of doing the same thing by two differently tempered men— one being of . an indifferent turn in that respect.* His treatment, like- wise, should not be capricious as to hours of feeding and watering ; the same amount of corn at three times doing more good than if given at twice ; and whatever the allow- ance of water per day, it should be divided into four ser- vices at least. Q. At our first interview (p. 14) you observed that some horses were characterised by a craving for water ; now, I have met with many that care little about water, and refuse it, or but just dip their noses in the pail or the stream. A. The first are also, ravenous eaters, have large sto- machs, and a craving appetite that is never satisfied, but of strong constitution notwithstanding. * Well bred horses are cognizant of kind words and mellow voice : the Arab and Tartar nations, from whom we derive the stock, are even said to converse with their steeds. When a horse is kept alone, he appears to congratulate the return of his keeper ; as an antidote to loneliness, some persons keep a goat in the stable — in other respects such a guest is unserviceable. 1% • » 64 LARGE STOMACH ; AND SMALL. [CONV. BAD WATER« HOW CORRECTED. 65 Q. Their manner of going is likewise anxious, impatient of control, and irritable ; when runners, they perform this pace with the head down. A. Because wide-made at the haunches ; and, although deep-chested, are usually narrow before, yet not coming up to my notion of mal-conformation of the parts. We should carefully avoid distending the stomach of such horses by giving large drinks of water at any one time, but rather di- vide them into five, six, or seven services a-day, provided the value of the animals so addicted warrant as mueh care. Neither should these drink soon after feeding, as this swells the corn. Q. The example operates beneficially upon the fourth description of horses, those that care little about water, which are also invariably, poor feeders, and tender of con- stitution. These require coaxing to drink, which com- ' monly begets an appetite for their meat. [See Conv. ix.] A. Always ; as it cools the blood and supplies with aque- '' OU9 particles the several secretions, on which health and vigour so much depend. After you have extended the ca- pacity of the stomach of such a horse, with augmented services of water on his corn, you may inspire him to in- creased exertions by means of a handful of split beans oc- casionally, an hour or two previous to his gallop, and then work into him better pace and^reater lengths in con- sequence. " • • V v^ . .: i- ^ : Q. Two grant points these. Why, the management of the watering is of equal moment, in a training point of view, to the regulation of his feeds ? > A. Every bit. And should the horse's appetite outstrip the intentions of his trainer, in his endeavours to keep down JUsh by strong exercise, then he has recourse to physic for his auxiliary. Q. Horses training for speed evidently improve their stretch afler physic, and, of course, their pace. A. Those kinds I have been speaking of particularly so ; in truth, horses we would train to strong and rapid exer- . tion perspire so much, that they demand a greater quantity of fluid to keep up the supply. Your long-bodied, reedy horses, do not fortn an exception ; but they are the most uncertain animals going, in this respect, some of them be- ing light-built, fast-goers over short courses, and moderate in appetlto ; others, again« are strong«>constitutioned, robust, and hearty feeders ; they live to the end of the chase or race* be it never so long« aad do the thing respectably, if not toppingly. These last are also disposed to crave for water, but eat still more voraciously, and should be stinted in their appetites, and watered often, in small quantities, while in training. Q. Then, again, there is the great bulk of horses that belong to neither extreme, they do not crave overmuch, nor refuse food or water ; qualities these that reside in the square-built horse : one, I mean, that you can see the light forming a square under him — that is to say, neither high- mounted or long-backed. A. Such horses are ever good goers, always .playful at exercise, and seem to enjoy the race ; — thus closely con- nected is our best breed of horses with the disposition to crave for water inordinately, or, on the other hand, to put up with a moderate quantity of this indispensable lubrica- tor of their parched animal system. Q. The admixture of oatmeal, bran, or sugar, is found to entice those delicate horses to drink, of which we were first talking. Salt, given in corn or hay, to horses " sus- pected of small stomach," [Conv. ix.] induces them to take more water, so as to distend the stomach to a desirable capacity ; besides superinducing a better state of the blooc} and creating appetite. [See Appendix, SaltJ] A. These articles are likewise goodly corrective of wa- ter, to which we may have well-founded objections, as re- gards tender horses. Q. The qualities of water vary much, and ought to un- dergo examination : it carries off horses of great value— if very cold at the spring or draw-well. A. As it does if impregnated with minerals ; or with rotting vegetable substances, as the falling leaves, 6lc, of autumn. Q, Thorough-breds in training have very susceptible in- sides, which such waters either irritate or relax, according to circumstances. A. We may divide all water into the hard and the soft kinds ; the first mentioned, rising from a stone or gravel substrata, is commonly drawn from the well and drank upon the spot ; it is the prolific harbinger of internal flammatory . . s; •.« F 2 ' ■ •' • .»« ._ V 66 CHALKY WATER AND TURBID. [COKV, v.] IMPURE WATER. 67 complaints and of tubercles on the lungs, the liver, &c. ; and of encysted tumours on the mesentary of fat and idle horses, causing strangulation of the gut. Q. We can detect this water by making a lather with soap in it, which curdles if the water is hard, i. e, is impreg- nated with stone, whereas, if not so, the soap dissolves equa- bly, and impregnates alike, the whole of the water. In • deed, all water is thus impregnated with some foreign sub- stance or other. A. As a corrective, let it be procured a long time before required for use, and kept in a tank or cistern, exposed to the sun. Give less at a time and oftener, when the obnox- ious kinds cannot be avoided. I am convinced that many a horse has lost his race in a distant part of the country, through not being inured to a certain kind of water that is inoffensive enough in itself. The chalky water of Kent, in parts of Gloucestershire, below Bath, and along by Basing- stoke to Winchester, is that which most completely belies its first disgusting appearance. I am not certain, but it may possess a salutary effect on the constitution of some horses, upon the same principle as that ascribed to lime-water, of the nature whereof it partakes : solvent of stone, destructive of worms, absorbent of bile, I apprehend a better corrector of hard water than chalk or whitening cannot be employed, artificially y when required. Q. The experiment would be worth trying in that part of the country ; but more appalling is the turbid water of stagnant brooks, and those outlets from factories and house- drains that, under a glassy surface, leave a foul residuum below ; as may be observed upon taking up and examining the bottom* A. The latter are positively deleterious in summer time, and the harbingers of fever, tumours, and those other indications of depravation in the secretions, which we will term " the humours," let the doctors say what they like. Q. Charcoal, pounded in water, and stirred up with such putrid waters, is said to carry down the obnoxious an- imal matter, and leave a good wholesome and drinkable water above. A. 'Tis good to know, though we desire not to put in practice, the means of discovering and amending this all- important beverage. Q. Boiling does it, I believe, in all cases, except that of iron-spring water, which may be detected by the rusty colour of the stones, ^c. over which it runs ; as well as by soaking a linen rag well in the water, and, after drying it, pour a little tea on the same, and it will assume a huff co- lour on being again dried. A. From unsettled field waters, and those flowing from the hills after rains, we may expect a more latent enemy ; * the earthy particles of these subside in the (ccecum, or) blind gut, and there form concretions, that the heat of the body, converts into stone ; as happens more facilely with water from a cold spring, which contains the principle of stone in abundance. Passing from that gut into the kidneys, gene- rally, such a stone will there stick fast, and assume the most hideous ceil-like shapes, displacing one of these glands nearly, so that the whole function of separating the urine from the blood is thenceforward performed by one kidney only. .' . . .- >- ,Q. How provident are the ways of Nature ! I observe, by some stones I have seen severed in two, that a little peb- ble which must have been taken with the food, formed the nucleus or central beginning of .such a stone in the blad- der, whilst others are found in the passages leading to it* ^ A. An accident that happens most frequently to the gross feeders and ravenous ones just alluded to ; but when- ever high bred horses incur this disorder, their sufferings are more acute in consequence of the superior irritation of which they are susceptible. Oatmeal and beans bruised for horses are thus charged with stone dust occasionally, by millers reserving their coarser mill stones to be employ- ed in such services, as happen also when their stones have been newly chipped or rouglied, Q. Your iron-mill is preferable, all to nothing. "' - A. Always sweet and clean ; never clogs like the old ♦ Though sharp pebbles miss their way, occasionally. A pecu. liar case of one such making its appearance at the point of the yard, is detailed in Vtlerinary Surgery^ page 154. I could not reckon this among the calculi spoken of above. ; ' ''iil . J- V -^ _.._ ^. 6d FOREIGN HORSES ; UOAV FED. [ COKV. hand mill. Ours was made by Yearsley, in High Holborn, I observe ; but his charge is much too high for general use. Q. Such particles of stone as we have been speaking of, often subside in the binn, I find, by rowing about the meal, and will then be found at the bottom. A. Or, more certainly, on mixing oatmeal gruel, when the rough bottoms or sediment may be profitably thrown away. Indeed, you may feel it grit between the pestle and mortar, when gruel is made according to my direc- tions. [See Appendix, White Water , No. 4.] Q. You order water gruel to be given frequently, I ob- serve, and in large quantities.. :, A. Always to the ailing animal, as well as to any that may have performed a hard day's work, young or old, with the addition of crushed beans to the latter. Indeed, I would give no beans unlets crushed ; young horses do not stand in need of them, and the teeth of old ones are past grinding them as they ought, so bruise them by all means ; bruise all beans, or give sodden barley, • - * ' * Q. In Flanders they give their working horses all kinds of sloppy food, as grains, wash, &;c. and every green thing that grows, nearly. 'V '- ,\: .\ A. Which gives themlhose washy carcasses we so lit- tle admire. I never saw them at such work ; but all we get from thence have large flat hoofs, and are of the heavy kind. Q. Owing to the humidity of the climate, principally which bears close analogy to our Lincolnshire country. They bring the best from the county of Munster, and other parts of Lower Germany, which more resembles our Crav- en country ; ail the Netherlands are swampy, save a few spots, as 1 may call them. In some parts they give their stage-horses a food of— what do you think ? A. Don't know any thing about them. Not miZA:, sure- ly, as the Arabs do their horses ; when grass is not to be found, they give nothing else. 'Tis said, they drink the mares' milk themselves, and give camels' milk to their colts ; whilst their filly foals are allowed to suck their mo- thers— at least so a late French traveller tells us, after liv- ing among them two or three years. In Bulgaria, a Tur- ko-Russian principality, where the people are equestrian to V] TRAINING-BREAD. eo a Yorkshire excess, they, too, drink mares* milk, 6rid eat horse flesh — so I hear, and believe. Well, as to the Ger- mans ? V • v Q. The driver carries a bag of dark bread, made of buck-wheat, which he slices off* and gives on the road, much after the fashion our stage waggoners manage with a whisp of hay ; and this food they call bumpernike ; whilst, near Caen, in Normandy, they grow a plant, with a yellow flower, (like rape) in abundance, for their horses of every description. A. No heart in either, as oats have. Let them con- trive whatsoever they may, nothing gives to horses vigour and strength like unto all-congenial oats. Fed on these, an ass may be brought into condition fit to drag a load at ten miles an hour. Even the training-bread, formerly made in race horse studs, and composed of oat meal, wheat flour, ' and bean flour, equal quantities, mixed up with ale and eggs, and baked in cakes, is now generally disused, though good for old horses. I wonder, in my heart, what our old ancestors did before oats were brought over. Q. Much the same as the Germans, I suppose ; as well as they could. But they had no racers in those days ; though they bred many tolerable good horses, and exported them and all other kinds of cattle to those very parts. A. But now we import their heavy, unwieldly, draught horses, that are known by the immense crest, great head, thick shoulder, and large flat hoof; with some coach hor- ses, too, but few for the saddle, I believe. But I never saw one that I should call a tight, well-built, firm horse ; none to be compared to the Cleveland-bred ones, not in a day's march, v. -^ '"v .: Q. You bear a little prejudice, I observe, against the foreigners. We do get a few good chariot horses from them, occasionally, that are worthy any one's looking at. /•" •*s •- .1: »;-^ •« ^ ^ '* '■'■■* .f..' ■*■■ r.. ' » \<- i^ ^^ V. ... ' ^v*«- . f . ■'^'V, ,■,*«";> 70 [CONV. CONVERSATION VI. Gross HaUt of Body, Grooming, Us Benefits : Litter ; * Blear Eyes, Q. Those large foreign horses We were speaking about yesterday, do not seem to carry themselves well, with their bellies full of our h^rd meat, with which they are stuffed to repletion by the emulative pride of their London owner. A. Everlastingly uneasy, snorting, and casting off the superabundant secretion from the throat — both windpipe gullet, I should think. Q. They seem like pampered christians, bursting with choler. A. Whether narrow or flat chested, these, nor any other breed, are difliQult to keep in condition, if that be your fat condition. We often hear it said that such a horse ** never thrives unless he have plenty of corn ;" of another '' that it is'Jalways " found at the rack,'* to denote its rave- nous disposition ; this is as much as to say, that his cir- cumscribed chest, and consequently bad respiration, pre- vents his coming up to working condition, but that much gormandizing always covers that defect with fatness, though it evidently hinders the due action of the lungs. Hence the uneasy, burly manner of those Flemish and German horses, whose gullets are looser than is common to other breeds. They always appear to me as jf their skins were too large for their bones, and these not tightly strung toge- ther ; and then their new mode of living fills up all the in- tervals with fat ; an incommodious, enervating, and gross habit of body, alike opposed to exertion and to health, un- assisted by purgatives. I once saw the carcase of one of those heavy ones, which had been slain in full health, in London streets. When the skin was removed, the whole external surface, down to the hooks and knees, was com- pletely covered with fat, utterly obnoxious ^a/.' What service could all this fattening answer ? For labouring cattle I abhor the thought ; whilst for pigs, indeed, for FATNESS BEGETS DISEASE. 71 VI.] bean-fed deer, and oil-caked oxen, the thing may be suffer- ed, nay, is delightful ! , Q. Cart-horses in town are always feeding ; the nose-bag goes on at every rest^ though 1 believe His mostly chaff, of the worst description. - A. Who's to blame? Fill them with gross humoura first and then physic off the ills you yourselves have creat- ed ; or prepare to expect disordered intestines, staggers, molten grease, inflammatory complaints, tumours, and so forth. This species of mistake is not confined to the owners of the lower description of horses. Q. Many of those evils are augmented by the practice of standing this class of cattle upon their litter of several days' accumulation. The feet invariable suffer; and although not every species of disease, yet enough to cripple the gait. What horrors do not such feet present, augmented by the heavy pulls they are compelled to perform, with the hoof brittle, thin, low-crusted, and pommiced soles, oflen with great fissures too. Q. The London art of shoeing such horses, the filling up cracks, and adapting their shoes to awkward tread, you must allow is very ingenious. Those horses seldom lie down, I presume, because they always stale on getting into their stalls. A. So do some other kinds ; they wait for the straw, as" it prevents splashing against their greasy heels, &c. which tells how necessary 'tis to leave some of the old litter for them outside, as an enticement to stale. No, they have less occasion to renew their strength by lying down, than your stagers, post-horses, mail-horses, and those others which are constrained to quick action ; for, being once down, the former find a difficulty in regaining their legs, whereas, the quick goers no sooner feel their fatigue gone off, than up they get, fresh as the daisy, ready to feed, and fit to start. '-•..>. V Q. At our coach-horse stables, we do not clear out the best of the litter in winter, but shake it out and get it up, afirer allowing the stall to dry, against the partition. If there be a disposition to lie down after work or exerciset we encourage it by making up again. A. The additional trouble is well repaid, even for ordi- nary cattle. You may observe horses that have been un- \^. * -.» oi^ .i»-..jE. ■^.-Tf 72 BLEAR EYES. GROOMING. LCoNV. >^ used to the practice, when suffered to stand on their foul htter during the day, do so in a shifting uneasy postUre, long previous to the swelling of the heels, that inevitably takes place, if persisted in ; also, that on the days when they are not taken out, as on Sundays, the best eyes of healthy horses close partty up, owing to the vapour and heat of urine and dung, and of rotten straw, that is inces- santly ascending. But if those animals are at any such time removed to a clean stable, those symptoms pass away, the eyes invariable expand to their natural size, whilst the manner of standing is restored to the healthy and vigorous style of an animal quite at his ease. Q. I will try the experiment on Sunday. Cribhiters, filled with wind, and those suffering under internal galling pains, as the worms, or long-standing affections of the lungg, ara also induced to eat their litter, under the circumstan- ces described, and thus increase the evil. A . Physic then again becomes necessary, to restore the depraved appetite, instead of that necessity being obviated by proper precautions, and ventilation is among the chief- estof these. » ^^ -. -; > •. . .-? Q. This and some other topics (and, among the rest, ,. physic itself) I reserve to a future opportunity. Neither have we said aught of actual grooming, variously termed dressing, rubbing down and cleaning, of its beneficial effects and how restorative a strict application of the brush, and, perhaps, the curry-comb in some cases of ordinary cattle, is to the preservation of that health which is so deservedly matter of boast with you ; A. By exciting the nervous system, exhilarating the spirit*, by increasing the action of the blood-vessels, and thus compelling the heart to quicker vibration, and afford- ing to the animals pleasurable sensations : these are the immediate effects of rubbing down the animal in any way whatever, to say nought of the fat and humours which are thereby dispersed and finally absorbed and sent off by the proper evacuations. Q. This duty is' too well known, however, to n^ed my troubling you with further questions ; and, as the stable it- self, its construction and fitness for the inhabitants thereof, these are topics quite beyond the groom's situation in life. / 1 4m W4 vn.] ^•r •^ ^ • 73 ^ The Stable : Ventilation — draining. Properties of Air, •'■*»• ' _.? ^>< «-. A. What did I hear ! "the groom's situation." — By no means ; I crave your mercy awhile : nothing that pertains to a horse lies beyond his ken. I say beyond, too ! No subject whatsoever is above the reach of a man of com- mon sense, especially when so closely connected with his avocations in life as a stable is with a horse, and a horse with a groom. Neither should the head man of a stud hesitate to bend himself to the meaner oflSces, when the welfare of his horses demands manual assistance that is not otherwise at hand efficiently. For example, he should know how to put on a thrown shoe, though that be with a stone on the road, he will then know when this service is properly done ; give all physic with his own hands ; fasten bandages expertly ; and, though he have plenty of helpers, lads, and junior grooms about him, never flinch from ad- ministering a clyster, or back-raking, or any other of the less agreeable operations ; because his cheerful acquies- cence in such offices tends to infuse into those about him an active sense of their duty, and to inspire the young and inexperienced, who look up to him as a practical monitor, with a due respect for his assiduity, if they do not rever- ence his talents. ' ' - • '. Q. Your remarks are very just. I did not reflect, that your experience and constant anxiety to discharge the du- ties of your situation with credit to yourself and to the ad- vantage of your employer, must have furnished you with much sound practical knowledge on this as well as every other topic connected with the horse. As to the construc- tion of stables — you must have put up with some that were very unfit for their intended purposes, and others that were built with every convenience — expressly to your taste, per- haps. G ■M ■ff-'W^'- 74 VAPOURS OF THE STABLE. P^ [CONV. TH.] LOFTY STABLES, AND LOW ONES. 75 A. People do not rebuild premises simply to adopt some new invention, however demonstrably beneficial ; so I will not occupy time in describing how stables should be constructed for this or that particular purpose, further than by observing, they should lie at a tolerable distance from the farm or dwelling-house, by reason of the constant dis- turbance the better bred cattle are annoyed with ; also, the unseemly stench arising from various offices ; and the dan- ger of incurring worms from the second order of bott-fly, that is often bred in exposed ordure.* The object should be for us to render such ancient buildings as healthful as possible, by contrivances adapted to remedy the defects we may find at them. .. v Q. The principle being, to admit atmospheric air equal to the quantity consumed, but not current of it, in order to expel the vapours, saline exhalations, and gas, that con- stantly arise from the four several evacuations^ and conse- quent heat of the inmates. - ' "^ x A. Rather say, "to permit those gassy vapours, to es- cape " for the tendency of all such bodies is to ascend upon the atmospheric or healthy air, unless, being confined to- gether in a given space, (a room or stable,) the two airs mix, and pervade the whole area so circumscribed, where- upon by further stimulating the animals^ lungs and skins, it reproduces itself over and over again. Q. Aye ; it has the same buoyancy, or disposition to as- cend, as the gas that impels our balloons upward ; having the like quality of being ignited too, as the same gas that is burnt in our street-lamps. It must, therefore, contain some quality that is totally different from the pure air, and insomuch unfit for mortal man or beast to breathe and live healthfully. Whoever advised the lighting a stable with gas was not a good judge then, unless a shareholder in some gas-company ; a mephitic odour always issues from the burner, the light greatly destroys the pure air, ' and the gas is frequently found to escape from the pipes, and even to raise up through the pavement, occasionally. A. The action of the horse's lungs being twice that of man, besides the multiple of these with his greater bulk * This fly has the name of Oestrus Kosmorhoidaliit and u laid to deposit its egss on the skin of horses. >> H and heat of carcase, accounts for the superior destructive- Z^ of stable air, or rather ga, ; a fact a^ «"« «;»" V"* to the test if he will condescend to rest a whole night w.th ' his horses, as I have done, and, partially, several times in .full stables, to say nothing of my boyhood, when I liter- ally slept with my horses. , u. •„ 4K» ft.ii - Q. You found the air oppressive, no doubt, in the lull A After the first hour and a half excessively so, for it was during the races, formerly, where I suspected a fellow of some foul intentions towards my horses in the adjoining stables, as then happened too frequently ; so I did not sleep, nor intended it. After the second and third hours had passed away, "l^'ng «'!''<=\^,«"f ""^t ^^Ui'n . pression at the chest, not to mention the stench, (he pam wore awav, and I felt comparatively restored, but still per- . Jring copiously, with a slight discharge at the eyes and ""q. Some change had taken place, I conclude, in the state of the — — , r i j A In me, and no where else : my lungs, I apprehend, having been saturated throughout with the noxious gas, the cells at length lost part of their resistance and elasticity, when the feeling of oppression ceased and the gaseous poison had complete possession of the P"lnj°"«'-y f"""?f ".; What a very pretty state I should shortly have been in, if the full glare of morning had not relieved me from my *"q *' The remtdy is^ evident : a ventilator would cure this ; or ventilation of some kind or other. - A A very lofty stable, say twelve or fourteen feet high, would contain as much of this noxious gns above the am- .Dials' heads as they would produce in «"« "'g*"' P/°°„^: blv • a benefit incalculable in severe weather, when we might safely close all the apertures, those at the doors be- W^ver the most detrimental. A less elevated stable would affect the same salutary end, partially ; but we most frequently find those of middling proprietors constructed in a corner, narrow and confined, and very fe«' that you may not reach the ceiling of with your whip. What is then to be done, where the means of improvement, or the disposi- tion to undertake it are equally beyond control . «• 'Wm'Tw^ 76 VENTILATOR FOR LARGE STABLEi [cONV. Q. Aye ; in the midst of a town, or populous ndiffb- bourhooii, for example. A. If you find not that the first piece of parsimony, or of ill-design, has been partially corrected by another, whereby the gas is permitted to ascend as it is formed through certam improvident openings, to the hay left above, or by way of the racks, &c. whence it escapes by some crazy lattice or imperfect boarded work, then a rustic con- trivance, that shall effect the same service, may be applied to the windows of such a building as admits of no aper- ture in the roof. ^ r ^* ^''' u J""'"';,^!'''^.^^ P*®^® °^ carpentry to the stables of the wealthy. What is the nature of your contrivance ? A A cell, or box, placed at the highest window of the stable inside, having a door, or doors, that open outwards only, and always stand open, unless blown fast by the wind or fastened purposely. If you have the opening to make, avoid a northeastern aspect, as you should also for the entrance of your stable. Its depth inward should be one-half the breadth of the aperture, which its frame should fit exactly, the lower part slantmg outwards, to carry off the rain. On the inner side, two folding doors, of slight materials, are to be hung on hinges, with a pulley and cord that descend to the ground, whereby the doors may be kept open, or closed at will. At night, this cord being cast loose, it is apparent that the springing up of a blast of wind would close the doors, and, upon this ceasing, the weight of the cord, or of something fastened to it, equal to the resistance of the doors, would again open them. Q. A very simple contrivance, truly, and which may" be applied to a more elaborate aperture in the ceilink if deemed necessary, like the top of a malt-house. ?v A. And if the ventilation be considered at any time too much for the season, or for the inhabitant animals, one of the doors may be closed, or both retained by pegs ; in like manner, by passmg over another pullev a contrary pull of cord, and making all fast, the same object may be attained more permanently. .- -, : . , , • , %^ , . i , Q. As, in cases of sickness, the higher state of internal inflammations, or in fevers, r..--. ^ .. - . - A. In the latter series of disorders, the air would re- iresh and conduce to the cure, after the patient has been vn.l stable-floor; slopks. drains. 77 ■fi* I reduced by bleeding and purgatives. In affections of the lungs, sharp gusts of wind can be prevented from entering rudely, by stretching a few yards of canvass, or an old sack unsewed, across the window, within a foot or two of it, inside. , Q. Since the time I first became a convert to your doc- trine respecting the healthfulness of ventilation, in general, . and proved its efficacy* in febrile disorders, I have noticed several very faithful fellows, hesitating about executing my orders on that head, and others complying partially, or with reluctance, as if— - ^ A. They thought you insane no doubt. If any one among them venture to give proofs of the benefits he has witness- ed arising from the exclusion of air, his experience has been drawn from some ordinary stables, be assured ; the race-horse more than any other standing in need of pure air ; which is mainly ascertained by its temperature— cool- ness and purity being the same thing. Q. The flooring has also divided the opinions of the knowing ones, both as to shape and material ; those of brick had many advocates, who since abandoned their pre- judice. ^ ... 1 A. As being liable to get out of repair, being general- ly too soft burnt, and so likely to retain the urine and to form small channels. No ; good hard large pebbles are your only material for the body of the stable and gutters, however they may choose to lay the inner standing oi the stalls with " fire-brick, laid edgewise ;" having a slight fall towards the middle, but no other visible slope in the stall. , 1 . . r *u Q. In the Netherlands they lay the inner part of the stall with Dutch tiles, as they do the bottom and sides of the manger. ' ^ . .^ .• A. Dry, cool, and cleanly ; and worthy of imitation here * -'^ "• *• -^ -i ,* ->-*-■ .-.*. Q. A gutter or channel to carry off the urine is indis- pensable, I apprehend. »'^^- . : : , . A. But the slope this form of floor occasions is evi- dently calculated to strain the back sinews of the hind legs, ' besides being further objectionable on account of the con- stant wet state of these channels, by the flowing streams of the urine from the adjacent stalls, in large crowded sta- G 2 .f'^ , ;^ ■*:«.. M*,«i.,i{-;,l.i 78 UHINE USEFUL. [covr. bles, which occasions to the horses in the lower part much discomfort at all times, and a proneness to acquire grease, especially when further aided by a chilly night coming on, which nips the heels whilst in this state. Q. Most channels, however, in stables of any conside- ration, are so constructed that the urine of one horse can- not incommode another, either as to dampness or smell. A. By means of an under drain, into which ffratings, or perforated iron ^inA:*, permit the urine to drop as soon as tis passed. Some persons lay these gratings within the stalls, on I small scale, the whole communicating with the mam sewer, which terminates outside the building.* Q. Objectionable, on account of the cold and damp of winter, thus|hable to be admitted, to say nothing of rats com- ing up, and so forth. A. Both which may be prevented by making a return, or sharp bend at the outlet ; by fitting on a trap-door gra- - tmg, making the end of the kennel take a dip in the water outside. Much water and filth alwavs descend the stable kennel, and this kind of drain is easify laid open by lifting up the gratings. I have heard of some nobleman, in Ger- many, whose stables were supplied with a constant stream of water running through them ; how grateful in summer I Q. Every body, almost, now understands tolerably well the great importance of keeping down the stench necessa- nly arising from so many huge hard-working animals bein<^ ' crowded together, and using up the fresh air as fast as it en- ters. "A. But how few, among those who do know, adopt the commonest precautions to admit the requisite supply of fresh wholesome air ; and fewer still those who employ that sure guide the thermometer, whereby the temperature of the stable may be ascertained and regulated to a nicety at any time — say a due mean of 60 degrees ; and if the at^ tendant found the quicksilver approaching to 70 degrees, or a still more deleterious heat, he might be taught to throw open every door and window — still excluding the sun, by means of long canvass curtains, with a make-fastor * ^^^ ^1?® »»"ne afterwards profitably employed, where the sta- bles have been erected on a convenient eminence, in irriffatinff the land, by being pumped from the receiving pit. At 5/can, near Braekley, I have seen this contrivance applied to buUock-houses, upon a large scale, with much success. _ , HEAT : THCRMOHUTCR. 