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WOUTHINGTOFS HORSE DOCTOR, 
 
 OR 
 
 HORSEMAN'S COMPANION, 
 
 CONTAINING THE CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, AND MOST APPROVED 
 
 REMEDIES FOR THE VARIOUS DISEASES TO WHICH THE 
 
 HORSE IS LIABLE IN THE NORTH, EAST, 
 
 SOUTH AND WEST. (-*. 
 
 i § 
 
 A GUIDE TO SHOEING, X ^ 
 
 AND 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR KEEPING THE FOOT SOUND. 
 
 BEING THE RESULT OP CLOSE STUDY AND LONG PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE, 
 
 By fit H. WORTHINGTON. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED THB MOST APPROVED METHOD OF 
 
 MANAGING VICIOUS HORSES. 
 
 MANY OF THE EECIPES IN THIS WORK ARE VERY VALUABLE. 
 
 CINCINNATI: 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 1858. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, 
 
 By WM. H. WORTHINGTON, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States 
 for the Southern District of Ohio. 
 
 Stereotyped at the Franklin Type Foundry, Cincinnati, O. 
 
 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Having had this work in view for many years, I 
 have carefully noted and preserved the new principles 
 that have been discovered in Veterinary Science. 
 
 There are diseases peculiar to the different climates or 
 sections of the country; and, for several years I have 
 traveled in the West and other parts, (sparing neither 
 trouble or expense,) to inform myself upon the various 
 diseases to which this noble animal is liable. 
 
 I have taken care to make the arrangement easy for 
 convenient reference, and the whole work as small as 
 possible, (to do justice to each subject,) excluding 
 scientific phrases, and such unnecessary matter as would 
 only serve to puzzle the reader — making it just such a 
 work as is suited to the wants of the people. 
 
 W. H. W. 
 
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INDEX 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Age, . . . 10 
 
 Apoplexy, 33 
 
 Big Head, 77 
 
 Blistering, 90 
 
 Bots, 75 
 
 Blood, or Bog Spavin, . . 90 
 
 Bone Spavin, 90 
 
 Broken Wind, or Roaring, 64 
 
 Capped Hock, .... 90 
 
 Catarrh, ...... 56 
 
 Chest Founder, .... 76 
 
 Cleasing Powders, ... 51 
 Colic, Spasmodic, or Flatu- 
 lent, 41 
 
 Colic, Inflammatory, . . 46 
 
 Cold, 57 
 
 Consumption, 63 
 
 Costiveness, ...... 55 
 
 Cough, ....... 58 
 
 Coras, 90 
 
 Distemper, 56 
 
 Diseases of the Tongue, . 14 
 Direction for fitting the 
 
 shoes, etc., 108 
 
 Disorder of the Bladder 
 and Urinary Organs 
 
 generally, 53 
 
 Docking, 96 
 
 Eyes, description of the, . 12 
 
 inflammation of the, 12 
 
 Farcy, 23 
 
 Farcy, Water, or Dropsical 
 
 Swellings, 30 
 
 Fistula of the Withers, . 83 
 
 Fits, 33 
 
 Foot, its organization, . . 100 
 
 its preparation, . . 104 
 
 its preservation, . . 104 
 
 Contraction of the, . Ill 
 
 Canker, 113 
 
 Flat or Pumiced, . . 109 
 
 Sand-Crack, ... 114 
 
 Quittor, 113 
 
 Gravel in the, . . . 113 
 
 Thrush, 112 
 
 Founder, 98 
 
 Fractures, 93 
 
 Glands, swelling of the, . 87 
 
 Glanders, 18 
 
 Grease, 68 
 
 Hard Tumors, etc., ... 85 
 Haws, or Hooks, .... 14 
 Heaves, Thumps, Palpita- 
 tion, 67 
 
 Hide-bound, 73 
 
 History of the Horse and 
 
 of Veterinary science, . 7 
 
 How to drive vicious horses, 119 
 How to subdue vicious 
 
 horses, 119 
 
 Inflammation of the kid- 
 neys, 51 
 
VI 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Lampas, 15 
 
 Locked-jaw, 37 
 
 Lungs, inflammation of the, 60 
 
 Lung fever, 60 
 
 Mad dog bite, or Hydropho- 
 bia, . 94 
 
 Malignant epidemic, . . 76 
 
 Mange, 71 
 
 Megrims, 83 
 
 Method of taming wild or 
 
 vicious horses, . . . 115 
 
 Molton grease, .... 49 
 Nasal Gleet, or discharge 
 
 from the nose, .... 32 
 
 Phrenitis, 33 
 
 Poll Evil, 81 
 
 Powell's system of ap- 
 proaching the colt, . . 116 
 Pulse, remarks on, . . . 42 
 Rattlesnake bite, ... 95 
 Roweling, manner of, . . 91 
 
 Ring-bone, 90 
 
 Setons, ........ 91 
 
 Sectional View of the Foot 
 
 and Leg 102 
 
 Scouring and other disor- 
 ders of the intestines, . " 54 
 Scratches, 68 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Sitfasts, 85 
 
 Sprains, bruises, etc v . . 88 
 
 Splints, ....... 90 
 
 Stiff complaint, .... 79 
 
 Strangles, ....*. 16 
 
 of the gullet, . 17 
 
 Bastard, ... 18 
 
 Stringhalt, 93 
 
 Shoulder jam, or big shoul- 
 der, 89 
 
 Staggers, 33 
 
 Styptic wash, stopping the 
 
 blood, 97 
 
 Surfeit, 70 
 
 Sweeny, 89 
 
 Thorough-pin, .... 90 
 
 Thick wind, ..... 64 
 To prevent horses from 
 frightening at a robe ; 
 the sense of feeling and 
 
 smelling, 118 
 
 Vertigo, 33 
 
 Vives, 87 
 
 Warbles, or saddle galls, . 84 
 
 Warts, 96 
 
 Wind-galls, 90 
 
 Worms, 74 
 
 Wounds, 86 
 
 Yellows, or jaundice, . . 49 
 
HISTOKY OF THE HORSE 
 
 VETERINARY SCIENCE 
 
 From the records of the Old Testament, we learn 
 that upward of seventeen hundred years before Christ, 
 horses were first domesticated and used by the Egyp- 
 tians, who were at that time the most advanced in civi- 
 lization, and before Greece was peopled. According to 
 the writings of Moses, the ox, the sheep, the goat, the 
 ass, and the camel, were subdued before the horse 
 
 m 
 
8 horseman's companion. 
 
 became the servant of man. No sooner was he subdued, 
 and his strength, docility and sagacity appreciated, than 
 the others were comparatively disregarded, except on 
 barren deserts where the horse could not live. 
 
 It is probable that the horse was first transmitted 
 from Greece to other distant countries. 
 
 The Thessalians, the first and most expert of the 
 Grecian horsemen, and also the inhabitants of Argos 
 and of Athens, were colonists from Egypt. 
 
 Fifty years after the expulsion of the Israelites from 
 Egypt, and fourteen hundred and fifty years before the 
 birth of Christ, the horse was so far naturalized in 
 Greece, that the Olympic games were instituted, in- 
 cluding chariot and horse races. We have, therefore, 
 sufficient evidence that the horse was, at a very early 
 period, subjected to the dominion of man. Many years 
 prior to the time referred to, an account is given in the 
 32d chap. Genesis, of the number of oxen, goats, sheep, 
 camels and asses, that Jacob presented to Esau to ap- 
 pease his anger, but not one horse is mentioned, which, 
 in all probability, would have been done, had the horse 
 been known. 
 
 Chiron the Thessalian, a personage whom antiquity 
 held in extreme veneration, and who, from his tran- 
 scendent skill in horsemanship, and many other arts, 
 was called the wise Centaur, lived to the age of the 
 Trojan war. This great man descends to us as the father 
 of medicine, and the instructor of Esculapius in that 
 art. He was, on the concurrent testimony of antiquity, 
 profoundly skilled therein, as also in the care and man- 
 agement of cattle. 
 
 In the days of ancient Greece and Rome, the most 
 learned philosophers, statesmen and warriors, did not 
 
VETERINARY SCIENCE. 9 
 
 disdain to instruct the tillers of the land in the culti- 
 vation of the soil, and on the management and diseases 
 of dumb creatures, constituting as they do the substan- 
 tial wealth of nations. Varro, Cato, Vegetius, and other 
 illustrious men and princes, thought it not derogatory 
 to lend their names or their pens to veterinary science. 
 Virgil also found great favor with Caesar for curing his 
 horses, and by foreseeing and announcing the qualities 
 of the produce of a mare and other animals. 
 
 We meet in Xenophon with proof, that veterinary 
 science had been cultivated before his time. Sainbel 
 says: "Before the fall of Carthage, Mago carried this, 
 as well as every other branch of rural science, so far, 
 that Columella does not scruple to call him the father 
 of Roman agriculture." 
 
 The decline of the Roman empire, and the decay of 
 arts and sciences, occasioned for a time the destruction 
 of this, as well as every other branch of knowledge. 
 But, while veterinary medicine was lost in the west, 
 and was declining fast in G-reece, it found an asylum 
 among the Arabians, a nation destined, it should seem, 
 by providence, to receive in trust the knowledge of 
 Europe, until emerged from the abject state into which 
 it was plunged. 
 
 It would be to no purpose to trace the progress of 
 this art through all its vicissitudes. 
 
 In the twelfth century, a period at which Arabian 
 learning was at its hight, the Moors of S«pain boasted 
 Ibnu, a native of Malaga. This learned man left be- 
 hind him a large treatise on the virtue of herbs ; on 
 poisons; on metals; and on animals. 
 
 Abubecre, master of the horse to the Sultan of Egypt, 
 who reigned near the close of the thirteenth century, 
 
10 horseman's companion. 
 
 left a work on the medicine of horses, and on the art 
 of breaking them. 
 
 Veterinary science had made but little progress until 
 the beginning of the sixteenth century, when Francis 
 the First, of France, gave orders to Ruelle, to collect 
 together from the writings of the ancients, whatever 
 might tend to improve this neglected division of the 
 art, which collection was soon after made, and printed 
 at Paris in 1530. 
 
 In 1762, there was established in the city of Lyons, 
 a school, in which might be taught the knowledge and 
 treatment of diseases of cattle of every description. 
 There was, soon afterward, another school established at 
 Paris, others at Vienna, Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, 
 Piedmont, and Hanover. It was not until the resi- 
 dence in England of Sainbel, (through whose exertions 
 arose the Veterinary College of London, 1792,) that 
 true veterinary science began to be cultivated there. 
 He was a man of transcendent skill, and stands the 
 corner stone and original source of that knowledge and 
 practice which was adopted in London, and prevails to 
 some extent in the United States. 
 
 AGE. 
 
 When a colt is foaled he has no teeth in the front 
 of his mouth ; in about two weeks, two above and two 
 below make their appearance. 
 
 At four or five weeks old, the next two teeth (one on 
 each side) above and below, appear. At about four 
 months old the corner teeth come up. 
 
 After this period the whole six teetji wear even, and 
 so continue smooth and unmarked until two years and 
 
AGE. 11 
 
 a half, the corner teeth being still the less perfect, the 
 front ones the largest. Between the second and third 
 year, the colt sheds his two middle teeth, above and 
 below ; between the third and fourth year, the two next 
 are changed. 
 
 Between the fourth and fifth year, the two corner 
 teeth are changed. 
 
 About the end of the fourth year, or a little later, the 
 tushes or bridle teeth appear in the horse's mouth. 
 Mares seldom have any tushes. At five years old, the 
 horse has a full mouth of permanent or horse teeth, 
 well marked with dark-brown cavities or grooves in the 
 end surface — six above and six below, in the forepart 
 of his mouth — called gatherers or cutting teeth, and it 
 is from these we know his age ; and twenty-four grind- 
 ers behind, from which we tell nothing of his age ; then 
 four tushes, two above and two below, making, in all, 
 forty. 
 
 Toward the close of the sixth year, the black cavities, 
 in the two middle teeth in the under-jaw, are filling up; 
 and rising six, the next two begin to wear, and at seven 
 years, the grooves in the middle teeth are about gone, 
 leaving only a mark resembling the eye of a bean. Up 
 to this age, the two corner teeth retain the mark, and 
 that but slightly, when the horse acquires the term 
 "aged," and in about another year, the two corner teeth 
 •fill up. 
 
 This is the state of the lower jaw at seven years old, 
 but the teeth of the upper jaw do not fill up so fast by 
 two years. The marks in the two front teeth of the 
 upper jaw are not obliterated until eight years old, the 
 next two about the tenth year, and the two corner teeth 
 above do not lose their marks until about the twelfth 
 
12 horseman's companion. 
 
 year. From this period, the teeth contract in size, be- 
 come roundish, and leave a small space between them; 
 which space increases up to the fourteenth or fifteenth 
 year, when each tooth assumes an angular shape, and 
 projects forward irregularly. In another year or two, 
 the jaw becomes contracted, the gums recede consider- 
 ably from the roots, and the shape of the teeth is then 
 of an oblong, and contrary to the first. 
 
 The general indications of old age, independent of the 
 teeth, are deepening of the hollows over the eyes, gray 
 hairs, particularly over the eyes and about the muzzle, 
 thinness and hanging down of the under-lip, sharpness 
 of the withers, sinking of the back, and lengthening of 
 the quarters, etc. 
 
 EYES. 
 
 The eye is a most important organ, and should be 
 large and a little prominent, and the eyelid fine and 
 thin. If the eye be sunk in the head, and the lid be 
 thick, and if there be any puckering toward the inner 
 corner of the eyelids, the eye is either diseased, or has 
 been lately subject to inflammation. All weeping, 
 cloudy, dull-looking eyes are unsound. When the 
 horse is led out of a dark stable into the light, observe 
 whether his eyes contract, and whether they expand in 
 the shade ; if they do, you may conclude that the eyes 
 are good. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OP THE EYE. 
 The common inflammation is generally sudden in its 
 attack. The lids will be found swelled, the eyes par- 
 tially closed, with some weeping. The inside of the lid 
 will be red, some red streaks visible on the white of the 
 
EYES. 13 
 
 eye, and the cornea slightly dim. This is sometimes 
 connected with catarrh or cold, and sometimes caused 
 by a blow or something getting within the lid. It may 
 sometimes be necessary to give a gentle purge, though 
 cooling applications to the eye, as the Groulard's Extract, 
 will often be sufficient. 
 
 Recipe No. 1. 
 
 goulard's wash for the eyes. 
 
 Extract of lead, . . two drachms. 
 
 Soft running water, . . one pint. 
 Mix and apply to the eye once or more through the 
 day, getting as much in the eye as possible. 
 
 The following lotion is also good to lessen the pain: 
 
 Recipe No. 2. 
 
 Tincture of digitalis, . . six drachms. 
 Soft running water, . . one pint. 
 
 If one or both of the above lotions have been applied, 
 and the inflammation is not reduced in a few days, it 
 may be necessary to bleed him from the angular vein, 
 at the inner Corner of the eye, or turn the eyelids inside 
 out and scarify them, or bleed largely from the jugular. 
 A seton in the cheek, or under the jaw, is also useful 
 in removing the inflammation from the diseased parts. 
 If the disease continues to be troublesome, the follow- 
 ing wash may be used with good effect : 
 
 Reci-pe No. 3. 
 
 Sulphate of zinc, . . four grains. 
 Sugar of lead, . . .six grains. 
 Water, .... half pint. 
 
 Bub them together until they are dissolved, and wash 
 
14 horseman's companion. 
 
 the eye several times ; introduce as much as you can 
 within the lids. 
 
 HAWS OB, HOOKS. 
 
 Sometimes what are called haws project on ' the 
 forepart of the eye, and the eye is drawn back by the 
 retractor muscle ; and the haw or washer, having par- 
 taken of the general inflammation, becomes enlarged, 
 and covers a portion of the eye, and the horse is said 
 to have the hooks. When the inflammation subsides, 
 the haw will return to its natural size. If the cooling 
 lotions on the preceding page, with gentle physic, .does 
 not set all right, it may be necessary to cut it out, 
 which can be done without any material injury resulting 
 from it. 
 
 The following mild purgative may be serviceable, if 
 given when the horse is first taken — mild purgative 
 ball. 
 
 Recipe No. 4. 
 
 Aloes, .... four drachms. 
 Castile soap, . . . four drachms. 
 
 Mix with mucilage for one ball. 
 
 To be repeated if necessary, and the horse to have 
 soft, digestible food, and not exposed to cold, disagree- 
 able weather. 
 
 DISEASES OP THE TONGUE. 
 
 This disease often exists without the nature of it 
 being known. Bladders will sometimes appear along 
 the side and under the tongue. The bladders must be 
 deeply lanced, and they will generally get well. The 
 
LAMPAS. 15 
 
 following is an excellent wash for foul ulcers of all 
 kinds, and will assist them to heal : 
 
 Recipe No. 5. 
 
 SOLUTION OF CHLORIDE OP LIME. 
 
 Chloride of lime, (in powder,) one and a-half drachms. 
 
 Dissolved in a pint of water, put in a bottle, and 
 keep for use. 
 
 Wash the mouth and tongue; and should the ulcers 
 continue offensive, it may be necessary to give a mild 
 purge, and use the following wash : 
 
 Recipe No. 6. 
 ALUM WASH. 
 
 Powdered alum, . . two ounces. 
 Water, . . . . one quart. 
 
 Bottle, and keep for use. 
 
 LAMPAS. 
 
 The palate of the young horse is more subject to 
 inflammation than of the old. The bars of the mouth 
 sometimes swell below the surface of the teeth, and 
 become very painful when feeding, and the horse falls 
 off in condition. Many persons recommend physic and 
 bleeding of the bars, and object to the burning of 
 them as a barbarous operation. Within the last twenty 
 years I have burned them out with a sharp iron made 
 for the purpose, and I have not known one case where 
 they returned, and I have burned a great many. Take 
 a flat piece of iron, heavy enough to hold the heat, and 
 as wide as your three fingers, (less will do ;) make the 
 end sharp, file the corners a little round, and bend it 
 
16 
 
 up about half an inch, heat it red hot, and burn about 
 a quarter of an inch deep, or according to the size of 
 the enlargement, and not above the first bar. (I take a 
 piece out.) If properly done, it will be well in a day or 
 two, so that the horse can eat hard food. The horse 
 should have mashes in place of hard food, immediately 
 after the operation is performed. 
 
 THE STRANGLES. 
 
 This is a disease common with young horses. It is 
 preceded by a cough 5 and, at first, is very much like 
 the common cough, except a greater discharge from the 
 nostril, which is generally without smell. It is accom- 
 panied by some fever, weeping of the eyes, an inclina- 
 tion, to eat and drink, without being able, on account 
 of the pain resulting, from the working of the jaws 
 while chewing and swallowing. These painful symptoms 
 are produced by a swelling which comes about the 
 center of the channel under the jaw. It soon fills the 
 whole space, and is, evidently, one uniform body, and 
 may thus be distinguished from glanders, or the en- 
 larged glands of catarrh. The swelling increases, the 
 tumor bursts, and a quantity of matter is discharged, 
 and the horse soon gets well. The best thing we can 
 do for this disease, is to clip the hair off close at the 
 part affected, to allow of greater effect from whatever 
 we may apply to promote the ripening of the tumor. 
 Mild cases will require only the assistance of a few 
 poultices or stimulating liniment. Make a poultice of 
 a pound of linseed meal, and add two ounces of com- 
 mon turpentine, and apply it to the part affected. If 
 the tumor is very slow in ripening, apply the following 
 stimulating liniment : 
 
STRANGLES. 17 
 
 Recipe No. 8. 
 STIMULATING LINIMENT. 
 