79 VII.] weight fastened at the bottom, capable of being hitched to a nail or staple, or sufficiently heavy to detain them to the round. Q. Since o\xt first conversation, in which some allusion was made to the instrument, I bought a thermometer for our stable, at very little less than a sovereign in price ; but for the convenience of your pocket, I now inform you the same thing may be bought for half the price at Taroni and Lou- righi's, next the City-road turnpike gate ; of Copini, 217, High street, Shoreditch ; of Tournerelli, Greville street, Hatton-garden ; and a dozen other makers. • A. I know as much ; and, what is more, if you are content to put up with a glass mounted on plain box, you may get three or four for a guinea, equally good for use in every respect, at the same places. Q. All horses like warm lodging in winter, though long usage inures them to bear much cold ; thoroughbreds require °more warmth than working cattle all the year round ; 'tis the nature of the countries whence we derive the breed. ■' - '-* A. They do not thrive else ; but you may overdo the most desirable service ; and, do you mind me, be the sta- ble never so warm, there is always a current of air running along the ground from 10 to 15 inches high. The warmer the stable is, the more severe is this current of air, and the keener its rush ; which is usually supplied, in the common run of stables, from a faulty door- way, a worn-out step, or some rotton board, time worn window-shutter, or disused key-holes. Q. All which appear to me like illegitimate means of admission to aid the ventilation. By the way, I once saw an exemplification of this truth in the case of a stable be- ing onjire in London. None could look in at the door for smoke, though all were eager to withdraw the horses ; when a fireman went down on his knees, crept to a stall, and ha- ving fastened his jacket over the eyes of one of them, led him forth safe ; whilst two others that remained immovably fixed to the spot were dreadfully burnt, and one so much so, that it went to the 5laughterer*s next morning. A. Greasy heels is the consequence of cold air making its way along the ground. Indeed, all disorders of the hind legs that arise from chill or other functional derange- ¥ ■\m. I 80 CAUSE OF CERTAIN LAMENESSES. [CONV. ment, are thus originated : whilst the body is warm, tired, relaxed with heat, and the blood circulating fast, cold seizes the heels and prevents the finer blood vessels of the foot from returning their contents into the system, agreea- bly to the dictates of nature. The blood thus retained loses its quality, is diseased already with fever, and only waits to show its acrimonious nature by the inflammatory destruction of the juices which supply new horny mattery whence rigidity of the coffin-joint ensues, that some mis- take for strain thereof; but the lameness oflener proceeds from enlargement of the cartilages, and a subsequent ossi- fication of the same, that is incurable. However slight ring-hone is induced, as well as hrittle-hoof, the wall of which is ever thin and unretentive of the iron defence ; ge- nerally, it produces grease; any or either of which evils are further promoted by the prevalence of diseases of the urinary organs that usually concur to afflict the large fleshy animals I have now mostly in view. Q. In this latter case you give diuretics ; what in others ? A. Do nothing but keep the evacuation steady ; for those disorders do not soon show their precise nature, farther than increased heat comes to, when, perhaps, yoa may bleed; but as to grease, though always to be alleviated by superinducing more urine, it is not always that the kid- neys, which form the urine, are capable of carrying on their secretory function to a sufficient extent. Q. Stinriulated to rottenness, perhaps ? How this is ef- fected I will take a more leisurable opportunity of inquir- ing- . - • .• -t- A. Better prevent those evils altogether, I should think, by making the stalls deep enough to contain the whole ani- mal, say ten feet, so that he can neither kick his next neighbour, nor catch a chill that is replete with such bad consequences. Try the experiment of giving a good horse the loose stall ; and, if he be not an old one, swayed by habit, he will not lie with his legs outwards, but the con- trary. ■ ■ J. kAv^ •>' - Q. The value of a loose stall, or single horse stable, is very great ; for the ailing animal, on 4iis recovery from sick- ness, or after much physicking, its benefit is incalculable. In some parts of Germany, they heat the stables, during VII.] OF PBliSSBVING HEALTH. 81 .\i. geasons of great inclemency, by means of stoves, construct- ed outside the wall. A. Very good, but not a -little dangerous ; and, further- more, is liable to make the hearty animals artificially ten- der. Horses in strong work and corn-fed of whatever de- scription, stand in no need of such an auxiliary in this country— unless, indeed, they be Arabs recently arrived ; which shiver as they stand, tbpugh clothed, and the stable ftt sixty-five degrees tie^t, ' - ' ■ ■ . , ■ •■..:■••* L«l. ' •«< ^^^' CONVERSATION VIH. ..>- Of preserving Health ; Work, Tonics, Legs, Misusage. Powers of going — Physicking, its use and abuse ; Pre- . paratives ; mode of giving Balls* ^ ^ • - Q. The obstacles to keeping a horse in a healthy state are numerous : besides feeding and exercise, grooming and - ventilation, and soiling, many important points remain for discussion ; the principal of which is, arresting the progreaa of disease upon its^r*^ appearance, A. If watching its progress, and enabling oui-selves to distinguish between any two or more disorders which may be somewhat similar, be not equally important. Q. How shall we proceed with this inquiry, think you ? A. Any how suits me, so that you observe a little order in arranging the topics, and stick to one at a time, as near- ly as you can. Thus, follow up what has been said as to , bringing a horse from green food into condition, with an in- ' vestigation of the means of preserving him in that state without physic, if possible ; but in cases where " regular physic'* is rendered indispensable, as with horses training for the race-course, we must apply ourselves to the means of achieving our object of cleansing out the animals, by us- ing the lowest quantity of drastic medicine capable of per- forming that service ; thus, by combining it with milder substances, palliatives and preparatives may be found in abundance. * - 82 HEALTH : WdRKlNO CoKDl^MON : QtVT* [coMV. Q. This, I take it is the true art of preserving health, or keeping your cattle in proper working condition ; which, you justly observed, does not always 'im^\y fat conditim. A. Most assuredly ndt— unless for wagon horses. The due consideration of this subject includes sober and liberal reflections regarding the keep, or manner and amount of feeding and stabling, airing and exercising, the qualities of food and water— on all which topics we were recently talking, together with other subordinate matters worthy of being known to all ; though many grooms, however adroit in the details of training, are precluded from carrying into prac- tice, owing to superior orders. Every proprietor will have nis own way in such matters. <3. None will be deaf to reason, whose interest is so ma- terially concerned. A. Provided it be reason and not twaitle, Every groom, within the years of maturity, should think twice before he speaks once ; he should study his subject a ^qsw years at least before he presumes to give advice, as is often done, upon the information of others. Q. Very material to him is the knowledge— 1. As to what quantity of food and water is needful for each indivi- dual horse. 2. As Xo what course of feeding engenders uisease. ••«.•,-. 'j* : A. They termed it " GluV' formerly ; no doubt, from the word "gluttony," or indulgence of the appetite, which oc- casioned it. No less worthy his attention are the symp- toms that precede any and every disease, that he may take preventive measures in time, or call in the aid of the well- bred veterinary surgeon. • '.^'-.^^r ./. ^ *:v." Q. The groom, I think, is placed in a much better situa- tion for curing, or alleviated a first attach than the doctor himself, according to your maxim at the beginning of our third conversation,— (p. 30) ; as he must necessarily know the cause of the disorder. Hereupon, he has but to sur- cease the course of proceeding which brought it on, and the cure effects itself, without the aid of medicine, or very little of it. ^ A. A cause that is so readily ascertained, ought never in common prudence to have existed at all ; and I may add, of that which mostly escapes your notice, that the cause of diseases generally, with you young fellows of the hunt, is ::^.:-4^'il. COMPARATIVE DEFECTS OF KEEP. 83 vui.] mostly referable to gross feeding with irregular exercise. The mistaken notice of " giving much rest" to horses in health (whereby you rest yourselves) coupled with neglect ' of the proper evacuations — which none of ye watch after as you ought, is the prolific harbinger of all disorders of the horse, that are not fairly ascribable to hard work, a cold, and pure accdents : the pest of a rich man^s stable is high - feeding, idle days, warm dothing, and closed windows. In these latter respects the poor man's cattle have the advan- tage of yours ; whilst he is wofully circumstanced in all . others ; the diseases of his team are consequently of a totally . ^ different nature to the rich man's. Q. Look at our butchers' nags, in which their owners invariably discover some latent power of goingj mostly the trot ; their exercise is brisk and unflinching ; they keep full, but not redundant ; their stabling scarcely second best. '.'^ .■■»•.••'/.. '•^. .'•r-- v..^-,.:- - A. Their usage, too, as regards temper, is firm and bland towards their horses, however it may differ regarding other animals. " * • ^ • ■" ' ''-■*}' Q. Accounted for ; inasmuch, as no intention can exist of "going to scale," with the one as with the other. Would you draw a distinction between the ailments of the needy proprietor's cattle and those of the rich man's stables? , - - '• A. I would go farther, and divide all acquired diseases of horses into, 1st. Those of the rich, and 2d. those of the poor, as to cause ; — thus, those of one entire class I would attribute to repletion, those of the other to starvation ; the one kind being brought on by comparative inactivity and pampering, the other by hard work and hardu^age : whilst neglect, proceeding from motives equally opposite, fosters both until some confirmed disorder ensues, and fastens on the animal till death, in one description of property ; and in the other, until physic and cordials have rendered death de- sirable. Q. Like unto many other affairs in life, the Wisest course, I perceive, lies in the middle. A. As you rightly observed at our first conversation, there are diseases in-horn with some horses, being the de- fect of parentage, of race, or of certain obnoxious breeding countries ; besides these and the acquired before spoken of. •^^ i'^ *■ v^i: 84 lit USAGE, ACCIDENTS. [CONV. h' A let OS reckon up diseases of accident, as broken knees, bad shoeing, excessive labour, bad roads, the owner's cudgel, and above all, his physic, his cordials, and his oils. Q. Why, some of these latter proceed out of, and as it seems to me, are occasioned by the former. By mention- ing a « cudgel," I perceive you have an eye to the lower or- der of these created beings, and presume you allude to a hit upon the kidneys. • A. Or any other very sensible part, as the head legs, and, most dependent part of the belly ; but a simple kick of the toe on the latter, or a trivial slap of the hand upon the kidney, when the receiver is in a state of excitement, are replete with mischiefs of very serious import. Q. No man can expect a horse to keep in condition under any of those several circumstances, unless he attend to each peculiarity of formation, adapt himself to every departure Irom nature, and as to any harm so inflicted, he must first ettect a cure thereof, and then recommence his conditioninff afresh : of the ailments so produced, I will seize a future opportunity to take your opinion. A. So be it. The preservation of health is so closely connected with the restoration of strength, after the animal has been brought out of an illness by dint of physic, that you had better consider both at the same time. r. >:. . - Q. Great weakness and lassitude always remain after a lever has been cured; especially witli animals originally of tender constitution, and those of every degree which may have been abused at racing, hunting, staging, or otherwise. Uld horses of the first mentioned description suffer more trom misusage than ordinary cattle ; one season of over- work degrades them from their caste— one day of mal- treatment may consign such to the errand-cart or hack- ney coach. V - ' . -, -•: -- iy A. The unfavourable symptoms all reduced, let us sup- pose, yet the horse still unfit for work. The same drooping debility attends the removal of inflammation in all cases, whether of the lungs, the stomach, the intestines, or the kidneys ; but only when much medicine has been required to Bubdue the disorder,— though when a small quantity achieves the same end, those symptoms of weakness do not last long, especially with robust animals of high breed, hav- ing youth on their side. X 4. _■ »• ■ t^'i- J' I ■^1 . 1 vm.] TONICS, BENEFICIAL : FAILURE. 85 Q. The appetite bad in every case of much physic taking : it naust be restored, and that by tonics, I appre- hend. A. Else, no good can be expected for a long period ; though nature does a great deal — nay all. Q. Our proper office is but to aid her. A. Gently as we can : though she sometimes throws down the ill-calculated efforts of the veterinary art, and per- forms cures in her own way, spite of its professors and their boasted skill. Tonics, the species of remedy just recommended for the convalescent horse, are of two sorts, if not three ; though the writers on veterinary matters teach us to rely too secure- ly on the use of the medical class alone. The proper tone or tension of the stomach, for example, may be restored, as much by relaxation, or by stimulating that organ, as by the bracing tonics, according to the circumstances that attend the particular case. If the stomach has been disordered through inflammation of the kidneys, as always happens, the tone is already too high, and the exhibition of Peruvian bark, arsenical preparations, cinchona, and other medical tonics, would but increase this species of derangement. If the disorder has originated in the stomach, then indeed will the bark prove itself a valuable bracing tonic, after the disease has been reduced. Q. Ha ! I perceive how it happens that in human ail- ments also, hark is so uncertain in effecting any good, — and often the contrary ; always causing to the patient great dismay at its failure. A. When the heart also may be said to lose its tone, and the reasoning patient droops. But to return : the stomach in the first case I have suggested, would be best restored to its proper tone by the cooling regimen — i, e, green food, car- rots, and mashes ; for this it is which corrects the long ex- cited kidneys. [See Appendix, Tonics. '\ Q. This regimen I take to be the second class of tonics. A. As it is the most natural one, and best ; unless the third class be its equal — I mean fresh air, taken with ex- ercise— that is to say, walking exercise, and a good deal of it, when at length the convalescent animal recovers strength sufficient. Whenever the horse's appetite fails, without i.^* c- 86 REGULAR PHYSIC. [cony, any assignable cause discoverable, no febrile heat, no in- flammation of any organ, pulse not high, the stomach must be considered as having lost its tone, by the presence of some ill-digested food, or it is simply relaxed, and aloes, ex- hibited as an alterative laxative to the amount of a drachm and a half a day, for a week, or until purging takes place : this purgative restores the right tone thereof, and it then be' comes really a tonic, though a purgative. Q. Great reliance is placed on regular physic, in pre- serving the health of our horses, by Mr. B ; princi- pally, I thinkybecause it imposes on us the necessity of fur- ther regulations. A. Regular physic, or " routine physic," as he calls it, can never be requisite or desirable " upon a large scale," 1 would have you recollect, that the more physic any ani- mal takes, the more it must take to produce similar effects ; and then, see to what dangerous extremes this leads, in the trequent use of strong purgative medicines ! If physic bring about any change whatever, is not this indiscriminate purg- mg of a whole stable of horses, or an entire stud, at certain intervals, very liable to find some of the inmates in good health ? Then, what is the alteration thus brought about, but a retrocession from sound health to that which is at least a step below it, besides begetting the necessity of fol- lowing it up with repetition, and imposing upon us the de- structive alternative of increasing the quantity to a frightful amount, or of seeing our expectations baffled ? Q. But, when the dunging is hard as pellets, as you will see in many hunting establishments, according to your own axiom, the horse must be emptied ; as he must, also, if putting on flesh, or fat, so much despised by you. A. You sadly disorder all the points at issue between us ; 1 do not dislike/a< for the mouth, but I am not a going to eat my horses, in whom I would as soon see a thick head, or large hoof, as a large belly and fleshy shoulders. Again, as to horses dunging, doubtless you quote me aright ; but what I object to is, the indiscriminate use of physic upon a number of horses at once, at given periods, whether in that state or not which warrants a purgative. « Regular bleed- ing,'* upon which we passed sentence awhile ago, (page 43,) li of apiece with "regular physic;" both in my opinion ire exceedmgly irregiUar, and contrary to the nature oi YIU.] ALOES, INDEFENSIBLE. 87 things animate, which cannot possibly stand in need of this substraction of the vital fluid, or " draining," of its material as you seem to advocate, and Osmer observed formerly. Q. I stand corrected ; .... A. Or you lie open to the reproach of being an indiscri- minate purgator ; which you will find a poor recommen- dation to any rational sporting gentleman now-a-days ; they knew better, in general. Q. When hunters get thick about the legs, in conse- quence of a hard run and neglect, you cannot recover the original shape of them without the use of aloes ? A. That depends on what cause they owe the misshapen legs to; and. we inquire, 1st. Whether it be owing to straining every sinew in going ? when the warm bathing and bandaging, the hand-rubbing and rest (i. e. walking, and a loose stall) will restore a slight attack in a day or two ; but, if not, we must blister. 2d. Whether this is accompa- nied by swelling of the fleshy particles, and the skin, occa- sioned by the animal's languor of system, debility, or bemg apirit-broken. V Q. When you allow that cordials may be given with profit. , , t , • A. Yes ; but you must also procure healthy dungings, or the mildest cordial may do harm, if repeated beyond the day of such a run. ' • • . Q. Both objects may be accomplished by giving the scouring water the morning after a hard chase ; although you were pleased to designate it as " mere cordial," it never failed to cheer up the horse, and to procure a good dunging on such occasions — owing to the fatigue, perhaps, that yet remained in the animal, and the stimulant nature of the cordial. Hero is the receipt for making it. [See Ap- pendix. White Water, No, 5.] A. This " receipt," as you very properly term it, might prove a receipt in full, like many other cordials, if given to a horse with inflammation of any internal organ, or fever of the whole system. T Q. I do not perceive the difference. A. Nor is there any — so far as your famous " receipt" is concerned ; since it would be equally dangerous either in 'inflammation of kidneys, stomach, intestines, or lungs : as Buch an affection at any of these parts, occasions an ac- 88 PHYSIC : MODE OF OPERATING. [CONV. cession of unnatural heat of theskini without perspiration ; this is fever, though /eucr of the whole system may super- ' vene without any of those internal parts being parti- cularly affected, which fever any cordial would but in- crease. Q. Some horses become so difficult to purge at times, that our best grooms cannot get the fat out of them by this means alone, without sweating first and galloping imme- diately after giving physic. : A. Those are your strong-constitutioned horses, required for hard-and-fast work, but which put up flesh when lying idle, or the " getting into going order" is relaxed, even for a day; the racer, for example, which is wanted by a certain day, and cannot be waited for, nor can another sup- ply his place, like the mail-horse. My objection to strong exercise for horses in physic is valid, ne'vertheless : because, when the spiral contraction of the intestines, which the aloes accelerates, is at its greatest pitch, galloping adds to the action of the physic, and may be said to inflict fur- ther friction on the bowels and stomach alike. Hence, if we do not exactly say « the horse is worn out" by these means, 'tis very much like it. Q. I never saw any harm arising from the practice how- ever. A. Possibly you may not ; the visible effects are slow, 1 allow, but not less certainly injurious. Q. And is very commonly resorted to in all the stables I have seen. The method with us was to clothe and sweat at his usual paces the horse intended to be physicked that morning, and whilst sweating in the stable, after dressing and clothing afresh, his physic is given, and he is taken out for his ordinary afternoon gallop, so that no time is lost. A. This last measure is what I object to entirely ; all horses show debility after the physic is worked off; and al- though the strong-constitutioned animals soon recover its eftects, the more tender ones suffer longer ; and, after all, much time is not saved by the method you advocate so warmly. Q. " Warmly !" Not I ; I merely described what I be- lieve is the prevailing practice in all our racing-studs when the horse is wanted for an early engagement ; and by some BRISK MEDICINE— ITS EFFECTS ; 80 '"V 'if r %v - VUI.] persons generally so. What plan of proceeding would you recommend? A. Give two or three warm mashes of white water [Ap- pendix, No. 2,] the day preceding the physic; at night keep the horse short of hay, and in the morning give a small mash early, followed by tolerably strong exercise, ac- cording to his nature, so that he bring down the contents of his stomach, perspire, and evacuate. Being returned home, rub him down, and quickly give the physic. You will ' then find five or six drachms of the aloes in general do as much service as seven, eight, or nine. [Prescribed in Ap- pendix and elsewhere.] I say this, who am not an advo- vocate for strong medicine, even to such horses as absolute- . ly stand in need of purging physic, and cannot from circum- stances be taken out for the strong exercise proposed. Q. I understand you ; we were conversing now of the better sort, that by their value deserve superior care, and ^ require reduction of superfluous flesh. A. The brisk purge, that is accompanied by perspiration effects this reduction excellently well, by reason of the heat of his body dissolving the aloes. Not only is the general health bettered, but the mis-shapen legs become fine and strong immediately ; tlierefore do not neglect to promote this discharge by the skin, which further mashes, hand-rub- bing the legs, and assiduous rubbing down, effects com- pletely. Q. Most people keep their physicked horses clothed all the day after it begins to work. A. To be sure ; the tender ones in particular. But T should remove each piece of the clothing, and having scraped, dressed, and dry-rubbed the part uncovered, re- ■ place dry clothing, piece by piece — that is, if the horse V required this sort of reduction, and is of tender constitu- tion. Q. The legs, of course, would come in for their share of attention. A. Of course ; the whole of the muscular system feels the effect of the absorption thus superinduced ; the animal ' * comes out of its physic stronger also, and can stride groat- - er stretches in all his paces in consequence, even his walk is bettered, and the stroke in galloping remarkably so. Q. By brisk physic and much physic I perceife you ^ H3 V ■■ i SartTifc ■ iJliJ^-* _ 90 OP ALTERATIVE PftlrSiC; AND fcONV. PREPAKATIVi:S FOR THE STRONG. 91 mean two different modes of giving it, or rather, preparing the animal that is to receive it. A. This is the more'necessary, as these better sort of hor- ses in strong exercise are more difficult to purge than your ordinary cattle ; whilst country working horses never re- quire it, they having frequent opportunities of taking na- ^ ture's purgative — the grasses, require little or no physic. Q. We should, then, purge all our high-bred horses, I presume, before we commence the conditioning o^ hunters or training the race-horse ? A. Psha! As to those terms I see no distinction. But even your thorough-breds, if delicate-constitutioned horses, with tender insides, do not stand in need of this " regular ' physicking," unless good cause is evident, and, when ne- cessary, small doses effect their object best : and even then the mildest, and therefore preferable, mode of administer- ing any prescribed quantity of aloes is to divide it into two, or three, or four doses, giving one daily until the desired effect is produced. Q. When one can spare the time it requires, this me- thod of proceeding by alteratives, I have heard you say, agrees better with animal nature than harsh physic. A. That sometimes makes great ravages, by violent and long purgation ; which, however may be stopped, or much alleviated, by coaxing the animal to take large quantities of thick water-gruel, or stout wheat-flour gruel. [See Ap- pendix, White Water ^ Nos. 4 and 6.] Take this exception with you, however, when you adopt the system of purging by X\\\B alterative plan ^ there needs no preparation by mashes, nor cessation from exercise, nearly, until the physic operates; on the contrary, exercise promotes the action of physic ^o^ir^in a mild and therefore not injurious manner. Q. But why should we keep the horse to he physicked short of hay the night preceding ? surely n ot for the saving it effect? ' • A. Surely not. If you do not prepare the bowels with RKishes, no occasion for stopping the allowance of hay ; but iff after the horse has been mashed in the day, you suf- fer him to blow out his stomach and intestines with hay, the ordinary dose of seven or eight drachms of aloes will defeat your hopes: you stare, and wonder how this comes to pass, increase the dose, and thus add to the evils strong •' VIII.] purgatives produce in the course of time — if they do not come on immediately* Inflammation of those parts is the disorder most frequently recurring, though it also affects the kidneys or the livery if either be previously ailing. Q, True ; and how often do we hear it said of an ail- incT horse, that " he has^not been well ever since physick- ing l" and *^ caught a cold upon his physic l" When, per- haps, no more than the ordinary dose has been given. Sometimes the physic fails entirely, though a full dose ; — ^ A. A failure very common in aloetic purges ; of which we may say, generally, that the more frequently these are giv- en, the greater is the quantity required to effect the de- sired end ; the coats of the stomach and intestines^ having become paralyzed, refuse to be agitated. Q. Until several days have passed away, or we give a second dose upon the first ; ' A. And thereby commit ruin hy excessive purgation. Mind what y6u are about : under my management, with all the care possible, near a week has elapsed with a re- gular dose of aloes, before it came off". Q. Besides the preparation by bran-mashes, I have known calomel, a moderate dose, soften the dung. [See Appendix, Physic, Aloes, Mercury.] A. The hlue-pill effects the same beneficial purpose of solving the indurated foeces ; and, in either case, a smaller dose of aloes operates as much as a large one without the preparations of mercury. As to the employment of " Epsom Salts," of which you always seem so fond, I must tell you, I once witnessed its failure as a purgative, in the amount of teni©r twelve ounces ; therefore it is, that I have never used this saline mixture since ; but apprehend it would do well to be given the day after either of the ibregoing preparations of nrier- cury ; yet would, even in that case, require to be exhibited to the amount of from six to eight ounces — an immensely inconvenient drench ! Q. Purging salts do not agree with aloes: I once saw a violent purgation, from an over dose of aloes, slopped by givirfg salts in gruel made of boiled wheat-flour. [White Water, No. 6.] ^ . A. The cure might be indebted to the wheat-flour proba- bly, as much as to the salts, which is not an eligible purga- ..>i > iV ^- Ai IK n 92 VIRTUBd OF SALT* >> » [CONV. VIII.] HATTER OF BALLING. HZ live alone, as the case you have just adduced seems to prove. Q. There lies your mistake respecting the exhibition of the salts to horses. Til be shot if ever I once thought of giving salts of either kind as " purgative physic :" but, as a most excellent preventive of internal disorders, in all quadrupeds, nothing has ever been prescribed, or given, that is at all to be compared to what they call the neutral salts. A. That is to say, common house-salt, bay-salt, nitre or salt-petre, Glauber's or Epsom salts. Q. You are right. AH or either of these, administered constantly in small quantities, operate imperceptibly on the blood, changing its state, correcting any disposition to putridity, or decomposition, and removing the obstructions that arise from high feeding or otherwise. < A. Indeed! * Q. Yes, by my truly ; I have been giving the common house salt, not only as a corrective o^ bad hay, as recom- mended by you, (Conv, ix.) but as conducing to health ge- nerally. ' A. Why, you seem suddenly enlightened on this topic, all at once. * ' -* *■ - * ' '^ Q. I am not the only one, by a good many, who have obtained lights from the same source. — To the " Treatise on Diseases and Lameness, by William Osmer," I am in- debted for much sterling information on the virtues of salt, internally and externally given, as well as on many other important topics. The book should be read by every body. •♦ A. Ecod! he is correct in his practice with the neu- tral salts : I can see that, at the first blush of the affair. Besides, you will do me the justice to recollect, that some reference is had to this topic in the " Receipt Book." [Ap- TE^iDix.] Moreover, I now remember that, when living in the south of Devon, many agricultural horses employed in fetching sea-sand from low water mark, to dress their clay- ey soil, lost several kinds of affections of the limbs after la- bouring at it a week or two. The grease, eschars, * defect in the mouth itself, the most frequent of which, in young horses, is lampas, which have been occasioned by full feeding, and the consequent grossness of the blood — , vie call " the humours,'* for want of a better term. Q,, We burn the tampers with a hot iron, and invariably ^.tffeci a cure by washing the gum with a lotion made of ho- ney dissolved in rose-water, with a little tincture of myrrh in it. 1$f : A. Cutting with the fleam, or knife, or scarifying the gum with a lancet, is preferable to the hot iron, which • we should avoid applying to the horse on any occasion — with a single exception, perhaps. ' Q. In France, the military y«mer* (marechallere) re- ceive pointed commands from the mare-chal-en-chef, " ne- ver to apply fire to the horse on any pretence whatever." A. Your chief must have forget, I presume, that^nn^ is of great service in strains of the tendons, and in most enlargements of the legs after hard riding, though resorted to- much oftener than is absolutely necessary in this coun- try. He must have been thinking of the barbarous cus- tom of singeing off the hair in the ears ! or of the equally disservipeable practice qf applying the shoe quite hot to brittle hoof and large ones — I should think, both of which ruin the animals subjected to them. At any rate, both those method? of reducing the luxu- riance of the mouth may be dispensed with, by substitu- ting a solution of alum in twelve times its weight of the ho- ^ ney and rose-water, before j ecommended, and wash- ing the mouth generally, by means of a small syringe. If the mouth be otherwise sore than from lampas, in conse- quence of the heat and inflammation so occasioned having stopped the secretion of saliva, which ought to be always going on there, the alum opens the glands and restores the flow of this secretion ; whereby the increasing humours its suppressioo had caused to stagnate, soon flow by their na- tural channels into the stomach. Q. Where they are required, as you say^ to assist in the work of digestion, and subsequently pass off by the three evacuations. All that was amiss being thus set right, peace and order succeed : the functions go on regularly, and the animal improves in condition. * ' >. v-.-^j^i-. ■ ■;■ m . . . ■ ■ ■ . •■ 102 80BE BIOUTH. QUIDDERS. [COKV. Vi' A. Why, yeg ; after giving soft food to soothe the irrita- ted stomach, as bran-mashes, oatmeal-gruel, and such like ; whereupon healthy dungings succeed ; but, if not, then compel them, by purgatives or laxativesy and then tonic medicines, which may be requisite if the mouth has been a long time sore, and the stomach and intestines proportion- . ably weakened in their functions. - Washes, bags, and ot||pr soreness at the corners < f the , lips, which also impede mastication, mny be removed by ^ the same treatment, as may also the barhs or paps that come up under the tongue, which ordinarily never need be reduced by any other means ; unless, indeed, they come with white points, and then simply pricking them answers the purpose better. Q. But old horses, as well as those younger ones, go off their feed through defective mastication with the same evil effects ; or swallow their corn whole, in large quantities, and get blown occasionally. Others unaccountably he- come quidders awhile, chewing their hay at intervals, or by moving the lower jaw from left to right, contrary to the nature of their kind : have these the tooth-ache, as said ? A. [ believe they have ; but the teeth of all horses change their shape, in old age, and those of some others decay, the gum shrinking from them, and leaving small chasms between each. With some of those old ones, an • upper grinder on each side grows aslant, gets sharp, and wounds the cheek ; as may be ascertained by the horse flinching from ///e /omcA there. An application of the first named myrrh-lotion, (page 101,) will cure this, temporari- ly. Give oat-meal mashes, but no more hay, nor unbro- ken corn, until you have rounded off the sharp tooth with a file that has one side smooth, or that kind which is called a : hollow file. By the same means may likewise be reduced, a luxuriant tooth — the first of the lower jaw, that is sometimes thrown up higher than the rest — usually in strong robust horses ; who then exhibit the same symptoms of wearisome masti- cation as that just described, and which seems the natural means of breaking off the protuberant part ; whence man has learnt to perform the same operation with the hammer, generally in too rude a manner. # IX.] CRIB-BITING. 103 Those may be set down as the more visible" causes of want of condition, arising from disordered stomach. Q. But still more apparent is the depravation caused by the horse eating his litter, licking the wall, or gnawing eve- ry thing it comes near, which receives the general term of crih'hiting ; all which cause arj uncommon waste of the *a- livuj you were just now speaking of, as being exhausted thereby ; and thus deprives the stomach of its natural de- fence of its coats, besides loading its cavity with harmful un- nutriqious substances, or incurring the like lowbred disten- tion thereof, by inspiring air into it, as 'tis believed, but not proved. There is little hope of reclaiming an animal thus viciously disposed ? [See Crib-biting^ in Appen- dix.] V , A. Certainly none of his ever getting into condition, while it lasts. Q. Crib-biting is one of those evil propensities that de- tracts greatly from the value of a horse ; and what is more to be deplored, this is a vice invariably found in horses that are otherwise good ones of their respective kinds. A. Although deemed incurable, T have no doubt it may be removed by perseverance ; one of my lads having suc- ceeded in three or four obstinate cases, through superior cunning as to the likes and dislikes of the animals. Q. 'i'his would, indeed, be a valuable discovery, A. Oh, as to discovery, it was no secret at our stables how he achieved his object, although he had no chance of going to work upon our horses, for I never had a crib-biter. When sent for to one of these, after conciliating the good graces of the afflicted animal, he payed the manger-edge^ the stall, and other objects of the crib-biter's attention, with bitter, stinging, and other substances that would prove nau- seous to a horse-palate, or act as escharotics on his lips and gums. At one place he payed it with aloes, and then putting in the afflicted horse, he tied him up short ; this the animal did not relish to lick as usual, it seems : and he found himself no better satisfied when being hitched up to be rubbed down, his propensity was met by similar treat- ment. Nettles and culrage were used upon some occa«- sions. When taken out to exercise, the horse and his rider invariably stopt to take a blow at a post or rail, already pre- ^ • ■ ■« .*: 104 EFFECTS THEREOF. WORMS. [COKV. pared for their reception, in some way or other of a disa- greeable nature, to lick or bite at ; and in this course of proceeding, he persevered until the cure was effected. Q. Very simple and very easy ; does the habit proceed from defective lungs, originally ? ' A. Not so easy, unless you reckon a week or ten days' close attendance at stables, with the wits constantly at work, as nought. As to its connection with the lungs, no one, I think, can doubt, who is acquainted with, and convinced by what has been said on the construction and functions o{ the lungs elsewhere ;* but we may here observe, that the air havmgonce inserted itself in the cellular membrane at the lungs, distends the stomach and intestines generally, be- sides inducing the horse to swallow all kinds of injurious substances— -as earth, litter, old wall, &c. to distend the stomach, and thereby alleviate the pain caused by the de- pravation, or the absence, of the proper humours of the stomach. Q. What other obstacles to digestion, that are not abso- lute diseases, do you consider as likely to mar our endea- vours to keep the horse in condition ? A. Bad provender ; also, too much or two little of any sort, capricious feeding ; had water, or, too much at any one time, as well as too little per day ; a slight cold occa- sionally, and a kick under the belly oftener, inflicted by the unthinking ostler when hacking-in hard-mouthed draft- horses. Worms, also, obstruct the acquirement of condi- tion ; but are themselves only a consequence of one or other of those evil causes just named ; being engendered by tbeinactionof the intestines, and the long continuance there- in of such substances undigested and unexpulsed.j Star- ing coat is not itself a disease, though the precussor of ♦ See more fully, " Hind's Veterinary Surgery," pages 98 to 106, on the Physiology of the Lungs ; and on inflammation thereof, pages 208 to 248 ; an elaborate series of inquiries, that admit not of curtailment or augmentation at present. See, also, Conversa- tion zii. t Other causes of worms, of several sorts, are treated of, instruc- tively, in Osmer'8 " TreaUso on the Horse :» but as these pertain mostly to country cattle, and the investigation is very extensive, few readers of the present volume, it is presumed, would desire a repetition. <»- m IX.] M0W-BT7RNT HAY. 105 hide-bound, &c. ; but is the common symptom of the fore- named causes of some disorder existing in the digestivefunc* tions or in the lungs. Q. Your practice of watching after and keeping up the regularity of the horse's dunging and other evacuations, by regimen, or, in default, by having recourse to medicine, is thus incontestably proved to be the only wise course of pro- ceeding for any one to pursue to whom is confided the im- portant charge of ordering the economy of a stud of valua- ble animals. " A. The thing stares one in the face at every turn we take in exploring the rise and progress of diseases ; how- ever, let us postpone further consideration of these symptoms and remedies until our next meeting, when we will talk of inflammation of the organs of digestion, and the causes that lead thereto. Q. Of water and its contaminations we have already discoursed ; musty oats, and rick-burnt hay are no less inju- rious. A. To blood horses either is actually desUaictive, by rea- ^ son of these bcinjr either tender in their insides, or verv irri* table, let us call it ; which state has been brought on, or increased, by frequent repetition of the strong " regular physic," of which they are the victims, as much as by their hot nature, ^'- '. ' -. . Q. MoW'burnt* is the name bestowed upon over-heated hay, in some parts ; and when this has not proceeded too far, 'tis sweet, and our country horses are very fond ofit. A. But it is, nevertheless, very injurious to the better sort of horses ; causing diabetes, or excessive staling, by reason of the thirst it engenders, and the consequent copi- ous drinks the animal is induced to take ; unless this tendency be corrected by giving a capital sampler o^oatSp * Here are two opinions on the effect produced by mow-burnt hay ; and although both are right, as applied to the several kindf of horses each had in view, a third will be found in the Appendix (article f/ay,) equally entitled to consideration, from the distinc tion there drawn as to the hay which suffers most by being so mow- burnt, and that other kind which suffers not at all, or is greatly be- nefitted by it, , ^ > * 106 V- . DIABETES. [CONV. f- or a few beans with these, daily. Salt is a good corrective of either. Q. What happens when the oats, too, are musty ; or ill- dried, or touched with sea water, as happens on importatioQ from distant parts ? A. Diabetes is then more obstinate, or the kidneys now produce bloody urine; unless the injurious nature of those damaged substances expend their virulance on the bowels : causing these to scour in the mild attack, or exciting infiammation when more severe and meeting with obstruction^ costiveness, or any previous evil affection of the alimentary canal. Posting and job horses, and some stagers, being liable to be thus fobbed off with those kinds of damaged foods, and usually worked to the very extent of their powers, fall victims in good numbers after bad harvesting seasons. The more discerning of our stage coach proprietors, however, prudently prepare the antidotes for the evil ; I am happy to bear this additional testimony to their humanity or to their regard to in^rest — which are, happily, both consistent with each other, in this as in many other points of horse- ownership. ^ ,^ Q. What are the antidotes to bad provender ? ' V A. As it seldom happens that all are bad in the same season, the substitution of the good of their kind for the bad of another kind goes a great way to correct the latter. A solution of *aZ< poured over bad hay, after it has been open- ed and shook out, does something to prevent its inflicting harm ; good beans and oats (as before said) do as much •more. Tlien, there are the potatoes (boiled), sodden bar- ley, the grass and carrots, mentioned the other day, from all which support and succulence may be obtained for or- dinary cattle. And if no other benefit is derived from the last-mentioned. We know that the usual irritation of the kidneys is greatly alleviated by the use of that root ; as ihey are thereby superinduced to pass much urine, and thus run off the more harmful particles of the bad provender, be- cause they are the most subtle.* '' * This alternation from one description of provender to another, is not only good in itself, as so many changet that are to effectuate good, but are they also desirable in an agricultural point of view, ' .•■».. * ■ • . ■ ■ IX.] ALTERATIVES; TONICS. * 107 Q. Ah, you have in view the posters and stagers, again ! They suffer severely, I trow, on all such adverse occa- '' sions. A. They get variety in their journeys, and this operates •.*sorae little good for them upon the alterative system ; when they also obtain the so much desired frequent waterings. Give them the substances just named, a little of each in succession : feed often on this diet, with malt-mashes and water-gruel, and these will further act as alteratives in such a manner as to carry off the offensive hay, oats, &c., as the case may be. Q. But previous to this alteration^ djsorder has crept in and is already committing its ravages On the constitution, though not, in general, visible for some time. A. If the dungings appear in a very pale state — no mat- ter whether washy or indurated, give the laxative ball, No. 1, to get rid of the offensive matters by a stool or two ; if the horse droops dispirited afterwards, give a moderate cordial that is not too stimulant, as of tchite water, No. 5, which really belongs to that class of medicines, and is a bet- tor form than the ball upon the present occasion. ' Q. When, however, the bad provender has been con-^ inued a long time, the horse does not recover his wonted powers, even when the bowels again become regular. A. As soon as these medicines have fully subsided, give the tonic medicines, with such a tonic diet as we were talking about yesterday. [Page 85.] Q. Improper substances remaining long in the stomach necessarily spoil its powers of digesting good food, long af- ter the cause is removed. " Give him a run in the straw- yard,*' says the Commercial Traveller; being his favourite but ungrateful resource when the animal has Hnished a long and fatiguing journey, and may not be required for a month or two, and thus usually in winter time. A. Blazon this among the many mistaken notions ; when they likewise allow no com: or , rather say, " when they when the grain may be badly got in, and requires to be given to cat- tle (as bad barley)^ or when the oat crop falls short, and the farmer is compelled to have recourse to sodden barley. [See Barley, in Appendix.] ., ,^ 108 GLANDERS, HOW INCURRED. [CONV. ^.] 100 I I give none,'' as usually happens at the " straw-yards" — hate- ful name ! Q. Such road-horses generally return from the country sadly indisposed — A. Invariably so. The nature of straw, for long con- tinuance— its entire want of heart, is incongenial to the stomach and bowels of the horse, by distending their capa- city, and causing torpor and obstruction at the several turns (so many sphincters) of the bowels ; besides that it makes poor blood by itself, and is little bettered by the ill- gotten hay, usually served out in farmer's yards, for horned cattle and working teams. The single crime of the straw- yard, is the unfaithful distribution of corn, which would tend to correct all other evils ; and a couple of small feeds per diem will be found sufficient to cfiect this good. Then the sapient owner, upon taking up, has but to clap his pro- perty suddenly upon full diet, and the mischief is com- plete. . Q. After such meagre keep the famished animal must enjoy it much, I should think. A. Aye, like other brutes, over-much. The hor^c usually comes up with blear eyes, a hectic cough, thin flanks, and thick heels, all which unfavourable symptoms do but increase upon the horse being thrown at once upon the full establishment of corn and hay ; the heat of the large stable he usually inhabits contributing its aid in confirming either complaint, if it do not add thereto farcy tumours, or else a running nose, which may, probably, det^'enerate into glanders ; and is so, if the running be confined to the left nostril only. O^If the right nostril runs at all, 'tis not true glanders, Q, All which misfortunes might have been evaded by a gradual return to his former habits, as you recommended on a similar occasion. ♦ <* * / - s;^ -a^ .' ,1 J CONVERSATION X; Inflammatory Complaints* First, Of the Stomach and Bowels : influence the Kidneys and Liver. Colic and Inflammation — Adhesion — Jaundice, retention of Urine, Bladder. Q. In our previous conversations together, I observe, you generally connect " the bowels" with whatever you remark- ed respecting fhe stomach. Considering the organs of di' gestion as performing an important office in the well-being of the horse, let me ask, are those two parts nearly con- nected in their functions ? A. Intimately so, when functional derangement occurs : in the process of digestion, however, the stomach itself scarcely does more than the office of introducing the food to the more active organs — the intestinal canal. At one part, near the stomach, this canal suddenly enlarges to a capacity equal to the stomach whither all drinks descend immediately on being swallowed, and remain until called for by the secretory organs, or by inflammation, which is performed by an effusion of watery particles, that is as well recognized as it is inscrutable, this part of the canal is called the blind gut or c «• i^3rt 112 ABDOMINAI. INFLAMMATION. ' [CONV. 1^ Q. TJiere was not time sufficient in that case for the in- flammation to reach the other organs. A. There you give up the whole point ; but by the way, , the disorder had reached one other organ at the moment of its death, (its brain,) of which more anon. Meantime, I will also concede one point, which is this — make distinc- tions they who may, we are some times baffled in drawing conclusions upon one case out of another, as nature does - much more for one animal than for another ; and we are not always told whether one of the patients between whose two cases we endeavour to draw a parallel, had not been previously abused with medicine^ (or purgatives, or cor- dials,) or by hard work, on turf or road ; to say nothing of age, of breed, or of the class he might belong to, as we ^ were talking of yesterday [vide page 94]. This latter consideration makes a vast difference in the operation of any given prescription. (See Appendix, Physic, section . 3.) Q. Internal injlammationy of whatsoever part, I conclude communicates its baleful influence to another and another, part, in exact accordance with the amount of the original attack, contiguity to its seat, and the previous disposition of the animal's constitution to acquire inflammation of every sort, whether of one particular organ or of the whole system. A. This one maxim, however, may ms well be repeated here from yesterday's conversation, and be always borne in mind, viz. that tfie stomach always feels the influence of every such inci^iased action we call inflammation in any other organ, and very [)roperly resents it by refusing food, which would but increase the disorder. Q. Off his feed, as we express it, at the stables. A. ** Off his feed," to be sure. When the whole horse is affected all over, solids, skin, tongue, hoof, head, we call it fever, or inflammatory fever, wherein great heat of these several parts, and of all the others, are found to have increased rapidly and ten-fold ; the blood, which has been the vehicle for conveying all this mischief into these extre- mities, proves its participation by an increased pulsation, doubling its number of beats to eighty, or ninety, or one hundred, strokes in a minute, and being extremely irregu- lar. [See Pvlse, Bleeding.^ m. m «.■ INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. 113 Q. You may feel it under the tongue, which is very hot, and the salivary glands that moisten the mouth, be- come dry : the perspiration also ceases ; ' A. The supply of ** aqueous particles," spoken of just now (page 1 10,) being exhausted by the heat. From the same cause costiveness ensues, if it be not itself the original cause of all these unfavourable symptoms, as sometimes happens. Q. The treatment proper for inflammation of the stomach and bowels is not very difficult, I apprehend ? A. The chief of your study should be, to mark any - change of symptoms, or disparity, between what you have already seen and treated, and the case in hand. Afler giv- ing a bran-mash, bleeding speedily to a large amount, say four quarts, and then a purging-ball, amends a slight attack ; a quiet stable, and close attention to the symptoms, are indis- pensible to completing the cure. If the bleeding has extended to faintness, or staggering, give opium, to prevent the re-ac- tion of the heart. Consult the long accurate investigation of this whole series of disorders, in " Veterinary Surgery by * John Hinds,'' pages 171 to 208 ; the transcribing of thirty- eight pages will not be time thrown away by you : though, for my part, I am too old to submit to the tameness of co- pying a single page of any body's book. Q. Too proud, perhaps, sir ? and a very becoming feel- ing, in you, A. You do not promise me to study the subject as I re- commend, therefore go, call in the doctor, you have no other chance of saving your horse, unless the bleeding eflects it. Costiveness, or constipation, as was just remarked, I have reason to know, is an original disorder, brought on by high feeding, upon horses of tender insides, mostly ; but all classes of horse are similarly liable to incur the same hardness of dung, by being kept upon dry food, (oats and iiay, augmented by beans, threefold,) as race-horses must be while in training, at very strong exercise.* The heat consequent upon galloping, clothing, and sweating, con- • ♦ " This is the reason (says *' an Old Hunter," in the Sporting Magazine for October, 1829) why our best English horses soonest acquire diseases in the feet, and the ordinary ones preserve theirs : K 2 4 A M» s .n^ 114 STAGGERS, CAUSE; TREATMENT. [CONV. tributes to the disorder; which sometimes defeats the aloetic purge that is usually given to remove the one and the other, but which sometimes fails in producing the de- sired effect, and the animal is lost ; unless the dose be repeated in an increased and ruinous ratio, so as to inilict a lasting and incurable irritability on the stomach, and a tenderness of the bowels that re-produces the same disor- der at some future period. A race horse thus treated never again recovers his paces, his stretch, nor his lasting powers : a hunter, under the same circumstances, is one of the first to knock up, or at the last to be in, if he ever come in at all. Q. According to your former advice, we should reduce the heat " by opening the body '' with purgative-bails. A. Right. But these do not act quick enough in extreme case of costiveness, when this has originated the disorder, and caused derangement of the head, and dropping down ; as happens frequently to high fed wagon breed we spoke of some time ago (page 61) ; the primary evacuation having been neglected, and the consequently turbid urine being treated with stupid indifference, they thus show the symptomatic effects of gross feeding, we then call vertigo, delirum, and megrims, or staggers, which, with better bred cattle, becomes injlammation of the stomach and intestines of the most dangerous description. Q. Do you treat both classes of horses alike ? A. As to the last mentioned, I have already said how. But as to the heavy one being down, the manual operation (back raking) must he performed at once, when the horses will try to rise ; but keep them down, [a single hand upon the head effects this best,] and throw up a warm clyster, in quantity commensurate to the size of the animal. But as 'tis the feeding too high ; like the steamer^ which, being fed with too much fire, bursts : so 'tis corning too much that spoils the feet." Such a corroboration is cited here as a rebuke to some of the College^ who affect to deny the connection that exist between the digestive powers, and the extremities ; not in word, truly, but by interjection, with oh^s ! and ah ! ! and notes of admiration ! ! ! But their laboured nothingness has received a bitter rebuke in the Preface to Osmer'^s TVeatite, a new edition, lately thrown in their teeth, to make them angry ; for they cannot feel shame who are detected in carrying on thirty years of purloinment, as they have been, from the pages of o/(/ 0ro/7i7ia/c thegodt, as we are told, had more of state policy than of religion in the cere- mony. The officiating persons were physicians as well as priests, and on occasion of settling a new colony, sought in this way to as- certain the healthiness of the country before they began to build : the awe and reverence thus inspired, the wily rulers afterwards kept up by a repetition of tha sacrifices from time to time, and demon- strated the anger of their gods by the animal's dying in that disease which they termed triftr, whilst freedom from such adhesion ro- ceivod the name of cocAer, or good. • - > v- . ♦ • '."V^ 132 DEGRESS OF INFLAMMATION. [CONV. .XI.] THE SECRETIONS AND HUMOURS. 123 *-^ if the animal were already purged, warm water might suffice; if extraordinarily so, I should add of campAor three drachms, well dissolved; though thin plain water-gruel would do better in either case, save the time expended in making this according to my receipt^ [See Appendix,] and suffer- ing it to nearly cool again. Give drenches of tiie white toaterSf warm, as much as the patient will take freely. Q. Purging comes on naturally, in some cases, but this happens mostly with ordinary cattle. ' ^ A. Which may then be considered an effort of nature to relieve the body of some offensive matter, and nought more is requisite than giving thick oat-meal-gruel in abundance. On the contrary, you will but deceive yourself if you expect your horse to put up flesh sufficient to strengthen his mus- cular action whilst he fails to dung inform; and you may ascertain when this desirable object has been completely attained by the firmness of his fleshy parts, the springiness and reaction of any pressure upon the buttocks, shoulders, flanks, d^c. Q. At the mane we employ the same test : when this is firm and not readily loosened by a shake of one*s hand, we need not doubt of the horse being in health, and of strength sufficient for his work, be that what it may. > CONVERSATION XI. Internal Inflammation^ continued : Diseases of the Urina- ry Organs; the Kidneys and Liver — the Bladder, in- continence of Urine and suppression thereof: Stone. f - Q. The same change from warm to cold legs and ears we lately spoke of takes place in all internal inflammation, I believe ? A. And of the kidneys and liver as much as any other organ, these being engaged in the function of separating from the blood those humours that are known to us as the principle of urea, and the principle of Wfc, without which process the blood would be unfit for further circula- tion. Q. But it follows, when these organs do not perform ' their functions by reason of torpor or inaction, that the blood cannot be so cleared of those offensive humours, and circulates injuriously, -v, . A. Then may we pronouiice that the horse "has the humours," as I observed to you upon a former occasion (page 66), You state the thing correctly as to the injuri- ous nature of the blood, the vital fluid, when unrefined ; but what must be its state when the kidneys or the liver, being excited to over-action, or, on the other hand, obstructed^ imparts this evil feeling to the blood, in addition to its own - previous foulness ? .^ « ; f ..--^ *- .:^. Q. The bare reflection on this subject is appalling. A. The existence of inflammation at the kidneys is fur- ther known by the urine coming offhigh coloured and small. Symptoms very similar to inflammatory colic pains likewise attend an afl^ection of the kidneys, from the contiguity of these with the bowels, principally ; but the real seat of the disorder may be ascertained, with sufficient accuracy, by passing the hand over the region of the kidneys, when the animal will evince signs of tenderness there, which becomes extremely acute, if not checked in time. In this and all cases of inflammation, bleed to an amount commensurate to the disease: if the pain be acute, the pulse quick, sharp, and irregular, let the bleeding be prompt- ly performed, in quantity three or four quarts, at least. If the pain and the pulse do not decline their irritation, the bleeding must be repeated. [See Appendix, Pulse.] Q. Whatever ails the kidneys, they cease to secrete the urine regularly, at times without being sore ; should we not then give diuretics, or p g balls, as they are called ? A. Don't be vulgar ; nor lead people astray. When the kidneys are not sore, (as you term it,) or inflamed, the ears being also of their usual warmth, the urine will come off of its natural colour, and the obstruction to staling then lies at the neck of the bladder only. This has been occa- sioned by the gut being distended with hard dung ; and in this state pressing upon the ureters and neck of the bladder, the water cannot pass, but is taken up or absorbed into the -T^V- 124 SEASEi DROPSY, TVMOVBS. [coiiv. system again, and thus becomes the harbinger of grease, of dropsy, and tumours, and other disorders that depend on a depravation of the blood. If the retention has lasted long, and the danger thus become imminent, give a laxative clys- ter, or a dose of castor oil (12 ounces), and conclude with a brisk purgative-ball that will empty the great gut. [See AFPViTiBiXj Physic, No, 3.] « ^ . •^v .' \.' Q. Inflammation of the intestines extends its influence to the ZitJer, does it not ? * *.,..•«,. ^ . „ . A. It does, notwithstanding some attempts to deny that this organ is susceptible of inflammation ; leaving there, also, some of its baleful effects, after the bowels may be pro- nounced completely cured ; for the blood, which has been accelerated by the heat, in its passage through the liver to be refined, leaves a portion of its heat behind, each time more and more; this increases the viscidity of the bile, un- til the vessel (duct) that conveys it to the bowels is choked up — an obstruction that is not always removed along with the original disorder. The consequence whereof is con- stipation, and the return of the bile into the circulation : if the attack be a slight one, jaundice ensues ; if severe, then inflammation of this very delicate organ takes place. But, with a view to prevent the fixing a tedious and troublesome disorder on the animal, we should ascertain the fact before the yellows appear at the eyes or in the dung ; and, as en- largement of the liver always attends such an accession of heat there, this scrutiny cannot deceive us. By the way, hot stables produce the same symptom of enlargement, as may be ascertained any morning, by passing the hand over the region of the liver, and it will be found most palpable on the off-side, at the last rib. Q. On finding the liver so diseased, you bleed ? A. Not fi)r the minor attack ; because this proves that the poverty of the blood is already the cause of derange- ment. But for inflammation of the liver we do bleed (as in all other cases of inflammation), according to the de- gree of pain and sharpness of the pulse, as I observed yesterday; taking the precaution to give bran-mashes to soften the contents of the inside, as costiveness always at- tends denial of bile to the bowels ; or give a pint of castor oil, instead, if more readily procured. After the operation the patient must have physic : but instead of a purgative* XI.] T7RINARY ORGANS; ERROR. 125 , as usual, give no alterative laxative, No. 2, of that class of medicines in Appekdix, because calomel addresses itself to the liver. If the enlargement do not subside with the bleeding, rub the sides of the patient extensively with the blistering ointment, but not behind the last rib. [See Ap- pendix for this.] « • . . , ,. r Q. The liver is liable to adhesion and other disorders, I think you said before ? ^ . '- . »^>v.'> > ' '. A. To scirrhous tumour also ; when we come to talk of the organs of respiration, I shall take occasion to show how the liver adheres to the midriff. -•' .> — Q. The urine is an important evacution, regarded as one means of bringing the horse into the condition. The bladder is the chief of these organs, is it not ? Nay, do not shake your venerable locks at me ; it is, at any rate the most obvious — . A. Not until an after-death examination takes place. As for " the most obvious," to the sight, this is the orifice of expulsion ; to the touch, the kidneys are the most ob- vious of those organs ; they are likewise the most active ; but the ureters, two longish tubes, which take their origin at the centre of each kidney respectively, and communi- cate from these to the bladder, are no less important, whilst the bladder is little better than the depository of the urine. Q. Yet several disorders, as retention of urine, bloody urine, excessive staling, Ace. &c. are ascribable to the blad- der, of course. A. Not of course. Quite a vulgar error, be assured, and one not the less to be deprecated, because so general- ly believed ; but much better informed persons that you are every day falling into the same mistake.* •' . . Q. What, then, are disorders of //teWadJcr.^ ♦ A. None, that we know of for a certainty or could di- vine upon dissection ; palsy of the bladder (inaction, torpor. -* Since the text was written, it becomes me to observe, that the admitted periodicalist, Jiimrod, in copying a -passage from my volume, " Veterinery Surgery," falls into the like error prepense ; instead of my phrase ** urinary organs," having substituted the vulgo — bladder, to the utter derangement of the sense. This is one of the passages he fails to acknowledge, Aug. 2, 1818. J. *HlNDS. L 2 X 126 i r SUPPRESSION OP tRiNE. [cojfv. insensibility) being of doubtful existence ; the grand dis- order and final one, a rapture of the fundus, and imme- diate death, being the fault of the neck becoming suddenly collapsed, while the kidneys continue their healthy action of sending down a full quantity of urine, and the animal is worked on, without being allowed to stale, until at length it is incapable of straitening the neck of the blad- der by the usual natural efforts, and the bladder bursts, v Q. On such occasions you set the neck to rights by in- troducing a small hand at the rectum^ and smoothing it forward with the balls of the fingers. * ^ - '< «■ '> * A. An operation that is more easily performed on the mare than the horse. At times we meet with an obstruc- tion at the neck, of quite another nature than collapsion amounts to ; a choking up, by the coming down there of some concretion of earthy or stony particles, and conse- quent " suppresion of the urine.'* But even the presence of stone within it must not be wholly ascribed to the blad- der, as all such concretions commence higher up, namely, in the coecum, and the kidneys ; and are oftener found there, and in one of the ureters, than in the bladder itself; to which they descend by the united powers of gravita- tion and efforts of expulsion, and get entangled in the membranous processes of the inner coaf of the bladder. Q. Although speaking so lately pretty much at large l*especting abdominal inflammation, 1 must return to that topic once more, to observe that, although not originally affected, the urinary passages seem^to retain the influence of such disorders long after these appear to have been cured. ^ . . A. " Imperfectly cured," you mean ; or the curative process carried on with so much injudicious violence as to leave weakness, and dregs of the disorder, that seek to pass off hy urine, but the kidneys (you mistake) having been already compelled to accelerated action by the conti- guity of inflammation, and quite neglected at its termina- tion, now perform their function of secreting urine de- fectively, or with so much labour as to wear out that func- tion. The evil thus begun, goes on with various fluctua- tions and changes, from one extreme to another, that are commonly exacerbated by the ill-judged practice of giving diuretic medicines, which stfmulate to exertion but to des-* «.] ROTTEN kidneys: COOLING REGIMEN. 