 Mustard, powdered, . one ounce. 
 Liquid ammonia, . . three drachms. 
 
 If there be symptoms of fever, give the following lax- 
 ative drench : 
 
 Recipe No. 9. 
 LAXATIVE DRENCH. 
 
 Linseed oil, . . . one pint. 
 
 Water gruel, . . . one pint, Mis. 
 
 Meantime, when it is evident that the tumor contains 
 matter, it should be freely lanced, the incision should 
 be deep and large enough to allow all the matter to 
 run out; there should be no squeezing the tumor to 
 force the matter out ; it must be kept clean, and if it 
 runs slow, a warm poultice may be applied, or fomenta- 
 tions used to assist the discharge. 
 
 STBAHGLES OF THE GULLET. 
 
 Sometimes there is an obstinate running at the nose, 
 that lasts a long while, and sometimes ends fatally, by 
 the animal wasting away in pulmonary consumption. 
 Many persons mistake this disorder for glanders, but it 
 may be known from that disease by a rattling in the 
 gullet, and by the quality of the running, which is 
 white and curdled, and the animal seldom, if ever, 
 troubled with a cough, and then is very feeble, and 
 shows frequent contractions of the windpipe. 
 2 
 
18 horseman's companion. 
 
 BASTARD STRANGLES. 
 
 Hinds says, with a great show of truth, that 
 "bastard strangles is a favorite term with some persons 
 who would soften down the real fact of their horses 
 having the glanders, which it really is, and not strangles. 
 But bastard or not bastard, it is always infectious, and 
 the animal either dies of strangulation, or the disorder 
 becomes the glanders, producing a sanious discharge 
 from the nose when the cough ceases." 
 
 FUMIGATION. 
 
 Take the leaves and root of marsh-mallows, — an arm 
 full, water six quarts, boil them, and put the whole into 
 a nose bag, and hang it round the head of the animal 
 to make him inhale the steam, the bag may be made of 
 stout cloth, but hung with the upper part quite open, 
 to avoid suffocation, leave the bag at the animal's nose 
 until no more steam will arise. This will be found a 
 very proper remedy, in all cases of strangles, the first 
 stage of glanders, and obstinate colds. 
 
 GLANDERS. 
 
 The most formidable of all the diseases to which the 
 horse is subject, is glanders. Glanders may be either 
 bred in the horse, or communicated by contagion. It 
 is often produced by improper stable management. The 
 air which is necessary to respiration is changed and 
 empoisoned in its passage through the lungs, and a 
 fresh supply is necessary for the support of life. In 
 close and ill-ventilated stables, the air passing so often 
 to the lungs becomes vitiated, and produces irtitation 
 and disease, such stables often witness the ravages of 
 
GLANDERS. 19 
 
 glanders. The membrane of the nose, possessed of 
 extreme sensibility for the purposes of smell, is easily- 
 irritated by this poison. 
 
 Glanders may be produced by any thing that injures, 
 or for a length of time acts upon, and weakens, the 
 vital energy of this membrane. 
 
 Violent catarrh, long and continued discharge from 
 the nostrils, violent inflammatory diseases, and any thing 
 that will weaken and exhaust the constitution, may re- 
 sult in the appearance of glanders. It may be received by 
 one horse rubbing against another, by the breath, and by 
 a sound horse eating the slavered food of a diseased one ; 
 diseased stables, foul racks and mangers, and litter upon 
 which a tainted horse has lain, will infect a sound 
 animal, if unfortunately he is put into such a situation 
 at the time the disease is active upon the thing infected. 
 
 The symptoms of glanders frequently vary, and to a 
 most puzzling degree. Sometimes the discharge will be 
 so slight as scarcely to be perceived, and known only 
 by its stickiness ; and the glands will not be in the 
 least degree enlarged. At other times, a very , small 
 enlarged gland may be found adhering to the jaw. and 
 may be stationary month after month, and the surgeon 
 may be told that there has never been discharge from 
 the nose. He will, however, be wrongly informed here ; 
 it has most assuredly existed, although perhaps in so 
 small a quantity that the groom or driver will deny its 
 existence ; and he will principally satisfy himself with 
 respect to it by its gluey feeling. 
 
 It is remarkable that the virus, in most cases of glan- 
 ders, does not produce, in the beginning, any sensible 
 alteration in the animal's health; the horse taken with 
 it has neither fever, dullness, nor distaste to food ; the 
 
20 horseman's companion. 
 
 appetite is good, the digestion easy, and the secretions 
 regular. 
 
 The inward cavities of the nose are lined in their 
 whole extent by the pituitary membrane. Its texture is 
 composed of nerves, arteries, veins, and excretory ves- 
 sels, which proceed from a multitude of glands spread 
 through its whole substance. These nerves are branches 
 of the olfactory nerves, and constitute the organs of 
 smelling. The arterial vessels proceed from a branch 
 of the inward upper carotid artery; and the veinous ves- 
 sels unite together, in order to flow into the jugular 
 vein. In its natural state, this membrane is constantly 
 moistened and lubricated by a mucilaginous liquor, 
 which defends it against too strong an impression of 
 the air, and preserves it from inflammation. 
 
 The want of fluidity in the blood and lymph occasions 
 the obstruction of the vessels of the pituitary membrane. 
 The irritation of the nerves, by producing a contraction 
 of the vessels contributes to this obstruction. 
 
 The relaxation of the texture of the membrane, by 
 depriving the vessels of their tone, occasions a stoppage 
 of the fluid, and produces obstruction, and inflammation 
 generally follows. 
 
 . The inflammation of the pituitary membrane produces 
 a discharge of limpid matter, sometimes slimy, always 
 transparent in the beginning. If the inflammation in- 
 creases, the stagnated humors become corrupt, and turn 
 to a thick white pus. 
 
 If it lodges and remains in the cavities, it becomes 
 sharp and corrosive, attacks the bony substance, lacer- 
 ates the bloodvessels, and this mixed virus produces a 
 discharge of a yellowish, green, or bloody appearance. 
 
 The flow of matter from the nostrils proceeds from 
 
GLANDERS. 21 
 
 various causes ; and it is necessary to become acquainted 
 with the symptoms that attend the strangles, catarrh, 
 asthma, and consumption, in order not to confound the 
 glanders with other diseases. 
 
 No cough accompanies real glanders in its early 
 stages ; the first external symptom is a discharge at the 
 nostrils, and that generally the left ; and the gland of 
 that side only is affected. Of eight hundred cases of 
 glanders that came under the notice of M. Dupuy, the 
 director of the veterinary school at Toulhouse, only one 
 horse was affected in the right nostril. 
 
 As the disorder proceeds, it is apt to affect both sides ; 
 both nostrils run, and the glands within the under jaw, 
 on both sides, will be enlarged. Glanders, however, 
 will frequently exist at an early stage without these 
 swelled glands, and some other diseases, as catarrh, may 
 produce them. In glanders, the swelling may be some- 
 what large and diffused, but the surrounding enlarge- 
 ment soon goes off, and one or two small, distinct glands 
 remain ; and they are not in the center of the channel, 
 but adhere closely to the jaw. They are simply hard 
 tumors without any matter in them. 
 
 The membrane of the nose may be examined and will 
 materially guide our opinion. It will either be of a dark 
 purplish hue, or almost of a leaden color, or of any shade 
 between the two ; or, if there be some of the redness of 
 inflammation, it will have a purple tinge ; but there will 
 never be the faint pink blush of health, or the intense 
 and vivid red of inflammation. 
 
 When ulcers appear on the membrane of the nose, the 
 constitution will be evidently affected. The horse will 
 lose flesh; his belly will be tucked up, his coat will be 
 unthrifty and readily come off, cough' will be heard, the 
 
22 
 
 appetite will be impaired, the strength will fail, the dis- 
 charge from the nose will grow more purulent, discol- 
 ored, bloody, stinking; the ulcers will increase, and the 
 air-passages being obstructed, a grating, choking noise 
 is heard at every act of breathing. The lungs are now 
 diseased, the whole circulation does at length become 
 empoisoned, and the animal presents one mass of putre- 
 faction, and dies, an emaciated and loathsome object. 
 
 This disease, in its different forms, has been known 
 to exist for two or three years, but, before its termina- 
 tion, becomes connected with farcy. Few horses die 
 of glanders, without exhibiting some appearance of 
 farcy; and farcy, in its latter stages, is often accom- 
 panied by glanders. They are different forms or stages 
 of the same disease. 
 
 The remedies that have been applied to the afflicted 
 animal, in this forlorn disease, are found of no avail, 
 unless taken at an early period. 
 
 As soon as a horse is suspected of glanders, he should 
 be kept separate from all others, and the fumigation of 
 marsh-mallows applied, as prescribed at page 18, re- 
 peatedly ; a purgative or an alterative may be given, 
 according to the state of his body, and the usual rem- 
 edies as for catarrh, continued for a week or. ten days. 
 
 If the disorder does not lessen in this time, the fol- 
 lowing ball may be given : 
 
 Recipe No. 12. 
 BALL FOR GLANDERS. - 
 
 Sulphate of copper, (powdered,) ' one drachm. 
 Gentian, . . . . one drachm. 
 
 Ginger, ..... one drachm. 
 Linseed or palm oil, sufficient to form a ball. 
 
FAKCY. 23 
 
 Give one ball, morning and night, for about two 
 weeks, and then daily as long as may be necessary, or 
 the constitutional treatment recommended for farcy may 
 be adopted, or five or six drachms of aloes may be 
 given, and then the following : 
 
 The diniodicle of copper. The union of two parts of 
 the iodide of potassium with four of the sulphate of 
 copper, has been given in the early stages of glanders, 
 with success. 
 
 Recipe No. 13. 
 
 Iodide of potassium, . . half drachm. 
 
 Sulphate of copper, (powdered,) one drachm. 
 
 Make into a ball, and give one night and morning. 
 The dose may be increased a quarter of a drachm each 
 day, until two and a-half or three drachms is given. 
 Little or no corn should be given. The horse should 
 have green food or mashes. 
 
 If the symptoms still increase in virulence, the horse 
 should be destroyed, and his body-clothing burned, and 
 every thing about the stable scraped — washed first with 
 soap and water, and then with a solution of the chloride 
 of lime, (Recipe No. 5, page 15.) 
 
 Care should be taken that the hands of the person 
 who gives the medicines are sound, for the disease has 
 been communicated to the human being, and lives have 
 been lost by it. Gloves and the balling-iron should be 
 used. 
 
 FARCY. 
 
 This is also a contagious disease, and often attributed 
 to bad stable management. It frequently runs its course 
 
24 
 
 quicker than glanders, although, like that malady, it 
 sometimes lurks long in the frame before its destructive 
 effects are seen. They are intimately connected, and 
 will run into each other, or their symptoms will mingle 
 together ; and before either arrives at its fatal termina- 
 tion, its associate will almost invariably appear. 
 
 It is produced by all the causes that give rise to 
 glanders ; there is, however, this difference, the farcy is 
 more frequently generated, and if taken in its early 
 stage, may be more successfully treated. 
 
 Symptoms. — Sometimes the first indication of this 
 disease is the appearance of small tumors, resembling 
 grapes, following the course of the veins, and painful 
 when pressed with the finger. "When very small, they 
 may exist for several weeks without being observed. 
 They are hard at first, but at length they increase in 
 number and in size, and become softer and more pain- 
 ful, and begin to ulcerate; They are then termed farcy 
 buds. They usually appear about the face or neck, or 
 inside of the legs. In the latter case painful swellings 
 of the limbs are seen. 
 
 In some cases, however, the disease commences in, 
 and is, for a time, confined to one of the hind limbs. 
 
 These lumps may be distinguished from the surfeit 
 lumps. They are more knotty, higher, and not so 
 broad ; and are oftenest found on the inside of the 
 limbs instead of the outside, and following the course 
 of the veins. 
 
 As the disease advances, there is swelling of the nose, 
 lips, and sometimes over the body ; a glanderous, offen- 
 sive, bloody matter, is discharged from the nostrils, 
 the animal becomes hide-bound, and losing flesh and 
 strength, and finally dies a mass of corruption. 
 
I 
 
 FARCY. 25 
 
 Treatment. — The treatment of farcy varies with the 
 form it assumes. 
 
 When the buds appear, a mild purgative should be 
 given, and the buds should be examined ; and if any 
 of them have opened, the budding iron, of a dull, red 
 heat, should be applied to them ; or, if they contain 
 matter, and are not broken, they should be penetrated 
 with the hot iron. When the slough of the cautery 
 comes off, if they look pale, and foul, and spongy, and 
 discharge matter, they should be washed with a lotion, 
 composed of — 
 
 Recipe No. 14. 
 
 Corrosive sublimate, . one drachm. 
 
 Dissolved in two ounces of spirits of wine, and two 
 ounces of vinegar, slowly added. 
 
 Or the following solution of the sulphate of iron 
 may be used, instead of the above : 
 
 Recipe No. 15. 
 
 LOTION FOR FARCY. 
 
 Sulphate of iron, (green vitriol, powdered.) one ounce. 
 
 And dissolve it in a quart of spring water. To every 
 pint of the solution add a quarter of an ounce of sul- 
 phuric acid, (oil of vitriol.) 
 
 Bathe the ulcers with this lotion two or three times 
 a day. If the animal was, when the disease was dis- 
 covered, in good condition, strong and vigorous, it is 
 likely he acquired it by infection. If he is still fleshy, 
 and the pulse full, take three or four quarts of blood, 
 and give the following purgative : 
 
26 
 
 Recipe No. 16. 
 
 PURGATIVE BALL. 
 
 Barbadoes aloes, . . six drachms. 
 Castile soap, . . . one drachm. 
 Liquorice powder, sufficient to form the 
 ball for one dose. 
 
 The animal should be prepared with bran mashes, to 
 facilitate the operation of the physic. 
 
 After the animal has been reduced by the above 
 treatment, the following alterative may be given for 
 three successive nights, then stop one night between 
 each dose, until the disease is subdued : 
 
 Recipe No. 17. 
 
 ALTERATIVE BALL. 
 
 Camphor,. . . . one drachm. 
 
 Tartar emetic, . . . one drachm. 
 
 Assafetida, . . . one drachm. 
 
 Ginger, .... one drachm. 
 
 With mucilage sufficient to form the ball for one 
 
 If the foregoing treatment does not seem to subdue 
 the disease, try the diniodide of copper, (Recipe No. 13, 
 page 23,) with the addition of from one to two drachms 
 of gentian, and one of ginger. 
 
 The last mentioned preparation is, probably, the best 
 medicine known for farcy and glanders. The gentian 
 and ginger may be added or not ; as a tonic and stimu- 
 lant, they would, probably, be beneficial. 
 
 In speaking of farcy in its worst stages, Hinds says 
 it "is that which is spread minutely all over the body 
 and limbs, and has penetrated the whole system." In 
 
FARCY. 27 
 
 whichever manner the animal may have acquired the 
 disorder, we may safely presume that the mass of 
 humors are hideously depraved ; and mercury, in one 
 or other of its varied forms, is the only antidote to be 
 relied on for its extinction. Previously, however, the 
 farcy buds and ulcers must be reduced to common 
 sores, by means of the actual cautery freely applied to 
 each. When these slough off, and the sores assume a 
 healthy appearance, less of the mercurial preparation 
 will be required; but if these retain a livid and, there- 
 fore, unhealthy hue, accompanied by a poisonous dis- 
 charge, that ulcerates the adjacent parts, a thorough 
 course of mercury is the only certain remedy, and this 
 must be managed with caution. 
 
 Recipe No. IS. 
 MERCURIAL BALL, NO. I. 
 
 iEthiop's mineral, . . two drachms. 
 Opium, .... ten grains. 
 
 With Liquorice powder and mucilage to form the ball 
 for one dose. 
 
 G-ive twice a day, until the patient's breath smells 
 very offensive, and then discontinue the medicine a day 
 or two, as you should also when the animal is found to 
 stale inordinately, or the bowels be very much disor- 
 dered. But, when the bowels are only slightly affected, 
 increase the quantity of opium to twenty or thirty grains. 
 
 Recipe No. 19. 
 
 MERCURIAL BALL, NO. II. 
 
 Corrosive sublimate, . . ten grains. 
 Tartar emetic, . ; . half a drachm. 
 Opium, .... half a drachm. 
 
28 horseman's companion. 
 
 Mix with liquorice powder and mucilage to form the 
 ball for one dose, and give as above. 
 
 Recipe No. 20. 
 
 MERCURIAL BALL, NO. III. 
 
 Corrosive sublimate, . . ten grains. 
 
 Powdered gentian, . . two drachms. 
 
 " ginger, . . one drachm. 
 
 Linseed meal, . . . half an ounce. 
 
 Make the whole into a ball with palm oil. 
 
 Give at night and morning for several days. The 
 animal may be fed generously diAing the operation of 
 this strong medicine, and its progress carefully watched, 
 lest salivation or violent purging ensue ; if he should 
 appear very sick or greatly agitated, and off his appetite, 
 the medicine should be lessened in quantity, or discon- 
 tinued for a short time, or altogether. 
 
 In salivation, wash the mouth freely with the solution 
 of chloride of lime, (Recipe No. 5, page 15,) and after- 
 ward by the following, if necessary. 
 
 Recipe No. 21. 
 
 INFUSION OP CATECHU. 
 
 Take two ounces of powdered catechu, pour a quart 
 of boiling water on it, and set it aside in a covered 
 vessel an hour; occasionally shake it, and pour off the 
 clear liquor, add an ounce of spirits of wine, and bottle 
 for use. In case of salivation, and after the mercury 
 has been discontinued, the following alterative may be 
 given morning and night: 
 
FARCY. 29 
 
 Recipe No. 22. 
 
 ALTERATIVE BALL. 
 
 Black sulphuret of antimony, two drachms. 
 Sulphur, .... two drachms. 
 Powdered nitre, . . . three drachms. 
 Linseed meal, . . . two drachms. 
 Beat them into a mass with palm oil. 
 But, if much purging and griping have been pro 
 duced by the mercury, starch or arrow-root may be freely 
 given, and the following drink morning and night : 
 
 Recipe No. 23. 
 
 DRINK FOR PURGING FROM MERCURY. 
 
 Take powdered opium, two drachms, and rub in well 
 the contents of one raw egg, and then add two more 
 eggs, each well rubbed in, then add half pint thin gruel ; 
 mix well. 
 
 If the purging is not arrested in two days, the starch 
 and arrow-root may be continued, and the following 
 given morning and night until the purging begins to 
 cease. 
 
 Recipe No. 24. 
 ASTRINGENT DRINK. 
 
 Powdered catechu, . . two drachms. 
 
 Powdered opium, . . one drachm. 
 
 Powdered ginger, . . one drachm. 
 
 Prepared chalk, . . five drachms. 
 
 The contents of one egg. 
 
 Rub them well together and add half pint thin grueh 
 
 The treatment of farcy and glanders in some of their 
 
 varied stages are so nearly the same, that it would be 
 
 better to study well the symptoms and treatment of both 
 
 diseases, in order to be better able to adopt the best 
 
30 
 
 mode in each case. If no benefit is obtained from the 
 use of the corrosive sublimate in ten or fifteen days, the 
 following may be used with some benefit: 
 
 Recipe No. 25. 
 