127 troy ; whereas, the disease already consists of a disposition to secrete too much water ; the " retention of urine " being no defect in quantity, though it certainly is in the coming off. . " v •- -•>•<. ' - h ?> Q. You lately described this species of ailment and its remedy, as " 5Mj)pr655iow of urine." ' •- — . * A. I see no difference in the distinction you attempt to draw ; though I am free to allow that suppression of the power to secrete any, is one thing ; it is quite another when the urine is secreted and retained until it be absorb- ed in the system, or else rupture the bottom of the blad- der. "■'• ■ ' > "^ -. > * • * *. "^ . J , .'. Q. I am quite content with myself, when I can cope with you in any way, however trivial. - - > ^ A. Pray note, that the kidneys suffer a long while be- fore they refuse to perform their office of secreting the urine — even for years ; and then their incapacity is deno- ted by blood coming off with the water. This is termed ** bloody urine " in the veterinary practice. Q. The kidneys are then said to be "rotten." ^ * A. And are so, in reality ; but the immediate cause ia hard work. When the region of the kidneys being strain- ed, at the heavy drag, for example, parts with small por- tions of the blood ifwit it is their office to refine from the principle of urea, as before described ; but which office having ceased, you will perceive the utter ridiculousness of giving diuretic medicines in such a case, and thereby sti- mulating these delicate organs to an accelerated perform- ance of a health-giving office whilst in a disordered state. Q. Rest and a cooling regimen, do all that can be hoped for, in this, as in all other ill-cured inflammatory cases. - -^ •' ' A. For this reason, among others : as green food and soft food cool the kidneys, these secrete urine by a very different kind of action from what they are called on to perform, which this evacuation has been caused by the stimulation of medical diuretics. Whereas the green food (grasses, vetches, carrots) may be considered natural diur- etics, such as the horse would lake if allowed to run at large. [See Cooling Regimen, in Appeneix.] • . . Q. Excessive staling, 1 take to arise from weakness of ••'^vr- 128 DirRETICS: COLOUR OF URINE. [co^v. the bladder, and consequently inability to retain the urine which is thereby called for in greater quantity. . ■. v;^., .^v A. Occasioned by the absence of its mucous defence, which has been exhausted by the action of great quantities of stimulating diuretic medicines,^ employed in curing some recent inflammatory disorder, added to the poverty of the blood. . -.. . , , .'" ~ •<-•• -.• ». "Incontinence of urine" is the same disorder, with a less discharge of urine, but often, and affecting the neck of the bladder, chiefly. • . ..• ...''' Q. These appear to be diseases of the poor man's stable. I take the remedy to consist of better living, more oats, green fodder, sodden corn, malt-mashes, oat-grue], and gentle exercise. - ' »i . . . . , A. Should the pulse increase, when either of those dis- orders may come on, (as happens with higher fed cattle,) give the fever powders; and after this symptom is re- duced to the natural beats, give tonics, (Vide Appendix.] If the feverish state of the pulse does not subside, continue the fever-powder ; give also the cooling decoction, and ad- minister clysters of water-gruel two or three times in the day. When costiveness comes on, as will frequently hap- pen on this change of living, do not give purgatives, nor diuretics— nor soapy or resinous substances ; but cease to administer all other medicines, and give a drachm or a drachm and a half of the unmixed aloes per day, until the horse has a soft stool, which will take place when the pa- tient has taken the quantity that usually operates as a purge. For the mode of casting aloes, see Appendix, under *- Aloes, sections 7 — 9.'' % * In making his remark on the variance in colour of the urine expelled after giving medicinal diuretics, and that which comes off after the natural diuretic, the close observer may draw a tolerably safe conclusion as to the mode in which either acts upon the same organ; the first or medicinal being high coloured, the effect of over action, the natural is low coloured : the modus operandi of those resmous and alkaline substances upon the kidneys is explained eUcwherc. [See Index, Kidnei/s.] . -i» xn.] -«.ij-'? 129 <> \:^ ■'• ••,**•-'. ii-*'"- i''-*"'' » . 4 ■#■• I CONVERSATION XII. .k. m The Lungs; — Wind-pipe and Midriff: a Cold, Catarrh Inflammation; Broken Wind, Roaring; Law Suits. ^ Q. To this moment, neither of us has said a word about the organs of respiration, although we know how indis- pensably the well-being of these are to bringing a horse into going condition, unless these be in the best possible state, he cannot run any, and is often beat at a pinch for want of " a little more command of wind," to bring him through. » , ■' , , * . • A. I beg your pardon there : wo may not have mention- ed those organs bi/ name, but how often have we not brought them on the carpet, in one respect or another, as "the lung," and sometimes by inference. 1st. As de- pending for goodness on the conformation, or shape of the chest, (page 16). 2d. As suffering from weakly nature or tender rearing, (page 37). 3d. As requiring much care upon the turn out to grass, as well as attention upon taking up, (page 62). 4th. As to obstruction by much feeding (page 70) impeding the respiration ; and lastly, the in- juries of which they are susceptible in training, (page 58,) their great action, (74), and the galling pains of which they are the victims, (pages 3 1 and 116) — all these have not been forgotten, nor mentioned out of place. '\ Q. True, true. We did well to postpone more particu- lar inquiry hereon, to this moment, perhaps. The wind- pipe and the midriff'should also enter into our consideration of the organs of respiration I now observe, of which they form an efficient and very material part. A. The distance to which the two extend being above two-thirds the length of the whole animal, though the two J. lobes of the lungs occupy a very great lateral space between them — whilst they are inflated ; whence it is that this term 13 THEORY OP BROKEN WIND. [CONV. (lungs) is SO generally used for the collective organs of respiration ; a function, by the way, that is composed of two actions — viz. inspiration and expiration, and that horse which performs this double function by the longest and strongest action is the greatest laster and surest goer, though he may not, at the same time, possess so much of the go-away qusMty, . . ^ Q. Fine in the wind, depends greatly upon the re-action of the muscles between the ribs, you say, (page 69) ; the racer appears to tax his lungs to the utmost when these muscles of the ribs are well braced. ' A. That is to say, nervous, vigorous, elastic, strong — these are your qualities for going away. Then it is that "his wind brings him through the piece in style," if you please ; and with good reason — the lungs being composed of a fine cell-like membrane, as is also every muscular fibre of his flesh, however minute, an intimate and instantaneous communication exists by these means between the lungs and all other parts throughout the whole frame ; so that health or ailment of the lungs will influence the entire body to such an extent, that these being suddenly *< touched" or broken, in a manner or in fact, the horse then declines his pace or (rips, falls or breaks down, according to the amount of injury and the kind of attack his lungs may sus- tain. Q. Something much to the purpose was mentioned by you, two days ago, and at our second meeting, concerning this companionship — of the feet with the internal parts of the animal, behind as well as before. A. Faulty pace frequently depends upon faulty lungs ; founder always upon inflammation of those very communi- cative organs : by which we learn that this communication between the fore feet and lungs is reciprocal, each influencing the other, both partaking the ailments of the other. Q. A horse that snorts and wheezes, and coughs only with great exertion — as if the lining of his pipe were hanging loose within side it, appears to fill his skin out at each effort. Animals unfurnished with lungs, as birds are reported, by * thfe great Naturalist,' to supply this defect by retaining air in certain other receptacles — the quills of their feathers XII.] TEMPORARY CVRE FOR ROARERS. 131 being apparently the cavities into which it passes inconti- nently. A. This drives it within the cellular membrane I spoke of just now ; the wind being hereby driven from the iungat all over the body ; and as it makes its way underneath the thin membrane that lines the throat (of either pipe,) it there lies concealed, or sinks back towards the lungs, liable to renewal — we know not whether : until some uncom- mon exertion of the sufl^erer again drives the wind the same way to the upper part of the throat, and there nar- rowing the passage by distending the membrane, the horse then becomes a roarer,^ notwithstanding the dealer's arts sometimes effect a temporary cure, and he sells or foists off his beast as a sound one. ^- • ^: Q, Horses do affected slightly, can perform a given dis- tance per day for years, or go a certain pace — say eight miles an hour, and perform it tolerably well ; but if you put them out beyond their pace, a mile or two, ** it sooa finds them out" for confirmed roarers, that scarcely any thing can alleviate, nothing cure. A. In this remark you develope the groundwork of many an action at law concerning alleged unsound horses* Q. And reconcile some apparently contradictory oaths of persons whose characters may not be otherwise impugn- ed with sinfulness — of this particular cast. *• Drive that horse no more than seven miles an hour, for he can't bear no more," says an owner to his " boys ;" and he knows by the symptoms of distress at coming home when his com- mands have been exceeded, and by how much, too, pretty nigh. Then in the event of " finding out a customer," he himself prepares a temporary remedy in a feed of oats steeped in chamber-lye,t and sells the afllicted horse at a * Ailer awhile a fluid matter is secreted in the cavity thus form- ed, which hardens, and the horse is then said to be ** a confirmed roarer */' but when the enlargement of the membrane is more ex- tended, the sound issued upon his being put upon his best paces is shriller, and he is then termed *^ a whistler;" but, when the air has been driven higher up, to the membrane that lines the nose, (where is also the secretory seat ofglanderous matter,) he acquires thetiilo of *^ a trumpeter, or high blower." t How the grinding of thii medley is performed I can only guess. y ,V'. 132 SOBE THROAT ; BLISTERING. [CONV. price that, by its largeness, implies warranty. Hence arises good cause of action at law : his pockets get properly squeezed by the attorney, and all his yard get buffetted by the counsel, admonished by the judge, and disbelieved by the jury. - -. . ,-. . A. Ha ! ha ! ha ! Good ; curst good ; very good, for poUf my fine fellow ; why, this " opening up of a horse cause" is admirable, and no sophistry either. - ^ , •-» Q. Some doctors talk of making an incision in the wind- pipe, where the seat of disorder lies, and thus apply the remedy. ■* . • • . -« ■^ A. Calling \i hronchotomy ; and I once saw the opera- tion performed with success, in a case of an obstinately ul- cered sore throat ; though this might have been cured at an earlier stage of the disorder by the application of cam- phoreited *piri7* to the throat. ' ' ^ '* Q. Blistering the throats of roarers is efficacious, is it not? " > • ' ' ' -./ - ' A. You have but to make sure of the spot, of which there is little difficulty, on which it has fixed, and you can- not fail. This fact may be known by passing the hand down over the throat repeatedly, where the point of ob- struction may be ascertained — usually at the throat-apple, by the animal then flinching a little, though he does so with signs of more acute pain when it is ulceration that has taken place. Q. Sore throat is one of the early symptoms of catarrh, •which we this day set out with investigating ; roaring pro- ceeds of an old neglected cough, 1 think you said ? A. Nearly always. Much depends upon the state of relaxation in which the membrane of the pipe may be at the time of a hard fit of coughing, and the obstruction in this case usually becomes an induration of the lymph which has been secreted within the membrane, as I before de- scribed, as being brought about by heat, Q. Which, if recent, you can relieve by blistering. ' A. If at all. But the further signs of malignant sore '* ■ ,' •"-.•■'.■■'• never having ministered to such a nauseating practice ; but appre- hend that the saline quality of it drains off much saliva, and the swallowing takes place by gulphs^ as all animals swallow sophisti- cated food, or the doubtfully agreeable prescription. ^ , xn.] SEAT OF BROKEN WIND. 133 throat, besides flinching from the touch, fire sluggishness, ears and legs cold, appetite gone, shivering, with unequal breathing, and cough suppressed. Those symptoms come on rapidly with horses in good keep ; slower with those out of condition ; ordinary cattle, or husbandry horses, seldom contract the ulcered throat. Q. 'Tis not, I pejTceive, a disease of the poor man's stable. ^ Sometimes the soreness instead of being at the throat, IS felt at the glands under the jaw. .. • A. Which swell. If tardy in coming forward, let these be speedily treated with the camphoretted spirits, and kept warm^ but not too hot, as frequently is done ; but if this, with physic, does not reduce them readily, change your plan ; apply a bran poultice to bring them forward, and, in the event of matter forming, continue this plan until the swelling breaks and discharges the matter, an event you may accelerate by touching the point of the swelling with a lancet to about one-third of its extent, downwards. Ex- press the matter completely, and dress with digestive oint- ment, " Q, As in the former case, the patient loses his cough when the glands swell. A. Because the inflammation having fixed itself on a certain circumscribed space, the eflfect is less diffused, and, not further titillating the membrane, the cough ceases. Q. Bran-poultice to the neck is very diffi^lt to retain, although they employ the bandage of eight corners, each having a tape fastening to pass over the forehead, the neck, and at the girth. A. Steam the head, then, over a bran mash, placing the pail in a larger vessel, capable of receiving fresh supplies of hot water. The cooling regimen, with green food, will complete the cure. ,> <% ^ •>* .• ^ v- ^ . .. .. > .. <*" ■>i ff^'^ . >i'<. ^*»^i "« »■•( f- .> • ,"^"•7? J:i^-'S3LJSl:\ tw-rffi- Aji,a, i.A 134 \ . ..ir... y, ' ^ 'fcopfv. XIII.] COUOU* OF SEVERAL DEGREES. 135 » .. ». ^ « 7 %' -Jfm ' CONVERSATION XIIL^^*'' -y, #..'.' •,T,i ' w .•*;"^' Coughy ,-.J--^. # ^: 'f^-^6''*:^*' •♦»•.>:■ Q. Broken wind is of several other kinds, you said ; which be they ? y A. Scarcely worth our inquiry : because we cannot tell with precision till 'tis too late, whether the particular mis- fortune has been occasioned by the cellular conformation of the lungs having burst into each other by excessive exer- tion, in which case the expirations of the wind are quicker - T, than the inspirations ; or whether the two branches, into . . which the wind-pipe divides at its lower extremity, are / affected at their conjunction (producing thick wind), or at ^ their entering the right and left lobe of the lungs ; when the respiration is dijicult both ways, the sound hollow, se- pulchral, long in coming, and indistinct, the chest never being properly filled out, nor the flanks working in unison. .-In all these cases the wind also partially enters the cellular membrane of the solids ; as we find upon any such animals being hunted to death, or slain soon after great exertions, the cellular construction much more apparent than ip thfise - others which die quietly, and at once. ' T Q. Exceedingly curious and very instructive ; but, for my part, I should rather know how to arrest the progress .. of a cough, or catarrh, at its first coming on, than learn in what precise manner it had fixed itself on any given part of . those organs, unless some practical good would accrue to . me out of that knowledge. A. The most we can expect from it would be, to know when to alleviate the pain, by employing the sufferer in some less trying and ignoble labour — which you will tell me * ,' is beneath our notice. Q. At present, at present. Let us talk of the cough first, then the more acute inflammation of those organs wherever it may fix itself; the causes, means of prevention, and mode of cure, will be more desirable information to me, because more practically serviceable in my present pursuits. A. All cough differs in its tone, length and force, accord- ing as the disorder may be seated lower down or otherwise, but the remedies differ nought, only inasmuch as it may have lasted long, or be of greater or less amount ; which should give cause for apprehending it might end in inflam- mation, or consumption. Q. Or, it seems, that the animal will at least contract broken wind, by its continuance. .' A. Cough and infl^^^mation of the lungs are but two de- grees of the same species of attack, both being the effect of a cold, chill, or check,, given to the chest externally or by inhalation, or else arriving by means oi' the feet, when either the one or the other has been laid open to incur that kind of infliction }^y being exposed to cold winds, cold water, or severe weather, at a time o^ great bodily excitement. * "Q. Brought on bv excessive work and stimulating keep. ^'-^ A. As well as recent illness of any sort, with strength scarcely recovered ; also, a certain tenderness superinduced by hot stab ling, warm clothing, and the long use of warmed water during any inflammatory complaint. Q. We may safely conclude the patient's illness to have been infiammatory, or at the least of a feverish nature, as, according to your doctoring, his complaints all hinge upon excessive heat. A. Which includes, of coilrse, its converse — excess of cold whilst the animal is in a high state of excitement, whether of work or mode of living. A horse long kept up, with full feed, is little adapted to a five-mile burst of a cold sleety damp morning, though that were down tlfB wind ; and less so, when shortly afterwards it happens that the pa- tience of tiie three parties to a chase is pretty well tested in finding a fresh fox in the wind's eye, with the glass at Zero, : Q. Or a couple of mail leaders, worth a brace of hun- dreds, after a ten-mile full-tilt stage, standing still to set down passengers, with wind and weather ditto; then it is the lungs go to wreck. " A. Rather say, " the organs of respiration," for it needs ^u 186 A COLD, AGGRAVATED. [CONV. > r no witch to tell us that the diaphragm is now mainly en- ' gaged in "recovering second wind." ' Q. And when your hunter, stager, or roadster, does come in under those circumstances — pop ! he goes into a stable already robbed of its air by too many inmates ; un- less, as you remarked the other day, he draws back at the doorways, " as if prescient of the ills that await him within." It was finely said, and justly too, according to my way of thinking. • \ A. Another of the mistaken notions, that lies open the horse to catch cold, is the practice of keeping it clothed constantly, and that in woollen, whereby the insensible per- spiration, the most subtle of all the evacuations, is detained and taken up again by absorption into the system, to fill it with the humours which ought to have flown off and mixed with the atmosphere : costiveness, also, ensues, that enemy to prime action ! This erroneous course of proceeding oc- .' casions the complete relaxation of one portion of the inter- nal organs before another, whether those of respiration or • digestion, that part being soonest aflfected which suflTers un- der the highest state of excitement — which, in this case is generally the lungs. Thus the membranous lining of the nostrils, windpipe and branches, first in order, then the lobes of the lungs, partially, leaving the midriff to recover its tone as it may : a "cold in the head," and consequent running at the nostrils, is never brought on in any other way than this leading the animal into an already warm, hot stable. Next day, after the attack, if an inverate inflamma- tion docs not take place, nor the nostrils run, a scattered, diffused cough comes on, that is commonly slighted. Q. Now, as the latter being neglected produces the for- . . mer, whilst an ill-cured inflammation leaves behind it a te- dious hcffctic, we thence term "chronic cough," which is itself the harbinger of future inflammatory affections, and so on — I should like to know the earliest remedy I ought to employ, that prompt measures may be taken to stop the evil, upon the principle of a " stitch in time," 6lc. A. All cough is inflammatory, a little; or it maybe severe, and yet confined to a small space, as at the larynx, or throat apple, where certain brutes " cough the horse," upon making their purchase. s ( X0«] OP " COUGHING THE HORSE. j» 137 fX Q. And thus injure the part so as to render the horse liable to contract future disorder there. A. Permanently. I have examined the throat of a dead horse which retained the mark of the finger and thumb of one of those coughers, quite plain ; it had been a horse of good price at one time of day, and was a prepense roarer.* The audable symptoms of a sharp but circumscribed attack on this upper part of the wind-pipe is frequent short cough- ing, with a trivial discharge of the humid secretion each time ; both which increase as the disorder is allowed to linger unattended to whilst the horse is still worked on, from day to day, until it has crept down towards the lungs and appears to have exhausted the secretion — for at this stage none comes forth. ' : Q. But the cough becomes worse if nothing be done, and that in proportion as the subject of attack may be pretty well conditioned, fleshy, or tolerably full of blood, A. When also the pulse, which may not hitherto have ma- terially changed, is found exceedingly irregular and full, which further increases, as well as its quickness, as the in- flammation lays hold of the vitals, which they term the pul- monary action. If the patient should have failed in the ne- cessary evacuations, these are to be attended to, assiduously, and the main one opened by the purgative- ball No. 1 ; which is frequently found to reduce the symptoms of a mild attack with very little further treatment. Q. Still keeping in view well-conditioned horses, would you not bleed in the first instance ; for this, I understand, was your practice in all inflammatory complaints what- ever. A. Assuredly ; only taking care that inflammation be well marked ere I resolve upon that step, on the former principle laid down by me, of not resorting to extreme re-' medies until the evil to be removed t* an extreme one. Vulgar horses, that are too weH fed for their breed, cough through mere repletion, when their work is easy ; a half bred, upon being exercised too abruptly, does the same ; the first require bleeding, the second does not ; unless he be * ♦ At Tattersall's sa4es this practice is disallowed, to the great chagrin of some newcomers ; but we have seen a horse " coughed'* by half a dozen of those coughers at other Repositories, without rebuke. . ';^ 'v - ' <' . *i ■ M 2 ''^^■^ ''tte^ 138 THE 60UGH OF DIFFERENT BREEDS. [CONV. too fat for his work, whereby one point of his " condition- ing" has outstripped another: as they have neglected to keep pace in food and exercise, he, too, requires bleeding in the first instanee^ as you justly say. Q. Then, sir, as to the thorough-breds. A. As they never cough through fulness of the system, like the foregoing, some injury must have been sustained in the organs of respiration, when such a horse, in trainings coughs any whatever. If it come on after ordinary exer- cise, or none at all, catarrhal inflammation has commenced ; which may more certainly be relied upon when the pulse is found to have been affected by increased action, or disor- dered action, or both united. < Q. Then, must you not bleed ? * A. Then you must inevitably bleed, as in the former cases, to the amount of two or three quarts, with a repeti- tion next day, if the first, bleeding has effected no marked alteration within twelve hours. Q. But it frequently happens^that young colts in training, when put to their best speed, and, for the first time, to the full length of their powers, say a three-mile gallop for rising three-year olds, cough upon coming in, repeatedly and violently, in the most alarming manner. < , A. Occasioned by the virgin distension of the organs of respiration, now newly brought into play.* The circum- stance ought to give no uneasiness to the training-groom, however, the parts which have been so strained by the trial, soon recover their soundness, by moderating their exer- Cises. i -> V ;.*''>- ^ ■ r :.^ ... . -.j. Q. When this cough comes over a young horse in train- ing, does it not prove he has been put to too higii a test of his powers ; that is to say, more than he could achieve for his time of life ? A. Right ! His capability o^ going, or his strength have been estimated too highly — overmarked. Q. And ought not to have been tried to their utmost for a year or two more, say four or five years old. Our best racers of the old time, upon whose performances we look * * How this takes place may be leahit, with instructive minute- ness, by the curious reader turning to my "Veterinary Surgery,'' pages 98 to 113. — J.Hinds. \^' XIII.] TRAINING FOALS BY ARABS. 139 back with admiration bordering on astonishment, never made their appearance on the Turf \xui\\ full- grown, though they are not reported to us as being bigger than our modern cattle ; all which proves that we of the present day do not fail so much through deficiency of strength oflimbasfor want of due maturation in the organs of respiration ;* which being thus prematurely taxed to their utmost, lose their elasticity, or further acquire some one or other of those evils mentioned in our Conversation of yesterday. A. As to this question of running horses too young, we may justify it by the custom of the Arabs, who gallop their foals at the mother's side from the very earliest age, in their predatory movements from one place of encampment to another, without injury, if not with advantage to the younk- ers. Q. True ; t)ut they travel in hand until full-grown — a consummation that arrives earlier than in this country. Might we not deduce from this fact the inestimable advan- tages of rearing racers to run their utmost speed after their mothers, whilst they are yet suckers, and continuing the exercise (increasing it) up to the hour of taking them into training for the course ? . A. Train them by the stomach, as 'twere, or natural desire. The mares might also be superinduced to run for each feed of corn daily, as fast as her love of kind would permit her to leave the foal behind her. What think you of the scheme? " - '; '^ •" "^ \ '• ^ . Q. Well ; but the cough, the cough, and the bleeding, with a repetition of this primal remedy, about which we were talking? * A. Seldom required, if the first operation has been duly performed. That is to say, apportioning the quantity to the irregularity of the pulse ; and, according to the height of the pulse, so let the bigness of the orifice be. ♦ The Godolphin Arabian did not cover until his twelfth year, and all his get were winners ; Eclipse was not entered until his fifth year, and he won all he ran for ; and as to large cattle, the '^Duke of Bolton^s stud of thorough-breds one hundred years ago, ' were big and well calculated for carriage horses : the Duke was a successful Turfite* The whole question of breeding speedy horses, as to lungs, ^ize, and stretch, is discussed at large, in Osmer^s Trta' Use on the Horse, Part iv. r 140 BL^BWNG FOE COUGH: EFFUSION. CONV. '-'■»''•>' Q. Hereupon the horse parts with his cough, all at onc^l sometimes ; at least, as soon as the physic which follows the bleeding begins to operate. A. By reason of the effusion of water in the chest, which then seems to have soothed the parts affected, and lowered theJnflammatory tone of the whole system. We know then this effusion has taken place, by a visible remission of the symptoms ; the ears, which are always cold m inflammation of every kind, resume their warmth ; the cough subsides ; and the patient, though hitherto lan- guid, looks about him as if for a feed, which he may now be indulged in, moderately, of bruised oats. Then continue the cooliitg regimen awhile [see Appendix,], until the cure is complete, and bring round the patient to his original food and exercise by gentle means, similar to those employed when he came fresh to your hands. Q. A ''cold in the head'' sometimes begins the complaint by a running at the nose, very much resembling glanders, preceding the cough. :•,..-.. .• ; ^ A. Bnt with this special distinction, viz. that the running in this case comes from both nostrils, whereas one only, and that the left nostril, is found to run in the true glanders— when the ghind also adheres to the left jaw. Q. A distinction this that is worth a hundred ^ " A. Horses' lives, you meant to say. Q. Rheum from the eyes accompanies a cold in the head, ' ' ' ^ ' A. Which leaves as the disorder creeps downward, as 'tis wont to do. r » Q. So when the cough has continued a long time, the discharge by the nostrils also ceases. A. That is to say, in other words, the inflammation having increased, and with it the consumption of the watery particles in that region, the heat thickens the membrane that lines alike the nostrils and windpipe, and its power of secretion ceases. As the disorder proceeds down towards the lungs, the demand for the watery par- ticles IS still further augmented, until no discharge what- ever comes off. Q. Then, I observe, the cough becomes more trouble- some than before : 'tis a pity the discharge should cease in this manner. . . ~ . _ **■ '^... 55^9^ xin.] BOWELS AFFECTED BY COtGH. 141 I"-- ^ A. It may he restored, in some measure, by the u^e of expectorants, which lower the inflammation, and enables the disorder to run itself off. Keep down the system by purgative physic, that operative on the water also (No. 1 and 2,) together with sweating powders (see Appendix for all those), as the patient may seem to stand in need of either the one or the other. Q. But animals in fat condition, or which were feshy previous to the bleeding and physicking, frequently make efforts to bring off the mucous secretion that they cannot accomplish without great fatigue, and then imperfectly. A. In this event, soften the agglutination by giving the acetous drench. No. I and 2, still look to his dungings and urine, and give alterative laxatives to meet any cessation in either way. Q. Mercy on us ! What a number of prescriptions ? This practice is at variance quite with your usual doctrine, Surely they would not all be requisite ? A. Not for the same animal, except under different circumstances. But "disorders of the lungs" are of so variable a nature, that seldom are two animals, though of the same class and description — nay, even making part of the same set, attacked in the same manner ; whilst the symptoms change about most unaccountably in the same individual, at times ; so that we do well to face about, not only in conformity with that change, but with the hope that one remedy may aid another. Q. Still, I do not see how you reconcile the seeming contrariety. . :■ - * . *, -'•i^'^ -i t -■> A. Thus. As to the last point, for example, the dunging, be it remembered that the strong efforts at expulsing the wind, which the cough occasions the animal to make, al- ways affect the state of the bowels; besides that, when the disorder continues obstinately to bafl^e our endeavours, the , patient devolves into a crib-biter, gnaws the wall or eats his litter, with other evil propensities, the effects of the pain he endures. Hence the defective produce saliva, and the consequent ill state of the stomach and its depen- cies, (see p. 94, 103,) which induce the horse to swal- low his corn whole, or quid his hay. Either vice being re- plete with danger to the intestines, as I dilated upon in our tenth Conversation, p. 109, 122. ^ ^ , ^ 142 CONSTITUTIONAL COUGH. v- [CONV. Q. Constitutional ^ough. — Is this notion well founded, or is it one of the fancies ? ^ A. Well or ill, of this we may be sure, that some ani- mals cough only upon high feeding, without other cause notwithstanding the three evacuations may be in proper trim ; or at least when the exercise may not be commen- surate with {he feeding, as before observed, (page 30.) A certain looseness of the membranous lining of the wind- pipe, some assert to the hereditary : the secretion of fatty substances therein, or a disposition to plethora, or fulness of habit, causes the blood to stagnate in the finer vessels that line the throat, and there produces that titillation which ends in a queer kind of cough they call ** constitu- tional," inconsequent heat, and a disposition to inflamma- tion of these fine organs, as before described. Q. Unless we stop the cause, as much as in us lies, by stinting the food to less nutritous substances, by a meagre day, occasionally, by purgatives, and by exercise : Am I not right now ? A. Either will suffice, in slight cases, to reduce the troublesomeness of the cough, though the whole being put in requisition may not cure it. You did right not to commence your proposed remedies with "exercise," as most people, conscious of their primary neglect, would have done. This is the same kind of cough as that notic- ed before, as being the plethoric cough of the foreign draught horses, im|>orted here to enjoy hearty food and a life of comparative laziness in their younger years. ^ / Q. A certain " very ingenious gentleman," who occa- wonally " rides the tall horse," swears himself to the fact, that none so cough upon high feeding but such as are touched with latent chronic affection of the lungs. > A. His objection is not worth a straw, though it chance to be better founded than mannerly. I will tell you a fact, however, which he has seen me'practice with success. When I suspect a horse I am about to buy is touched in the wind, and has been treated with a saline feed of oats you spake of, or has been shotted, I take him out for a trial, order him a full feed of oats, (but no water,) and, in the drive home, keep a strict look out for any indication of " badness in the wind." V .- < V; ■'. ^. 'U V '^' xm.] LUNGS AND FEET, SYMPATHIZE. 143 Q. This soon finds them out ; a full stomach is a sad tell-tale. A. Whencesoeveinhe hectic may arise, I care not, I simply do not purchase. Q. On driving a horse sharp, after such a feed, there is a catch in the wind observable sometimes. A, Occasioned by the full stomach pressing upon the inidriff, and not allowing of suflicient room for the tender lungs to play—at least not to their ordinary extent. Q. It soon goes off again, however, and nothing more is seen of it. A. Oh, yes; but ^^ something more is seen of it," though not by you, my friend. The feet falter when the lungs are so touched for any length of time ; whilst, by the same sort of sympathy, companionship, or fellow feel- ing between them, the quick pace the horse is put to pun- isheth the feet, and these communicate their baleful suflfer- *"g^ *!? ^^® ^^ngs, hence it is reasonable to conclude, al- though I did not know the fact from experience, that the communication of such ills is reciprocal. Can you have forgot, already, how strenuously J insisted upon the same indication of incipient founder in a former Conversation we had when talking about foot lameness ? (Page 32.) Q. I do recollect, it well ; and hope I shall never forget that important advic«, or anght else I have heard from you with as much pleasure as attention, and I expect, of even- tual profit ; what is more, I have made a memorandum of all that has passed between us daily. ' '.! . -A. And if you dare to print it, the Pancras doctors will not nothankye for your pains. Q. What is more, they will say yoti do not speak in language sufficiently scientific/or them. ^ A. I care not ; my wish is to be useful to the majority, not agreeable to a secluded few. • " ^ * Q. By the way, being myself tolerably well up the me- dicated corn I hinted at just now, as being given by a cer- tain description of dealers, I have tried the effect of filling the stomach of the horse, so treated, with unadulterated corn afterwards, and, although defective wind was percep- tible, the going was true enough ; no faltering or tripping OvCu rreu • A. In that case I conclude the horse was an exception , ^ ' . ,.— . i 144 XPIDEMIG COUGH* [CONV. b ' H to the general rule, not so bad as he might have been, or you did not try him far and fast enough to find him out. * Q. Going eighteen miles within an hour and three quarters, with a heavy gig and two persons behind him, is no child's play. A. If so well after such work, hopes might reasonably be entertained of the lungs recovering, by giving the atten- uating powders in his corn, whenever such a cough makes its appearance, or we have reason to expect its return. If the horse refuse the corn thus prepared, give the same in a drench, but, should you desire to aid the secretion of urine, do not increase the dose of nitre, but add to it cam- phor one drachm, dissolved in the gruel. (Turn to Appen- Pix.) - ' * ^ Q. Some horses contract a cough periodically, either at the season of turning out to grass, or at the moulting season. "" " ^ * * - ' A. Either description of this malady is likely to become chronief or lasting, without due care ; if a good number of horses are attacked at the same lime, they consider the disorder as an epidemic, and infections. Q. Epizootic is the new French name, and the most proper, I am given to understand. ^ A. Nay/nay ; stow away your fin^learning in as small a compass as you can afford, if you please ; your friends, the French, don't know above a quarter about horses that we English do, notwithstanding their boasted " discove- ries ;" though I grant they pursue the labour of dissection more assiduously than we do, generally speaking. The epidemy is attributable to the wet season, I tell you, we allude to these matters in Conv. iv. when talking about soiling (pa. 62.) Such horses as are of tender constitution, as all are which have undergone catarrhal disorder^ should be exposed as little as possible to sudden changes in the air ; though that be from cold to hot, from humid to arid, or as some would think from a worse to a better state ! They suffer most, or benefit in no trivial degree, by a run at grass, according as the season may be cold and damp, or hot and dry. Q. To conclude — Whichever way the symptoms tend, they should be met by an ever-varying treatment ? - ^ . AFFECTIONS OP THE LUNGS. 145 xni.] f A. It follows, from all that has been said, that he who undertakes the cure of any affection of the lungs — all of which are of an inflammatory tendency, and every one of them proceded, accompanied, or followed, by cough — must have recourse to expedients of several kinds ; he must in all cases, assiduously guard against relapse, and distinguish between fresh attacks that are incurred by needless exposure to inclemencies, and the aggravation of any old complaint by overwork. Q. Any other course would but confirm some one or other of those hateful symptom§ we have been talking about these two days past. A. That incurable malady, a chronic cough, being the main one to be dreaded ; though, when the incipient catarrhar cough we set out with talking about this day, becomes, by neglect, confirmed inflammation of the lungs, and this is partially cured, the thing is not rendered a whit better ; nor, indeed, altered one way 0v the other, as re- gards the future disposition of the organs of respiration to acquire fresh inflammatory disease of one kind or the other, from the least cause whatever, or from none at all. Concerning that general illness which some seasons produce, and thence acquires the term epidemic, we should act wrongly in speaking further in this place, so much hav- ing been written and to the purpose, by Osmer, p. 103 to 113, &c. that no one having the charge of horses ought to neglect reading, if he do not learn it by heart. '. *» CONVERSATION XIV. Inflammation of the Lungs, how incurred. Pulmonary Consumption, Adhesion of the Parts : Symptoms, Crisis, how denoted : Effusion. A. Not at all necessary is it to inflammation that the patient should contract the minor disorder of these parts, (a cough,) at first, and we indolently permit it to creep on 146 THICK IN THE WIND. [CONV. I ! i unchecked, until its virulence extends to the central and more vital parts, and there pursuing its ravages, obstruct the busy action of the pulmonary arteries in their function of reanimating the blood by the health-imparting influence of atmospheric air. Inflammation of the lungs as often commences the attack in its most appalhng form ; and also affects the horse's going instantaneously, as 'twere, when the cold caught has been very acute, or to a great extent. , Q. I contended for no other, and merely meant to say, that the cough we usuallj^find prevail on shedding the coat, might be prevented from running to a height by attending carefully to two or three points of our grooming duties at the time. A. To be sure ; let him lay aside the curry comb, and dress with brushes only, nor that too much, and let him clothe lightly his less 'hardy horses. Let him also look to the dungings, whic]^ he will find assume an obstinately cos- tive appearance, when the individual patient may be full of hard meat, and altogether so replete with blood as to render such an attack dangerous in the extreme. Q. All other causes of inflammation of the lungs, pro- perly speaking, may be referred, I imagine, to those al- ready stated as produciug «* a cold " of any other des- cription, as catarrh, ot/r Vill be sure to end in inflamma- tion of'them; if inflammation have already come on, stop it, or you kill your beast, as sure as fate, if a good one : walk him. Q. He totters and stumbles about ere this final stroke takes place. A. The fore-legs being mostly affected when these lat- ter— the organs of respiration, are attacked, his hind-legs when those of digestion are the seat of disorder. Q. All four at his coming down. A. Don't attempt wit : 'tis misplaced on such an occa- sion. From whichever cause proceeding, when a sharp at- tack of inflammation has struck the lungs of the animal, the symptoms rapidly follow each other in fearful succe^ion ; of which shortness of breathing, though at rest, is the earliest and surest indication ; accompanied by drooping of the heart parched muzzle, cold ears, and shortly after, shivering. Refusal of food, and a sharp, agitated pulse, from the first, with subsequent quickness, prove with what facility the disor- der extends. If, in the course of the attack, shivering recurs seveml times without the intervention ofa corresponding fit of sweating, the danger is imminent indeed. Horses in your **fat condition" decline from the healthy state more rapidly than those which may have been in my " work- ing condition," those out of condition slower than either. Q. I see ; I see my error, as to fatness not being the genuine state for doing quick work. A. By the way, with what anxiety, after a hard day's journey, does the commercial traveller inquire, (if trade press so heavily that he cares not to go and see, as he ought,) "Ostler, does my horse take his corn?" conscious from long experience, that the concern at home must lag if his horse does not proceed. How very liable are the horses of such tradesmen to acquire disease of the lungs — usually in its milder forms ! A. But always with the disposition to wax worse ; ow- N 2 ' . 150 Errusiojr at thu cttfidlf* fcoNV. ing to the very long stages they occasiortalTy take, each followed by very long rests ; their joflrneys being perform- ed more in conformity to the demands of their commercial views than to the preservation of their horse. They quite lose sight of the due subdivision of labour and rest into the minor portions, as well as rightly apportioning these to the kind of feed — such as you and 1 agree upon m the main [See pages 117.] Q. Then again, a fresh stable and a change of water ten or twenty times a month ; A. With each time, a change of ostlers, and of treat- ment, as regards the mode of watering, and the variety — nay contrariety, of commands, all eqally imperious and dis- tracting, as to much and little, often and seldom, cold or tepid, before setting out (alas) or at coming in. Q. Those disputed and debateable points upon which we discoursed in our Fifth Conversation, (pages 57, 60, 63 — 66f) and which might well divide the opinions of per- sons more exclusively attentive to horseflesh that the ven- dors of shop-goods can reasonably be expected to bestow time upon. ^-» - A. Are they not, like the industrious Bee, "here this hour, gone the next ?" Yet they should study with care, in- deed should they, the earliest indications of affections of the lungs, just adverted to. * ■ ^ Q. Their interest is mainly concerned in this injunc- tion. ♦ A. Cold ears and legs, as in other inflammatory com- plaints, come on with these first smptoms, and last until the turn of the disease, which we watch for with sedulous care, and of which those parts are the true thermometer. Q. The pulse is no less so. A. After the first day of a mild attack on the lungs, -most assuredly, when it may not exceed forty-two to forty- six beats a minute ; but in twenty-tour hours it mounts up to sixty or seventy, becoming still more quick (though not fuller) and irregular, sharp, and indistinct by turns, as the pain may be more or less acute.. For remedy, bleed as directed for colic (p. 1 1 2.) and three or four quarts will not now avail, but must extend to five or six quarts ; and the repetition as there directed, if need- XIV.] BLEEDING : MISTAKEN FBACTICE. 151 ful, should now amount to a state of tottering, particularly if the pulse have increased since the first bleeding. Q. Will nothing less suffice ? A. Not an atom ; for, less you procure that " turn in ' the blood,'* which shall cause the happy effusion of water at the chest, we spoke of four days ago, you have achieved nothing. It sometimes takes place while the operation is going on, and is the signal to desist : but more frequently it is found to come on after the first motion consequent on the physic that is invariably to attend upon the bleeding. (See page 112.) . # Q. " Desist," was it you said ? What ! when a great .good is being brought about by bleeding, or any other means, would you give over, desist, just then ? This re- ' quires — ;♦••;. # A. Requires: it requires nothing — but common sense. When you have accomplished all you want, when you have attained your end, what necessity for pressing a reme- dy at a time that nought remains to be remedied ? Would - you keep on asking the governor for your salary, for ex- ample, after he had paid you, because asking turned so be- neficial ? Would you continue galloping about like a cock- ney, af\er the fox is killed ? Would'st eat more after thy stomach is filled, thou precious admirer of fat — cattle? Q. Nay, nay ; I'm sure a thousand people, taken from : all the studs of England, including Ireland and Scot- land, would have asked the same question, whether fat or lean. A. As weak argument as 'tis poor geography ; the num- ber of persons that support an error does not sanctify it into truth. Moreover, by reducing the system too much by bleeding, by purging, diuretics, or other attenuants, we cause ' this salutary effusion of " water in the chest," to flow until * it becomes a disease, bearing that very name ; for, al- though the membranous part of the system constantly re- quires this kind of lubrication to prevent the ills of adhesion and inflammation, yet a superabundance thereof getting into - the cellular passages, dropsy ensues ; which although never appearing in horse medicine in that general manner they term anasarca, yet is evidently the cause of those nu- " , V I** ■iifcr-— -^' .■■-^^^'T^..fc ^f^^hi ^it I ■ M—l^ 152 FBECAUTIONS. [CONV. ^ merous tumours underneath the skin, they term (Edematous swellings. Q. You blister the chest extensively, I observe, for in- flammation of the lungs. A. And would likewise put in a rowel, or a couple of setons, if I had your heavy fleshy cattle to deal with. But for the better bred horses, — goers, blistering effects all we want, as to diverting the disease from the vital parts to the superficial. Q. The bleeding you advise appears to me exces- ' • sive ? ^ A. It must be proportioned to the danger ; and if this be imminent one large bleeding — say five or six quarts, is better far than two moderate ones of four quarts each. « ,. - •• », For patients that may be costive at the commencement of the attack, the good to be expected from the Jirst operation will be mainly assisted by giving a bran-mash previous to the bleeding ; or a dose of castor-oil (one pint,) and a clys- ter, consisting of a solution of Epsom salts, or common salt, in warm water ; and in case of the costiveness being at its worst state, let the dung be drawn forth with the hand. ... r . / Never bleed in the open air for inflammation of the lungs, nor give a very strong purgative after it, but prefer divid- ing the apportioned dose into two parts (one for morning, one for afternoon), lest you otherwise transfer the disorder from the lungs to the bowels, which inevitably carries off the patient. ».. Q. InJIammation of the lungs ^ as you observed before, resembles very much, in symptoms and cure, the like kind of attack on the bowels — in all but the part at- tacked. A. They tally in other respects, also : and so do the re- lative minor diseases of colic and catarrh bear the same affinity to the two major attacks on the like organs : both devolve into the more dangerous state by neglect, both influence one other organ, viz. as the stomach does the kidneys, so do the lungs the liver, whilst your labour is but half completed in either case when the inflammation is sub- dued. ^ Q. Then commences the ceaseless duty of restoring ■vwrrffp's^" XIV.] / TONICS, AIB. '^ J53 health, in all such inflammatory cases, by getting the sto- mach into good humour, the bowels in proper trim, and keeping the body cool. A. Give tonics [Appendix] for the first : for the second, give alterative laxatives ; but, for the last, do not apply cold water any where, nor permit a stream of air, nor clothe with woollen by day, unless the weather be cold. Walk the convalescent animal to breathe the fresh air, by day — shaded in summer ; give him a roomy stall and lofty stable, with plenty of grooming, so Hi to keep down the thick legs that now make their appearance ; and so continue until the faculty of perspiration returns, at which period the ex- treme heat of his skin goes off*. Hereupon his exercises are to re-commence with the most gentle walk, daily in- creasing as his strength returns, and hard meat and full feeding take place of the green food, mashes, and gruel, I before recommended, when speaking of the twin affliction, injlammation of the intestines, \>?ige 126. Q. The animal's restoration is yet uncertain, even w*ien the disorder is gone, or, as we say, " is killed," coarsely enough ; when the inflammatory symptoms have given way to those of weakness and languor, enough re- mains for us to do in restoring its wonted powers and taking care that this be done without endangering a * re- lapse. A. We have already discussed this topic in our Tenth Conversation, ^ -• . « *: *- . f -« - •. a CONVERSATION XV. ■.f I » The l^ver ; its Complaints, Function impeded ; and the same over-excited. Adhesion. ^ ..' v. A . Liver complaints, as all affections of this very deli- cate organ are obscurely termed, were spoken of lately, as causing some of those derangements we were then talking about, as, 1st, inflammation of the intestines, — 2dly, inflam- '-'^ ■ ,^'T*r>' 164 LIVES ; ITS COMPLAINTS, % [CONV, mation of the lungs. Yet are there some persons who deny that (lie liver is subject to inflammation at all ; many more, (writers and others) treat this point with indiffer- ence, with frigid silence. Q. They have merely to ascertain whether this organ had ever been found attached either to the intestines or tO' the midriff, to have been convinced, though they might not acknowledge that neither could take place without injlam- mation. Do they study practically the anatomy of diseased subjects? • A. None other, I understand, what little dissection of the horse they do labour at ; and some of them would have us believe, that that is the healthy form or functions which IS produced only by disease.* Now, I have reason for thmkmg, that some very trivial attacks indeed, which would have^gone off with the minor complaints, colic in one in- stance, and simple catairh in another, terminated in "the more serious ailments, vix. infiammation of the one and the7)ther viscus, caused by the aggravation of the liver's ad- liesion to the particular organ so affected, in .consequence of Its great heat, which would be infiammation of the liver to all intents^and purposes. Q. Thereupon its function of separating the bile, being impeded, its action would become more laboured, the biliary duct would vitiate its contents, and return it into the system as jaundice, or retain it and cause inflamma- tion. A. The same vitiation of the bile, its retention in the duct, or re-dispersion over the whole system, might be oc- casioned by the general ill state of the blood, when the de- praved secretion ranged about and committed those ravages we call " the humours.'* But for the liver, the blood would circulate in a state unfit for giving health ; when it comes hither in a state incapable of being refined, inflammation ensues. Q. Whence its several •« complaints," and the commu- nication of these to the contiguous parts. ^ * In the form of the coffin-bone, Mr. B. Clark (the stereopleatist) w proved to have mistaken the diseased for the healthy shape, and to h ave fashioned his shoo accordingly. (See Hind's Veterinary ourgery, page 445, no/e.) ^. . '' XV.] FUNCTION IMPEDED. 155 . A. How could the effect be otherwise? The growing (which we term adhesion) of the upper part of the liver to the midnj would cause difficulty of breathing, proved by a certam cute* m the wind occasionally, which the sellers of such thwgs pass over by the slight term of " only toucht in the wind, but no harm ;" a touch, however, that is likely to turn out incurable, notwithstanding, as described by me yesterday, [page 146.] / "^ Q, As to the other description of adhesion, when the lower end of the lobe becomes attached, how comes it to pass that a slight attack on the bowels, which, under other circumstances, might have terminated in spasmodic colic only, and so passed off quietly, is, by this species of aggra- vation, made to assurtie the most alarming symptoms of ob- stinate inflammation ? In fact, it soon kills— A . Prime horses in a day or two ; ordinary ones resist Its direful effects much longer. I thought I had touched upon this topic before ; but thus it is,— when the vitiation ot the bile or the general ill state of the blood, just spoken ol, has thrown the liver into disorder, heat and inflamma- tion ensue, and ulcerated surface, towards its lower extre- mity, IS one of the baleful effects thereof: as is known when languor is a leading symptom : but when the ulcer attaches itself to the bowels, occasioning a species of colic pains, the pulse quickens a little, and the horse parts with Its languor for more painful symptoms. Or, the ulcer at- taches Itself to the membrane that keeps the whole intes- tines in position, as may be ascertained upon the touch ex- ternally ; whence some medical people are led to conclude, that all chohc and inflammation is no other than affections of this membrane—they term peritoneum, audits disorder " peritoneal inflammation." This, however, is an error, as to the extent of the disorder; for, sometimes both perito- neum and great gut adhere to the liver, in the manner de- scribed ; but a natural remedy is at hand : the ulcered liver destroys the gut, so far as the adhesion extends, suppura- tion takes place, the offensive matter sloughs off, inwardly, and IS carried away with the dung. Q. How are we to distinguish between this species of attack and inflammation, or colic pains? A. There lies the difliculty. When the symptoms vary between these two disorders, and the close observer is puz- '• - - . 166 SYMPTOMS, DISTINGUISHED. [CONV. XV.] ADHESIONS OP THE LIVER. 157 zled in deciding which of them afflicts the horse [see pages 116 147] ; the pulse being low, though the pam be acute, and 'the lower part of the belly evidently tender, thereby affording a flat contradiction of the rules laid down here and elsewhere for discriminating between colic and infiamma- Hon, we run no risk in deciding that the disorder is this one of adhesion. ^ . . Q. At the time this painful process of nature is going on, it is evident we should not work the patient, nor give dras- tic medicine, nor cordials. A. Nor bleed ; the state of the pulse will not warrant this operation ; its indistinctness and languor forfends the use of fleam or lancet. Neither should the horse he in the stable, day after day, or any day ; nor wear warm woollen clothing ; both of which do but increase the capa- city of the liver. But he should be walked out, with a thin body covering of linen girthed over the belly and flanks. If the dung be- at all in form he must have the laxative ball fNo 1] • if he droop, as he will upon the ulcer sloughing off, give a cordial drink [WhUe Water, No. 5,] not too strong. The process towards a cure will be visible in the state of the dung. * * , Q. Whereupon, health resumes its wonted appearance in the manner of the animal . Pray, how long may this par- ticular species of adhesion last, under the most favourable circumstances ? And, is it of frequent recurrence ? A. Much oftener than our observation is directed to- wards the part ; but the duration of palpable disorder sel- dom exceeds a week. This will depend upon the treat- ment of the patient, as to medicine and work : if either be violent inflammation in its worst form supervenes, and death ensues, provided the animal be one of high temper, or good breeding, as usually is the case. Neglect, or inat- tention, however, assure to the afflicted animal at least this chance of escape from medicine ; in addition to this, we generally have too much grace (derived from interest) to push an animal of great value when he faulters in his paces, as usually happens. Q. I have found, more than once or twice, a horse ot known good qualities obstinately to refuse his usual gallop, and return home in a sweat notwithstanding. Those were aged ones, or nearly bo. A. Always happening to such, provided they have been misused and knocked about at races or at a steeple-hunt, or m the extreme long chase, although receiving every care the stable can afford, afterwards. In fact, I am not certain, but this very care to wrap up the jaded animal in hot cloth- ing, with a hot stable, and absolute rest—not so much as a walk allowed ! have brought about the disease ; enlarge- ment of the liver being the never failing attendant upon the application of so much unnatural heat, with the consequent mflammatory heat of this organ, and the dangerous disease we are now talking of. Further, let me add, if young horses are ever afflicted with this kind of adhesion, it goes oil again by gentle exercise, aided by the vigour of the ani- mal system. Q. But I have yet to learn how this adhesion of the liver to the bowels can affect the wind ? A. Not this but another mode of attack, viz. on the thxck part of the liver, both species never being present at the same time. When the liver is in full possession of its Junctions, and any derangement of it, or the contiguous or- gans, takes place through chill, cold, or inflammation— as before insisted upon, in several of our conversations, fcon- suit Index,) then the superior part of the liver adheres to the midriff;^ misfortune this which happens, also, when this part of the organs of respiration is itself the subject of disease, arising from great speed long kept up. You may be assured, also, that adhesion is one of the relics of ill- cured inflammation, either of lungs or bowels ; and, that this attachment of the parts to each other continues long A w "^r^r^ ^l*'^'"^^' ^^' ^'^^" ^^y *« the remedies. H' Wait a bit, if you please. Although the glance you have taken of the matter is somewhat too rapid, I begin to be convinced of the imnor- tant nature of the functions the liver has to perform • for I remember well, that the whole blood of the animal Lvstem passes through the liver to be refined of its hUtTpriSe (bile) many times a day. F^^ncipce A. This is aU the knowledge I could hope to infuse you with at present. Your next care should be to brin " it in^o use by close observation, and thereby learn how to^obv ate if ov^r nh"'^"i5 ^'^"^ '^'l "^""P^^^"*' ""^^^ '"^^tly consist of over-physickmg upon hard work. " O ^ 158 PAIN, WORMS, MISTAKES. [CONV. XV.] PACE EVERYTHING. 159 Q. Duly apportioning the water in frequent small quanti- ties, being one of the means. A. Of prevention, after the subsidence of inflammatory fever, and at all times. As I observed before, this affection occurs often and goes off again by proper exercise, though certainly not so by strong work, but the contrary. Do you not perceive, that a horse fails in his performance some- times, and sweats inordinately, (as you may remember,) but his power of going returns agam after awhile, and that in good form? None have told us the reason why. Q. He halts in his paces, too, occasionally, which also goes off; unless being pushed in his work, severely, the lameness is confirmed, with aggravation, and afterwards appears at his feet. A. Whenever lameness comes on, the cause of which we cannot otherwise satisfactorily account for, and this is fol- lowed by a partially staring coat, the cause is internal, and whether of the fore part of the animal, or the hinder part, is indicated by the roughness appearing on the chest or on the belly, and shews the ailment to be either of the lungs, or else behind the midriff,^ When we have ascertained, by means of the pulse, &c. that inflammation exists in nei- ther part, that is to say, no where acutely, we may safely conclude that the liver, which is not subject to an acute dis- order, is then affected, and that by adhesion, in the manner describefl. After all, T believe we must allow that this adhesion of the superior part of the liver to the midriflfis caused by an ori- * When such partial ronghness comes on, most people cry out " worms !" White, and R. Lawrence, and Clark, prescribe medi- cines, that will inevitably kill them, and a thousand bolts to boot ; but the best prescriptions/aiZ to produce them in any number, though the globe has been ransacked for remedies. Hence, I conclude, that worms do not prevail so oflen as is asserted, but that the real disorder, in nine cases out of ten, is no other than this one of ad- hesion. White had an accurate presentiment of this disorder, but wanted industry to push the hints he received home to a complete developement, in his time. He never went further than admitting, that adhesion of the liver and midriff might be mistaken for worms (his favourite disease) ; and, on the contrary, that " a defect in the organs of respiration, which also produces weakness and ema- ciation, similar to the worms,'^ might be mistaken for actual worms. ginal disorder of the latter, arising from the heat occasion- ed by the quick pace, and great lengths with which most free-going horses are abused ; which is further enhanced by the repetition thereof, followed by absolute rest, and the exhibition of cordials, with high keep. - CONVERSATION XVI. Of some necessary Operations : and chiefly on Shoeing refractory Horses. Q. A few more heads of information remain for discus- sion, if you please, all contributing to the preceding views we have taken of the means of preserving the horse's con- dition ; and, among others, nothing mars our endeavours more than the " battles between smith and horse," alluded to by you at our Jirst day's Conversation, (pages 19 and 22,) whenever the animal is taken to be shod. The foreigners have the advantage of us English in this respect. A. " Us English" comes with a bad grace from you, my lad, who never take notice of any variation in the practice of this and other countries, but you give the preference "sans pu contredire,'^ as you phrase it, to foreigners, and even prefer those foreigners' horses to our own, what- ever class or description we may bestow our thoughts upon. Q. Except the racer — say ? A. Except all, then ; for of what use are the other de- scriptions of horses, unless they have the gift of going in them, slow though it be ? Mere wooden horses, " say." Do they not come here and buy up our prime goers to improve their breeds in this respect ? Q. They only purchase the second best, or third for the Legers, Derby, '. *. APPENDIX; Including Eztraota from "THE BOO&OF RECEIPTS'' OF JOHN HINDS. V. a WITH . TAMILIAR AND EASY TESTS FOR DETECTING ADULTERATED MEDICINES* \i ^ '' . %^' ' * .» Alteratives. These remedies require being given for a long time to produce the effect desired, which is mostly ac- compHshed imperceptably to the common observer ; yet re-establishing the healthy functions of the animal economy more beneficially and permanently than more active medi- cine— the laxative in particular. Besides this more emi- nent class of alteratives, noticed under their respective heads, we have the tonic, the diuretic, and the diaphoretic, i. e. bracing, urinary, and sweating classes of medicine ; but all vegetable productions contain some one or other of those properties, and when combined^ as in the grasses, they contribute greatly to secrete fatty substance in the cellular membrane, which we then term fogg ; whilst oais are diu- retic, and therefore salutary, on account of the resinous quality of the outer skin thereof. Laxative alteratives. When the animal is one of the ten- der class, and must be emptied^ but cannot bear the usual dose of aloes without evident loss of strength, let the ball be divided into three or four, and give one on successive daysi or until the purgation commences. If a horse be ill 172 AFPEITDIX. A^TIMONY — ALOES. 