 BALL FOR FARCY. 
 
 Sulphate of copper, . . one drachm. 
 Powdered ginger, 
 
 Powdered gentian, 
 Linseed meal, . 
 Palm oil, . 
 
 one drachm, 
 two drachms, 
 three drachms, 
 to make one ball. 
 
 This ball may be given twice a day, and continued 
 with safety for several weeks, or as long as may be ne- 
 cessary; or the diniodide of copper before mentioned 
 may be used to better advantage, or either of the above 
 may be used successfully without having recourse to the 
 mercury at all. See pages 23 and 26. 
 
 If the hot iron is applied to the buds it must be done 
 very carefully ; sometimes blue vitriol is used for the 
 same purpose. 
 
 WATER FARCY, OR DROPSY. 
 
 Dropsical swellings sometimes appear between the 
 fore legs, on the chest, under the belly, and in different 
 parts of the body; they sometimes accompany other 
 diseases, and sometimes appear when there is no other 
 disease than debility, resulting from some disease, or from 
 the changing of the coat, foul feeding, or a long rainy 
 spell of weather. The swellings are soft, and when the 
 finger is pressed hard upon them, the hollow resulting 
 from the pressure may be seen some time after. 
 
 The treatment will vary with the cause of the affection 
 
WATER FARCY, OR DROPSY. 
 
 31 
 
 or the accompanying disease. It is often necessary to 
 make small holes or punctures in the skin with the 
 lancet, taking care to avoid the veins. This may have 
 to be done several times before the swelling subsides. 
 It is generally best to give a gentle purge once a week 
 for a while, and also, diuretics; bran mashes should be 
 given, and gentle exercise; his feed may be increased 
 by degrees. The disorder mostly happens to young 
 horses that have not been used to high feed. 
 
 The following may be given every day, except the 
 time when the physic is working : 
 
 Recipe No. 26. 
 
 Squills, .... two ounces. 
 
 Camphor, .... one ounce. 
 
 Castile soap, . . . one ounce. 
 
 Turpentine, . . . half ounce, or 
 
 Yellow rosin, . . . four ounces. 
 
 Make these into a ball with honey, and give one ounce 
 at a time. These will work the water off by urine. 
 
 When the horse begins to recover, give him a pint of 
 the following infusion every day for a fortnight fasting, 
 and let him fast one hour after each dose. 
 
 Recipe No. 27. 
 
 Gentian root, . . four ounces. 
 
 Black hellebore, . . three ounces. 
 
 Jesuit's bark, , . . two ounces. 
 
 Camomile flowers, . . four ounces. 
 
 Centaury, .... one hand full. 
 
 Boil all together in six quarts of water for ten min- 
 utes, let it stand till cool, and then strain it through a 
 cloth. An author of experience says this strengthening 
 
32 nORSEMAN'S COMPANION. 
 
 drink will brace the fibers, cause the fluids to circulate 
 quicker, and complete the cure. 
 
 NASAL GLEET, OR DISCHARGE FROM THE 
 NOSE. 
 
 There is sometimes a discharge from the nose after 
 other diseases have passed away, and the animal other- 
 wise appears in good health. 
 
 If the discharge be not offensive to the smell, nor 
 mixed with any matter, it is probably merely an increased 
 and somewhat vitiated secretion from the cavities of the 
 nose, and there being no fever, will generally yield to 
 small doses of blue vitriol, from one to two drachms 
 twice a day. If the discharge is offensive, gentian and 
 ginger may be added to the copper. 
 
 Recipe No. 28. 
 
 Sulphate of copper, . . one drachm. 
 
 Powdered gentian, . . two drachms. 
 
 Powdered ginger, . . one drachm. 
 
 Palm oil to make one ball. 
 Better turn the horse out to grass if possible, for there 
 is danger, if the discharge continues for some time, that 
 it may terminate in glanders. 
 
 If there be any cough or fever accompanying the dis- 
 charge from the nose, it may be catarrh, cold, or some 
 other disease. The powders recommended for distemper, 
 (recipe JSTo. 61,) is good for old discharges that are not 
 glanderous, and may be given in place of recipe No. 28. 
 
STAGGERS, ETC. 33 
 
 STAGGERS, VERTIGO, MEGRIMS, APOPLEXY, 
 PHRENITIS, PITS. 
 
 Many writers have divided this disease into several 
 different parts under several different names, which only 
 confound the reader instead of enlightening him. 
 
 Staggers is the common name given to all those dis- 
 orders which are accompanied by swimming of the head, 
 or terminate in affection of the brain. Violent exercise 
 in a hot day, and the horse being fat and full of blood, 
 more than the usual quantity will be sent to the head, 
 or if the collar is too small, or the curb-rein too tight, 
 the blood will be prevented from returning from the 
 head, and thus the larger vessels of the brain will be too 
 long and injuriously distended, and the small vessels 
 which run through the substance of the brain will be 
 enlarged, and the bulk of the brain will be increased, 
 and almost without warning, delirium or apoplexy comes 
 on. 
 
 Other causes produce the disorder ; it arises from in- 
 digestion, or the horse not having power to discharge 
 his over-loaded stomach, and it sometimes having been 
 previously exhausted by long fasting, is unable to con- 
 tract upon its contents ; the food soon begins to ferment 
 and swell, causing great distension ; the brain sympa- 
 thises with this over-loaded organ and staggers are pro- 
 duced. The mildest affection of this disorder, attended 
 with drowsiness, is known by the name of megrims, 
 sleepy, or stomach staggers; while phrenitis, or mad 
 staggers, is that affection of the brain which causes the 
 animal to kick, to dash himself furiously about, some- 
 times fall or become dangerous to persons about him, 
 but apparently unconscious of what he is about, and with 
 
34 horseman's companion. 
 
 no design to do mischief; sometimes the animal suddenly 
 dies, or wears himself out in frightful struggles. 
 
 These different symptoms are a different form or va- 
 riety of the same disease, arising from the same causes, 
 and require the same treatment, varied only according 
 to the extent of the disorder. The first thing to be 
 done is to relieve the brain from the pressure of the 
 blood upon it by copious bleeding; and in mad staggers 
 both jugulars should be opened, and the blood should 
 flow until it produces faintness. 
 
 If there be foul stomach or costiveness, which is often 
 the case, an active purgative should be given immedi- 
 ately ; the most active of these is the croton nut pow- 
 dered, and given in the dose of a half drachm, and fol- 
 lowed by smaller doses of ten grains each, every six 
 hours, with plenty of injections of warm soap and water 
 until the bowels are well opened ; or from thirty to forty 
 drops of croton oil may be given instead of the meal or 
 farina, as above mentioned. If the croton is not at hand, 
 aloes may be given, dissolved in hot water, an ounce at 
 the first dose, and two or three drachms every four hours 
 until purging is produced; or the following preparation 
 is probably better than either of the above : 
 
 Recipe No. 30. 
 
 STRONG PHYSIC DRINK. 
 
 Barbadoes aloes, < . two ounces. 
 
 Grum arabic, . . . one ounce. 
 Both being powdered, pour on them a pint of boiling 
 water, and add twelve grains of farina or meal of the 
 croton nut well rubbed down with a little of it, and the 
 rest cautiously added ; four ounces of this mixture may 
 be given every six hours until it operates. 
 
 In all ordinary cases of Staggers, simply opening the 
 
STAGGERS. 35 
 
 bowels, or a moderate bleeding, will effect a cure ; and if 
 the animal shows symptoms of a disordered stomach, the 
 coming disorder may be warded off by a dose of physic. 
 
 If there is great depression of the system, blood let- 
 ting should be abstained from ; but if the pulse is strong, 
 and fever or inflammation is denoted, and the animal 
 appears phrenetic, bleeding is indispensable. 
 
 If the stomach is over distended, it may not be pru- 
 dent to give the strongest purgative, although some 
 recommend it ; there is danger when the stomach is 
 over loaded, that the strongest purgative may not find 
 its way through, and a commotion might be produced, 
 that might rupture the intestines, or result in inflam- 
 mation. If the purgative is not given, recourse must 
 be had to medicines that lessens the force of the circu- 
 lation and consequently, the determination of blood to 
 the head — the following is the best for that purpose ; 
 
 Recipe No. 31. 
 
 Digitalis, .... one drachm. 
 Tartar emetic, . . . one drachm. 
 Nitre, ..... three drachms. 
 
 Given two or three times a day if necessary, or until 
 ease is produced. The horse should be kept from food 
 when laboring under these symptoms ; and mashes, or 
 green food given for sometime after. It would be better 
 to turn him out to grass. 
 
 It may be necessary to give the purgative, and also 
 to give an injection of warm soap and water, and to rake 
 out the hardened dung. 
 
 If aloes have been given, and have not operated suf- 
 ficiently, better not repeat them; but give in their stead 
 the following, every six hours until the bowels are pro- 
 perly opened. 
 
36 horseman's companion. 
 
 Recipe No. 32. 
 
 Linseed oil> . ., . one pint. 
 
 Gentian, . . . two drachms. 
 
 When the physic operates, the following may be given 
 if the horse has been suffering from indigestion : 
 
 Recipe No. 33. 
 
 ALTERATIVE TONIC BALL. 
 
 Sulphur, . . . one drachm and a half. 
 
 Physic mass, . . one drachm. 
 
 Powdered nitre, . . one drachm and a half. 
 
 Powdered gentian, . . one drachm and a half. 
 
 Powdered ginger, . . one drachm. 
 Beat them together with palm oil, and make one ball ; 
 it may be best to repeat this once a day for several 
 days. 
 
 An author of experience recommends — if the horse is 
 outrageous, he should be bled, and the following given : 
 
 Recipe No. 34. 
 
 Tincture of opium, . . one ounce. 
 
 Syrup of poppies, . . one gill. 
 
 Tincture guaiacum, . . one ounce. 
 
 Be careful not to let him knock his head, for it will in- 
 crease the disorder. If he get through the first fit, give 
 him two ounces of crocus metallorum every day, to thin his 
 blood, for fear of a relapse. It will be proper to give the 
 following ball once a month for some time after : wfll 
 
 Recipe No. 35. 
 
 Powdered rhubarb, . . one ounce. 
 
 Jalap, half ounce. 
 
 Calomel, ..... one drachm. 
 To be made into a ball with syrup of buckthorn. This 
 ball will be of great use in thinning the blood, and pre- 
 
LOCKED-JAW. 37 
 
 venting a return of the disorder • for when a horse has 
 had one fit, he is very likely to have another, if care be 
 not taken to prevent it. 
 
 There are two other diseases with which the Staggers 
 may be confounded, and from both of them it may be 
 readily distinguished, viz.: colic and madness [hydropho- 
 bia]. In colic the horse rises and falls, but not with so 
 much violence ; he sometimes plunges, but he more often 
 rolls himself about; he looks frequently at his flanks 
 with an expression of pain, and he is conscious. 
 
 In madness there may be violence, there is sometimes 
 a determination to do mischief, and there is always con- 
 sciousness. 
 
 LOCKED-JAW. 
 
 This is one of the most fatal diseases to which the 
 horse is liable. It is a constant spasm of all the volun- 
 tary muscles, and particularly of the neck, the spine, 
 and the head. But the muscles of the jaw appear the 
 most powerfully affected. If a small fiber of some nerve 
 has been injured, the effect of that injury will sometimes 
 spread to the origin of the nerve, and the brain will be- 
 come affected, and the whole action of the horse becomes 
 diseased. 
 
 Locked-jaw will come from exposure to severe cold, 
 after being over-heated ; but it oftenest comes from a 
 wound of some tendonous or ligamentous part. It is 
 sometimes slow and very treacherous in its attack, and 
 may not show itself until the wound is quite or nearly 
 healed. It sometimes follows nicking or docking, 
 whether well or ill performed, and it sometimes results 
 from pricking the foot when being shod. 
 
38 horseman's companion. 
 
 In treating this disorder, it is well to find out the 
 local cause. If it be a wound of the foot, let it be 
 touched with a caustic, or well opened ; the new irrita- 
 tion thus produced may lessen or remove the old one. 
 The wound may be dressed with some healing ointment 
 or the following mild caustic wash : 
 
 Itecipe No. 36. 
 
 MILD CAUSTIC WASH FOR WOUNDS. 
 
 Blue vitriol, powdered, . one ounce. 
 Dissolved in a pint of water. 
 
 If there is any offensive discharge from the wound, 
 the following may be applied : 
 
 Recipe No. 2>7* 
 SOLUTION OP CHLORIDE OF LIME. 
 
 Chloride of lime in powder, . one drachm. 
 Dissolve it in a pint of water. 
 
 Bottle, and keep it stopped when not in use. 
 
 If nicking is the cause of the disorder, the incision 
 should be made deeper and stimulated by digestive oint- 
 ment, or the above wash, No. 36 ; or, if it arise from 
 docking, repeat the operation higher. 
 
 I will mention, that sometimes before the jaws are 
 entirely closed, and while medicine may be given with 
 tolerable ease, some, if not all, of the following symp- 
 toms may be observed : A stiffness of the jaws and neck, 
 and the muscles hard and unyielding; the retractor 
 muscle is affected, and the eye is drawn back, and the 
 haw or washer protruding over a portion of it; and 
 soon the ears and tail are erect, and the whole extreme- 
 
LOCKED-JAW. 39 
 
 ties become singularly and almost immovably fixed ; the 
 breathing is hard, and the countenance expressive of 
 great agony. 
 
 In 1842, I remember being called to do something for 
 a horse that had a nail run through the sole of his foot 
 near the frog. The injury had been done several weeks, 
 and others had been "doctoring it," until the symptoms 
 just mentioned appeared. I found the horse in a suf- 
 fering, pitiable condition, He was so very stiff that it 
 required the assistance of several persons to keep him 
 from falling, if they attempted to move him to either 
 side, or to raise up his foot. The orifice was closed, and 
 the poisonous matter was corroding the inside of the 
 foot. The first thing I did was to cut away as much 
 of the sole as would enable me to get at every part of 
 the inside of the foot that had been affected — which 
 proved to be about one-third — which I removed with the 
 knife, and made what is called "a new wound." The 
 wound was dressed, the horse was bled, and a relaxation 
 of the spasm soon followed — and the horse recovered. 
 I believe the recovery of the horse just mentioned was 
 owing, more than from any thing else, to the removal of 
 the cause that produced the disorder. 
 
 It is not always that the disorder can be treated so 
 successfully, even in its early stages, and frequently de- 
 fies every effort to give relief. When the disorder 
 assumes this obstinate form, the animal must be bled 
 copiously, unless he is in very low condition, when so 
 much blood must not be taken. Chloroform should be 
 applied to the nose, and the horse blistered along the 
 whole of the spine; and heavy rugs, or what is better, 
 sheepskins, warm from the animal, with the raw side in- 
 ward, and changed as soon as they become dry or putrid; 
 
40 horseman's companion. 
 
 they may be kept on twenty-four hours, if they are 
 changed sides every few hours. 
 
 If the jaws are entirely locked, the foregoing treat- 
 ment will probably produce a temporary relaxation of 
 the spasm, so that a dose of physic may be given. Here 
 also, that physic is best which will operate the quickest. 
 The bowels, in these nervous affections, are very torpid, 
 and there is very little danger of injury from a large 
 dose of physic. The croton is the best for this purpose : 
 half a drachm, powdered, for the^first dose, and repeated 
 in doses of ten grains, every six hours, until it operates. 
 The operation of the, physic maybe assisted by injec- 
 jections, each containing a drachm of aloes dissolved in 
 warm water; or warm water or thin gruel may be in- 
 jected. The reader had better turn back a few pages, 
 and see the strong physic drink recommended for Stag- 
 gers, (Recipe No. 30,) and use that if it is at hand. 
 The following ointment may be used for blistering. 
 
 Recipe No. 39. 
 
 BLISTERING OINTMENT. 
 
 Spanish flies, powdered, . five drachms. 
 Turpentine, . . . one ounce. 
 
 Hog's lard, . . . four ounces. 
 
 Mix well, and blister along the whole course of the 
 back and spine. After bleeding, physicing and blister- 
 ing, and the spasm has not broken, we must resort to 
 other means. Give 
 
 Recipe No. 40. 
 
 Opium, powdered, . . two drachms. 
 
 Give in a small ball, or with thin gruel, and give an 
 additional drachm every four or six hours; if the jaws 
 
COLIC. 41 
 
 are quite fixed, it must be injected. The bowels may be 
 kept in a lax state by small doses of aloes, during the 
 effect of the opium. Great patience and perseverance is 
 necessary in treating this disorder. 
 
 COLIC 
 
 Arises from various causes : from violent exercise 
 soon after overloading the stomach ; from drinking cold 
 water when overheated, or immediately after a large 
 feed ; the food is carried into the intestines before it is 
 sufficiently elaborated in the stomach ; the inordinate 
 action thus produced, expels the mucous secretion that 
 is designed for their defense — the swallowing of food too 
 eagerly and without due mastication. The change of 
 food, the bad quality of food, may have as great an affect 
 in producing colic as the facility possessed by the food 
 itself for passing rapidly into fermentation. 
 
 There is another kind of colic, which I will speak of 
 directly, and which is necessary to be distinguished from 
 this, namely : the inflammatory colic, which is brought 
 on by the same causes, more severely incurred, as well 
 as from severe costiveness, which is so often produced 
 by impaired digestive organs. 
 
 As the treatment proper for either of these disorders 
 will vary, the one requiring warmth and stimulation, the 
 other a cooling and reducing treatment, the great object 
 is to find out the cause and nature of the attack, for a 
 mistake on this point might prove fatal. In order to 
 assist the practitioner to distinguish between these two 
 apparently similar disorders, I will insert a table of the 
 symptoms ; this table was prepared by Mr. Ryding many 
 4 
 
42 
 
 HORSEMAN'S COMPANION. 
 
 years ago, and other authors have inserted it with some 
 alteration, by no means for the better ; it is here given 
 with a very slight alteration. 
 
 A TABLE for distinguishing between the colic or gripes, 
 and inflammation of the bowels, by the symptoms that 
 mark the character of each. 
 
 SPASMODIC OR FLATULENT COLIC. 
 
 1. Pulse natural, though some- 
 
 times a little lower. 
 
 2. The horse lies down, and 
 
 rolls upon his back. 
 
 3. The legs and ears generally 
 
 warm. 
 
 4. Attacks suddenly, is never 
 
 preceded, and seldom ac- 
 companied by any symp- 
 toms of fever. 
 
 5. There are frequent short 
 
 intermissions. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 
 
 1. Pulse very quick and small. 
 
 2. He lies down and suddenly 
 
 gets up again, seldom roll- 
 ing upon his back. 
 
 3. Legs and ears generally 
 cold. 
 
 In general, attacks gradual- 
 ly, is commonly preceded, 
 and always accompanied 
 by symptoms of fever. 
 
 No intermissions can be 
 observed. 
 
 When horses are in health, the pulsations are from 
 thirty-sis to forty in a minute ; to ascertain this, apply 
 the points of the fingers gently to the arteries nearest 
 the surface. Some prefer to feel the artery inside the 
 fore leg, above the knee, and some prefer the artery 
 under the jaw; too great pressure would stop the pulsa- 
 tion altogether, though by slightly pressing the artery 
 against the bone, you can ascertain whether it be in 
 such a rigid state of excitement as to denote high fever. 
 
 When the pulse reaches fifty or fifty-five, some degree 
 of fever may be apprehended, and proper precaution 
 should be taken. Seventy or seventy-five will indicate 
 a somewhat dangerous state ; few horses long survive a 
 
colic. 43 
 
 pulse of one hundred, for by this excessive action the 
 energies of nature are speedily worn out. A quick 
 pulse indicates fever or inflammation, and requires the 
 immediate and free use of the lancet. A slow, weak 
 pulse, is caused by the feeble action of the heart ; it is 
 expressive of debility, and deficiency of nervous energy ; 
 it is the reverse of high fever and inflammation, and the 
 lancet, if used at all, must be used with great caution. 
 
 An easy way, also, to discover inflammation is, to put 
 your hand to the nostrils, and ascertain if his breath 
 is hot. 
 
 In ordinary colic, and where inflammation has not 
 set in, give the following : 
 
 Recipe No. 41. 
 
 COLIC DRINK, NO. I. 
 
 Ginger, . . . one tablespoonful. 
 
 Saleratus, . . . one tablespoonful. 
 
 Peppermint, . . one teaspoonful. 
 
 Warm water, . . one pint. 
 
 I will give several recipes, so that you can give either 
 one of them according to circumstances. 
 
 The following drink will frequently give relief in a 
 short time; 
 
 Recipe No. 42. 
 
 COLIC DRINK, NO. II. 
 
 Ether, (sulph.) . . . one ounce. 
 Laudanum, .... one ounce. 
 Spirits turpentine, . . two ounces. 
 
 Mix, and give with warm water. 
 
 If relief is not obtained in a short time, it may be 
 better to bleed ; because the continuance of violent 
 
44 
 
 spasms may produce inflammation. If three-quarters or 
 an hour should pass, and the horse is not easier, the 
 dose may be repeated without the turpentine, or with 
 half the quantity, and three or four drachms of ether 
 added. In a clear case of colic, sometimes about half 
 the last-mentioned drink is repeated, with five or six 
 drachms of aloes dissolved in warm water. The stimu- 
 lus produced on the inner surface of the bowels, by the 
 purgative, may counteract the irritation which caused 
 the spasm. The belly should be well rubbed ; and 
 clysters of warm soap suds, or a solution of aloes, must 
 be injected with a large syringe, or an ox bladder tied 
 on the end of a pipe. The horse should also be back- 
 raked ; a small hand — the fingers brought to a point, 
 and dipped in lard or oil — should be gently introduced 
 into the rectum, and remove any hardened dung that 
 may be lodged therein. Sometimes the hardened dung 
 lodges, and presses on the neck of the bladder, and 
 obstructs the passage of the urine, which causes great 
 pain, and has been mistaken for the colic. 
 
 This is also one of the best drinks that can be given : 
 
 Recipe No. 43. 
 
 COLIC DRINK, NO. III. 
 
 Laudanum, . . . one ounce. 
 Tincture of Cayenne pepper, one ounce and a-half. 
 Tincture of camphor, . two ounces. 
 Good whisky, . . . one quart. 
 
 Mix well, and give one gill every half hour, until 
 relief is obtained. 
 
 If your horse is taken out on the road, away from 
 home, and where you can not get, at all times, what 
 
colic. 45 
 
 you want, you may be able to get the following, which 
 will often cure, if given in time : 
 
 Recipe No. 44. 
 
 COLIC DRINK, NO. IV. 
 
 Gin or brandy, . . half pint. 
 
 Pepper, .^ . one or two tablespoonsful. 
 
 Milk or warm water, . half pint. 
 
 Mix. Should relief not be obtained in twenty or 
 thirty minutes, the dose can be repeated two or three 
 times. 
 
 Another drink that can be obtained at almost every 
 place, is — 
 
 Recipe No. 45. 
 
 COLIC DRINK, NO. V. 
 
 Whisky, . . half pint to a pint. 
 G-unpowder, . . half or two-thirds teacupful. 
 
 Mix well. 
 
 This drink sometimes gives relief in a short time, if 
 given early. 
 
 Salt is efficacious as an aperient, and may be thrown 
 up the rectum, or given as a drink. It sometimes cures 
 the worst cases of colic in a short time. 
 
 Recipe No. 46. 
 
 COLIC DRINK, NO. VI. 
 
 Take common table salt one pint, and dissolve in a 
 pint of hot water, and give half at one dose, and if re- 
 ief does not soon follow, repeat the dose; some add 
 vinegar to the salt and water, and insist that it makes 
 the best colic drink they ever tried; but I do not like the 
 vinegar if there is the appearance of gas in the stomach. 
 
46 horseman's companion. 
 
 This disorder is very rapid in running its course, and 
 often ends fatally; and, therefore, something should be 
 done immediately to relieve the animal. It is for that 
 reason that I have given such a variety of recipes. 
 
 In large establishments, where many horses are kept, 
 and where such a medicine is so often required, the 
 following will be found a first-rate medicine, and should 
 be kept on hand : 
 
 Recipe No. 47. 
 
 COLIC DRINK, NO. VII. 
 
 Take brandy, . . . one quart. 
 
 Sweet spirits of nitre, •. . four ounces. 
 
 Cloves, (powdered,) . . three ounces. 
 
 Ginger, (powdered,) . . four ounces. 
 
 Steep the ginger and cloves in the brandy and nitre, 
 and add about one teaspoonful of the oil of peppermint, 
 bottle and let it stand a week, and it will be fit for use. 
 The dose will be from four to six ounces in a pint and 
 a half of warm water, and repeated in twenty or thirty 
 minutes if the first does not give relief. If you buy the 
 ginger and cloves and powder or bruise them yourself, 
 you will be sure to have them good; the liquor must be 
 poured off if they are only bruised. ' 
 
 I will here caution the reader against giving too many 
 different kinds of medicine for any disease, before they 
 give the first time enough to do any good; much injury 
 has been done by this. 
 
 INFLAMMATORY COLIC. 
 
 This is sometimes called red colic, "strangullion," 
 or "twisting of the guts," and is often treated as the 
 
INFLAMMATORY COLIC. 47 
 
 common colic. It is brought on from the same causes, 
 more severely incurred, as well as from severe cold in 
 the bowels, or costiveness and consequent heat, termi- 
 nating in inflammation of the bowels, as does the spas- 
 modic colic also, if not arrested. Sometimes pieces of 
 dung, or excrement, in passing through the guts, becomes 
 hard from an excessive degree of dryness or heat in the 
 system; whence it comes to pass that the space of the 
 gut where it rests is stretched and enlarged, which causes 
 a narrowness or stricture of the adjacent parts, so that the 
 excrement can not pass along ; this causes inflammation, 
 and the horse, if not soon relieved by cooling and relax- 
 ing medicines, dies of mortification in such part. 
 
 It is, therefore, very necessary to discriminate be- 
 tween those two kinds of colic, which' may be best done 
 by turning back to page 42, where I have laid down a 
 table and accompanying remarks; but I will say, in 
 addition to the symptoms there laid down to distinguish 
 between common and inflammatory colic: the latter is 
 attended with cold ears and legs, the breath hot, eye- 
 lids and membrane of the nose high colored, the belly 
 painful, (to the touch,) and continuing without remis- 
 sion, the pulse being quick and irregular. The treat- 
 ment should be, bleeding plentifully, and injections of 
 thin gruel or soap suds should be given as I have des- 
 cribed at page 44. They should be thrown up plenti- 
 fully, and if there be any hardened dung, it should be 
 removed by a small hand, as there laid down. A pint, 
 or a pint and a half of linseed or sweet oil may be given 
 inwardly to relax the intestines, and oil given by way 
 of clysters will be of use in this case; the horse should 
 also be encouraged to drink plentifully of warm water or 
 thin gruel. 
 
48 horseman's companion. 
 
 Recipe No. 48. 
 
 DRINK FOR INFLAMMATORY COLIC. 
 
 Caraway seeds, powdered, two drachms. 
 Slippery elm, powdered, . six drachms. 
 Digitalis, powdered, . . two drachms. 
 Gil peppermint, . . . fifty drops. 
 Mix well in a quart of hot water, and divide into two 
 doses ; if the first does not give relief in half an hour, 
 give the other half. 
 
 If there is evident costiveness, the following may be 
 preferred : 
 
 Recipe No. 49. 
 
 DRINK FOR INFLAMMATORY COLIC, 
 
 Linseed oil, . . . half pint. 
 Digitalis, powdered, . . one draehm. 
 Sweet spirits of nitre, . three drachms. 
 
 G-rains of Paradise, powd., one drachm. 
 Mix well in half pint warm water. 
 
 If there is any delay in obtaining either of the above 
 drinks, give the oil as above directed, and do not omit 
 the injections. The following will also be found an ex- 
 cellent medicine, and should be kept on hand : 
 
 Recipe No. 50. 
 
 COLIC DRINK. 
 
 Ginger, . . . .six drachms. 
 
 Caraway seeds in powder, five drachms. 
 
 Jamaica pepper, powdered, one ounce. 
 
 Purified opium, . . three drachms. 
 
 Syrup of poppy, strong, three ounces. 
 Mix in the opium with the warm syrup, and add the 
 three powders; divide into five or six doses, and give 
 with a little warm water. 
 
MOLTEN GREASE — YELLOWS. 49 
 
 In very severe attacks, you must get up a counter- 
 irritation by blistering over the belly. Cantharides, 
 spirits of wine, or turpentine, alone or mixed together, 
 will, if well rubbed in, aid in bringing the heat to the 
 surface. The horse should also have a blanket or rug 
 thrown on him to aid in this matter ; the legs should 
 also be bandaged to restore the circulation to them. 
 Bo not put your horse to work too quick after a severe 
 attack, but give soft, nourishing food, and some little 
 time to recover his strength. 
 
 MOLTEN GREASE. 
 
 Some writers contend that the fat of a horse is some- 
 times melted (or is molten), and penetrates or passes 
 into the guts, and comes out through the regular chan- 
 nel. I think it impossible, notwithstanding the addi- 
 tional testimony of the memorable Falstaff, who said he 
 was so fat he " pissed his own tallow!" My opinion is, 
 it belongs to one of the disorders last mentioned, colic 
 or inflammation, in one of their forms, and should be 
 treated as such. In extreme costiveness, the excrement 
 is obstructed in its passage, it becomes hard, and a por- 
 tion of the mucous secretions that is designed for the 
 defense of the intestines, is expelled with the hardened 
 dung, which gives rise to the name — molten grease. 
 
 YELLOWS, OR JAUNDICE 
 
 Is the introduction of bile into the general circula- 
 tion, which is usually caused by some obstruction in the 
 
60 horseman's companion. 
 
 ducts or tubes which convey the bile from the liver to 
 the intestines. It is generally recognized by the fre- 
 quent and feeble pulse, the yellowness of the eyes and 
 mouth, high color of the urine, disinclination to eat, and 
 a kind of drooping inactivity. It is first necessary to 
 inquire whether this affection of the liver be not the 
 consequence of the sympathy of this organ with some 
 other part; for, to a very considerable degree, it fre- 
 quently accompanies inflammation of the bowels and 
 the lungs. These diseases being subdued, jaundice will 
 disappear. If there be no other disease to any great 
 extent, we must endeavor to restore the natural passage 
 of the bile by purgatives, not large doses, lest there 
 should be some undetected inflammation of the lungs or 
 bowels, in either of which a strong purgative would be 
 dangerous, but given in small quantities, repeated at 
 short intervals, until the bowels are freely opened; and 
 as calomel acts more immediately on the liver, give it 
 in the following form : 
 
 Recipe No. 51. 
 
 Barbadoes aloes, . . eight drachms. 
 Calomel, . . . two drachms. 
 
 Oil of Carraway, . . half drachm. 
 
 Made into three balls, give one on three successive 
 nights, unless the first two produce a thin stool. If the 
 animal is fat, and the pulse strong and full, moderate 
 bleeding may do good ; but on the other hand, if in bad 
 condition, and the pulse very feeble, which indicates low 
 fever and debility, blood should not be taken ; in the 
 latter case, the following alterative may be given, instead 
 of Recipe No. 51, particularly if the dung is loose or 
 pale • 
 
INFLAMMATION OP THE KIDNEYS. 51 
 
 Recipe No. 52. 
 
 ALTERATIVE BALLS. 
 
 Tartar emetic, . . three drachms. 
 
 Ginger, .... one drachm. 
 
 Aloes, .... nine drachms. 
 
 Hard soap, . . . one ounce. 
 
 Mix, and divide into three balls, and give one each, 
 successive night, unless the first two have operated. 
 The following cleansing powders may then be given : 
 
 Recipe No. 53. 
 
 CLEANSING POWDERS. 
 
 Fenugreek, . . . four ounces 
 
 Black antimony, 
 
 two ounces, 
 two ounces, 
 two ounces, 
 two ounces, 
 two ounces. 
 
 Juniper berries, 
 Ginger, 
 Rhubarb, . 
 Sulphur, 
 
 Grind them fine, and mix well, and give a table- 
 spoonful once or twice a day till cured. Do not expose 
 him to wet or bad weather ; nor let him drink cold 
 water for a few hours after taking the powders. This 
 powder gives a good appetite, and fine coat, and life to 
 the animal, when he is out of condition, or hidebound, 
 as is often the case when suffering from distemper, cold, 
 and other lingering disorders that arise from impurity 
 of the blood. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OP THE KIDNEYS. 
 
 This disorder is sometimes brought on by other 
 diseases, or by a hard blow across the loins, catching 
 
52 houseman's companion. 
 
 cold when hot, or violent exercise beyond their power. 
 When the kidneys become inflamed, they secrete or 
 suppress more urine than in a state of health ; but it is 
 performed with great pain and danger. The early symp- 
 toms are those of fever generally. The horse looks 
 round at his flanks ; his hind legs wide apart; expresses 
 pain in turning ; shrinks when the loins are pressed, 
 and some degree of heat is felt there. The urine is 
 voided in small quantities, and often high colored, and 
 sometimes bloody. The attempt to urinate becomes 
 more frequent, and the quantity voided smaller, until 
 the animal strains painfully and violently, but the dis- 
 charge is nearly or quite suppressed. In the early 
 stages, and when there is much fever, you must bleed 
 pretty freely, and give the following : 
 
 Recipe No. 54. 
 
 Aloes, .... three drachms. 
 
 Gentian, (powdered,) . two drachms. 
 
 Digitalis, (powdered,) . one drachm. 
 
 Oil of juniper, . . one drachm , 
 
 Mix well, and add the yolk of an egg, and give at 
 one dose. 
 
 If the symptoms do not abate, rub over the loins the 
 following stimulant : 
 
 Recipe No. 55. 
 
 EMBROCATION. 
 
 Spirits of wine, . . . two ounces. 
 Camphor, .... one ounce. 
 Soap, ..... two ounces. 
 
 Mix. If this disorder continues, it is likely to pro- 
 duce an irritation, or 
 
DISORDER OF THE BLADDER. 53 
 
 DISORDER OF THE BLADDER, OR URINARY 
 ORGANS GENERALLY. 
 
 The urine is constantly flowing from th,e kidneys 
 through a large duct, called the ureter, to a larger 
 reservoir, the bladder. The bladder is, therefore, the 
 vehicle or outlet for several evils that take their rise 
 higher up; and among these I have just spoken of 
 suppression, or bloody urine, as a disorder of the kid- 
 neys, which the reader will examine before he goes any 
 further. 
 
 Sometimes, however, there may be stoppage of the 
 urine, when you can not immediately determine the 
 cause, and something must be done to give relief; bathe 
 under the belly with warm water or soap suds, and clean 
 out the end of the yard or " penis." Sometimes there 
 is a hard substance as large as a bean lodging in the 
 end of the penis, and obstructs the passage of the 
 water. If the water does not come from the last-named 
 treatment, recourse must be had to diuretics, but they 
 must be used with caution, and not pushed too far. 
 
 Recipe No. 56. 
 
 DIURETIC DRENCH. 
 
 Nitre, . . . four to six drachms. 
 Oil of juniper, . . two drachms. 
 Turpentine, . . two drachms. 
 
 You may give half a pint or more of gin, in place of 
 the turpentine, or give a little along with it, as you may 
 think best. I have given in desperate cases (where the 
 horse was in intense agony from the stoppage of urine), 
 as high as two ounces of nitre ; but, as I have just in- 
 timated, diuretics should not be given too often, nor in 
 
54 horseman's companion. 
 
 too large doses, particularly if there are symptoms of 
 inflammation of the kidneys, as described a few pages 
 back. 
 
 Bloody urine, calculi or stone, strangury, diabetes or 
 excessive discharge of urine, suppression of urine, etc., 
 have, by the ingenuity of some very scientific doctors, 
 been subdivided and treated of as though they were 
 diseases of themselves ; but few, if any, are original, but 
 arise from some defect or ill-cured disorder of the kid- 
 neys and bladder, or parts dependent thereon. 
 
 SCOURING, AND OTHER DISORDERS OF 
 THE INTESTINES, 
 
 Sometimes comes from bad water, green food, or food 
 that is not good; in either case, it should not be checked 
 too suddenly, but rather promoted by an open diet, as 
 bran mashes ; for nature, by this means, may get rid of 
 some offensive matter that might produce disease. If it 
 does not stop in due time after a change of diet, give 
 plenty of starch or arrow-root ; should it still continue, 
 or if the scouring is produced by the too free use of 
 purgative medicines, the starch and arrow-root may still 
 be given, and also the following : 
 
 Recipe No. 57. 
 
 ASTRINGENT DRINK. 
 
 Opium, powdered, . . two drachms. 
 
 Catechu, powdered, . . two drachms. 
 
 Ginger, powdered, . . two drachms. 
 
 Prepared chalk, . . four drachms. 
 
 Well mixed together, and add half a pint of thin gruel. 
 
COSTIVENESS. 55 
 
 If the purging does not abate in ten or twelve tours, 
 repeat the dose. Sometimes, when every thing else 
 fails, the following will stop it : 
 
 Recipe No. 5S. 
 
 Powdered alum . . two drachms. 
 Hot milk, . . . one pint. 
 Mix well and give warm. 
 
 COSTIVENESS. 
 
 I have already considered costiveness as belonging 
 to colic and other inflammatory disorders of the intes- 
 tines, as the reader will see by referring back to what 
 is there said. Common costiveness may be distin- 
 guished from colic or inflammation of the intestines by 
 the quiet state of the animal when he is down, which 
 is not the case with either of those disorders, in which 
 pain of the bowels is most evident. There is also a 
 dullness about the eyes, and sleepiness ; the breathing 
 becomes difficult or nearly imperceptible ; at length he 
 tumbles down, regardless of his situation, until stupor 
 and death ensue, if the sufferer be not relieved. 
 
 It is not always best to give strong purgatives if cos- 
 tiveness has lasted sometime; great injury might be 
 done to the small intestines by forcing a passage, where- 
 by a commotion might be raised in the stomach, and the 
 medicine act inefficiently where the evil chiefly lies, viz. : 
 in the large intestines and rectum. When the animal 
 has not dunged for several days, there is a fullness 
 about the flanks and fundament, and an unusual dry- 
 ness and tightness is discovered at this latter part, and 
 back-raking must be resorted to: the arm should be 
 
56 horseman's companion. 
 
 stripped bare, the hand dipped in oil or lard, bring 
 the fingers to a point, and gently introduce the hand 
 and wrist, and draw out the dry, hardened dung. Re- 
 peat this two or three times, and give plenty of warm 
 gruel, ale, or porter, or a pint or quart of each while 
 the following is preparing. 
 