173 i unaccountably t some one of the secretions is obstructed. In such case, a course of taUa is requisite, given in small doses ; or, better still, the common table salt, three or four ounces daily, made up in tissue-paper^Jike balls, fail not to remove the cause of the disorder. Antimony is a mineral of very great importance to many of our purposes. In medicine^ it is prepared and sold under several names, receiving different appellations according to the means used in the several paeparations, which changes its manner of operating ; whilst its virtues' remain the same, whether reduced hypounding^ by heat, by alkali, or by acids. In the form of powder, given in oats (after being damped), antimony has the effect of making the coat sleek, and is, therefore, a powerful adjunctive in curing all cutaneous af- fections ; but when indigestion has filled the stomach with sourness, and the bowels with flatulency, antimony acts with extreme violence, and then should be combined with potass, calcined magnesia, or soap. In its roost eligible forcible form it is called sulphuret of antimony, is a bright yellow powder, without smell ; but is often adulterated with chalk, which reduces its bright colour, and its efficacy. From this extreme brightness, it acquired the vulgar title of golden sulphur of antimony. To be pure, it should not evaporate with the addition of vinegar or lemon juice, but will then turn white : and if put over the fire, the antimony will fly off, leaving the adulteration behind it, Q^Have a care, while making these tests, not to inhale the evapora- tion, for 'tis deleterious in a high degree. In fact it is in this penetrating quality that its virtues reside : for, when submitted to the heat of the body, which is very great in the horse, it seeks to escape by the skin, and brings along with it, by efusion, thj watery secretions of the membra- nous part of the systeni. [See Index, Secretions, Effusion,] According as the dose may be increased, it acts upon the stomach, so as to produce nausea, or, farther still, upon the bowels, as a brisk purgative. < Of Tartar Emetic (Tartaris Antimonii of the shops) pre- pared, or oxydised, by the action of acids, and therefore white, we have heard it said that * were every other man- ner of preparing antimony (and there are several) discard- ed from our practice, nothing would be lost, while we pos- sessed emetic tartar ; for it is decidedly the most managea- ble and least uncertain of all the antimonial preparations.* This was said, as regards the human practice ; but though the action of antimony is very similar in both cases, yet the cruder sulphuret is frequently required to act more strongly upon the horse than the tartarised will do. In doses of half a drachm, if the animal be well clothedn a perspiration, generally profuse, will come away ; one drachm, (the usual dose with farriers) will procure a stool or two» and this will be followed by sweating ; two drachms, the quantity prescribed in the books, agitates the stomach, Chen purges, and both are succeeded by sweating. This substance is ever found adulterated when bought in pow- der, so as to render its operation uncertain : therefore let it be procured in the crystalline form, and powdered after- wards. By solution in water, the acid being set free, a copious gold coloured precipitate ought to be furnished : upon pouring off the water, the adulteration (if any) will be found lying upon the antimony. Aloes. This being the chiefest ingredient of all the pur- gative medicines given to the horse, demands more length- vened notice than we shall find occasion to bestow upon any other substance employed in removing the diseases or pre- serving the health of this animal ; and the more so, as the danger incurred by the abuse of an invaluable purgative, by over-dosing, is further increased by the variety, the un- certain quality, and the adulterated state in which this excellent material is found in the shops. As to its manner €>f operating, and the means of keeping down the dose to moderate quantities, according to the several kinds, and 5 agreeable to the description of horse to be purged by them, the reader will find more information under the head of ** Physicking," to which it more appropriately belongs. Aloes is an extract from varieties of a plant of the same name, growing in several distant and distinct parts of the world. Importers of the article divide aloes into 'four classes — among themselves, but endeavour to pass off the inferior for the better sorts, to the shops, as often as the for- mer may have been extracted with care and assume a better appearance and smell, and consequently bear greater intrinsic value : in this mode of viewing the matter there remain, in reality, but two distinct sorts. 1. The Soco- P 2 -. >' / ■»• •♦/ ■• ^.^> ATTENUANTS. 179 Attenuants. Medicines are so called that thin the blood, and induce the humours to run off; in which manner of acting the diluents may be considered as attenuants also. Water is a good natural attenuant ; it follows, of course, that denial of water must occasion the blood to thicken. Nitrz powdered, and given with the corn, cools the kid- neys and produces urine by a directly different mode of operating than aloes and soap — the one irritating, the other allaying the disordered action of those organs. Bleeding also attenuates. No. 1. Nitre . . .4 drachms, -'^ Camphor . . . 1 drachm, Aniseed ... 10 drops, with meal and mucilage to form the ball for one dose : give two or three days, successively. No. 2. Nitre . . . 2 drachms, Honey . . . 2 oz. mix in white water, and give twice or three times a day. Good for a troublesome cough. No. 3. Sea-onion, fresh . • 5 oz. Vinegar . . . 3 lb. Simmer these a day and night in a warm chimney-comer in a close vessel ; press out the liquor, and afler it be- comes clear of faeculencies, add of Rectified spirits . . 6 oz. . ^Excellent in all affections of the lungs, and diuretic also. Ayls, The vulgar pronounciation of Oyls, a favourite remedy, as they chose to think it, among the old farriers ; but, which, in nine cases out of ten, destroyed the parts to which the mixture was applied, without raising a blister, though occasioning pimples and rough coat. It was com- posed of nearly equal quantities of oil of vitriol, oil of tur- pentine, and linseed oil. Balls, The favourite mode of giving physic of any kind to the horse, and should be made up as they are wanted, as their virtues decay by long keeping, and the aromatics and spices, with which the nauseous part of the prescription is disguised, lose their scent. We employ bullocks' bladder to obviate this deterioration, and may mention three or four days to ten days or a fortnight, as the extent at whichjwe may safely reckon upon their virtues. ft * '> ' N l*n { 180 APPIENDIX. Under the article Aloes, I have described the manner of casting purging-balls of that material. ^ ^Uon'erTowerraid Vefore preferable i" hors^fj- . Sne Allhough some affect to question the effect of bark ^„ th« horse no doubt remains that these and all bitter :L UbtToducaons have a tonic quality, -d are to ^^^^ ■ preferred before the preparations f^^^'^ /hat auaS The dose varies from i of an ounce to d^^''^^ *J»' ^"*"S requires perseverance, is chiefly desirable after fever or in Lrnal inflammation, and should be given in drench, if it be required to operate upon the stomach. But they obviate th?s 5 making the ball of easily solvent materials. [See^ ^"S, when sodden, and given to working horses, ac- coXg to the practice in Norfolk, has been proved highly advantageous as to the condUian of the horses as wdl as reS^he expense ; even when the best samples are used atSpric.s.'^ Estimating oats at 16s. and barley at 20s a saving £179 was effected in one year upon thirty-three Es^fed on sodden barley, to say nothing of the Ume so sS daily in taking their meals, nor of the fact that o d ho«es of twelve or fourteen years, or more, that would E# in condition upon oats, for want of teeth to grind {totforn. would live on for years longer on sodden barley Another consideration for the agriculturist is this-after bad Sons, when the sample of barley turns out dingy, ;« hnrst ill sot in, or otherwise uncalculated to fetch a goS price af market, it does equally well for the horses as ff U were ever so bright, full, and heavy. The Excise peo- Die. however, dishke the wetting of barley, as it opens the door to fraud by malt-makers taking advantage hereby of *"»£««&' the gwom, to cleanse his stomach, &c. after feeding too much. , j .„i.„ Extract of colocynth ... J d«chni, Hard soap . • • • J """?!' Jalap . . • • ' scruple. Gum>-guiacum . • -4 scruples, f i« ■ ♦ . •» f 4 .r •4" ';• ^■r BLEEDING— BLISTER OINTMENTS. 181 ' . Tartarized antimony . . 4 grains, ' Oil of caraway . . . 10 drops, mixed with syrup of buckthorn, to make thirty pills ; * '/ two are a dose. *"' . '* "' Bleeding has been often spoken of, as being frequently undertaken unnecessarily. Refer to Index, under this word, and Pulse, and recollect never to bleed unless you can assign some satisfactory reason for the operation. The heat under the tongue is a good indication of its pro- priety ; as is, olso, fulness of blood, when the artery can scarcely be felt by reason of the patient being thick-skin- ned, as is the case with the lower description of horses — which seldom require bleeding. Most heavy animals also evince the necessity of bleeding by the anxious manner of the eyes ; the conjuctiva being swollen, and feels rigid on the touch. Taking blood may be pronounced improper whenever there is a running at the nose — of any kind ; al- ways harmful when a tumour is present on the surface. Blistering. As an application for drawing off internal inflammation to the surface, this remedy has been spoken of, at various times, in the foregoing pages, as much supe- rior to rowelling, or setons, the efficacy whereof have been justly doubted ° as regards the better bred horse, these methods are totally inapplicable. Blistering has never been employed in the form of plaster, that I have heard of, though 1 see no reason why, unless it be the difficulty of devising effectual bandages, in which service the people of the stables are usually so inexpert. Therefore should the operator guard the hand with bladder in the vigorous ap- plication of any of the following — , - Blister Ointments, * . r . • > ., The mildest receives the term "embrocation" from the- effects being apparently less severe, viz. No. 1. Flour of mustard . . . 6 oz. Water to mix to the consistency of paste ; that is to say, the mustard of the culinary art. This may be converted into a mild blister by adding^ Oil of turpentine ". . . 2 oz. Water of pure ammonia . . 1 oz. ; mix, and apply to the sides, the chest, or to the region of the Q .1 182 ; APFE^fDIX. BROKEN KNEES. 183 •■*\ kidneys, as either may be affected ; always performing this part of the office with much assiduity. No. 2. Lyttae, powdered, 4 drachms, .-^r'v- Venice turpentine 1 oz. Hog's lard . 4 oz.; No. 3. Oil of turpentine . , Vitriolic acid .? mix for one application. 1 oz. 2 drachms, to be poured care- fully on the turpentine, in an open place, then add '^\ Lyttae, powdered, . 6 drachms, ,' . ^■,< Hog's lard 4 oz.; mix. oz. oz. oz. oz. mix. As it sometimes is thought adviseable, after rubbing on the ointment, to plaster on a portion with the knife, melt wax 2 oz. then mix it with the turpentine first, and add the other ingredients subsequently, as they stand in order, and reducing the quantity of lard to 2 oz. The next form, which is still stronger, may also be rendered more consis- tent by the addition of wax. . s , r No. 4. Barbadoes tar ... 1 ; . Oil of bay . . . • 2 Mercurial ointment . . 1 Lyttae, powdered . . . 1 Either of the forgoing are adapted for reducing swellings of the back sinews and other lameness occasioned by hard work, strains, and bruises, after the inflammation at the part has a little subsided. Repetition will be necessary in general, for spavin, windgall, and curb ; and for these, as well as every other part, the hair should be chpped close. Remember that the flies (lytta of the three last formulce) be very well powdered, and sifted, as much de- pends on the intimate admixture of this main principle of blistering. When the pimples rise, the horse will endea- deavour to bite the parts, which, if permitted, would raise an indelible blemish, besides blistering the lips: let him be tied up short, or wear a cradle ; with the two following, this pre- caution is imperatively necessary, by reason of the exceeding- ly great irritability of the ingredients, without which qual- ity they would ill perform the object sought by the applica- tion— namely, to remove ringbone, splent, bone-spavin, or other enlargement of bones. . • . - No. 6. Mercurial ointment • . 3 oz. . Oil of origanum ... 3 drachms, 3 drachms, 4 drachms ; mix. y''-' Euphorbium, powdered ' Lyttae, powdered No. 6. Mercurial ointment (old and strong) ^ - - '• ^^ ^^' ■' - Corrosive sublimate, levigated • :2 oz. Oil of origanum . • • 3 drachms, • Lytt^, powdered . --6 drachms; mix, and use with caution. Both these ^l^^e /he effect of destroying the hair permanently ; an unsightly blemish we must submit to, if we would preserve the services of No. T.^ Take of the preceeding, and dissolve the sublimate Nitric acid . .' • ' • '• ^ ^ oz.; then add the other ingredients, and you have as strong a blister-ointment as can be required for reducing the en- largement of the bones just spoken of. ^ * ^ All these prescriptions should be prepared with grea* care, the fies requiring to be very finely powdered and well incorporated ; whilst the effervescence of the acids must be guarded against by ^he ^^^"^P^"'?^^^!:; .^^^ patient's bed must be shook out, and covered afresh, in order to guard against the small portions of blister-oint- ment which may fall upon it, and raise a blister on the body where it may not be required. / > Blue Pill (The), [See Mercury,] ' Bran-Mash. [See White Water, No. 2.] Broken Knees. Whenever this accident occurs, or whatever the quantity of damage inflicted, a great contu- sion has taken place, although the skin be scarcely abraded. Therefore is it very desirable that remedies be applied as soon as possible, and that the horse is laid up at rest im- mediately, for some of the reasons adduced in Conv ii.; where we discussed the trivial cause of permanent lame- ness in the higher breed of horses, to whom every act of progression is then exceedingly detrimental. . Brushes and the curry-comb have been spoken of (pages 27 and 146). and to which let me add the followmg ac- count of a newly-invented one, for the utdity whereof 1 cannot vouch at present. - — \[r^ - u njr Horse Brush. A pamphlet, published at Pans by M. Goetz, recommends a substitute, of his invention, for the "^ If'tv' 184 APPENDIX. I ! twist of straw commonly used in dressing horses. The brush, which the inventor dignifies with the title of brosse hygienique, is an imitation of the kaffah brush of the Arabs. It is composed of a tissue of horse-hair» enfolding a pad of the same material, banked by thin iron plates, and cover- ed with varnished leather. It is, moreover, furnished with a strap across, the width of the back, like an ordinary brush. The web which covers the pad, which is equally flexible and strong, it is averred, penetrates the hair and to the hide of the animal better than any other instrument, and removes • all foreign substances, however minute. The size is the same as the usual horse brush, covers an equal portion of the surface at a time, clears out all the cavities, in passing over them, and, on this account, accelerates the process of dressing. . -• , ^ • - • j. * Calomel. [See Mercury.] '•*' .; '^^ Camphor. This gum is one of the best articles em- ployed in veterinary medicine, on account, chiefly,' of its anti' spasmodic quality, which it effects by allaying the heat and irritation of which the horse is remarkably susceptible, wherefore it is employed in arresting the progress of ex- cessive purgation. It acts upon the skin also ; and, in the form of a tincture^ given in gruel, is anti-septic ; a quality it must derive as much from the warmth of the spirit as to the complete solution it thus undergoes ; for be it known that (notwithstanding the eulogy just pronounced) scarcely any medicine turns so completely round upon the slovenly compounder, who should administer the camphor before it be fully dissolved, and thereby farther excite the already inflamed stomach and bowels, instead of alleviating the pain. But the spirits of wine, which is necessary to use in all pre- parations of camphor, for its solution, being for the most part incompatible with the purpose for which it is admis- tered, must be used sparingly ; and particularly in cases of inflamed rectum and excessive purging, in which I have employed it as a sedative addition to the clysters that then become needful, ?ifew drop^ of the spirit must sufl^ce ; and then pound the camphor in a mucilage ofaccada. If over-dosed, the patient will be thereby submitted to great danger ; the weak inside and tender horses being least benefltted by the exhibition of this excellent medicine ; . » ^. a CAMPHORETTED SPIRITS. 185 as will, also, such as have been much reduced by disease, by misusage, or by old age. To this latter circumstance let us in charity attribute the failure of camphor reported to us by Bracy Clark ; the stomach of an animal that awaits the knacker's axe being ill-calculated to make a fair expe- riment upon. ,■' • ''^' A herb, serving the purpose of camphor, is obscurely mentioned for its opiate virtues by some writers, and which the sagacious animal would, no doubt, select while in a state of nature. This, however, I apprehend is no other than the lettuce, mentioned below under that head. Camphoretted Spirits, for strains, bruises, interfering, and swellings. When applied immediately, the solution of camphor, in spirits of wine, will be found sufficient to repel a slight accident, which, if neglected, and the horse is worked on, renders blistering necessary. I have reason to think, that when horses in training fall lame on the downs, the instant application of camphoretted spirits would alleviate, if not eff*ectually remove, the lameness in a short time, pro- vided they put up to rest awhile. ^. . No. 1. Camphor, . . . 1 oz. . . . . i. Spirits of wine, . . 2 oz. dissolves at once. But the employment of soap, as it adds to the consisten- cy of this embrocation, enables the operator to use much rubbing, which is itself a good aid in reducing the swelling, the heat and the pain ; therefore, to ^ •. - . No. 2. Camphoretted spirit as above ; add .. -^ ^ :.\ Soft soap, * V . , 2 oz. • *•- < :.' ' i« Solution of ammonia, 1 oz. ; mix. or increase -its power by the addition of ^ - r: Oil of turpentine, . 1 oz. Cover the part, usually the leg, and oftenest of the back sinew, walk him to stable, or, being there, let him rest awhile. See to his evacuations ; give a purging ball ; and, if a very bad case, recourse must be had to the fleam. When the patient is found somewhat recovered, and not before, give him a loose stable ; vary his diet, if you do not completely adopt ther cooling regimen. A little walk- ing exercise, in hand, is serviceable as the* lameness goes oflf. 2. A very small variation of the above materials pro- duces that very useful domestic application, opodeldoc, Q 2 v-l 186 AFPSKDIH:* which may be employed instead of either of the foregc^n^, with advantage, on high-bred cattle of thin skin, and, there- fore very sensitive. Camphor, . . -%^- * t oz. , - Hard soap, . •'tf . ,« 4 oz. < ' Oil of rosemary, .. ! • :' . • i oz- - _ Rectified spirit, . * . " ' I ^ 8 oz. ; pound the soap, and mix with the spirit ; dissolve the camphor therein, and mix. -Apply, extensively, twice or three times the day of the accident, and subsequently. . Castor Oil Recommended in cases of dangerous con- stipation, to precede bleeding ; as, also, in severe inflam- mation of the inside, to follow bleeding, when the exhibi- tion of aloes would perpetrate further mischief. In other respects castor oil is not an eligible medicine. The dose IS from one pint to two pints. When delay would endanger the horse's life, as happens when he tumbles down though hardness of the dung, causing staggers, olive oil, i. e. salad oil^ may be substituted in larger quantity by one- half. *' '- •-• • : ■ ^ . • . Clyster. These are either laxative, or sedative, or sim- ply emollient, and the basis of all is thin water gruel, milk warm ; though for the latter purpose, when the rectum re- quires only to be softened and soothed, warm water may suffice ; as it must, also, when the danger to be apprehend- ed from hardened faeces is imminent, and delay would be ruinous. Laxative clysters are rendered so by the addition of table salt, or Epsom salts, to thin water-gruel, or any purgative — as aloes in solution. The sedative clyster ac- quires this quality by adding to , ' - r Thin water-gruel, . . 3 quarts, -^ Camphor, . . • 4 drachms : inject. The camphor will give out its anodyne quality by the heat of the gruel alone ; but where spirits of wine is at hand, a ' few drops readily procure complete solution, and when any of the lump remains, in either case, the animal may be fig- ged with it. If the camphor oflfend the gut, it will be ex- pulsed in a few seconds, and need not be lost. [See Cam- phor.] A bullbck's bladder and pipe is the usual mean of injecting clysters ; but I hear of an eligible instrument being offered for sale in the form of a syringe. . . . h* Cold Lotion, [See Lotion.] ^^— <..-.' ^ .: .:-'•' CLYSTER — CORDIALS. 187 Colic may b6 relieved by employing a clyster, as fol- lows : — Oil of turpentine, . . . 4oz. The yolk of two eggs, beat up — mix, and add to, Thin water-gruel, . ... 3 qts. : inject. ' Colt's Foot Decoction, iov curing cough, cold in the . lungs, hoarseness, and other affections of the throat and ' chest. The colt's foot leaves, gathered in May and dried, will be found to remove any such affection, to which the people about stables are very liable in the winter season. Let the leaves be made in a pot, same manner as tea, and kept simmering a few hours ; sweeten with coarse sugar, and sip it, cold or warm, ten or a dozen times a day. If ten drops of paregoric elixir, i. e. opium, be added to a table- spoonful of the decoction, the most troublesome cough is removed by it. I have not attended to the administering of this safe and admirable simple to the horse : but in a case of catarrhal inflammation, I rely upon the report made to me of its com- plete success. Cooling Decoction, called also the linseed decoction. Linseed, . . • • . 3 pints. Water, boiling hot, . . 6 quarts, poured on the seeds, and let it simmer five or six hours ; then pour off, and add honey ten ounces, or brown svgar double that weight, and give at three or four drenches in the course of the day. Repeat, if need be. But if the patient droops, and is off his feed, evidently from the effects of this cooling Zo^ion, add thereto, of ' - - . • ' -/ bitter extractive — as much as he will take ' ,;. freely, i.e. without refusing the linseed; , .. . or, mure, readily the Extract from hops, . . . . / >r> • . • 2 QT^. or more : mix the hops with the linseed before adding the water. Cooling Regimen. [See Ixegimcn.] *.: * ^ Cordials. Enough has been already said of this class of medicines ; one entire day having been devoted to a conver- scaion on the abuses of cordials, as well as their proper em- ployment. In the form of halls is the ordinary manner of giving cordials ; but, as they are given invariably almost with the intention of restoring the tone of the stomach, {i.e. 188 APF£NDIX. its appetite,) and to invigorate the animal, this would not seem the most eligible form were it not for the facility with which the materials dissolve. . ^ ^ •^ No. 1. Carraway seeds, i "V ' ' - >' «. Aniseeds, > powdered, each, 3 oz. \ Cummin seeds, ) ' >^* Ginger, . . . k ^- v< . 2 oz. ^ Oil of cloves, ." ". :• 20 drops: mix with syrup, enough to form into four balls. *- No. 2. Ginger, powdered, . . 2 oz. Carraway seeds, powdered, . 4 oz. ' > Oil of carraway, . . ... 1 drachm, ' Oil of aniseed, . , '.' . 1 drachm, , .r Liquorice powder, . . 4 oz. ; mix with *' honey or treacle enough to form the mass into five balls. . . .- No. 3. Liquorice powder, • , . '. 1 oz. Gum ammoniac, . . .6 drachms, - Balsom of tolu, . . . 3 drachms, y .', Powdered squills, . . , 2 drachms ; mix with balsam of sulphur, for two balls. --. ; 2. Cordial Drenches, medicinally compounded, would prove extremely inconvenient to carry about, as most tra- vellers, and thorough good fox-hunters, do the cordial ball; nor are they so elegant a form for administering as the lat- ter : but whoever is at a loss for this class of medicirtes when his horse knocks up, or is worked off his food, will always find it in a quart of strong ale or beer, a bottle of sherry, or any article of that kind, made warm, with an ounce of powdered ginger in it. Another of those "al- ways ready" things is the White Water, No. 5 ; a ball or quantity in mass being supposed to be always at hand. It is, in truth, one of the best remains of the old school, judi- ciously used. [See, also. Daffy's Elixir : and Cordials^ in Index.] Crib-biting has been spoken of (page lOS-4) as a vice that is to be overcome by management and gentle usage, rather than the application of the strap^ or any of the old specifics, which were ascertained to be utterly worthless. However, since those pages went to press we have seen the apparatus of Mr, Yare, and attended at his Hippolo- gical Stables, in Dean-street, Soho, where he carries on CRIB-BITING — Daffy's eldor. 189 the cure of that whole class of vices, which has received the term crib-biting, with the happiest result, in the perma- nent reformation of every horse so affected that has been submitted to his care. We are free to admit that Mr. Yare proceeds with his'operations upon just principles, which cannot fail to succeed. He is, in fact, an inventor^ in the truest sense of the word, and is fully entitled to the bene- fit of his invention for a few years, at least. His appara- tus, which he calls the Anti-crib-biter, is very ingeniously contrived ; it is sold by most saddlers in town, and is well adapted for horses that waste their corn, destroy their clothing, or are vicious biters. The price is two guineas ; or the entire cure is undertaken for hve pounds and the keep. Daffy* 8 Elixir is frequently given to the horse as a cor- dial, but sometimes very improperly so, though drowned in large potion of oatmeal-gruel. But for man — the groom himself, who may have been exposed to rough elements, to cold, or is griped after such exposure, or afler taking green vegetables ; or if he become costive in winter time, then Daffy'^s Elixir is to him a veritable cordial and purgative, that has a thousand recommendations. If he be aged, ha- bituated to dram-drinking, or unhappily shivers after being ofut, (and no prospect of a stool that day,) let him take a table spoonful of the following : — ^ Infusion of senna ... 3 oz. Tincture of senna . . .3 drachms, ^ Tincture of jalap . . . 4 drachms. Tartrate of potass ... 1 drachm, Syrup of senna . . •'- 4 drachms; mix, and give the horse, if given at all, in oatmeal- gruel, [Vide White Water, No. 4.] N. B. The infusion should occupy a week : let it stand (in an earthen vessel) simmer- ing in the chimney-corner : the tinctures are made of bran- dy, in which the senna, &lc, are to be concocted a few days, and then the infusion being mixed with the. decoctions, forms the so much boasted Daffy's Elixir, Diaphoretics, i. e. Sweating Balls and Powders, which see. Diapente, A stomachic powder that is given in the corn, but, when the horse will not take it so, it may be ^1 ^. I. I 190 *vw«. APPENDIX. ■ I ' mixed in a quart of white wine, or ale, and given in a horn warm. Myrrh, n , \ - V Gentian, ( ^^ ^^^^ | q^. powdered. Bayberries, i - ^ ; .; .Berthworth, ^ ' . Sometimes is added, Ivory filings 1 oz. Digestive Ointment y for sores. . .. ^ Turpentine . . • ; 5 oz. Mutton kidney-fat ... 4 oz ; me t over a moderate fire ; and, when nearly cold, stir in, with a wooden instrume it, ^. . Red precipitate, powdered . 2 oz.; mix well. Diuretics. Alterative medicines that stimulate the kid- neys to secrete urine ; though not always advisable when these organs are already too much stimulated, and, if greatly so, must prove ruinous, as was before said, when Leaking of the Urinary passages. The powder. No 1, however, is calculated to allay any undue stimulation whilst it is equally calculated to reduce swellings ot the ^^^''No.T Camphor '-. . '• 5 drachms. Nitre - . . • ^ oz.; mix. '- for four doses, and give one powder per day. / No. 2. Yellow resin, powdered, . 2 oz. ' ' Nitre . . . .: 2 oz.; mix •./■•' for four (loses, as before. No. 3. Powdered resin . • 2 oz. ■ "^ ' . . Hard soap . . • « drachms, - • Prepared soda, powdered, 1 oz. . ■' Liquorice powder . • * 4 drachms, ' ', ■ Barbadoes tar, sufficient to make the whole into six balls, one to be given daily. , . , , . If eiven too strong, diuretics stimulate the bowels and pass off by stool, leaving the kidneys unaffected. This is eminently the case with turpentine (the oil,) which, given to the amount of three or four drachms daily, (made into balls with meal) is gentle diuretic, whereas double that quan- tity loosens the bowels at once. So do the preparations of nitre go off in a similar manner. . . , .u i,x„„ The natural diuretics, which it is probable the horse would pick up in the fields, if all grasses have not a ten- '"'¥:r:^^yz;i' DUTCH DBOPS. 191 dency to cool his animal system, and thus promote the uri- nary secretions, are those we have classed under the cooling regimen* These have this one great recom- mendation to preference over the medicinal diuretics, namely, — as those stimulate the kidneys to action, and be- ing given to excess tend to ruin this function of those very susceptible glands, so do the natural green diuretics achieve the same good by lowering the excitement raised by the medicines, and cause the water to pass off of a paler colour than hitherto may have been observable. Dutch Drops. Very eligible for recent incised wounds, and broken knees. It is nothing more than the residue left in the still after the purification of oil of turpentine by redistillation — when the one acquires the new title of " spi- rits of turpentine," the other is " balsam of turpentine," or Dutch drops. ^ Embrocation. Stimulating external applications, next in order to blistering. See Camphoretted Spirits. The mustard embrocation, at page 181, is an excellent remedy for drawing pain from the interior to the surface, for strains, and for dispersing swellings. Expectorants were referred to at page 141, &c. as cal- culated to relieve affections of the windpipe: this good may be brought about either by a sedative or by causing the fluid secretion to pass off by the bladder. Ball No. 1. Camphor ... 1 drachm, <• .Aromatic powder . li drachm, > .. Balsam of tolu . . 1 drachm, , Sea onion, powdered . 1 drachm ; mix with honey enough to make one ball. No. 2. Gum ammoniac . . 4 drachms, Sea onion, powdered . 1 drachm, , Hard soap ... 2 drachms; mix with honey enough for one ball. Fever-Powders. These are all preparations of antimo- ny, or rather the same under various names. See Antimony. Previous to giving either, the febrile excitement must be reduced by laxatives. '2 No. 1. Emetic tartar . 1 and J drachms, once or twice a day for a week or ten days. If the heat be great .•^iJL 192 APPENDIX. '•iC 2 drachms, v 3 drachms, 2 drachms, mix No. 2. Unwashed calx of antimony 2 drachms, I Nitre, powdered . .1 drachm, mix, and give once a day for a week. Should the bowels be disordered change the admixture to No. 3. Powdered nitre Emetic tartar , ' it *- Camphor for two doses. * •'"^' ' • *' This, although the strongest, will rest easiest. Give for three or four days. "^ If the form of the ball be more desirable, employ linseed meal and syrup for that purpose. Those are essentially the same as Dr. James's fever powders, so long celebrated in human practice, but which we find are not made up ac- cording to the specification. Although slow in operation, those powders show their good effects on the skin of the ani- mal, and this points out the necessity of clothing the sick horse, particularly about the belly, whilst the physic is in him. Fomentations: These are a well known warm external application, in the manner of a bath, to the limbs mostly. Simple water applied by means of hot flannel repeatedly wetted therein, is found to alleviate, if not to remove, by relaxing, the diseased action of its parts. But its virtue is increased by using marshmallows an armful, boiled for an hour or two, when the mallows may be applied in portions, instead of using flannels. If a disposition to gangrene is ascertained, add to the last mentioned camphoretted spirits and muriate of ammonia, 4 ounces each. For a bruise, with swelling, the application of beer-grounds, or what the porter-dealers term bottoms, made warm, is a sovereign remedy. If this could be retained by bandaging, after be- ing thickened very stiff* with oatmeal, made into " shoema- ker's paste," (which has a bit of rosin in it,) its efficacy is greatly enhanced. See Poultice, The time occupied in a fomentation should be above half an hour ; the heat should be above 100 degrees of thermo- meter, and the final fomentations increased up to 120 de- grees. Green Food has been referred to as proper, as a cooling Regimen, under various circumstances, and would be ta- ken to mean something else than grass, when the supply • ^ GftOOlJIs' DISEASES. of this general verdure falls short. In fflns volume the , colour was less considered than the state of this natural restorative as regarded the dried food, as oats, hay, beans; they are enumerated under the article Regimen and a ne- cessity exists for their being gathered fresh, or they sadly disappoint the hopes with which they are prescribed. To this end, a piece of land near the stables (if of suflicient importance) should be set apart for raising the early and fresh supplies of each in succession, fexcept the roots, which do not suffer by coming from a distance ; carrots in parti- cular, which are always acceptable to every horse, whether prescribed for him or not ; as, when we would ingratiate ourselves into his esteem, or would coax him, rather than bully him, into compliance with some necessary opera- tion. . Grooms' Diseased, ' K Under '* Daffy's Elixir," I have already supposed one of the most'general causes of disor- der to such men as are much abroad, in all weathers, and ^prescribed the elixir for it by way of ready cure. But .there are other and various ways in which men placed in these situations are exposed to ailments that may be got rid of, orv prevented from making head, by using one or other of those approved remedies to which I am about to refer. '2. He is very liable to taste too many of the good things of this life, or too much of some one or more of them ; then let him take the " Anti-Bilious Pills," (prescribed in a preceding page, 180,) according to the directions. 3. Is he subject to costivenesss ? He cannot do better than take, of an evening, a small pill of the a/oe* . 15 grains. Hard soap • . 2 drachms, Oil of carraway . 20 drops ; mix for one ball. No. 2. Domestic salt . . 4 oz. Water gruel, warm enough to dissolve it. ^ - Salad oil . . ^ oz.; mix for one drench. No. 3. Laxative drench to loosen the body previous ' »- to bleeding, when the dung is uncom* / .^' mon hard, as also, in febrile disor- ^ ders ; — ;«^ Castor oil . 1 pint to 1^ pints. - Lettuces, The white and red cos lettuce have been rais- ed on a large scale, by the drill husbandry culture, as food for swine, and particularly for suckling sov^s. The lettuce Contains a good portion of the principle of opium, which a druggist in London (Mr. Battley, of Fore-street) extracts, and sells under the name of sedative liquor of opium. With this recommendation as a vegetable sedative, its ser- ;i^ices as an adjunct in the cooling regimen is no longer doubtful ; though we have yet had no opportunity of try- ing the lettuce on a large scale, nor alone, no difficulty ex- * . ists in coming to the conclusion, that ifr may be used with . adpntage, when to be procured in sufficient quantities 198 APPBNDIX. at clearing away of any extensive kitchen garden ground, which generally occurs most opportunely when visceral in- flammation is most prevalent— namely, towards the end of the summer. [See Hay, paragraph 6.] ^ Linseed Decoction, [See Cooling Decoction.] Lotions. The cold lotion, for sprains and bruises, most readily procured by ordinary people, is vinegar, which may be applied alone by rubbing the parts ; but which may be rendered still more effectual thus : No. \. Vinegar . . 4 ounces, Gouland's extract 2 ounces, Water . . 1 pint r • mix, and apply well. Cover the parts ; and in two hours repeat the same ; then soak a cloth, or the end of a ban- , dacre, two yards, or more in length, and the width of three ' or"four fingers, in the lotion ; pass it round the leg (let us suppose) spirally from the lower part upwards, ^nd make fast above a joint with a pin or a stitch. Should any dith- cult occur in keeping up the bandage upon a leg, employ wide tapes passed across the withers, &c. or made fast to the breastinir or cloth, which may be girthed on for the pur- pose of affording this assistance, though not otherwise re- quired. See Vinegar. If the horse evince increased uneasiness, open and rub the leg; at least, let it be looked at in four or five hours, and replaced. When the part be- comes very cold, as it will,— add to the above— in proper- tion, Camphoretted spirits Mix and apply as before. For cleansing old ulcers, take No. 2. Nitrous acid Copperas ^Water . . Mangel-Wurxeh now tolerably well know on all large dairy farms, is a root of some size, introduced here about the year 1788, as the "root of scarcity,'' by Dr. Lettsom. Whatever its succulent recommendation may be for milch kine, to whom they give it three or four times a-week, in times of scarcity, it never can be preeented to horses of any breeding, however prepared by sweating the roots, (». e. trenching,) without some peril, though I find that farm horses have taken small portions and escaped. ,,-^4 4 ounces. 4 drachms, ] ounce, 8 ounces ; mix. -^'^ f ^i:^^' MERCURY. f* •• 199 2. Since the foregoing was written, I hear of the root being employed in foddering working horses, by Mr, Evans, ^ of Caermarthen. His were the h^rdy horses of the prin- cipality, which, he says, are never treated with corn ; and the reverend gentleman contrived to keep his faithful ser- "^ vants even without Aay occasionally, by substituting a mix- ture of this root and straw, salted with brine. [See SaliJ] ' Further we find that mangeltcurzel root is used a» a sub- stitute for carrots, when these fall short : thus verifying a claim to its second title as " the root of scarcity,'' It should, however, be very well sweated for the horse, and then not given for several days in succession, nor alone any day. The tops are exceedingly succulent; are used as a pottage, by man, instead of spinach, which it much resembles ; and is also given largely to cows, sheep, and swine. Mercury, The quicksilver of the shops is too well known to require description. Bright, ponderous, and cheap, adulteration or mistake in the purchase is not pro- . bable. Powerfully solvent of animal matter, in every form of administering it, much caution must be employed in us- ing this mineral, — the mildest being, diS corrosive sublimate^ rubbed into the flanks or inside of the legs, for affections of the skin, for glanders and farcy, to the amount of two drachms, per day: but being a rank' poison, must be em- ployed with care by unskilful persons, who should be ad- vised to begin with less than half that quantity, to watch its progressive effects, and to guard against accidents. For example, when so applied, the patient's head should be kept up in a cradle, or haltered short, especially when ap- plied to broken knees, or old ulcers that he can easily reach with his mouth. Again, whenever mercury is given internally, a clyster should be injected, as well as when 'tis found necessary to rub in the sublimate for a long time, whereby the stomach and bowels are frequently affected, and the animal droops his head. If very bad and salivated, discontinue the mercury and give aloes, three or four drachms, unless the bowels be already loose and the rectum affected ; in which case, instead of aloes g\\e opium, from half a drachm to one drachm, in a ball, and inject a clyster of warm gruel, in which comphor, two drachms, is dissolv- -edj or the lump inserted at the part. [See Camphor.] ^ 200 ' APPENDIX. ;, - ^ When the horse is put upon a course of mercury, in any form, he should be well kept, on nutritious diet, without any green food, and nol^e of the warm water or other li- quids so strongly recommended by the doctors ; as the first will gripe the bowels, and the warm mashes are insufficient to keep up his stamina, under the operation of this particu- lar physic ; though this practice be proper enough with every kind of medicine besides. Another rule to be ob- served on giving mercury is, that the legs be assiduous y hand-rubbed daily, and the patient kept clothed, especially about the body : but not with the thick woollen material mistakenly employed by most grooms. In summer, stout . linen body clothes, hood, and neck-piece are sufficient, un- less the course of mercury has been continued three or tour weeks, when a rug may be added outside. The horse should also be partially stripped, wiped down well, and re- clothed, piece by piece, beginning with the hood : walking exercise is all the work he should be put to. Calomel is the prevailing form in which this mineral Ml employed in horse medicine, because of its supposed mild- ness in operating ; though we find the muriate of mercury, as Pilules Hydrargyriy or blue pill, equally efficacious, when emploved as alterative medicine, in doses of halt a drachm, and given with aloes, about half the usual quanti- ty " But, when so entployed, the preferable mode is to give the mercurial ball in the evening, twelve hours before the aloes (without taking the horse abroad), whereby the hard lumps of dung, which may have escaped former aloetic purges, are softened, and so disposed to come off when the aloes begin to operate. When thus combined with a purgative the horse will not require to be prepared with bran-mashes, as directed on other occasions of physic^ ^^"^mik, ArtiBcial mares' milk may be procured by boiling hartshorn shavings, 2 oz. in water, 1 quart, till His reduced to a pint. Add 2 pints of cows' milk, sugar 1 oz.; or 3 oz. for foals. T. J 1 ' Nitre, [See Diuretics^ Fever 'Powders.\ Opodeldoc. [See Camphor etted Spirits, § 2.] \ Physic, in its most extended sense, means any medicine given with the hope of curing or alleviating diseases. Phy- tie, however, is generally understood to mean, in the stables, •**« KEBCUB^T. 201 purging physic,— ^nd aloes is that which is meant, if no other is specified. The propriety of administering regular physic, or routine physic, at given intervals, has been dis- cussed in the foregoing Conversations ; and, doubtless, if we would have the horse come out of hand m a fit condi- tion for quick work, we must, above all things, prevent his puttincT up flesh, which would most assuredly retard his goingT Yet, as the racer could not last to the end of his course without great strength and firmness of muscle, he must be fed on hard meat, and undergo strong exercise, to give him those qualities ; and these impose upon us the ne- cessity of physicking. Our next affair is to devise the means of producing this excitement with least injury to the -vessels upon which the medicine operates. I very well know how it happens ihsit routine physic, every eight or ten days, is found to act upon the several inhabitants ot a stable so nearly alike, inasmuch as they have ^11 been fed ' alike ; as also, that the immense doses, which such regular recurrences render necessary, perpetrate so little harm as • "the destruction of one horse in five," according to a co- temporary writer, who takes into his estimate every class and description of horses they deem it necessary to phy- sic regularly.'* . . , i • 41 ^ 2. Preparing the horse for receiving such doses, m me manner spoken of below, is found to lessen the evil m great measure ; and the following Scale of Proportions, m which aloes may be given, with the well-grounded hope of obtain- ing the desired effect on each kind and description of horse, in health, presupposes the horse has been so prepared by mashes. The Barbadoes kind are here understood, and those pills made according to the formula directed at page 176, for casting aloes are supposed. ^ For a delicate blood horse 4 drachms of aloes, The same, in strong exercise 5 to 6 drachms, Robust blood horse, of class 1 '^ and 2 (page 95) The same, in strong exercise " For the hunter, under the like ^ circumstances, three-quarter ;- «' bred .... Road-horse . 5 drachms, 6 to 7 drachms, or more. add 1 drachm more; 6 to 6 drachms, <^-- I . 202 APPENDIX. POTATO POULTICE — PULSE. 203 Stage-horse, on dry food .' 6 to 7 drachms, Wagon-horse (having no green food) . . ... 1 oz. to 9 drachms These proportions extend to every variety of bodily state, but the amount of all must be enhanced when the individual . has been long inured to the use of aloes. 3. Gt>er-physicking has been spoken of elsewhere, [con- sult Index for Physic]; but does not always consist m giving too much of the purging material at any one time, but in giving too often, and frequently in the mismanagement of the animal after giving the physic ; either of which pro- duces a disorder we recognise as " over-phy sicking," the symptoms of both being the same. These symptoms deve- lope the disorder by evident griping and distention of the- abdomen, refusal of food, and hanging down the head, or drooping, as one of our foregoing conversationists has it ; throwing up his tail, without ability to evacuate, (wherein great danger to his life is indicated,) and mortification is to be apprehended. In this case, the straight gut is to be emptied with the hand (back-raked) ; clysters of water- gruel, with linseed oil or olive oil, are to be thrown up ; and the patient be induced to drink of the White Water, No. 2 or 4, or simple warm water, if those be not ready, as much as he will take. Whoever proposes to give the sufferer a cordial drench or ball, under those circumstances — knock him down, and cast over him, with suitable epithets, his own " warm ale with gin in," and his balsams of Peru and capivi, and oil of amber, and as much more of this genus of stimulants as he may have prescribed ; for the fellow, be assured, has been the death of many a horse. ^, Over-physicking, however, exhibits another and quite different result generally, by excessive purging, and the pro- trusion of the anus, of which we were talking in another place (pages 90, 111). After purging, and before the bowels are well settled,— or, as they abridge it in Berk- ahire, before the horse is set, grooms universally put the horse on full feed, that is within a few hours of the bowels being in the utmost state of combustion, they are refilled with dry hard meat, that descends and occupies at once the empty canal. The consequences are obvious: if the horse's inside has been emptied by reason of much dung having previously distended them to their utmost, and «• I will suppose somewhat injuriously, then must thi« new visit afford no sanitary feeling ; digestion having to be per- formed by an exhausted set of organs, is then imperfectly performed ; at any rate, not in accordance with nature, and a foundation for indigestion and flatulency is thus laid. If a young and healthy horse has been purged to keep down the increase of flesh, what can we expect after this — but that, with his digestion strong, he will make blood fast, and this will determine towards the head. If, in addition, the hay may be bad, or containing an undue portion of those grasses which may, be deemed medicinal or poisonous, a further trail of evils will arise. Potato, As provender, this root is giving to working horses in its raw state, choppet^; and so best, provided the .. potato be well ridded of the earth ; but in this volume it '. has been chiefly recommended as a restorative after dia- ,: ease, and, therefore, I advise it should be boiled, whereby • its nutritive quality is increased in a tenfold ratio. By the action of fire, we car^y off the bitter principle, which re- sides principally in the rinds of our cultivated potato ; whilst the ordinary (and the wild potato in particular) is wholly bitter. The knowledge of this fact would, of course, induce those who desire to give tonics to serve out their : potatoes raw, for much the same reason as I advise the ad- - dition of the bitter extractive, or hops, in the linseed decoc- tion, , . Poultice, for grease. . - .^ Fresh burnt charcoal, unexposed Iv to the atmosphere . . 4 oz. pounded in water, and kept covered, Linseed meal • • • 12 oz. ; mix, and attach to the heels affected. Absorbent of the acrid mat- ter, alterative. "- ' ^ Pulse, In all the disorders of long standing, sls chronic cough, debility after disease, and in some acute attacks also, the variableness in the state of the pulse atone side of - the horse compared to the other, will teach us not to make up our minds too hastily, least of all to apply remedies until we have balanced accounts (as 'twere) between them. Th© superiorly agitated state of the pulsation on one side, as ' compared to the quiescent or regular state of it on the other side, will point out where the pain is most acute, and -111 'f'^: ■— .-VO .:>• ■^■t"mr..-^:^'T. 204 APPENDIX. REGIMEN — ROLLER BANDAGE— SALT. 205 consequently, at which side the patient chiefly suffers de- rangement ; and is, also, goodly indicative of the proper _ scite for rowel, seton, or blister, when this species of appli- cation may be deemed serviceable. Whilst, on the other hand, any sinking in the pulsation below the natural and usual state of the individual in health (upon turning to your Register) of one side below the other, shows that a lan- guid disorder of some viscus, perhaps of a limb, on that side, affects it through contiguity merely, or the compan- ionship and sympathy always existing between certain parts with each other, pro and con, in the horse—as much as in any other animal, man not excepted. An observation or two on blood and bleeding, though not exactly in place here„cannot be unacceptable to the juniors of the stable. If an artery has been divided, as hath happened to clum- sy operators cutting through the neck-vein, and the artery that passes underneath it, the blood issuing from the wound may be known by its not coagulating, and separating as venous blood does. It then also flows with a jerk, in unison with the PXTLSATioN, and not flowing in a regular stream, Jike that issuing from a vein. When tliis accident happens, or any other that divides an artery, pinch up the orifice above and below, and tie up each with silk thread ; taking up that which flows most first, being that which is nearest the heart, or above. ' , , . i I Remember iheae rules ;—l. The fleams should be kept always in good order and clean, and nothing left to acci- dent. 2. Always give purging physic after blood-letting, and the mild purge is best, in general. 3. After a run, do not pretend to pass judgment on the state of the pulse, nor bleed immediately after, unless in case of a complete knock- up. 4. You may bleed after a bad fall, or a contused . wound ; though the pulse be not much quickened by the accident, it will then be irregular ; in cases of incised wounds, do not bleed, since enough usually esca|)es at the wound, of sword-cuts in particular. 5. if the blood in the graduated measure be very hard, with buff at top, the am- . mal may be bled again, provided the pulse does not sub- side : it indicates high fever ; but the necessity for again ^ physicking is not now so apparent as at fit-st ; it now de- bilitates. 6. Do not bleed four or five times following for •» \ t^ • any disorder whatever, as they did at the College lately ; the propriety of even three such operations is very ques- tionable. 7. If the blood scarcely coagulates, the poor creature ought not to have been bled at all. 8. U costive- ness prevail with the fever, in any degree, give castor oil previously, if you cannot wait for a bran-mash or two ; and if very costive with induration of the dung, a pint, or more of the oil ought to "precede the bleeding an hour or two, and, perhaps, the sphincter, or lower gut, be relieved by the manual operation : these sometimes supercede the necessi- ty of bleeding at all — and so best. ' Upon bleeding in cases of inflammation of the lungs, if the subsequent purgation be very strong, it occasions a change in the seat of the disorder from the lungs to the in- testines, the progress whereof to mortification it is very dif- ficult, and sometimes impossible to stop. Regimen, has been frequently spoken of, and means the rule or manner of living, generally, but is particularly ser- viceable in restoration to health after sickness. Change of food according to circumstances, and adapting these to the medicaments employed, to the degree of ailment, and to his work, is always beneficial to the convalescent horse. The usual regimen is strengthening and nourishing ; a cheering regimen consists of biUter oats and more in quantity, or these given in the form of stout oatmeal gruel (the White Water, No. 4;) also, beans broken, and malt-mashes; next the cordials, as ale, the White Water, No. 6, &c. Lastly, comes the cooling regimen, not less serviceable in its way than the former, and equally indispensable for horses recovering from inflammatory disorders. This consists of green food, succulent grasses, herbs, and plants, with bran- mashes ; clover, vetches, sainfoin, potatoes, lucerne, lettuce, carrots,\im\ mangel-wurtzel Turn to each of these latter heads of inform;ition above, and see Index for Regimen; consult, also. Tonics for the bracing regimen. Roller Bandage, for legs. [See Lotion, page 198.] - Salt, I . We do not yet appreciate sufficiently the value of salt as a restorative after those internal infjammationato which the horse is (more than any other animal) subject. When the tone of the stomach is lost, or SO much impaired that the animal eats his food listless of ihe usual relish, salt, 2 oz. per day, in the corn, will improve the appetite, and of . ' " ■ ' S ' .-^. ■i'^: .: . V .% ,. /?, 206 APPENDIX. course put on flesh, with a sleek coat : though to the amount of 6 oz. per day were given by Mr. Curwen, M. P. for Carlisle, to his working horses, with the most bene- ficial results. A drench is required to be substituted for the dry salt, occasionally, as descending more immediately to the intestines, unless the horse will drink salted water freely. Hay, when salted, horses eat with avidity: see Hay, mow-burnt. j r j 2. Somewhat less than the proportion of a pound of do- mestic salt to a gallon of water, given daily, operates as a - purgative and purifier ; but when used upon provender, about one half this strength is sufficient to sweeten and pre- serve it. From the end of February to May, the horses were fed on cut hay, thoroughly wetted with this salt water. On taking them up from grass, it was the practice of the same gentleman to give his horses a mixture of cut wheaten straw and potatoes, wetted with the strongest salt water ; and with this treatment, without corn or hay, they looked well and were quite efficient for all kinds of farm work. 3. The process for preparing the fodder is, to fill a mo- derate sized tub with water, salted as above directed. Then fill a wicker basket with the provender, and pour the salted water from the tub with a wooden bowl, over the basket of provender repeatedly, until the whole mass is thoroughly wetted. After it has done dripping, let it be given to the horses, and they will eat it with avidity. Besides the foregoing, change from those substances to mangel-wurtzel and straw for a time ; and, for hunters and riding horses, hay served in this manner is much relished, as well as giving greater appetite to their corn of these better sort of horses, which may have been off their feed. But, if not so, the corn that is taken with a good appetite shall do more good, all to nothing, than when eaten without it. Stables, infected. Those wherein fever patients have been confined, as well as those with the much-dreaded epidemic, the glanders, and other diseases deemed infectious, may be cleared of the noxious, effluvia by employing the following recipe : Take of saltpetre, powdcrodf • 2 oz. Oil of vitriol, .... 2 oz. Place the saltpetre in a basin, on a hot earth, or hot .<' SWEATING POWDERS AND BALLS. 207 iron, and mix, by pouring on a sixth part of the vitriol at a time, stirring the mixture with a tobacco pipe. Then a like portion at another part of the stable, and then another, ' untiV the vitriol is expended : taking the precaution to secure the windows and doors, that the evaporation which rises may be detained until the stable is filled with it. All steel furniture must be removed, to prevent its getting rusty. Siveating Powders, The preparations of antimony affect the insensible perspiration, one of which will be found under Fever Powder ; others, in the form of balls, are prescribed below ; and both must be given on several successive days. [See Alteratives,] If the horse be then clothed up and put to strong exercise, with the sweaters on, he will per- spire freely ; but great care is required, on returning to stables, that he be wisped and rubbed completely dry, or the remedy will become worse than the disease. After this, the medicine is to be laid aside, until a new course of the alterative be deemed necessary. Sweating Balls : proper for disorders of the skin, and such as will procure a fine looking coat at any time, though not to be had recourse to upon every trivial occasion. No. 1. Opium, ... . . 3 drachms, ;V Tartarised antimony, . . - "• • 2 oz. r'^;,^r' Ginger, powdered, . . (^'"*% ''•" 1 oz. • ' ' Syrup, enough to make into six balls. > No. 2. Emetic tartar, . . . » ^ . * Ginger, powdered, • . . .\ • -Opium, . •_ • • - • Oil of carraway, .' - -.-'^ r mix with treacle enough to form a mass for four balls to be given daily in succession. . ^ ^ f Thermometer. This instrument, for measuring the de- gree of heat that may prevail in the stable, has been already spoken of, and recommended to be kept in constant use. Its place is as near the centre of the stable as possible, five ' or six feet from the ground, at the end of a stall, perhaps, where it may be consulted with ease. On each side of the instrument may be nailed a rib of wood of its own thick- ness, to defend it from accidents. The mean temperature . may be taken at sixty, or less for working cattle ; half breds require sixty-five degrees in winter, though much will de- 6 drachms, 1 oz. 1 oZ. •^ 1 drachm ; '• ^ > ' \ ^JV'J.__-il^ w^ ■':^*y 208 APPENDIX. pend upon their having been at grass, or otherwise exp6i- ed, when the glass should be still lower, bare seclusion from the wind, occasioning a glow of heat from the bodies of such horses, that soon warms the stable even beyond a de- sirable degree. Thorough hreds can bear seventy degrees in winter, and I have observed an Arab, reared in India, (Sir John Malcolm's present to His Majesty) exceeding chilly, even when the stable felt but little below this degree of temperature. Generally speaking, old horses and foals stand in need of warmer stabling than young and middle- aged horses of their respectivt breeds ; if they are removed from such to less comfortable habitations, they fall ott in condition, whatever their comforts in other respects ; even full clothing does not seem to remedy the atmospheric de- feet, whence I infer that we must attribute their chilli- ness to the tender (or coddled) state of the organs of respi- ration. ^ , ^ ♦ •« Keep an account of the state of your glass at certain hours each day ; this will enable you to adapt your busi- ness to seasons that may come round earlier or later tnan usual. And, as some clue to the seasons we nriay expect, below is given the state of the thermometer each month ot the year, which will teach us to meet the greater extremes with precautions : — Jan. Feb. . March, April, . May, . June, • July, • August, Sept. . Oct. . Nov. . Dec. Highest. 52° 53° 66° 74° 70° 90° 76° 82° 76° 68° 62° 55° '4 Lowest. . 11° . 21° . 24° . 29° . 33° . 37° . 42° . 41° . 36° . 27° . 23° 17° ' •? ^ Medium. . 36.1 . 38.0 . 43.9 . 49.9 . 54.0 . 58.7 . 61.0 . 61.6 . 57.8 . 48.9 . 42.9 . 39.3 «• Tonics. Medicines that are supposed to restore the lost tone, or right healthy feeling of any particular organ (pnn- cipally of the stomach) as well as the whole system, as happens after fever or inflammation, receive this name. But their efficacy has been denied, without any reason as- TOKICS. 209 ?. -r. signed by B. Clark, and one or two more ; an opinion they must have formed from improperly giving them too soon, before the patient has been recovered sufficiently, I appre- hend, and not discriminating between the medicinal tonics, and those which we term the natural, as air, gentle exercise, green food, and the cooling regimen. Consult Index under all those heads of information, and read over the arguments . on tonics. These medicines are always given as alteratives, i. e. in small and continued doses, are all of a bracing na- ture, and heighten or increase the tone, when deemed in too low or relaxed a state : in this view, cordials may be considered as tonic. On the contrary, the natural tonics just enumerated, contribute their aid to lower, cool, or assuage the already excited animal system, and are thus found serviceable when the tone or tension of the intestines and stomach eminently exceed the healthy state. Of the manner in which this latter course operates on diseases of the kidneys, the sources of so many other ills, a few hints fell out in Conversation xi. and elsewhere ; so, young and vigorous horses, which suffer through excessive heat, would be benefitted by those which lower the tone, whilst the me- dicinal tonics^ I now give the form of making, would inevi- tably do harm. \*^' ,♦ : Tonic Medicines. No. 1. Jesuit's bark, . . • ' \ • -'; ' Ginger, '-'^ • - ♦ >';f^. i '•■'-'■ Salt of tartar, -n'-^* ^i - . mix with syrup, and divide into six balls ; one to be given daily. No. 2. Salt of steel, V- Wi - . .. • • : ^ drachms, .' 4 drachms, 3 drachms, 20 drops : mix 6 oz. li oz. * 3 drachms : ^ *.• ', Columbo root, Cascarilla, /'-'.' . . Oil of carraway, . . , • for two balls, to be given as before. ^ No. 3. Arsenic (white), . • Ginger, • . V'* * \^. Aniseeds, powdered, * '• • Compound powder of tragacanth, with syrup enough to form the ball for two doses. This is a very bracing preparation, and need not be continued long ; for arsenic (although given to the horse in much • S 2 20 grains, 2 drachms, 1 oz. i oz. : mix ■, .V. ' 0 'WF^ 210 APPENDIX. VINE6AB WATER. 