 Recipe No. 59. 
 
 LAXATIVE DRENCH. 
 
 Linseed or castor oil, . . half a pint. 
 
 Prepared kali, . . . two drachms. 
 
 Aloes, .... two drachms. 
 
 Water gruel, . . . one pint. 
 
 This may be repeated next day, without the oil, and 
 doubling the quantity of aloes. After this, if you think 
 it necessary, you can give a stronger purgative, as the 
 following : 
 
 Recipe No. 60. 
 
 PURGATIVE. 
 
 Barbadoes aloes, . six or eight drachms. 
 Oil of caraway, . ten drops. 
 
 With enough mucilage for one ball, or it may be 
 given as a drench ; whenever balls are too large, they 
 must be divided, and given in smaller doses. 
 
 DISTEMPER, OR CATARRH. 
 
 If your horse has the distemper, burn some tar under 
 his nose, and let the smoke get into his nostrils plenti- 
 fully; it will cause it to break and discharge freely, and 
 in most cases, with proper care, the animal will soon be 
 
A COLD. 57 
 
 well ; but should the discharge not stop in due time, 
 give the following powder : 
 
 Recipe No. 61. 
 
 POWDER. 
 
 Fenugreek, . . . half pound. 
 
 half pound, 
 half pound, 
 half pound, 
 four ounces. 
 
 Blue vitriol, 
 Alum, 
 Rosin, 
 Ginger, 
 
 Grind all fine, and give a tablespoonful two or three 
 times a day ; this powder is good for all discharges 
 from the nose that are not glanderous, and may be 
 used in place of Recipe No. 28. The reader had better 
 turn back and see what is said under the heading, na- 
 sal gleet. (See Index.) 
 
 A COLD. 
 
 This is very common, and often too much neglected. 
 Horses are more apt to take cold after the shedding of 
 their coat, or by being worked hard and over-heated, 
 and suffered to stand in, or be otherwise exposed to 
 cold, disagreeable weather. If the owners of horses 
 would consider, that chronic cough, broken wind, con- 
 sumption, heaves, inflammation of the lungs, or lung 
 fever, etc., are attributable to severe or neglected cold, 
 they would perhaps pay more attention to it than they 
 generally do. 
 
 The symptoms of common cold are, a dullness and 
 weeping of the eyes, a mucous or watery discharge from 
 the nostrils, a swelling about the jaws and ears, and 
 
58 horseman's companion. 
 
 sometimes a slight cough, a heaving at the flanks and 
 loss of appetite. In mild attacks, the cold will soon 
 pass off, by clothing him comfortably, and giving a few 
 bran mashes, and it may be better to give a tablespoon- 
 ful of the following, twice a day with the food, or 
 otherwise : 
 
 Recipe No. 62. 
 
 Powdered squills, . . one ounce. 
 
 " liquorice, . . one ounce. 
 
 Ginger, . . . . two ounces. 
 
 If the animal is strong and there are any inflamma- 
 tory symptoms, bleeding would do him good. If there 
 is much swelling of the glands, a bran poultice may be 
 applied, or hot flannels that have been dipped in boil- 
 ing water, but the coat should be rubbed dry when 
 the flannels come off. 
 
 COUGH 
 
 Sometimes remains after all the other symptoms of 
 the last mentioned disorder, have nearly or quite dis- 
 appeared ) when that is the case, give the following 
 ball: 
 
 Recipe No. 63. 
 
 Assafetida, . 
 Liquorice powder, 
 Sulphur, 
 Turpentine, 
 
 one ounce, 
 one ounce, 
 half an ounce, 
 one ounce 
 
 Mix, and divide into four doses, and give one every 
 night for four nights. Let him have moderate exercise, 
 
COUGH. 59 
 
 and light, cooling diet. If the coughing does not abate, 
 after giving the above a fair trial, give the following : 
 
 Recipe No. 64. 
 
 Liquorice powder, . . two drachms. 
 
 Nitre, .... two drachms. 
 
 Digitalis, .... half drachm. 
 
 Tartar emetic, . • . one drachm. 
 
 Made into one or two balls with tar, and give all at 
 one dose. 
 
 If there is a tendency to costiveness, the bowels 
 should be kept in a proper open state, by a mild laxa- 
 tive given for a few days. 
 
 Recipe No. 65. 
 LAXATIVE BALL. 
 
 Aloes, . . two or three drachms. 
 
 Ipecacuanha, . one and a-half drachms. 
 
 Mix with liquorice powder for one dose. 
 
 By examining what is here laid down, and what is 
 said under the last heading, it is to be hoped that the 
 practitioner will succeed. As the cough and accompany- 
 ing symptoms disappear, a few doses of the cleansing 
 powders (page 51) will assist in improving the animal's 
 condition. 
 
60 horseman's companion. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OP THE LUNGS, OR LUNG 
 FEVER. 
 
 Former writers have considered this disorder under 
 the heading of pneumonia, or inflammation of the lungs ; 
 but it is generally known throughout the "West" as 
 lung fever. It is brought on by all the causes that 
 produce cold, which will be found a few pages back ; 
 but the attack, in the present case, is more severe, and, 
 probably, at a time when the animal is somewhat out 
 of condition, or laboring under the effect of constitu- 
 tional debility, and, consequently, less able to withstand 
 the severity of the sudden check given to the circula- 
 tion. 
 
 The symptoms follow each other rapidly— shivering, 
 difficulty of breathing, loss of appetite, and sluggishness, 
 quick action of the flanks, as if laboring to force the 
 blood through the clogged vessels of the lungs, accom- 
 panied by hot mouth, and sometimes a hectic cough. 
 The ears and legs become cold ; he stands stiff, and 
 cares not to lie down ; or, being down, he rises lan- 
 guidly, as if mourning his fate. In the first place, the 
 horse must be bled plentifully, which will tend to keep 
 
LUNG FEVER. 61 
 
 off the inflammation which is so rapidly approaching 
 the lungs. Place him out of the wind or current of air, 
 but in a place where he can inhale pure air ; and clothe 
 him comfortably according to the season. Rub his legs 
 well with the hand, or with straw, in order to restore 
 the circulation and consequent heat ; and clothe them 
 with straw, not tied too tight. There is too much 
 sympathy between the lungs and the intestines to give 
 strong purgative medicines, but give that medicine 
 which will diminish the frequency of the pulse, and 
 allay the irritability of the system, and the following 
 will be found the best for that purpose : 
 
 Recipe No. 66. 
 
 Tartar emetic, . one and a half drachms. 
 Digitalis, (powdered,) one drachm. 
 Nitre, . . . three drachms. 
 
 Mix well ; make into a ball with linseed meal for one 
 dose. This ball should be given two or three times a 
 day, until the worst symptoms begin to disappear. It 
 should then be given once or twice a day only. While 
 this treatment is going on, great benefit may be derived 
 from injections of warm soap suds, and a little salt, 
 into the rectum. 
 
 If the animal was previously well kept, and strong, 
 or should the pulsation and other inflammatory symp- 
 toms increase, sfter the above treatment; the bleeding 
 must be repeated — say in eight or ten hours after the 
 first bleeding. Though this operation is highly bene- 
 ficial at first, when the animal system is in full vigor, 
 it is extremely dangerous after the inflammation has 
 continued some time. When (the fever continuing) 
 
62 horseman's companion. 
 
 weakness is indicated by swelling of the legs, or nature 
 seeks to relieve itself by a running at the nostrils, it 
 should be borne in mind by every practitioner, that 
 whenever the animal is found in this feeble, worn-out, 
 and exhausted condition, that however necessary it 
 might have been to take blood at first, the time has now 
 past, and the operation of bleeding would only hasten 
 his end. 
 
 In addition to the treatment just laid down, roweling 
 between the fore legs and blistering about the breast are 
 employed. It is a matter of doubt as to whether the rowel 
 would act in time, but early blistering might assist in 
 bringing the inflammation from the lungs to the surface; 
 for this purpose turpentine and the tincture of Spanish 
 flies, or recipe No. 55 may be used. The horse may be 
 encouraged to take warm gruel, but not cold water with- 
 out spirits of nitre in it; nitre will neutralize the tem- 
 perature of the water. 
 
 It is to be hoped that the disease will give way by 
 persevering in the treatment laid down ; then he should 
 have nourishing food until he regains his strength. In- 
 flammatory disorders leave behind them a good share of 
 weakness, which may require the aid of medicine to 
 restore. The following will assist in restoring the ap- 
 petite, and also the power of the digestive organs : 
 
 Recipe No. 67. 
 TONIC BALL. 
 
 Chamomile, . . . two drachms. 
 Gentian, . . . four drachms. 
 
 Gringer, .... one drachm. 
 Make into a ball with palm oil, and give one a day, 
 or every other day, as you think it necessary. 
 
CONSUMPTION. 63 
 
 CONSUMPTION. 
 
 This is generally brought on by some of the diseases 
 just mentioned, as severe colds, inflammation of the lungs, 
 and other diseases severally incurred, and when the ani- 
 mal is yet weak and laboring under the effects of some 
 ill-cured disorder he is put to work beyond his power. 
 Some horses have weaker constitutions than others, and 
 consequently their over-taxed powers will, sooner or later, 
 most assuredly give way under these combined influ- 
 ences. Narrow or weak chested horses are more liable 
 to be attacked by inflammation of the lungs, and it goes 
 much harder with them than horses with a deep, full 
 chest. The lungs are deficient in bulk according to the 
 diminished contents of the chest, and are over-worked 
 in supplying the quantity of arterial blood expended in 
 the various purposes of life; inflammation of the lungs 
 has consequently ensued and acquired an intense char- 
 acter, under circumstances by which other or stronger 
 horses would be scarcely affected. 
 
 Consumption being generally the effect of some other 
 disease, is attended with inflammation in the pleura and 
 the lungs, terminating in a suppuration of those parts 
 which is ejected at the nostrils, accompanied by a cough 
 which increases insensibly. The horse has some appe- 
 tite till the disease has come to a certain period, when 
 he wastes rapidly. 
 
 Whatever good may be done will depend upon cir- 
 cumstances: if you give the animal more work to do 
 than he is able to perform with ease, you will only 
 hasten his end, for medicine would not save him; but 
 if you will give him such light work only as he is able 
 to do, he may last some time and be of considerable 
 
64 
 
 service. Let him have an occasional run at grass, and 
 when at work give him nourishing food, remembering 
 that he is not able to sustain any great exertion ; if, 
 however, you find there is undue excitement, cough, or 
 running at the nose, give the following: 
 
 Recipe No, 68* 
 
 » 
 
 Liquorice, (powdered,^ . one drachm. 
 Digitalis, . . . . one drachm. 
 Nitre, .... three drachms. 
 
 Mix for one dose ; or you may give the following if 
 there is much coughing : 
 
 Recipe No* 69* 
 
 Powdered squills, . . one ounce. 
 
 Cream of tartar, . . . one ounce. 
 Ginger, .... two ounces. 
 
 Give a tablespoonful once or twice a day in wet bran 
 or otherwise. 
 
 For further information, see what is said under the 
 heading cough, a few pages back. 
 
 THICK WIND, BROKEN WIND, OR ROARING. 
 
 This disorder is generally brought on by inflamma- 
 tion of the organs of respiration ; it consists in short, 
 frequent and laborious breathings, and especially when 
 the animal is in exercise. A horse laboring under any 
 inflammatory affection of the lungs, is thick-winded, 
 because the pain which he feels in the act of breathing 
 will not permit him to respire deeply, and therefore he 
 must breathe quickly. 
 
 Sometimes there is previous inflammation of the 
 
THICK WIND, BROKEN WIND, OR ROARING. 65 
 
 bronchial passages ; the throwing out of some fluid, 
 which is capable of coagulation, is the result ; this de- 
 posit in the substance of the lungs, or in the bronchial 
 tubes, from inflammation of those organs, must close 
 many of the air-cells, and lessen the dimensions of 
 others. Then, if the cells, fewer in number and con- 
 tracted in size, be left for the purposes of breathing, 
 the rapid and laborious action of the lungs must supply 
 the deficiency. The examination of thick winded horses 
 after death, has thrown some light on the nature of the 
 disease. In the majority of instances, some of the 
 small air-cells have been found filled up with a dense 
 substance of a blue or darker color ; in others, the 
 minute passages leading to the cells have been dimin- 
 ished, and almost obliterated, the linings of these 
 passages being unnaturally thickened or covered with 
 hardened mucus ; and where neither of these appear- 
 ances could be observed, the lining of the cells has 
 exhibited evident marks of inflammation, so that abso- 
 lute pain prevented the full expansion or contraction of 
 the lungs. 
 
 Thick wind is often the forerunner of broken wind. 
 For, if so much labor is necessary to contract the air- 
 cells and to force out the wind, and the lungs work so 
 rapidly and so violently in effecting this; some of the 
 cells, weakened by disease, will probably be ruptured. 
 
 Broken wind may, however, occur without much pre- 
 vious disease. If the horse is a gross feeder, and fills 
 his stomach with provender that occupies a great bulk, 
 and contains little nourishment, the lungs are squeezed 
 into a less than natural compass. Let the horse be now 
 suddenly and smartly exercised, more blood must be 
 purified, and in the violent effort to accomplish this, 
 6 
 
66 horseman's companion. 
 
 some of the air-cells give way. Therefore, we do not 
 find broken-winded horses on the race-course, for al- 
 though every exertion of speed is required from them, 
 their food lies in a small compass, and the stomach is 
 not distended, and the lungs have room to play, and 
 care is taken that their exertion shall be required when 
 the stomach is nearly empty. 
 
 This disease depends as much upon the cramped 
 state of the lungs, from the pressure of an over-gorged 
 stomach in the ordinary state of the animal, as on the 
 effects of over exertion. Horses that eat their litter, 
 and what other hard substances they come near, are 
 similarly predisposed to broken wind, namely: by the 
 great distension of the stomach and inability of in- 
 spiring a sufficient quantity of air to fill the lungs, 
 whence the inert cells, or the portion not distended, fill 
 up, contract, and become useless, or, upon sudden action 
 and over distension, they burst at once. 
 
 The most that can be done for thick or broken-winded 
 horses, must be effected by way of management, or as 
 it is more generally termed, by regimen. Of course, 
 you must avoid exposing the animal to fresh cold, and 
 not push him too hard on a full stomach, for it may 
 have been by this means, that the malady was brought 
 on, therefore, his feeding and exercise must be as much 
 as possible, regulated on moderate principles. Bracing 
 air, and regular hard meat feeding — broken or sodden — 
 and given in small quantities, will do more for the 
 horse than physic of any sort. 
 
 When the animal seems to labor much in breathing, 
 or the cough is troublesome, give the following : 
 
HEAVES, THUMPS, PALPITATION. 67 
 
 Recipe No. 70. 
 
 Squills powdered, . . one drachm. 
 Gum ammoniacum, . . three drachms. 
 Opium, .... one or two drachms. 
 
 With mucilage for one ball. 
 
 If the animal swallows his corn without grinding it, 
 as commonly happens, bruised or sodden oats should be 
 given, and the bowels discharged by mild purgatives. 
 
 Recipe No. 71. 
 
 MILD PURGATIVE. 
 
 Barbadoes aloes, in fine powder, six drachms. 
 G-inger, in fine powder, one drachm. 
 
 Give in the most convenient form, at one dose, and 
 let him have small quantities of water at a time, and 
 frequently. 
 
 HEAVES— THUMPS— PALPITATION. 
 
 These are only the most popular names, with some 
 people, for some of the disorders I have 'treated of — as 
 cough, inflammation of the lungs or lung fever, con- 
 sumption, broken wind, etc., etc. Horses, whose consti- 
 tutions have been weakened by previous or ill-cured dis- 
 eases, or whose constitutions are naturally weak, are ex- 
 erted beyond their powers, and the result is heaves, 
 thumps, palpitation, or other unpleasant symptoms; all 
 of which I have endeavored to describe in their proper 
 place, as may be found by referring to the internal or 
 inflammatory disorders as laid down in this work. 
 
68 
 
 SCRATCHES. 
 
 One of the causes that produce this disorder, is stand- 
 ing in dirty stables, and if it is not soon cured, it may 
 terminate in the grease. If the animal is in good keep, 
 bleed him ; if there is a tendency to costiveness, give 
 from five to eight drachms of aloes, and wash the fet- 
 lock joints with warm soap suds, and then with beef 
 brine. If a few applications do n't cure, try the follow- 
 ing: 
 
 Recipe No. 72. 
 
 Alcohol, . . . half pint. 
 
 Beef brine, . . half pint. 
 
 Urine, . . . half pint, 
 
 Burnt alum, . . one tablespoonful. 
 
 Mix well, and bottle for use, and bathe the parts, after 
 washing with Castile soap suds. 
 
 GEEASE 
 
 This disease is brought on by want of proper clean- 
 ing, and by washing the horse's legs when they are hot, 
 and letting him stand without rubbing them dry, or by 
 a bad state of the blood. The symptoms are a swelling 
 at the heels, mostly of the hind legs, and soon followed 
 by a slight issue of greasy matter, which soon becomes 
 offensive. 
 
 Treatment. — If the horse be full of flesh, it might 
 be proper to bleed him, and if there are signs of costive- 
 ness, he must have a mild purge, and repeated when 
 necessary. 
 
GREASE. 69 
 
 Recipe No. 73. 
 
 PURGATIVE. 
 
 Aloes, . . .six to eight drachms. 
 Hard soap, . . two drachms. 
 Ginger, . . . two drachms. 
 
 Mix for one dose, and give with warm water, or as a 
 ball. The legs should be washed with warm soap suds, 
 and with a brush get rid of as much of the running as 
 possible, and after drying it well with cloths, use the fol- 
 lowing wash : 
 
 Recipe No. 74. 
 
 WASH FOR GREASE. 
 
 Goulard's extract, . . . two ounces. 
 Sulphate of zinc, . . two ounces. 
 
 Water, .... one quart. 
 
 Mix and wash the part two or three times a day; or, 
 if there is no great inflammation, use the following 
 wash: 
 
 Recipe No. 75. 
 
 Alum, .... two ounces. 
 
 Sugar of lead, . . . two ounces. 
 
 Vinegar, .... two ounces, 
 
 Water, .... one pint. 
 
 Mix and use as the above. 
 
 When the disease has lasted a long time, there ap- 
 pears scurf and cracks about the heels. When that is 
 the case, use the following : 
 
 Recipe No. 76. 
 
 Blue vitriol, . two or three drachms. 
 Alum, . . three drachms. 
 
70 horseman's companion. 
 
 Dissolve them in a pint of water, and use as directed 
 above, after the legs have been cleaned. 
 
 When the inflammation has been subdued, and the 
 cracks begin to look healthy, use the first wash, No. 74, 
 twice a day; or, if that should be too stimulating, use 
 the following ointment 
 
 Recipe No. 77.1 
 HEALING OINTMENT. 
 
 Lard or palm oil, . . two pounds. 
 Rosin, .... half pound. 
 
 Melt them together, and when almost cold, add half a 
 pound of calamine powder, well rubbed in. Apply after 
 cleaning. 
 
 SURFEIT. 
 
 Gross feeding, as well as the effects of an ill-cured 
 disease, will produce what is called surfeit. The skin 
 will sometimes be covered with dandruff ; and pimples 
 or lumps will appear, and sometimes peel off, or rubbed 
 off by the animal, on account of the itching that attends 
 them. This disorder is sometimes traced to the immo- 
 derate drinking of cold water when the animal was hot. 
 It is obstruction of some of the pores of the skin, and 
 swelling of the surrounding substance, either from pri- 
 mary affection of the skin, or from its sympathy with the 
 digestive organs. 
 
 Treatment. — If the pulse is high, he must be bled, 
 and give a mild purgative, (see Recipe No. 73.) Should 
 moisture be found to discharge from the lumps, wash 
 with the following : 
 
MANGE. 71 
 
 Recipe No. 78. 
 SURFEIT WASH. 
 
 Blue vitriol, . . . one ounce. 
 Camphor, . . . half an ounce. 
 
 Spirits of wine, . . two ounces. 
 
 Mix in a quart bottle, and fill it with water. Wash 
 with warm water and soap first, and rub dry, and apply 
 the above wash once a day. Let the diet be cool and 
 opening, as scalded bran or sodden oats; and if the 
 horse is low in flesh, mix an ounce of fenugreek seeds 
 with his food daily, for a fortnight, and see that he has 
 moderate exercise. 
 
 MANGE. 
 
 The symptoms and causes of this disorder are partly 
 laid down, in the preceding page, for it sometimes fol- 
 lows an ill-cured surfeit. But it is, besides, an original 
 disease, arising from filthiness, hard living, ill-usage, 
 and the consequent depraved state of the system. It 
 is contagious, and may be communicated by means of 
 the touch, or using the same harness, or standing in 
 the same stall that a diseased horse had left. As in 
 surfeit, the horse is constantly rubbing and biting 
 himself. Great patches of the coat are thus rubbed 
 away, and ulceration frequently supplies the places. 
 Scabs appear at the roots of the hair of mane and tail, 
 large portions whereof fall away. When eruptions 
 appear, they form a scurf, which peels off, and it is 
 succeeded by fresh eruptions. 
 
 The propriety of bleeding, in cases of mange, must 
 
72 horseman's companion. 
 
 depend on the condition of the animal. If poverty is 
 the cause, and the animal is much debilitated, bleeding 
 would be adding power to the cause of the disease ; but 
 physic must be used, and mercury seems to have more 
 power in this disease than aloes. 
 
 Recipe No. 79. 
 
 Muriate of quicksilver, . one drachm. 
 
 Tartarized antimony, . . one ounce. 
 
 Gringer, (powdered,) . . three ounces. 
 
 Anise seeds, (powdered,) . two ounces. 
 
 Mix into one mass, with mucilage, and divide into 
 six balls, and give one every morning until the erup- 
 tion disappears. Also use the following : 
 
 Recipe No. 80. 
 
 MANGE OINTMENT. 
 
 Flour of sulphur, . . half pound. 
 Train oil or lard, . . one pound. 
 
 White hellebore, (powdered,) three ounces. 
 
 Mix with turpentine enough to make a soft ointment, 
 and rub the animal, wherever the eruption and scurf 
 appear, with a brush or hair cloths, so as to get rid of 
 the loose filth before applying the ointment. Rub it in 
 well every other day; or, if the disease is very obstinate, 
 you might change sometimes for the surfeit wash, (Re- 
 cipe No. 78 ;) and also use the following, instead of con- 
 tinuing Recipe No. 79 : 
 
 Recipe No. 81. 
 ALTERATIVE FOR MANGE. 
 
 Black antimony, (powdered,) six ounces. 
 Grains of paradise, (powdered,) two ounces. 
 
HIDE-BOUND. 73 
 
 Mix, and add turpentine enough to form the mass, 
 and divide into about nine balls, and give one daily, 
 while the rubbing is going on. 
 
 Give moderate exercise, and do not expose the animal 
 to wet weather. 
 
 HIDE-BOUND. 
 
 This is not properly a disease, but sometimes the 
 effect or remains of disease. It is also produced by bad 
 digestion, and sometimes by poverty. It is necessary 
 to know what brought it on, for the cure is generally a 
 contrary treatment to that which produced it. If the 
 stomach is empty, as is often the case, give plenty of 
 food that is easy of digestion, and use the curry-comb 
 and brush plentifully. If it come from other disorders, 
 or from impaired digestive organs, let his work be light, 
 and give the cleansing powders as directed, (page 51.) 
 If very costive, give the following : 
 
 Recipe No. 82. 
 PURGATIVE. 
 
 Aloes, .... twelve drachms. 
 Hard soap, , . . four drachms. 
 
 Ginger, .... four drachms. 
 
 Mix, and make into three balls, and give one a day, 
 until they bring away an easy stool. 
 
 When the practitioner thinks the animal requires a 
 strong purge, one-half the above recipe may be given 
 at a dose. 
 
 If the hide-bound is caused by worms, give worm 
 medicine, which will be found under the next heading. 
 
74 horseman's companion. 
 
 WORMS 
 
 Worms of different kinds inhabit the intestines, but 
 unless they exist in large quantities, they are not so 
 hurtful as is generally supposed. The long white worm 
 much resembling the common earth-worm, and being 
 from six to twelve inches long, inhabits the small intes- 
 tines, and if there are many of them, they may consume 
 more than can be spared of the nutritive part of the 
 food, or the mucus of the bowels. Sometimes there is 
 tight skin, rough coat, and tucked up belly, connected 
 with their presence. 
 
 There is a smaller, darker colored worm, called the 
 needle-worm, inhabits the larger intestines. These are 
 a greater nuisance than the former, for they sometimes 
 descend into the rectum in large quantities, and cause 
 a very troublesome irritation about the fundament, which 
 sadly annoys the animal. Physic will sometimes bring 
 away great numbers of these worms, but when there is 
 mucla irritation about the tail, and much of this mucus 
 indicating that they have descended into the rectum, 
 an injection of a pint and a half of linseed oil, or of an 
 ounce of aloes dissolved in warm water, will be a more 
 effectual remedy; in the absence of oil or aloes, use 
 plenty of strong soap suds. If you find it necessary to 
 give internal medicines, the following will be as safe as 
 any to be effectual. 
 
 Recipe No. 83. 
 
 Calomel, . < . one and a half drachms 
 Anise seeds, . . two drachms. 
 Ginger, . . . three drachms. 
 
BOTS. 75 
 
 Mix well, and divide into two doses, and give one dose 
 at night; if it does not operate well the next day, give 
 the other dose at night, and if it does not operate plen- 
 tifully by the following morning, give a pint or pint 
 and a half of linseed oil. Keep the animal out of the 
 wet while the medicine is in him. 
 
 BOTS. 
 
 In the summer, there is what is called the gad-fly, 
 seen flying about the horse, and depositing their eggs 
 on the hair ; the horse in licking himself touches the 
 eggs ; they burst, and a small worm escapes, which, 
 sticks to the tongue, and is conveyed with the food to 
 the stomach, and it clings, by means of a hook on each 
 side of its mouth, to the inside of the stomach, and its 
 hold is so firm and so obstinate, that they will some- 
 times be broken before they will be detached; they 
 have been known to eat through and destroy the horse. 
 When the horse is suffering from the bots, he fre- 
 quently lies down, and looks round at his side, his 
 countenance expressive of great pain, and his upper lip 
 is sometimes turned up. Take 
 
 Recipe No. 84. 
 
 Sweet milk, .... one pint. 
 
 Molasses, . . . . one pint. 
 
 And drench the horse, and in half hour after, give 
 one quart of warm sage tea, and in three-quarters of an 
 hour, give a pint or pint and a half of linseed oil, or 
 you can boil the sage and milk together, and sweeten 
 
76 horseman's companion. 
 
 with molasses, and give at once, and the oil after as 
 stated above ; this is generally the best and easiest way 
 to get rid of the bots ; but should they require stronger 
 medicine, give Recipe No. 83, as recommended in the 
 preceding page, for worms. 
 
 MALIGNANT EPIDEMIC. 
 
 Sometimes the distemper assumes a very malignant 
 character, the discharges become very offensive, and it 
 runs its course with fearful rapidity. When this is the 
 case, do not bleed or purge, without there are evident 
 inflammatory symptoms, or costiveness. 
 
 Recipe No. 85. 
 
 Gentian, (powdered,) . four drachms. 
 
 Chamomile, . , . two drachms. 
 
 Ginger, .... one drachm. 
 
 Laudanum, . .. . four drachms. 
 
 Mix for one dose, and give as a drink once or twice 
 a day, until the worst symptoms disappear, and then give 
 the powder (Recipe No. 61.) for distemper. If there is 
 any offensive ulcers about the nostrils or other parts of 
 the horse, wash them With a solution of the chloride 
 of lime — two or three drachms of the lime to one quart 
 of water. 
 
 CHEST POUNDER. 
 
 This is a rheumatic affection of the muscles of the 
 breast, and much like the rheumatism in man. It is 
 
BIG HEAD. 77 
 
 sometimes hereditary, and sometimes produced by ex- 
 posure in bad weather, and other ill usage. 
 
 Recipe No. 86. 
 
 LINIMENT. 
 
 Take two ounces of gum camphor, and dissolve it in 
 half a pint of alcohol, then add four drachms spirits 
 of hartshorn, one gill of turpentine, and half pint of 
 linseed oil. Mix well, and rub the affected parts. 
 
 BIG HEAD. 
 
 This is a disease of frequent occurrence in the West, 
 and it affects the horse in every part of the system \ 
 but the jaws seem to be its location, where it produces 
 an enlargement. If it is not stopped in time, the horse 
 becomes stiff all over, and the large muscles leading 
 from the eye to the nostril become perfectly rigid. 
 
 Recipe No. 87. 
 STRONG EMBROCATION. 
 
 Aqua ammonia, . . . two ounces. 
 
 Spirits turpentine, . . two ounces. 
 
 Cantharides, (tinct.,) . . two ounces. 
 
 Oil cedar, .... two ounces. 
 
 Mix, and rub on the enlarged part with a brush, and 
 heat it in with a hot iron. Do this once a day for 
 several days ; and if you find it makes too much of a 
 blister, you can stop it by rubbing on lard or oil. 
 Give a tablespoonful of saltpetre every second or third 
 day. Another remedy is : 
 
78 
 
 Recipe No. 88. 
 
 Corrosive sublimate, . . one ounce. 
 
 Grum camphor, . . . one ounce. 
 
 Alcohol, .... one pint. 
 
 Origanum, .... one ounce. 
 
 Mix, and when dissolved it is ready for use. Give 
 one or two tablespoonsful of sulphur every day; or you 
 can take a piece of poke root, about twice the size of 
 a hen's egg, put in six quarts of water, and boil down 
 to three quarts, and give the horse one pint of it every 
 other day as long as it lasts. Mix a pint of fresh 
 water with each pint of tea as you give it. This is said 
 to be an excellent medicine, and may be given in place 
 of the saltpetre or sulphur ; but the enlargement should 
 be anointed with one of the mixtures every day, for 
 several days, and the animal should be kept out of wet 
 weather. 
 
 Another remedy for the big head is as follows : 
 
 Touch the parts most enlarged with aquafortis, and 
 let it remain long enough to produce inflammation. If 
 too much is applied, and the burning causes too severe 
 pain, or is likely to go too deep, it may be stopped 
 by applying a little lard or oil. In obstinate cases, a 
 second or third application may be necessary, but not 
 until the first has healed, and showed evident signs of 
 not effecting a cure. It seldom happens, however, that 
 a second application is necessary. The aquafortis is 
 usually applied, with a feather or sponge, on each side 
 of the jaw, and on each side of the face, between the 
 eyes and nostrils. 
 
 Another remedy is : To cut through the skin over 
 the enlargement. Take four or five grains of white 
 
STIFF COMPLAINT. 79 
 
 arsenic, in a small piece of paper or muslin, and put it 
 all under the skin, and take a stitch, if necessary, to 
 keep it in. In a short time the face will swell ; and in 
 a few weeks the diseased part around the arsenic will 
 slough off, and leave an ugly place. The part may be 
 washed, occasionally, with a weak solution of blue 
 vitriol — an ounce ; reduce it to a powder, and dissolve 
 it in a pint of water. If there is any fungus, a little 
 of the powder may be sprinkled over the sore, (see 
 Recipes 92, 93.) The arsenic is a severe remedy, and 
 should only be applied in extreme cases. 
 
 STIFF COMPLAINT. 
 
 This is another disease known in the Western States, 
 and is, by some, attributed to the continual feeding of 
 corn ; but I think it may also be brought on by the 
 animal being worked hard and over heated, and in this 
 condition suffered to stand in, or be otherwise exposed 
 to the cold, piercing wind peculiar to the western coun- 
 try. It is this sudden check given to the circulation, 
 that produces the following most prominent symptoms 
 of this disorder, namely: a clogging or obstruction of 
 the free passage of the blood, a stoppage of the pores 
 of the skin, and consequent paralysis or loss of action. 
 The horse is sometimes stiff in one leg, when it will 
 suddenly change to the other, and soon, if not relieved, 
 will become stiff all over; and thus will these peculiar 
 symptoms appear, until the disease seems to settle in 
 the joints — particularly the lower joints of the legs, 
 which become entirely useless. 
 
80 horseman's companion. 
 
 Treatment. — ■ The amount of bleeding should he 
 regulated according to the strength of the animal; some 
 blood, however, should be taken, and the orifice should 
 be large, so as to let the clogged blood pass out. In 
 the mean time have a tub of warm soap suds ready, and 
 the horse in a comfortable place, out of the draught of 
 air, and wash him all over, and rub him perfectly dry, 
 and clothe him comfortably, according to the weather. 
 This operation should be done thoroughly and in good 
 earnest ; and it would be best to repeat it, taking care 
 to rub dry every time, and to have the suds as hot as 
 he can bear. 
 
 Recipe No. 89. 
 
 Oil of sassafras, . . . one ounce. 
 Spirits of turpentine, . . one ounce. 
 Gin, . . . . . half pint. 
 
 Mix, and give at one dose, and repeat in four or five 
 hours unless a free circulation is already produced. This 
 having been done, give the following powder: 
 
 Recipe No. 90. 
 
 Madder, . . quarter of a pound. 
 
 Sulphur, . . quarter of a pound. 
 
 Fenugreek, . . quarter of a pound. 
 
 Mix, and give two tablespoonsful twice a day for a 
 few days, and then one spoonful once or twice a day, 
 until the horse gets a good appetite and fine coat; and 
 do not put the horse to work before he has thoroughly 
 recovered. 
 
 I will here say, should costiveness appear at any time, 
 the other medicine should be withheld until the bowels 
 are opened, which may be done by giving six or eight 
 
POLL EVIL. 81 
 
 drachms of aloes, or Recipe No. 82, and rub the affected 
 part with the liniment. Recipe No. 86. 
 
 POLL EVIL. 
 
 This is often caused by bruises about the head, either 
 from accident, carelessness, or brutality; and is first dis- 
 coverable by inflammation, tenderness, and swelling 
 about the poll. As soon as the swelling is discovered, 
 and before matter begins to form, it may be dispersed 
 or driven back by the following: 
 
 Recipe No. 91. 
 
 Alcohol, . . . . half pint. 
 
 Goulard's extract, . . two drachms. 
 
 Turpentine, . . . two ounces. 
 
 Gum camphor, . . . four drachms. 
 
 Mix, and when dissolved, it is ready for use. Apply 
 once or twice a day. If it blisters, grease it with lard 
 or oil. 
 
 Another remedy. — Take a small white lead keg, or 
 other small vessel open at one end, and put in, say half 
 full of soft soap, boiling hot, then tie three or four 
 thicknesses of heavy cotton cloth over the open end, and 
 turn the keg bottom upward on the poll, and hold it 
 there three or four minutes ; three or four applications 
 are sufficient. The horse should have a twitch on, and 
 a loop over the knee, so that he can not put his foot to 
 the ground, or confined in some way while the operation 
 is going on. 
 
 If our efforts fail to disperse the swelling, or as soon 
 as it is found that matter is beginning to form, we 
 
82 
 
 should pursue a contrary course to that just laid down, 
 and do all we can to hasten the process of ripening. 
 Poultices of linseed-meal with an ounce or two of tur- 
 pentine added, or any other good poultice should be 
 applied, and when the tumor becomes soft, and the prer 
 sence of matter is no longer a doubt, it should be imme- 
 diately opened. This having been done, the abscess 
 should be carefully examined with a probe, and the 
 deepest part of it ascertained, and through that a seton 
 or rowell should be passed, coming out on the side of the 
 neck below the tumor ; this will allow the matter to run 
 out as fast as it is formed, and the inside will be kept in 
 a healthy state. Setons should be passed in this way 
 through every distinct pipe or sinus; make the lower 
 opening large and free. The wound should be kept 
 clean with warm soap suds, and if it assumes an un- 
 healthy appearance, it should be washed with the fol- 
 lowing lotion, using a sponge: 
 
 Recipe No. 92. 
 
 MILD CAUSTIC WASH FOR WOUNDS. 
 
 Blue vitriol, powdered, . two ounces, 
 Dissolved in a quart of water. 
 
 If fungus or proud flesh spring up, and this wash is 
 not strong enough to repress it, the vitriol may be in- 
 creased, or a powder may be lightly sprinkled over the 
 sore. 
 
 Recipe No. 93* 
 
 CAUSTIC POWDER FOR WOUNDS. 
 
 Sugar of lead,. . . ) equal part8< 
 
 Verdigris, . . .3 
 
 Mix and rub them till they become a fine powder; a 
 
FISTULA IN THE WITHERS. 83 
 
 little of this powder may be sprinkled over the fungus 
 granulations, and the wound may be covered with a 
 pledget of tow or lint dipped in the mild caustic wash. 
 If costiveness appear, give Recipe No. 82, or six or 
 eight drachms of aloes. 
 
 FISTULA IN THE WITHERS. 
 
 This requires the same treatment as the poll evil, and 
 the reader will turn back one page, and see the treat- 
 ment there laid down. I will add, however, in addition 
 to what is there said, that when the swelling first makes 
 its appearance, and before any matter is formed, it may 
 sometimes be cured by roweling each shoulder just be- 
 low the swelling. Keep the parts clean with warm soap 
 suds, and wet the rowel with the following stimulating 
 liniment once a day, to promote the running : 
 
 Recipe No. 94. 
 
 STIMULATING LINIMENT. 
 
 Origanum, .... four ounces. 
 Turpentine, . . . .six ounces. 
 G-um camphor, . . . two drachms. 
 Linseed oil, . . half pint. 
 
 Mix well, and rub the affected parts with it once or 
 twice a day, and move the rowels once or twice a day, 
 to encourage the running, and keep them in two weeks 
 or longer ; but if there is the appearance of matter 
 forming in the swelling, this whole course of treatment 
 must be immediately stopped and a contrary treatment 
 substituted. Suppuration must be encouraged by warm 
 
84 horseman's companion. 
 
 fomentations and poultices, and when the tumor is suf- 
 ficiently ripe, it should be freely opened, and proceed 
 to healing as laid down on page 82 for poll evil. The 
 early remedies there prescribed, are also applicable to 
 fistula in its first stages. 
 
 WARBLES AND SADDLE GALLS. 
 
 Warbles are small tumors resulting from the pressure 
 of the saddle, and when they ulcerate they sometimes 
 become sitfasts. 
 