211 larger doses) is a very dangerous material in unskilful hands. . All bitters are tonicj if given in the alterative manner, as aloes in very small quantities. So are bitter herbs, plants, and grasses, as tansy and wood betony, and many others, which might be given to the horse in substance or in a de- coction as tea, when this class of medicines are required. In most cases, these vegetable tonics do more good to the stomach than medicinal ionics, particularly if these are made up very hard. Vinegar has been recommended as an expectorant, or, oxymel; as also for making the cold lotion (page 141) for bruises, &c.; but the quality of this article varies greatly, not only at various parts of the country but in this single Toifn (London). The finest sort, called "distilled vinegar," is to be rejected, as must the weak diluted stuff of the shops ; and that only which will bear an egg floating at its surface is of strength sufficient for veterinary purposes— at least to external applications, ' on account of the stoutness and texture of the skin. "Pickling vinegar," is the name commonly bestowed upon the most desirable kind, and is in value about three shillings per gallon, by the small barrel. But, instead of procuring vinegar in its liquid form, the pyrolignous acid may be obtained dry; and then five times its own weight of water will produce vinegar of the proper strength to be applied alone, or in combination, with Goulard's extract . and spirits, or sal ammoniacum (see Lotions pnge 141). The dry acid possesses other advantages, one of which is owing to the very reverse quality of vinegar that has been distilled or cleansed of its impurities ; seeing that this very foulness, or cmpyreumatic smell, so offensive to the horse in the solution of pyrolignum, possesses a powerful antiseptic quality and cleanser of sores, as grease, malanders, &c. In fact, it is the smoke of wood, identified with the acid, that has been found essential to the preservation of animal food in all cHmates and for long periods— by simple immer- sion. When accidents happen to the legs of horses on the training-ground, the immediate application of cold vine- gar to the part will affect a cure at once ; and to this end the Trainer would do well to take an ounce or two of the dry acid out with him constantly, and enough of the strongest I ^ and best vinegar embrocation might thus be prepared in a minute, to eflect instant removal of the accident. A general error prevails in the stable that this excellent discutient should be applied hot, but this is one of the vul- gar errors, that is the besetting evil of the stable. Always appFjr it cold, as warmth (heat) occasions its strength to evaporate, and lessens its discutient tendency. When, how- ever, they use alegar, or the grounds of strong beer, in default of vinegar, then a slight heating may add to its qualities — but in such case, it should be allowed to cool. Pyrolignous acid, or Vinegar of Wood, may be pur- chased, in its dry state, of the wholesale druggists and dry- salters, and when dissolved in water, is much stronger than the best of pickling-vinegar, of which it forms the main ingredient, malt extract being the basis. Its disagreeable odour (empyreuma) is a great recommendation to its use in the application of poultices to greasy heels, to old ulcers, 6cc. when diluted. Urine Balls, vulgarly, generally, but very ungenteelly, called " pissing balls." Those which are commonly pre- scribed and kept, are all of the stimulant kind — resin and soap, and turpentine, forming the bases of most of those sold in the shops. We have already spoken con- cerning these matters, under the head of kidneys and uri- nary diseases, and prescribed several formulas of the cool- ing kind, under the head of diuretics, and only mention these here under their vulgar appellation, to guard the un- wary against stimulating the tenderest organ of vitality in the horse, persuaded, as we are, of the absolute destruc- tiveness of such medicines when inconsiderately given. Have they not enough of resin and alkali in the usual pre- parations of purgatives — of aloes, for example ? Water, Much has been said of water, and its varieties in Conversation v. ; yet we do not deem that a work of supererogation whi y_ 213 ter given them which they require. Many ignorant grooms have got a notion (as beneficial to the horse-doc- * tors as injurious to the liorses) that it is wondrous wise to allow their steeds but little water, and, moreover, general- ly give each horse under their care precisely the same quantity. Masters would do well sometimes to conde- scend to look into these matters, or appoint a servant of superior judgment to do so for them ; because it is an un- deniable fact, that hardly any two horses in twenty require the same quantity of water to keep them in health and ' beauty ; and it has seldom been known that any horse when cool can by any means be induced to drink one drop more than is good for him. Water scarcely milk , warm may at any needful time be given with safety, how- ever heated the horse may be. Water may be filtered of its offensive particles and dan- gerous qualities, upon a large scale, by means of vessels constructed for that purpose, when the value of the horse warrants so much additional care. Charcoal^ also, will prevent its corruption, and cleanse that which is already corrupted. To this end, take Charcoal, powdered x. Oil of vitriol -. , '-•* • '. • Half the vitrol in water and the charcoal, also, with Water .a^' 76" \\ oz. 24 drops, mix 3i pints, 3^ pints ; ..1 when this latter subsides, mix both liquids together, and fine water results. • ',-'=•• "^ ^* ' Wood vessels, intended to contain water, should first be singed with blazing wood-shavings. This process pre-^ vents the vegetation of fungous substances, that are dele- terious to the taker, like slow poison. Agitation, merely, does good to hard water, as the at-^ mospheric air is thereby brought to act upon a larger sur- face, as it revolves or undulates. And an old French far- rier recommended his servants to bathe their naked arms in each pail of water, before presenting it the horse. With this view, as well as to ascertain that no tricks have been played with water intended for horses of value, ma- ny people keep a few fish in their tanks ; the introduc- tion of obnoxious substances would kill the fish, and they would then be found on the surface with bellies upward. #- .V,- S ' yf -v. Alum, in the proportion of one grain to each pint, amends considerably the state of river-water, and that which comes from grass land into rivers, (fee. White Water, No. 1. Water is sometimes sought to be corrected of any objectionable quality by the admixture of other substances with it, as fine pollard, oatmeal, and wheat meal or flour, or any farinaceous substance. These may also be increased in their proportions to render the water still more nutritious, palatable, and welcome to the ailing animal, for whom they are principally designed ; and then the white waters are commonly dressed by boiling, in which form they are found extremely useful, not only in restoring health, but in preserving it to animals of value. I have classed them together under the colour, though other distinctive names are applied to each; because they cast some light upon each other, and 'tis not uncommon to mix the materials together and with other substances^ the ^7 • ■ ft intention being to coax the horse to drink, when he will not otherwise do this sufficiently, nor voluntarily, as it is most desirable that he should ; to which end he may be served in the dark, or shady side of his stall, and if he re- fuse the medicated drinks, he may be kept without water until he takes that which is designed to o|»erate as a cura- tive. One other reason, why these should be taken into consideration together, is, that the groom administers the one or the other, in their several cases, without condescend- ing to inform those around him which he has thought pro- per to adapt to this or that particular purpose. Their knowledge then extends no farther than the view of white water. No. 2. Bran is the lowest of these in the scale of nu- tritiveness ; a very small quantity (a handful) being sprink- led into nearly a pail of water and stirred up with a stick, takes oflfthe rawness of the water, but can bring about no sensible eflfect on the stomach as a medicated diet ; bran being little better than the outer skin of the wheat, though the 'finer and v/hiter sort, termed pollard, assumes to be a superior article. When made into a mash, in the pro- portion of a peck to a stable pail full of water, however, it is found mildly laxative ; and, being given previous to the administering of purgatives, sof\ens the hard dung pre- paratory to its complete elimination per force of the action m " A" -X. » • ) ■ '** I 914 APPENDIX, ORT7BL; 215 ''"V of aloes and its admixtures. If given in good quantity, the day previous to physicking with this drastic medicine, less by one-fourth the number of drachms usual^ pre-^ scribed will suffice, whilst producing the same etlects— save them of racking or " excoriating the guts ; as was set forth in Conversation viii. (page 1 16). . Make the bran mash by pouring on scalding water, mix it well up with the hands until all be saturated, then pour the pail full of boiling water, stirring with a stick until the whole is of a homogeneous mass. Coyef down and permit it to cool, or nearly so, previous to using ; but that is one among the many mistaken notions which in- duces many persons to give this or any <>»]'«'"'»«•' *^ *^^ animal hot, under pretence of steaming the head, lor tnis treatment of the strangles and sore throat, though rational enough and very proper, did not include swallowing the mash ! Instructions at large for applying .this remedy, in the most efficacious manner, were given in " Veterinanr Surgery," (with a cut) at page 349. Bran-mashe, should be given thin, on the physic day, to work it off, they also form an eligible diet in all inflammatory com- plaints whatever, that produce general heat or lever When the physic ceases working, as also when the fever is abated, the mash is to be rendered more nutritious and ac- ceptable by the addition of sugar, of honey, of oats, or malt: or, the mash may be made of either o these latter, entirely, or both mixed together, when it is desirabeto re- •^t^" l^'tSL^r ifto- be prepared in the same way as bran-mash, taking greater care, however, that the nrsi wetting be' not too hot, as in this case the malt wouW clot and shut up. In truth, this malt-mashing is no other than the process of brewing in its first stage. No. 4. Watergmel is the name bestowed upon the „hiU u>ater%^de from oat-meal, and is the best a^apted to , the horses' constitution, in a general way, of this vvhole class of restoratives. Of course, the manner of making it properly deserves attention, lest it fall short of i^ a^^now- ledaed effect, and thus disgrace the character of being the vew finest dietetic ever prescribed for horse or man. We have placed it l^pre along with the while waters and other mashes, in order to impress the reader with the necessity ot making and serving it up white, and not tinged, as is too often the case with the dark hue of a smoky fire, nor the pinky blush of a fierce one. The horse of delicate nose, as all well bred ones are, would reject the former, or any other beastly commixture, which would compel having re- course to the now objectionable drenching-horn ; and, as to the gruel which bears the appearance of being burnt, Its effects on the stomach would be to increase the disorder it is otherwise calculated to subdue ; the animal's super- abundant heat, and the caloric that then resides in the gruel, bear near affinity to each other. If, af\er all this care, the gruel assume^ a dark tinge, we may conclude that the meal is of bad quality, and ought to be rejected. Gruel for the horse requires to be given thin ; at any rate, he will not drink it freely when made too thick; though-when made of the foltowing proportions, and the lads of the stable desire to partake with their horses, and like their gruel a little stiffer, they may accomplish this by sufiering it to simmer awhile over the fire uncovered, where- by the water partly evaporates. Gruel is composed of oats, water, and salt, only ; but if aught else be added, it ceases to be " gruel ;" excepting, perhaps sugar, honey, or treacle, when we should term it "sweetened gruel." I mention this, because some fel- lows (and husseys) make this invaluable dietetic their apology for dram drinking. To make a four gallon pail full, take a quart of oatmeal, which .mix with an equal quantity of cold water ; pour on with one hand whilst mix- ing with the other ; and if the gruel absorb the whole of the water, without being intimately mixed, take this as proof that the meal is unusually farinaceous, and therefore more nutritious than ordinary ; the contrary, if not so. After two or three minutes, careful stirring, add another quart of water ; stir again, and add more water ; stir on, whilst adding to it the remainder of the water, and continue for fi\Q minutes at least ; add salt one table spoonful. Upon pouring the whole into the boiler a residue of hard sub- stances will be fourid at the bottom of the pail ; these may be profitably thrown away, for reasons assigned in the course of Conversation ix., as regards urinary calculus. Let the fire be neither fierce nor smoky. The stirring about must not cease above a minute, from the moment '.' .^>'» . t '» ••■ jV't- ^'^ 216 APPENDIX. . «„pr to that in which boiling is evident, the pot w P»t ?'«'• *° ™"h • although it may remain when the gruel 'V «""„,3onger, but with no addition- partially over the ^^f !"y *'""f.,^°"f ' hope of amending ^1 benefit, most certamV^^^^^ Compel the any neglect of the »ojKO'ng , ^ork-for evident rea- '"«'" \° "i care and leanUnLr, at least ; he will then ::;u^re"l»porT ground ask, and ought to have h.s able virtues, it ^'» ^^J'^^^JC'Lu'Tmell, as likewise to cines of nauseous taste «r o""''^^'^ ^ acrimonious, defend the passage fr"'" "^J^^J'^'^' ^ay! are evidently in All the tonics d.sgu.se them «« ^^^ ^j {^,3 ^^dials that i» I'^tSi^TeV; Crse-pallteT which also becomes more delicate in sickness. _ j. ^j j ji^ble to No. 5 S^"""'^^,^'^;; ^tSs used ;ith profitable ■"nstrSrsa^d roadsters, after a hard run ; bemg retct'^co'S. To make the mass-take . . - . ^Sof paradise,:. ^1 Jrachm. Cummin seeds . • \ ' Fenugreek seeds • ' " , Flowers of sulphur . "f °^- MU intimately with the followmg-.- Oliveoil . . , P^^;j^ Honey • 2 ordinary bottles, • -'■ ■ Sherry, or any icme 2 «^'""« ^ ,^ ^^j^ jmo a with as much oatmeal «« *'" '"^^^ f fo, „«« in ox- stiff homogeneous '"^^^'^''iP/'fi^e services ; therefore, bladder. Here .s enough ^Oj five . s ^^^^ ^ ,^^ when required. ta''«°"\"'" ' ^ ^f the light. After the all in powder, and sifted. * : ■» ♦_ •:-.'->'-> -..» %.^\i^^.' f-, WHEAT FLOUR GRUEL. 217 as IS done in cases of violent purgation from an overdose of aloes, is liable to clot upon the stomach of the horse ; a very dangerous event that goes to the life of the animal, by stopping up the lower orifice ; and tvhich can be avoided if the ^ottr be previously cooked, by boiling or otherwise. For this purpose, tie up, in a cloth, such a quantity of the dry flour of wheat as may be deemed requisite, after the manner of ajpwddm^. Boil this three or four hours, when it It will come forth a hard ball, that may be preserved in this state fit for use many months, and either broken in pieces and mixed with water, when wanted, or grated with a grater. In this form, wheaten flour is more readily pre- pared as a gruel than from the meal or the flour, upon cases of f3mergency, as spoken of, in cases of inflammation of the intestines, of overdosing the patient with aloes, Slc. when every minute of delay is replete with fresh danger. It 18 now to be prepared by simply mixing the grated flour with boiled water. '•vr-v ^. n^^ T .V i.'r # ^ !•-'.■ ♦ ^ kfrr: - ..'.^ » > *i' if -^SS^Z . ^._ ANALYTICAL INDEX TO THE FOREGOING CONVERSATIONS. •. - / Ai .^'- V v.^* { ■ » . -^v- 4 . *** The Apptndix beings alphabetical does not require Index. Abdominal inflammation, distinction to be marked, 98, 119; pro- gress rapid, 105 ; how transferred from the lunge, 152. See Colic^ Urinary passaget* Adhesion, internal, how caused, 117, 157; of the lungs, 146, 148, 154; the pleura to the ribs, 146; of midriff, 149; to liver, 155; White's idea of, 158 ; of liver to the bowels, 119, 154 ; and to pc^ ritoneum^ 118; self-cured, 147 ; mistakes concerning, 118; how discriminated, 155; it impedes action^ 146; treatment, 118, 147 ; ancient opinions concerning, 120, note ; prevented by lubrication, 150. Air, fresh, indispensable to health, 65, 78 ; a restorative, 76, 85, 152 ; a tonic, 86 ; changes in the, 144 ; foul, of stables, deleterious, 48, ^ r 74 ; experiment on, 75 ; current of air, 20, 98 ; refrigerant of the skin, 53, 57 ; its temperature, 77. Aloes, nothing like, for physic, 20, 98 ; in small doses, 128 ; wear out the intestines, 44, 99, 112 ; when a tonic, 86; ill effects of, counteracted, 89. Alterative physicking, how managed, 90. Appetite governs temper, 20, 54, 90, 94; and manner of going, 64 ; of too much, 64, 82 ; of bad appetite, 85, 98 ; how cured, 86. Appointments (hunting), feed before late ones, 60. Arab horses, sensible of good usage, 63, not^; milk-fed, 68 ; impor- tation of, 61 ; mode of training foals, 139; chilly, require warmth, ^ 81. Appendix, 208. Back-raking, 73; when necessary, 114; of blood horses, 115. Back sinews strained by sloping stalls, 77. Balls, mode of giving, 93 ; of making — See Appendix. Bandaging, good, a desirable service, 39 ; the legs, 25. Barbs and paps impede mastication, cure for, 102. Barley, sodden, for agricultural horses, 46, 106. Bathing : the legs, mode of, 28 ; warm removes aridity, 38. Beans, properties of, 46 ; must be broken, 68 ; inspire vigour, 68, 64. Bile, how separated from the blood, 122, 157 ; obstructed, 124; how vitiated, 154, 155. Blank days, none in nature, 60. Bladder, affections of the, 122, 126 ; mistakes concerning, general* J25 ; concretions, how formed, 67 ; weakness of, 128. ■-^ Z20 TSVEX* Il^DEX. 221 Bleeding, when proper, 26, 33, 38, 80, 115,124, 138; abuse of, 43, 156 ; a job, 44; of repetition, 139, 150, 15t; in inflammation, 112, 150; at the foot, 39; at the bars, 38, 39; precautions, 39, 152; causes effusion, 140, 151 ; is the signal to desist, 151 ;" by lan- cet or fleam ? 39. Blind-gut, or coecum, earthy particles of water subside there, 67 ; a kick upon, 84 ; concretions in it, 126 ; its situations and uses, 45, 99 ; a second stomach, 109. Blood, circulation of, and its colour, 38 ; viscidity of, 17, 60, 100; how checked, 36, 38 ; how depraved, 154 ; determination of, to v the head, 35 ; to the feet, 36 ; how refined, 123, 124, 157 ; by the > liver, 36, 154; of old and young compared, 18 ; poverty of the, 124, 128 ; a corrective of depraved, 92. Blood-horses. See High-bred^ Thorough-bred. Boot (sponge), recommended, 35, 37 ; its continuance improper, 40 ; patent, its application, 40. Bowels, disordered, how, 35, 51, 98, 118; by bad hay, 106 ; by . ^ cough, 114. See Intestines. Bread for horses, the foreign, 69 ; for racers, 69. Breeding and rearing, mistakes in, 19, 83, 146. Broken wind, theory of, 130; of several kinds, 133. Brush, effects of coarse one, 27 ; alone necessary, 146. Butchers' nags perform well, 83. ; Canker and thrush, the same, 34 ; how caused, 34. Catarrhal inflammation, l35, 144. See Cold, Cough. Carrots, good in winter, 56 ; general virtues of, 106. Chalk, a corrective of bad water, 66. Chill, how occasioned, 35, 36 ; effects of, 35, 46 ; on the carcase, 37, 109 ; on the heels, 80 ; on the lungs, 98. Classification of horses, 17, 63, 64, 94. . ,^ci^o Clothing, kinds of, 53; impedes perspiration, mjunously, IJ5, li>^ 156 ; when proper, 53, 89, 156. Clvsters, when necessary, 114, 116. Coat, rough, indicates disease, 62, 89, 158 ; of worms f 105. Coffin-joint, strain of the, indescribable, 28 ; the bone, error con- cerning, 154. ,q_ Cold caught on physicking, 91 ; on sweating, 98 ; at the lungs, l.ii>, 146 ; water affects the coat, 98 ; causes colic, 1 18. Cold (a), inflammatory, 146; neglect of, produces consumption, 146 ; in the head, 139. ." Colic, how incurred, 34, 45, 62, 116; compared with inflammation, 116; reproduce each other, 119; pains, mistakes for, 117, UO, 123 155. Commercial traveller, his mistakes, 107; how acquired, 108; his horse's lungs suffer, 149 ; duty of attending to lungs, 149. Concretions accounted for, 67, 126. Concussion of the fore-feet occasions disease, 32, 39. Conditioning, obstacles to, how removed, 65, 81, 84, 94, 100, 103 ; what it is ? 41, 47, 70, 82 ; depends on health, 13, 82 ; modern no- tions of, 14, 41 ; mystery attending, 49 ; is of several kinds, &J, 82, 149 ; proof of, 14, 122 ; constant, how preserved, 41 ; m aoors, 48. See Training. J . Conformation, effects of bad, 15, 40, 43, 63, 70; of various, 64. Contraction of hoof, controversy settled, 29. See FooU Cooling regimen, what ? 91 ; restores tone of the stomach, 90. Cordials, their proper uses, 41, 43, 44, 62, 87, 107, 1 16, 121 ; operate like drams, 45 ; wear out the horse, 45 ; bad effects of, 14, 62, 86 ; kill, 87, 118. See Stimulants. Costiveness, how brought on, 1 13, 1^ 128, 136 ; and effects of, 96, 115; cure for, 114 ; by bleeding, 152. Cough (a) how brought on, 132, 134 ; by galloping, 59, 138 ; chro- nic, how induced, 59, 108, 131, 143 ; cure for, 143 ; a relapse, 145 ; constitutional, 141 ; treatment of, 137, 140, 141 ; epidemic, how, 143 ; leaves bad relics^ 144 ; produces inflammation of lungs, 154, 146. Crib-biters eat litter, 72; disorders the stomach, 102 ; cure for, 103 ; disordered lungs occasion it, 103, 104, 141. Cruelty to animals deprecated, 161. Cures, principle of all, 35 ; depend on nature, 35. Curry-comb, a barbarous instrument, 27, 146. Debility after inflammation, 84, 147 ; after physicking, 88. Descriptions of horses, how characterised, 94. Digestive organs, require attention, 95, 98 ; wear out, 41, 100 ; how employed, 60, 99 ; important office, 109. Diseases, how engendered, 20, 83; of the rich man's stable, 84 ; and poor man's, 84 ; of symptoms that precede, 83. Disposition of horses, how ascertained, 18, 19, 96; how managed, 54, 163. See Cruelty, Temper. ■ Distemper, early imbibed, 19 ; in horses and hounds, described, 144. Dissection. — After-death examination, advantages of, 51 ; of healthy subjects, 154 ; pursued by the French, 144. Distress, how evinced, 59, 148 ; in training, to be avoided, 58. Diuretics destroy kidneys, 127 ; the natural and medical, 127 ; ac- tion of, 128. . Drains (the) what ? 97» note. Dray-horses incur running thrush, 34 ; require taking out, 61. Dressing, its benefits on health, 53 ; when not requisite f 56 ; use of the boots, 27. Drinking, regulation of, 58, 62, 63. See Water. Dropsy, how superinduced, 151. Dunging, pale, 99 ; advantage of watching, 13, 14, 82, 105, 141, 146 ; to be set right previous to cordials, 87 ; and before tonics, 85 ; softened by mercury, 92. Ears (the) evince disposition, 163 ; cold, indicates inflammation, 121, 140 ; and goes off with it, 151 ; of singeing the, 101. Effusion of eequous particles, 109 ; at the chest, 139, 151 ; becomes « disorder, 151. Eggs procure sleek coats, 47 ; though dangerous, 47. Epidemic cough, how incurred, 144 ; definition, 144. Evacuations (regular) necessary to health, 82. See Dunging. Excitement, its effects, 14, 38, 98 ; cordials improper, during 43, 98 ; by medicine, 120. -? .■*- T 2 t^ 'j^^ 222 IKD£3C. IND£X. t^ 3 V Exercise, necessity of, 14, 15T; »f »P*«\*° /*f.'' A'ls^T ^ii, , ,,.i„ orjant, kidniys. 42 ; how ^-,^%\^^Z^y \lXfi 39,'42; beLfits of ^i-.:^tre, :";', ll ; :'« foot '^^ contraction, 29 ; large foot. ; Pi^,?et''Kap?learhS 101, firing the legs, 160. - ■ Fired stable, manner of oxtnca^tionfr^om, 7^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^. ^Xe^ti^fdSro-f c^rre^ftu. n^-. ^^ '-'««•• -^ . Fleintl. Wses cWacterised and mode of feeding, 68. Foals, their early diseases mbred^ 19. of keeping, 63, 70 •., FoSis^ W:einoJedge,.cstimate on m^ "^ITmeans, 159; a teacher mtroduc^^^^^^^^ 105; rejected ^T„'dis:;r45!Trr;Vnt!dot'\o\ad,107,prope of, 46, 48. See Appendix, H-y.' 0«''' ^■. ,^„, „ith chtst foundtr, 33, 130. . Founder, new names for, 2 J, ^ . »»" adhesion, 116. Fret (the) arises m the brain 34, mU ^tro ^„^,i„,„,,i, 41. *;'° V'oT TruTr^Kket t^ 'engendered, 34^ Srof:Jlettpertiesof 74;e^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ „. ,, r int what ? 82 ; must be ridded, 8j. 55.' See Green food. „ ,3 ^ ,ittcr,71 ; by ^r;^'„'i:Vr?9lat'Hvri^om urinary organs, 80. 124. ., S' Green Pood* what? 55, 85 j beneficial, 18, 49, 127 \ weakens, 49 i Bcours, 51 ; in-doors, 52, 55; a substitute for, 107 ; purgative, 49, 90 J diuretic, 127. See Carrots^ Mangd-WurzeU Hay^ Potatoet, Cooling Regimen^ in AfTENDix. Grooms' duty, 13, 73, 143, 146, 162; his qualifications, 20, 49, 82 ; and example, 73 ; capacity, 73, 82 ; of young ones, 82 ; library, 18 ; temper of, 63; mannerism of, 93, 131. Grooming, what? 72; its effects — absorption, 73; a restorative, 152 ; healthful, 53. Gruel for ailing animals recommended, 68. Mode of making it, see Appendix. White Water^ No. 4. Guts, excoriation of the, what ? 61 — the colon is meant ; twisting of the, 62, 66, 116. -Hand-rubbing beneficial to legs, 88 ; when not so, 24, 25. Hay-feeding improper, 88 ; fills the stomach, 96 ; affects the breath- ing, 70 ; rick-burnt injuriouSs 104; when not so, 105, note; induces diabetes, 105 ; qualities of, 116 — Appendix. 'Health, duty of ascertaining, 13 ; how done, 16 ; What it is, 82 ; '*/ proof of, 120, 122 ; preservation of, 55 ; by turning out, 55, 81 ; by rubbing down, 57 ; by physic, 71. Heat, the primary cause of disease, 16; tends to infiammatiou, 95, 1 12, 142 ; of the body affects, the feet, 34 ; of stables, how regu- lated, 79. - High-bred horses, «ensilive, 14; irritability of; 67, 95; it destroys - . them, 155 ; sweat inordinately, 156 ; of shoeing, 160. Hoof, brittle, 34, 37, 71, 80 ; soft, 31 ; contracted — dispute solved, , 29; strong, 30; hot applications injure, 36 ; horn, how supplied, . 38. See Feet. . ' Horses, importation and exportation of, 61, 68, 69 ; hearty and ten- der ones convalescent, compftired, 84. Humanity, the cause of advocated, 18-21,45,49,51,56,69,161, 165. Humours (the) what ? 50, note ; the requous and vitreous, 97 ; are but depraved secretions, 50, 97 ; thickened, cause disease, 48, 60; ■ how brought on, 25, 71, 100, 104, 122, 136. * , * Hunter, the medium description of horse, 53, 94; half-breds, 22; costive, 87; always out, 61 ; the King's, 41 ; a knock-up, 37, 114 ; and bled, 38, 44 ; lungs affected, 138 ; training to their work, 64, 57; no blank days, 60; lamed, 27 ; too tenderiy kept, 40; over- physicked, 39 ; work on fuH stomach, 59. '. -"* Jaundice, how produced, 124 ; becomes inflammation, 124, 154. 'Inflammatory complaints, tendency to, 34, note; how induced, 14, 36, 46,71,95; by bad water, 63; how arrested. 111; danger of * ^ cordials, 87; of particular organs— the lungs, 144; bowels, 45, - " 118, 124; liver, 122, 153; kidneys, 56; legs, 31; bleeding for, V rule to be observed, 151 ; rapid effects of, 149 : turn of symptoms, 150; subdued, but not cured, 152 ; mode of discriminating from colic, 116; difficulty of recovery from, 119; of peritonflBal, 165; the incurable, 67. Intestines, disorders of, 51, 62, 71, 100, 1 12, ll7, 119 ; adhesions of, self-cured, 138 ; aggravate to inflammation, 146. ^ '^S^.- 224 INDEX. Kick on the leg^'sT ; under the belly, cflfects of, 84, 104. Kidneys, affected by hollow back, 15 ; by concretions, 66 ; whence OTer-excited, 123, 131 ; wear out^ 80, 84; rotten, 84; a blow on, 33 ; sympathize with hind-feet, 37, note ; with the Btomach, 61, 85 ; and with the bladder, 96. Knock.up,treatment for a, 34, 35; objection answered, 41. Lameness, seat of, how ascertained, 23 ; general cause of, 24, ^7, 80, 158 ; before, 23, 38 ; befiind,33, 37, 80; preventives, 43 ; cure of lame leg, 26, 38, notey 87 ; stopping for, 42. Lampas, obstructs conditioning, 100 ; best mode of cure, 101. ^ Leff and foot, disorders of, 33, how reduced, 35 ; of fore and hind lig, 31, 149; thick, 50; how induced, 89, 152; turn cold, mm, flaramation, 121, 150 ; hand-rubbing, too much, injudicious, 24 , good, 88 ; bandaging, 27. Lengths, how improved, 58, 64 ; causes internal disorder, 168. Litter, standing on, effects of, 71 ; economy of, 61 ; affects the eyes. Liver, ho^iffccfed, 51,* 122, 124, 158 ; by chill, 98 ; adhesion to the diaphragm, 117, note, 154, 157 ; to the bowels, 154 ; enlargement of, 155 ; ulcered, 155 ; inflammation of, 122, 124, 153. Lnnirs, inflammation of, 146 ; how transferred to bowels, 152 ; de- pend on shape, 15 ; great extent of, 129 ; importance of, to pace, 32, 53 ; of tender horses suffer, 14, 37, 98; how ^.^J^I^d, 34, 48, 69 ; by hot stables, 76 ; by fatness, 70 ; adhesion of, 117, 118, 147 ; action of, 68, 74, 130, 147 ; functions of, explained, 74, 104, 131, 134; obstructed by over-feeding, 59, 70, 138; affect the foro-feet, ^2 37 130 142 • gradual expansion improves, 58 ; the contrary, 138 ; of crib-biters, 72, 104 ; inflammation, 145, 162 ; treatment variable, 142. , .« o mz- j Mastication, due, how promoted, 57.- See ll^yid. Mares in heat, pulse affected, 17 ; in foal, mistreatment of, 19. . Making up, what? 14; its consequences, 14. Medc"ne,^mode of operating, 83, 110, 112, 1^' 1^7; when need- less, 86 ; mistakes in practice, 151, 156 ; much 1^"">J"^ »^^^ palliatives for, 83, 88, 91 ; alteratives preferable, 90 ;.form of, 110. See P/iy5ic, Appendix. Mercury recommended, 124. See Appendix. Milk of mares, drank by man, 68 ; factitious, how made— see Af- Mi" fo^grinding corn, recommended, .66; mill-stones, roughed, MUuLTge^Us evil effects, 19, 83, 84; charge of, repulsed, 160. Mounting too early, effects of, 19, 43 ; in the stall, 26 ; manner of MouihTsore), of several if inds, affects appetite, 100; symptomm 100; dry, in fever, 112 ; and hot, in cases of adhesion, 148. Navicular diseases, indescribable, 29, Tio/c. ..fttc^.^ood Neglect, in various instances, effects of, 27, 38, 146, 152 ; good. Nervous system, affects the pulse, 17. INDEX. 225 Nimrod's reasoning, 41 ; mistakes the urinary organs, 126, note. Obstructions, internal, how caused, 106 ; salt the proper remedy for, 97. Operations : needless severity used, 159. See article Oreen Food, in Appendix. Oats, stimulant, 46 ; no feed like it, 68 ; effects of much, 50 ; cor- rective of bad hay, 106; musty, injurious, 105, 116. Oatmeal, of grinding, 66. See White Water, in Appendix. Pastern, low in the, how brought on, 55, Pace, how* affecting the feet, 15, 30, 32 ; produces lameness, 25, 32 ; in time, 144 ; depends on the lungs, 53, 130, 148 ; how to improve, 54, 64 ; how lost, 114 ; affected by adhesions, 148, 158 ; and occasions it, 159 ; all horses worthless without it, 159. Perspiration, how secreted, 98 ; ceases in fever, 1 12 ; immoderate, 117 ; the test of adhesion, 117, 148, 155; a subtile evacuation, 136. See Clothing, Physic, when proper, 25, 53, 7^,81, 101, 150; indispensable, 14, 50,86,96; frequency of, ruinous, 15, 48,51,82,111, 167; the question argued, 49, 51,86, 88; mode of operating, 88, 127; regular physic, a job, 44; not necessary, 84, 90; horses that need it, 18, 71 ; (See Medicine,) strong, to be avoided, 57, 89, 90, 98, 110; improves the stretch, 64 ; failure of, 91, 115; remedy for, 90. See Appendix. Potatoes good for agriculture horses, 56 ; saving of time by adopt- ing them, 106. Preserving health, the true art of, 55, 84. Professor (the), not surpassing in wisdom, 29, 32. Pulse, the index of health, 16, 18.; and of disease,^43, 128 ; how avail- able, 42, 121, 150; when it denotes distress, 59, 155 ; slow and • low, 44,98,255, 159; sharpness, in acute diseases, 121,148; under tho tongue, 112; number of beats, 17, 150; denoting fe- ver, 112. See Appendix; and Bleeding. Pulmonary action, 145, 146. . Purgation, violent, how stopped, 90 ; ruinous, 91 ; how commenc- ing two high-up, 110; when necessary, 115, 123; natural, 49, 90, 122. See Phi/sic; and Appendix. Racer, its peculiarities, 13; is of the first description of horse, 94; tender insides, 65 ; fall lame, how, 25 ; disposed to constipation, 67 ; of running quite empty, 58 ; bad water affects running, 66 ; how degraded, 87, 113, 138; studs, economy of, 22, 129. See jirab. High-bred, Thorough-bred. Regimen, to be adapted to appetite, 96, 101 ; the cooling proper, 85,119,127,134. Respiration, organs of. See Lungs. Rest, necessary in certain* disorders, 26, 35, 148 ; discriminated, 41, 71 ; benefits of, 31 ; days o£ rest, not desirable, 60; incom- patable with training, 26, 82; stiff joinU from much, 60. Ring-bone, how disclosing itself, 33, 74. Roaring, how engendered, V31, 142; alleviated, 142 ; the cause of law-suits, 132; pace does it, 146; hereditary, 147. 226 VXDEX.. INDEX. 227 ■<-• Road-horse (the), address to his master, 60. ^.^.-^ coiin- Sacrificesof animals (ancient) prove the nature of breedmg coun tries, 121. ' ^ Saliva, its office, 109 ; cessation of, restored, 101, 1152. _ . Salt, a corrective of provender, 60, ^5, 9 1 ; . of bad hay, 106 , ot poor stomach, 65; a discutient, 92, 119; m clysters, 162, Hat been too much neglected, 28, 63, 91. ^ ,a . «™i^ Salts, the Epsom, as a purgative, 91, 97; in clysters, 119. excel lent as a preventive, 92, 107. Sea-voyages, artifical exercise for slung horses, bl. Seats of diseases, necessary to be ascertained, 110. J • Secretion (the), important to health, 64, ^^ ^ d«P'»;;«J' ^^^^^^ 'Z humours, 50, note; in the stomach, 109; of horn, goes on harmfully, 34 ; of urine, 96. «« . .> * ui^ ;«,«rnnfir Shoeing, thi knowledge of, necessary, 73 ; m the stable, ^proper, 28 -forcible manner of, wrong, 19, 21, 159 ; causes lameness, 27 . how 28, 33?101 ; refreshens soft hoof, 31 ; London smithy in- fe;iour;70; smiths! the English, 160; and the foreign, 161; mode of conducting, 162. ' ♦_«„* ^f 04 Shoulder-strain, 23 ; how to ascertain, 24 ; treatment of, 24. Shotted coughers, how found out 142. ^j . i,.^ affected, 48 ; Skin (the), indicates internal diseases, 15, 61 ; how attectea,40 , by turning out, 53 ; heat without perspiration, 88. Sleeping standing, instanced, 61. «Hvantaffes of. Soiling, considered, 41, 51 ; affects the lungs, 144 ; advantages 01, to the feet, 40, 41, 55 ; See Grass. Tumtng-out. Sore throat, how incurred, and remedy, 162. lSl.orrpl"4T;faUtics f^, 129; long kept up. oc- •^ '^ y, „c\ nO' a rpmedv for. 76; ventilation, Young horses, how spoiled, 18, 19 ; mounting early, 19, 43 ; racers ruined, 43, 139. THB END. . BOOKS PUBLISHED BY 5. L. CAREY AND A. HART, PHILADELPHIA, And fir »ak by ihe priruipal Booksellers in the United States* 1. THE PAINTER'S and COLOURMAN'S COM- PLETE GUIDE ; being a Practical Treatise on the Pre- paration of Colours, and their application to the different kinds of Painting ; in which is particularly described the Whole Art op House Painting. By P. F. Tinory, Professor of Chemistry, Natural History, and Mineralogy, in the Academy of Geneva. First American from the third London Edition, Corrected and Considerably improved by a Practical Chemist. — one Vol. 12 mo. 2. THE GROOM'S ORACLE, AND POCKET STABLE DIRECTORY : in which the management of Horses generally, as to Health, Dieting, and tlxercise, is considered, in a Series of Familiar Dialogues between two Grooms engaged in Training Horses to their work, as well for the Road as the Chase and Turf. By John Hinds, V. S. Author of the '* Veterinary Surgeon." Embel- lished with an elegant Frontispiece, by S. Aiken. First American from ihe second London Edition. With consid- erable additions, and an appendix, including the Receii^t Book of John Hinds, V. S. in one vol. 12 mo. *^* This enlarged edition of the " Grooms^ Oracle" contains a ^ood number of new points connected with training prime hor. ■es ; and the owners of working cattle, also, will find their profit in consulting the practical remarks that are applicable to their teams ; on the principle that health preserved is better than disease removed. The Groom's Oracle by J. Hinds is among the most valuable of our recent publications ; it ought to be in possession of every Gentleman, who either has in posssssion, or has a chanee of pos. sessing, the noble animal to whose proper treatment the Author has directed his enlightened researches. — Taunton Courier, 1830. 8. THE FAMILY DYER AND SCOURER ; being a Complete treatise on the Arts of Dyeing and Cleaning erery Article of Dress, whether made of Wool, Cotton, Silk, Flax, or Hair ; also Bed and Window Furniture, Carpets, Hearth-rugs, Counterpanes, Bonnets, Feathers, ^c. By WiLUAic TucKEB, Dyer and Scourer in the Metropolis. First American, fiom the F^irth London Editioii, considera- bly improved. 4. PICTURE OF PHILADEtPHIA in 1830-1, or a' brief account of the various institutions and pubhc ob- jects in this Metropolis, forming a Guide for Strangers, ac- companied by a New Plan of the city. In a neat Pocket volume. 5. THE HORSE IN ALL HIS VAKIETIES AND USES ; his breeding, rearing, and management, whether in labour or rest ; with Rci-bs, occasionally interspersed, for his Preservation from disease. By John Lawrence, author of" The History of the Horse," etc.m one vol. Umo. « Independently of the practical value of the book, and it is really and exteSy valuable, it i. one of the most amuBing the reader Unmeet ^t^ in a thousand complete and un.que embracmg every poseible subject that can be connected with the Horse. Jlonthli/ Maganine. 6 RESEARCHES, principally relative to the MOR- BID an JcURATIVE EFFECTS of LOSS of BLOOD. By Marshall Hall, M. D., F. R. S. E. &c. 1 vol. 8vo. " It will be seen that we have been much pleased with I'r-."' ' « wnrk aenerallv • we think it is calculated to do much good m pla- ^L the suWe^t'of Ae due institution of blood-letting on a pracU- ^^b^fs SrHall ha. .ubjoineda plan of a R«/»te' "fS^^^.f Rlood-leltine. which would be a most useful record, if properly kept, and we cannot recommend such a deUil of facts, to practit^ners, intTh^hZ^"-^merican Journal ofM^ical Science., JVo- XI. 7 A TREATISE ON NEURALGIC DISEASES dependent upon irritation of the Spinal Marrow and Ganglia 6f the Sympathetic Nerve. By Thomas Pridgin Teale, member of the Royal College of Surgeons m London, of the Royal Metfical Society of Edinburg, Senior Surgeon to the Leeds Pufc|ic Dispensary, in one vol. 8vo. u It U a soufie of genuine gratification to meet «ith » work of tliU character, when it U so often our lot to be obliged to labour h«dt wtno'w a few grains of information from the great ma« of dulness ienorance, and misstatement with which we are beset, fndcannof ?oo highly recommend it to th" attention of the profes- sion." —Jlmeriean Journal o/lhe Medical Sc%en»e$, JVo. XI. 8 THE SURGEON-DENTIST'S ANATOMICAL and PHYSIOLOGICAL MANUAL. By G. Waitb, mem- ber of the Royal College of Surgeons m London. In one vol. 18mo. 'i