 If it be practicable, the horse should have rest, or, at 
 all events, the stuffing of the saddle should be so con- 
 trived, that every degree of pressure be removed from 
 the part. Warbles and saddle galls will frequently dis- 
 appear without medical treatment, or by the application 
 of strong salt and water, mixed with a fourth part of 
 tincture of myrrh. If they will not disappear by this 
 treatment, the same means must be adopted, that are 
 recommended for poll evil, namely : at first, try to pre- 
 vent the accumulation of matter by repellants, such as 
 Becipe No. 91, or apply, in the same manner, the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 Recipe No. 95« 
 
 COLD LOTION. 
 
 Alcohol, .... three ounces. 
 
 Superacetate of lead, . two ounces. 
 
 Vinegar, .... three ounces. 
 
 Water, .... half pint. Mix. 
 
 If these should not succeed, adopt the contrary mode 
 of treatment, and bring the tumor forward to suppura- 
 
SITFASTS, HARD TUMORS, ETC. 85 
 
 tion by poultices, and when sufficiently ripe, open with 
 a lancet ; encourage the escape of the offensive matter, 
 and proceed to healing the sore as laid down a few pages 
 back for poll evil. 
 
 SITFASTS, HARD TUMORS, ETC. 
 
 A sitfast is a hard tumor, that has neither matter nor 
 motion in it; and may arise from a gall or bruise, which 
 has produced no inflammation, and consequently no 
 matter has been engendered. It may also come from 
 an ill-cured warble that has closed, leaving a hard, in- 
 sensible swelling behind. If they do not yield to the 
 treatment just laid down for warbles, etc., the parts be- 
 neath must be roused to activity. A strong blister 
 should be applied over the part, as Recipe No. 87; or 
 the following will effect the same end: 
 
 Recipe No. 96. 
 
 OINTMENT FOR SITFAST. 
 
 Blue ointment, . . six ounces. 
 
 Gum ammoniacum, . three ounces. 
 
 Oil of turpentine, . seven ounces. — Mix. 
 
 In a few days, the sitfast will fall off, or may be sepa- 
 rated without difficulty. The wound should be treated 
 as a common sore, and should it heal too fast, and proud 
 flesh appear, apply the caustic wash or powder, (see 
 Recipes 92, 93,) or touch it lightly with lunar caustic. 
 This course of treatment is applicable to all hard tumors; 
 or at first, they may be taken out with a knife in skill- 
 ful hands. 
 
86 horseman's companion. 
 
 WOUNDS. 
 
 When the skin is much torn from the flesh, and you 
 are at hand when the wound is quite fresh, take a needle 
 and small waxed thread, and sew it up. Put the needle in 
 straight, one side over against the other, draw the skin as 
 tight as practicable, (keeping the lips or edges of the 
 wound down,) and tie a knot at every stitch, and cut 
 the thread off. Let the stitches be three-quarters or an 
 inch apart, leaving room for the matter to escape. In 
 deep lacerated wounds, it may sometimes be necessary to 
 remove a few ragged parts before they are brought to- 
 gether ; and they may be of such a nature, or so situated, 
 that a light bandage or sticking-plaster may answer the 
 place of sewing. Whichever be the case, care should 
 be taken that an opening is left in the lowest part of 
 the wound for the matter to escape freely. 
 
 The wound should be cleansed from dirt and extra- 
 neous matter, and if there is inflammation, cooling poul- 
 tices may be applied, but not continued after the inflam- 
 mation is subdued and the parts are beginning to look 
 healthy. If the wound is healing too fast, and proud 
 flesh appear, take. 
 
 Recipe No. 97. 
 
 Red precipitate, . . three drachms. 
 Basilicon, . . . one ounce. 
 
 Mix well, and apply part of it to the proud flesh. 
 This is also good to apply to wounds that look dull and 
 discharge an unhealthy matter. If this is not strong 
 enough to subdue the fungus granulation or proud flesh, 
 apply Recipe No. 93, and if that is not strong enough, 
 touch the parts lightly with lunar caustic, or lay on a 
 
87 
 
 little corrosive sublimate. Must I repeat, that wounds, 
 ulcers, etc., should be kept clean with warm soap suds? 
 Castile soap is best for this purpose ; and when ulcers 
 are very foul, they may be washed with a solution of 
 chloride of lime, say one drachm to a pint of water. 
 For further information, see pages 82 and 85. 
 
 VIVES, OR SWELLING OF THE GLANDS, ETC. 
 
 This is a swelling of the glands under the ear toward 
 the angle of the jaw. It generally comes from a cold, 
 and young horses are more subject to it than old ones. 
 In common cases, the cure may be effected by poulticing 
 the parts, or fomenting with warm water or marsh-mal- 
 lows, and after it has been well dried, clothe the parts to 
 keep off the air. In stubborn cases, bleeding is some- 
 times necessary, with mild purgatives. But whether we 
 bleed or not, it is best to leave open the main road for 
 such humors to escape by. To assist nature, however, 
 employ the following : 
 
 Recipe No. 98. 
 
 LOTION. 
 
 Subacetate of lead, . . one ounce. 
 Salammoniac, . e . half ounce. 
 Vinegar, . . . .six ounces. 
 
 Mix, and rub the part well twice a day. 
 
 Low diet, plenty of water gruel and bran mashes, to 
 which half an ounce of nitre may be added daily, will re- 
 duce the thickened state of the blood, which generally at- 
 tends this species of tumor. But, as in poll evil, warbles, 
 sitfasts, and other swellings, tumors, etc., (a few pages 
 
88 horseman's companion. 
 
 back.) it is sometimes found impossible to remove the 
 vives by this kind of treatment; that is to say, if it is 
 evident that matter is about to form in the tumor, all, 
 our labor is rendered vain, as quite a different treat- 
 ment must be adopted. The animal must be restored 
 to his ordinary diet, and suppuration must be pro- 
 moted, and when sufficiently ripe it must be opened; 
 bread or linseed meal, with chopped onions, will form a 
 good poultice. I have said so much in the last few 
 pages about all manner of swellings, tumors, etc., that 
 it seems like writing the same thing over again, (see 
 poll evil and warbles). If the swelling becomes hard 
 it may be blistered, (see sitfasts.) For purgatives, see 
 Recipe No. 82. 
 
 SPRAINS, BRUISES, ETC. 
 
 The back, shoulders, legs, etc., are liable to sprains ; 
 and they all resemble each other. If the skin is broken, 
 you must examine the treatment just kid down under 
 the heading, wounds. But when the skin is not broken, 
 you must examine whether there is inflammation, and if 
 there is, you must apply cold water, or salt and water, 
 or the following lotion until the inflammation subsides : 
 
 Recipe No 
 
 Laudanum, . 
 Salammoniac, 
 Common salt, 
 Yinegar, 
 Cold water, . 
 
 one ounce, 
 one ounce, 
 six ounces, 
 half pint, 
 one quart. 
 
 Mix well and bathe the parts two or three times a 
 day. 
 
SWEENY, SHOULDER JAM, BIG SHOULDER. 
 
 89 
 
 When there is no inflammation, the following will be 
 found good as a general liniment for man and beast : 
 
 Recipe No. 100. 
 
 GENERAL LINIMENT. 
 
 Oil origanum, . . . one ounce. 
 Gum camphor, . . . one ounce. 
 Hartshorn, .... one ounce. 
 Laudanum, .... one ounce. 
 Turpentine, . . . . one ounce. 
 Linseed oil, . . , .six ounces. 
 
 Mix, and add half pint of good soft soap. 
 The following is also a good liniment for sprains, 
 bruises, etc. 
 
 Recipe No. 101. 
 
 LINIMENT. 
 
 Turpentine, .... half pint. 
 Gum camphor, . . . two drachms. 
 Vinegar, .... half pint. 
 The yolk of three or four eggs. Mix well. 
 
 SWEENY, SHOULDER JAM, BIG SHOULDER. 
 
 For Sweeny rowel just below the affected part, and 
 rub well with the strong embrocation, Recipe No. 87 ; if 
 it blisters, rub on lard or oil. Move the rowels every 
 day, and keep them clean with warm water or soap ; the 
 rowels must be kept in for several weeks, or until the 
 cure is performed, and occasionally wet with turpentine. 
 A friend of mine says, he has tried the following often, 
 and knows it to be a good remedy for shoulder jam or 
 8 
 
90 horseman's companion. 
 
 big shoulder. Take soft soap, one quart; turpentine, one 
 or two tablespoonsful ; mix well, and rub it in well over 
 the parts affected, and in twelve or fifteen hours, apply 
 clay over the parts to prevent its blistering ; in about 
 twenty-four hours, wash the clay off: and repeat the 
 whole operation two or three times, and a cure will be 
 effected. The clay must be mixed with water to such a 
 consistency that it will stick 
 
 SPAVINS, WIND-GALLS, THOROTJGH-PIN, 
 CAPPED HOCKS, CORBS, SPLINTS, RING- 
 BONE, BLISTERING. 
 
 When these enlargements seem to contain a fluid or 
 wind, as blood spavin, capped hock, or wind-galls, they 
 may, if taken in time, be cured by cold discutients, as 
 Recipes No. 98 or 99. But, if not -taken at an early 
 stage, they will require stronger remedies. It is often 
 necessary to blister the parts, or to pass a rowel (seton) 
 through the lower part of the enlargement, or make 
 small punctures through the skin, which may be done 
 by driving^sharp tacks through a thick piece of leather, 
 and then tacking the back of the leather to a small block 
 of wood to prevent the heads of the tacks from pushing 
 back. Apply this to the enlargement and give it a tap, 
 but do n't let the ends of the tacks be longer than just 
 to go through the skin. When the last-named opera- 
 tion, or the seton, is employed, a stimulating liniment 
 should be applied at the same time, and the seton wet 
 with it once a day to make it discharge freely ; it should 
 also be kept clean with warm water and soap. The 
 stimulating liniment, Recipe 94 or 100, will answer for 
 
ROWELS, SETONS. 91 
 
 this purpose. But if you want to use it for blistering, 
 it should be stronger, as Recipe 87, 88 or 96. Either of 
 the above may be applied when the enlargement becomes 
 hard, (callous,) as is often the case with corbs, bone 
 spavin, splints, ringbone, etc. The two last-named, 
 particularly, require strong blistering, and the reader 
 would do well to examine the treatment of sitfasts, big 
 head, etc., for in the last several pages back, I have 
 treated nearly every variety of enlargement or tumor. 
 After the hair is cut off from the part that is to be blis- 
 tered, the following ointment may also be applied with 
 good effect : 
 
 Recipe No. 3 02. 
 
 Biniodide of mercury, . two drachms. 
 Lard, .... two ounces. 
 
 Mix well, and rub about a teaspoonful or less on the 
 enlargement, daily, until it blisters ; when you want to 
 stop the blistering, wash the parts with warm water and 
 soap, and rub on lard or any soft oil. 
 
 Thorough-pin, is an enlargement near the hock, pro- 
 jecting on both sides of the leg ; they are generally soft, 
 like wind-galls, and should be treated as such. 
 
 ROWELS, SETONS. 
 
 Setons are pieces of tape, passed, by means of a sharp 
 instrument or large needle, through abscesses, or the 
 base of ulcers with deep pipes (sinuses), or between the 
 skin and the muscular or other substance beneath. 
 They are retained there by the ends being tied together, 
 or by a knot at each end. The tape is moved in the 
 
92 horseman's companion. 
 
 wound two or three times a day, and occasionally wetted 
 with spirits of turpentine, or some stimulating liniment, 
 in order to increase the inflammation which it produces, 
 or the discharge which is intended to be established. 
 
 In abscesses, such as occur in fistula or poll evil, 
 setons should be passed from the top to the very bottom 
 of the swelling, for except some orifice be made for the 
 matter to flow from the bottom of the wound, it will 
 continue to eat deeper into it, and the healing process 
 would be very difficult to accomplish. 
 
 To form a rowel, the skin is raised between the finger 
 and thumb, and with a sharp knife or lancet, the skin 
 is cut through, and about an inch in length, and the 
 skin is forcibly separated from the substance beneath, 
 until there is a circular cavity two or three inches wide. 
 Into this a piece of tow is inserted, sufficient to fill it, 
 and previously smeared with turpentine or blister oint- 
 ment; this causes considerable inflammation and dis- 
 charge. If a little of the tow be left sticking out of 
 the incision, the discharge will conveniently dribble 
 down it. The tow should be changed every day, with 
 or without the ointment, according to the action of the 
 rowel or the urgency of the case. 
 
 In horse practice, rowels and setons are, it seems, by 
 most people, understood to be the same thing ; it is for 
 that reason, that in recommending rowels or setons 
 throughout this work, I have mostly written rowels. 
 They are intended to produce the same effect — accom- 
 plish the same purpose — but setons may be more effectual 
 as a general thing, because they can be moved about 
 easily in the orifice, to promote the discharge without 
 being taken out, while rowels should be renewed every 
 day. Care should be taken, that the setons are not 
 
STMNGHALT. — FRACTURES. 93 
 
 torn out; they should be washed every day with warm 
 water and soap. For the removal of hard tumors, as 
 sitfasts, bone spavin, splints, etc., a blister is more 
 effectual than setons ; but in soft enlargements, as blood 
 spavin, wind-galls and thorough-pin, setons may be 
 used to advantage. 
 
 STRIETGHALT. 
 
 For this, use Recipe No. 100, twice a day; rub it in 
 well. 
 
 FRACTURES. 
 
 When the shank bone or pastern is fractured, the 
 first thing to be done, is, to get the horse into the stall 
 that he is to remain in, and then the hair should be 
 cut close from the part, and the fractured edges brought, 
 as gently, and as evenly together as possible, and a 
 strong pitch plaster, or any other strong adhesive plas- 
 ter, applied well around the part, and over this another 
 strong linen bandage may be applied, and then bind on 
 splints, before and behind and on each side ; let the 
 splints reach a considerable way above and below the 
 fracture. If the fracture is near a joint, the hollow 
 places should be filled with tow before the splints are 
 applied, in order to give them an equal bearing; and 
 if these are not sufficiently strong, other, longer and 
 stronger splints may be applied over these. A strong 
 piece of canvas may be so arranged under the body, 
 that the animal can bear a portion of his weight upon 
 itj when he is tired of standing; but it is seldom, if 
 
94 horseman's companion. 
 
 ever, necessary to sling a horse, for he could not sur- 
 vive it long. When you are applying the splints, do 
 not let any part of the limb sustain undue pressure, so 
 as to cause inflammation. The bandage over the frac- 
 ture may be occasionally moistened with the cooling 
 lotion, Recipe No. 99, and if at any time there is the 
 appearance of inflammation, the limb should also be 
 bathed freely with cold water. 
 
 MAD DOG BITE, OR HYDROPHOBIA. 
 
 This is a most fearful disorder,' and is caused by the 
 bite of a rabid animal, and most frequently the dog. 
 The poison of the saliva remains in the wound for an 
 uncertain time, varying from three to eight weeks in 
 the horse, and then begins to produce its dreadful effects 
 on the system. The attack is generally sudden ; the 
 animal may be at his usual work, when he will sud- 
 denly stop, tremble, stagger and sometimes fall. This 
 should not be mistaken for the staggers, because the 
 animal is sensible of what is going on, wliich is not the 
 case in staggers, (megrims.) The horse should be led 
 home as soon as possible, and secured, so that he can 
 not do mischief, for the progress of the disease is very 
 rapid, as a writer says: "Sometimes a state of the 
 highest excitation speedily ensues. The horse kicks 
 and plunges in the most violent manner, attempts furi- 
 ously to seize and bite the other horses, or his attend- 
 ants, and will level with the ground every thing before 
 him, himself sweating and snorting and foaming amid 
 the ruins." The eyes become glassy, fiery or red; loss 
 
EATTLESNAKE BITE. 95 
 
 of vision ; tongue sometimes shoved out, and gnashing 
 of the teeth ; the raging symptoms will increase, and 
 the horse will beat himself to death, or he sometimes 
 drops and dies. 
 
 When a horse has been bitten by a mad dog, or other 
 rabid animal, cut out as much of the wound as possible, 
 and apply lunar caustic, or a few drops of muriatic acid, 
 having previously washed the wound with warm vinegar, 
 or a solution of the chloride of lime ; two tablespoons- 
 ful of the chloride of lime, to half a pint of water ; 
 wash the wound often with this solution. Sometimes 
 the acid is put on tow, and bound to the wound. 
 
 Another remedy for the bite of rabid animals, "is, 
 spirits of hartshorn ; the wound should be bathed with 
 it freely and repeatedly. 
 
 RATTLESNAKE BITE. 
 
 The spirits of hartshorn is a good remedy for the 
 bite of the rattlesnake, and other poisonous reptiles ; 
 the wound should be bathed with it constantly, as 
 mentioned above for mad dog bite. It is now generally 
 known, that spiritous liquors, when taken in large 
 quantities, have cured rattlesnake bite ; large draughts, 
 and repeated at short intervals, until a pint or quart, 
 has been taken by men with complete success, and 
 without producing intoxication. 
 
 The Medical Journal says, the following is an infal- 
 lible cure for rattlesnake bite : 
 
96 
 
 Recipe No. 103. 
 
 FOR RATTLESNAKE BITE. 
 
 Iodide of potash, . . . four grains. 
 Corrosive sublimate, . . two grains. 
 Bromine, .... five drachms. 
 
 Mix, and keep it in a stoppered vial well secured. 
 
 Ten drops of this mixture, diluted with a tablespoon- 
 ful or two of wine or brandy, constitute a dose for a 
 man, which is to be repeated, if necessary, according to 
 the exigencies of the case. If given to the horse, it 
 will require at least eight times this quantity to make 
 a dose. 
 
 WARTS 
 
 The best way to remove warts, is to cut them off with 
 a sharp, red-hot iron. This, if properly done, will pre- 
 vent the bleeding. 
 
 DOCKING. 
 
 Always select a joint near the desired length of the 
 tail ; then turn the hair back, and tie it round with 
 tape for an inch or two above this joint; and that 
 which lies immediately upon the joint is cut off. If a 
 knife is used for this operation, it should be sharp; 
 and take care not to strike or bruise the tail, but lay 
 the tail next the block, and, at one blow, drive the knife 
 through a joint, if possible. Be prepared with an iron, 
 moderately hot, to sear the end of the dock, and stop 
 
DOCKING. 97 
 
 the bleeding. A hole of sufficient size should be made 
 in the iron, so as not to burn the bone ; and take care 
 not to hold it on too long, or burn too much. It would 
 be much better to perform this operation when the colt 
 is very young. 
 
 If, in any case, the bleeding should be troublesome, 
 tie a piece of tape tight round the tail, about two inches 
 above the wound. Take a large bunch of tow, and dip 
 it in the following styptic wash, and put it on the end 
 of the tail, and over that put another pledget of tow 
 dipped in tar. A piece of strong cotton cloth can now 
 be laid over that, and fastened on in the most con- 
 venient way, and should not be removed for eighteen 
 or twenty-four hours : 
 
 Recipe No. 104. 
 
 STYPTIC WASH — STOPPING THE BLOOD. 
 
 Alum, ..... one ounce. 
 Nitrate of silver, . . . one drachm. 
 Sulphate of zinc, . . . one drachm. 
 
 Dissolve in a pint of water, and keep for use. 
 
 I will here mention, that in bleeding a horse in the 
 mouth, the blood is sometimes difficult to stop. When 
 this is the ease, take a bunch of tow and wrap it round 
 a piece of strong tape, and tie it securely over the orifice. 
 It may be dipped in a solution of alum. 
 
 In case of accident, when any of the veins or arteries 
 are much ruptured, it may be necessary to tie them up. 
 Sometimes burnt copperas or gunpowder is useful as a 
 styptic. 
 
 9 
 
98 horseman's companion. 
 
 POUNDEE, 
 
 This is a serious disorder, and one which has rendered 
 useless more horses than any other disease. Numerous 
 are the causes that produce it. Prominent among these 
 are : Improper feeding, over-working, obstructed per- 
 spiration — which is caused by sudden changes, and too 
 often from cooling off suddenly when the animal has 
 been over heated. The attack, which is of an inflam- 
 matory character, seems to be made more directly upon 
 the feet, which, if they have been previously weakened 
 by improper shoeing, or other ill usage, are rendered 
 more susceptible. This sudden attack is more than 
 the vessels of the feet can bear, and the result is, they 
 distend and fall into inflammation. 
 
 The early symptoms of founder are too well known 
 to be mistaken. The horse appears stiff and feeble in 
 his forequarters ; and if he is forced to move forward, 
 he will evince the greatest pain. He shifts his forelegs 
 frequently, as if unable to bear his weight on either of 
 them. He collects his body, as it were, into a heap. 
 He brings the hind feet as far forward under him as he 
 can, in order to remove the weight of the body from 
 the forelegs and feet. He then moves his forefeet 
 forward, and sets them to the ground with great pain. 
 His foreparts are very hot, and the legs are often 
 swollen and painful when pressed with the hand. As 
 the disorder increases, the arteries at the pasterns will 
 throb violently, and sometimes there will be swelling 
 about the fetlocks and coronet ; and if one foot be 
 lifted, it gives so much pain to the other, that the ani- 
 mal is in danger of falling, and his whole appearance 
 
FOUNDER. 99 
 
 shows plainly that he is laboring under a most painful 
 inflammatory affection. As soon as the disease is dis- 
 covered, a few quarts of blood may be taken from the 
 plate vein, a little above the fetlock joint ; or it may be 
 taken from the toe of each of the feet, by cutting 
 through the sole close to the wall — (see cut (V), page 102) 
 — the shoes having been already taken off, and the 
 soles pared moderately thin. If the blood does not flow 
 freely, put the foot in warm water, and the flow will be 
 increased ; and, when enough has been taken, the ori- 
 fice may be filled with tow, and the shoe tacked very 
 lightly over it for a short time. Purgatives should not 
 be given, unless there be evident costiveness, and then 
 only in sufficient quantities to open the bowels gently, 
 for which purpose Recipe No. 82 may be used. This 
 having been attended to, give the following Recipe: 
 
 Recipe No. 105. 
 
 Digitalis, . . . one drachm and a half. 
 
 Tartar emetic, . . one drachm and a half. 
 
 Nitre, . . . two drachms. 
 
 Sulphur, . . . one drachm. 
 
 Mix, for one dose, and give twice a day while the 
 inflammatory symptoms continue, and rub the legs well 
 with wet salt, and then rub them dry, and clothe him 
 comfortably. The animal should have mild diet and 
 moderate exercise ; but do not force him or put him to 
 work before he has recovered, for in so doing there is 
 danger of the disorder returning with increased virulence. 
 In cases of relapse, or founder of long standing, I make 
 an opening in the soles, just inside the wall of the feet, 
 and have known great quantities of yellow viscid matter 
 
100 horseman's companion. 
 
 to be discharged, and relief would invariably follow. 
 About the worse affected horse I ever saw, was relieved 
 by this simple operation. He was a favorite of the 
 owner, and had (a short time previous) temporarily 
 recovered from an attack of founder, and was put to 
 work too soon, and the disorder returned with fearful 
 malignity. It required the assistance of several men 
 to bear him up while I performed the operation, (with a 
 small farrier's knife.) It seemed that the whole effects 
 of the disease had settled in the lower extremities, and 
 were now escaping through the outlet I had made in 
 the feet. The discharge of this offensive, gluey matter 
 continued for some time. It seemed to run from above 
 the feet j and before it ceased, the horse began to stand 
 erect and strong, and, in a short time, he thoroughly 
 recovered. 
 
 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FOOT. 
 
 The wall, the sole, and the frog constitute the exter- 
 nal parts of the foot ; these form a strong, elastic box, 
 which is designed to sustain the greatest part of the 
 weight of the body, and to protect the internal parts, 
 which are as sensitive as those of the human being. 
 The wall is that hard, insensible, outside portion which 
 receives the nails of the shoe, and reaches from the hair 
 to the ground. The wall at the toe of the forefoot is 
 the thickest and strongest portion of the hoof, and less 
 expansive than any other part, but it gets thinner to- 
 ward the quarters and heels, the inner quarter being 
 thinner than the outer. This is not the case with the 
 hind feet, the wall or horn of which is thicker at the 
 
ORGANIZATION OP THE FOOT. 101 
 
 heel than at the toe. This difference in the thickness 
 of the wall is beautifully adapted to the weight which 
 each part has to sustain. The bars or binders are con- 
 tinuations of the wall, turned inward at the heels toward 
 the center of the foot, where they meet, forming an 
 acute angle ; and, acting by mutual resistance from 
 within, oppose the contraction of the heel. 
 
 The frog occupies the greater part of the space between 
 the bars, and is united to them only at their upper edge, 
 the sides being unattached, and forming a kind of chan- 
 nel or space between them. It is of a spongy, yielding 
 texture, and less compact than the bars or sole. The 
 sole occupies the whole bottom surface of the foot within 
 the wall, excepting the frog ; and in a well formed foot 
 it is moderately concave. Too great a concavity indi- 
 cates contraction. 
 
 There are three bones within the foot — viz. : the 
 coffin bone, the navicular or shuttle bone, and part of 
 the coronet or small pastern bone. These three bones 
 combine to form what is called the coffin joint. (See 
 sectional view, page 102.) 
 
 The smallest of these is the navicular bone, which is 
 situated behind the coffin bone and under the small 
 pastern or coronet bone. It is joined to those two 
 bones by ligaments, and is so situated as to be con- 
 tinually exposed to danger. 
 
 The navicular joint is formed between the under sur- 
 face of the navicular bone and the upper surface or 
 tendon of the flexor muscle, which passes immediately 
 under this bone, and onward where it connects with the 
 coffin bone. It is a sort of false joint, and, from its 
 peculiar position, is frequently the seat of severe lame- 
 ness. (See 7i, page 102.) 
 
102 
 
 HORSEMAN'S COMPANION. 
 
 SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE LEG AND FOOT. 
 
 a The shank bone. 
 
 b The upper and larger pastern bone. 
 
 c The sessamoid bone. 
 
 d The lower or smaller pastern bone. 
 
 e The navicular or shuttle bone. 
 
 / The coffin bone, or bone of the foot. 
 
 g The suspensory ligament inserted into the sessamoid bone. 
 
 h A continuation of the suspensory ligament inserted into the smaller pastern 
 
 Hone? 
 i The small inelastic ligament tying down the sessamoid bone to the larger 
 
 pastern bone. 
 Jc A long ligament reaching from the pastern bone to the knee. 
 I The extensor tendon inserted into both the pasterns and the coffin bone. 
 in The tendon of the perforating flexor inserted into the coffin bone, after having 
 
 passed over the navicular bone. 
 n The seat of the navicular joint lameness, 
 o The inner or sensible frog. 
 p The cleft of the horny frog. 
 
 q A ligament uniting the navicular bone to the smaller pastern, 
 r A ligament uniting the navicular bone to the coffin bone. 
 s The sensible sole, between the coffin bone and the horny sole. 
 t The horny sole. 
 m The crust or wall of the foot. 
 
 v The sensible lamina to which the crust is attached. 
 iv The coronary ring of the crust. 
 
 a; The covering of the coronary ligamfcnt from which the crust is secreted, 
 s Place of bleeding at the toe. 
 
ORGANIZATION OF THE FOOT. 103 
 
 The coffin bone is the proper bone of the foot. Its 
 shape corresponds with the inside of the hoof, where it 
 is situated. It is of a light, spongy texture, and filled 
 with holes, through which the vessels of the foot pass, 
 which are very numerous. Between the hoof and the 
 coffin bone is a collection of secretory vessels, forming 
 a juicy, elastic substance, that prevents concussion, as 
 would necessarily happen at every step but for this 
 provision of nature. But this substance, in like man- 
 ner, pervades the concurrence of all other bones of the 
 foot, only differing in quality. The holes about the 
 body of the coffin bone convey the nutricious juices to 
 the little leaves with which it is covered. Those near 
 the under part go to the sole. Considering the manner 
 in which this bone is inclosed within the hoof, and the 
 important parts around and below it which are to be 
 nourished with blood, this circulation, which is carried 
 on through the very body of this bone, is one of the 
 most beautiful provisions of nature that is to be found in 
 any part of the frame. The vessels which are distri- 
 buted through the internal part of the foot are the 
 arteries, veins, nerves, and lymphatic vessels — the secret- 
 ing and excreting vessels. Two branches of the nerve 
 distribute themselves equally on both sides ; two branches 
 of arteries descend into the foot at the coronet near the 
 quarters, and supply the coffin bone with fine blood for 
 its reproduction. The formation of new horn is derived 
 from the blood, which is sent hither in good quantity, 
 and particularly into the coffin bone. In this bone there 
 is a cavity, or rather three hollows, communicating with 
 each other, in which the horny matter is generated ; in 
 other words, this is the proper reservoir for such particles 
 of blood as are suited to the formation of hoof, as it may 
 
104 horseman's companion. 
 
 be required and called for by the process of nature. If 
 we closely observe the natural laws of the growth of the 
 hoof, we will perceive that it grows from the top down- 
 ward, and from within, outwardly, so that the internal 
 part pushes forward the middle part, and takes its place 
 —while the latter, in its turn, is converted into the dead, 
 horny substance, which is naturally destroyed by time, 
 wear, and tear. 
 
 PREPARATION OP THE FOOT WITH A VIEW 
 TO ITS PRESERVATION. 
 
 As I have already said, the wall, the sole, and the frog 
 form an elastic box, which may be expanded, contracted, 
 or depressed ; either of which is attended with pain and 
 more or less injury to the parts within. How impor- 
 tant, then, it is to preserve these parts in their natural 
 strength, and not to sacrifice any part of them by an 
 injudicious use of the shoer's knife. There is more or 
 less difference in the natural structure of the feet ; some 
 are wider or rounder than others ; the walls of some feet 
 are thicker and stronger than others ; while some have a 
 
PRESERVATION OF THE FOOT. 105 
 
 tendency to low heels, and the soles are inclined to be- 
 come flat; or in other words, some feet being of weaker 
 construction will sooner give way to ill usage or an im- 
 proper use of the knife. 
 
 Although there is some difference in the structure 
 of the feet, there are few, if any, but what may be kept 
 in a healthful state by judicious management. 
 
 A shoer should be acquainted with the internal organ- 
 ization of the foot, the structure of the foot and leg (see 
 cut — page 102), and if possible, the whole frame; for it 
 sometimes happens that a faulty position of the foot 
 upon the ground — as the horse standing too high or too 
 low, crooked or straight, or the toes turning inward or 
 outward — is attributed to the bad formation of the foot, 
 when it properly belongs to the awry structure of some 
 portion of the leg. 
 
 Before he begins to shoe a horse, he should know 
 whether the foot is free from defect; whether it is pro- 
 portioned to the leg; whether the hoof be too large or 
 too small, too wide or too narrow, too long or too short; 
 the heels too high or too low ; whether the frog is in 
 proportion to the other parts ; the soles strong or weak, 
 and to notice their degree of concavity. 
 
 With regard to the paring or preparation of the foot 
 for the shoe, it would be impossible to lay down any 
 rule applicable to all feet. The overgrown portion 
 should be cut off, but the weak or deficient parts should 
 not be touched with the knife. (I can not say that I 
 have always been free from the errors I am now point- 
 ing out ; but close study and long practical experience 
 haVe proved to me, that the suggestions I am making, 
 for your guidance, can not be successfully controverted). 
 The operation of paring the foot is attended with 
 
106 horseman's companion. 
 
 some labor, and it sometimes seems very difficult to keep 
 the knife from the parts that are easy to cut, although 
 they are the parts that generally need the least trim- 
 ming. 
 
 In shoeing a young horse the first time, if there be 
 plenty of hoof, and there is no defect, the bottom sur- 
 face of the wall should be pared level, to give the shoe 
 a solid bearing; but the sole, the bars, or the frog 
 should not be meddled with, except there be ragged 
 portions, which should be removed. What is the main 
 object in shoeing horses? Sainbel, who wrote near 
 three-quarters of a century ago, very truly said: "It is 
 to furnish an additional strength for the foot, to render 
 it capable of resisting the hardest bodies to which it 
 niay be exposed ) but if at the very time we make this 
 addition, we destroy with the buttress those parts which 
 nature has formed with the very same intent, we not 
 only do not increase the resources of the foot, but we 
 destroy that organ by predisposing it to a multitude of 
 ailments." 
 
 If the bars are overgrown, they may be pared level 
 with the heels; but the sides should not be cut away, 
 which is so often done " so as to show an apparent in- 
 crease of width between the heels, which may, for a 
 time, deceive the eye, but it is a mere illusion purchased 
 at the expense of impaired power of resistance in the 
 bars, and ultimate contraction of the feet. It is self- 
 evident, that the opening out the heels, or cutting away 
 the sides of the bars, must diminish their substance, 
 and render them weaker, and consequently less able to 
 resist contraction." 
 
 The frog seldom requires the knife, and I fully con- 
 cur with William Miles in saying, that " The layer of 
 
PRESERVATION OE THE FOOT. 107 
 
 torn, that covers the frog, is thinner in substance and 
 more delicate in texture, than that of any other part 
 of the foot, and when once destroyed, is very imperfectly 
 and sparingly reproduced. The first stroke of the knife 
 removes this thin horny covering altogether, and lays 
 bare an under surface totally unfitted, from its moist, 
 soft texture, for exposure either to the hard ground or 
 the action of the air; and in consequence of such un- 
 natural exposure, it soon becomes dry and shrinks, then 
 follow cracks, the edges of which turning outward form 
 rags; these rags are removed by the smith at the next 
 shoeing, whereby another such surface is exposed, and 
 another foundation laid for other rags, and so on until 
 at last the protruding, plump, elastic cushion interposed 
 by nature between the navicular joint and the ground, 
 and so essential to its preservation from injury, is con- 
 verted by the mischievous interference of art, into the 
 dry, shrunk, unyielding apology for a frog to be seen 
 in the foot of almost every horse that has been regu- 
 larly shod for a few years." Cutting the frog to the 
 quick often causes the thrush, a very common disorder, 
 but it would seldom appear if the frog was not too much 
 pared. It would be best to cut nothing more away than 
 the dead or ragged parts, which naturally detach them- 
 selves by the laws of growth and reproduction. 
 
 The sole should not be pared beyond-' the dead or 
 proud parts ; for if it is too much cut away, it will be 
 weakened and unable to maintain its natural concavity 
 or distance from the ground; either the cavity may be 
 increased, which indicates contraction, or the sole may 
 descend (particularly if there be the least predisposition 
 to flatness), and become convexed at the bottom, which 
 is the worst possible form it could assume. In addition 
 
108 horseman's companion. 
 
 to this, the inner part of the sole, divested of its outside 
 covering and protection, will be exposed to the air and 
 hard substances, and will consequently become dry, 
 hard, and brittle, to the injury of the parts within. In 
 making these suggestions, I have had in view, more par- 
 ticularly, the preservation of feet that have not received 
 any material injury, but they are also (with very few ex- 
 ceptions) applicable to all feet. 
 
 I do not wish to be understood as saying that the 
 overgrowth should not be pared away. "Was it not for 
 the habit of some people (who ought to know better) 
 of carving the foot into shape at every shoeing, destroy- 
 ing heels, sole, bars, and frog, which nature, if ever able, 
 may require years to reproduce, I should not, perhaps, 
 say so much against it. 
 
 If the heel should grow too high and throw the knee 
 too much forward, it should be pared down to its proper 
 place; the toe also should be cut away, if it should grow 
 too fast and throw too much strain on the pastern. 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR FITTING THE SHOES, ETC. 
 
 The wall should not be so much pared, as to destroy 
 the natural cavity of the foot. Where it receives the 
 shoe, it should be pared perfectly level, inclining neither 
 inward nor outward ; the shoe should likewise be level 
 at the seat of bearing. The soles of most feet that 
 have never been injured, have sufficient cavity (if the 
 wall is not too much cut away) to leave enough space 
 between the sole and the shoe ; but if the sole should 
 be too flat from any cause, the inside of the shoe, and 
 
DIRECTIONS FOR FITTING THE SHOES, ETC. 109 
 
 so much only as covers the sole, should be made con- 
 cave, leaving the seat of bearing level. This level bear- 
 ing all round, will enable the foot in its elastic-growing 
 state, and the heels particularly, to act without restraint, 
 and keep their natural distance from each other. 
 
 The sole in its natural state, and enjoying all its 
 strength, may, without risk, receive a slight share of the 
 weight, particularly in that part which adjoins the wall; 
 but its concave form proves, that it was the intention 
 of nature to keep it a proper distance from the ground, 
 in order to preserve it from too great a pressure, which 
 would certainly prove hurtful to the fleshy part of the 
 sole. 
 
 When the foot has been too much weakened, and the 
 sole descends, and becomes convexed, it is sometimes 
 the case that there is not enough substance in the 
 wall to furnish a sufficient seat of bearing for the shoe ; 
 in this case the sole must of necessity bear a portion of 
 the weight. This deplorable condition of the foot, is 
 generally caused by an improper use of the knife, and 
 is sooner brought about when there is a natural ten- 
 dency to flatness ; what strength or substance it now 
 possesses, should be preserved, and the growth of the 
 parts should be encouraged, but it is seldom, if ever 
 found, that any art or science can restore the sole to 
 its proper place. The shoe should be wide and of suf- 
 ficient thickness to keep its proper shape, and great 
 care should be taken that it corresponds with the cir- 
 cumference or outline of the foot, and sets well in, and 
 firm upon the heels. This important principle is too 
 often neglected, for the reason, that a great many people 
 like to see the shoe set well off at the heels. Miles was 
 right in saying, that "it imposes upon the understand- 
 
110 horseman's companion. 
 
 ing by deceiving the eye, and is in the last degree 
 hurtful to the horse's foot. When a shoe is thus set 
 off at the heels, it imparts to the foot an appearance of 
 greater width than it really possesses; but if the shoe 
 happened to be made of glass, or some other transparent 
 substance, the deception would be at once detected, for 
 then the outer edge of the foot would be seen to rest on 
 the inner edge only of the shoe, and the whole of the 
 remaining width of web would be seen projecting beyond . 
 the hoof, forming a convenient clip for another horse 
 to tread, but utterly useless as affording support to any 
 part of the foot itself. A common observer, on taking 
 up a foot with a shoe so fitted, looks only to the space 
 between the heels of the shoe, and if he find that to be 
 considerable, he does not stop to inquire what quantity 
 of the foot is exposed by the opening, but seeing what 
 he calls 'a good open foot,' is satisfied, forgetting alto- & 
 gether that his inspection never extended to the foot at 
 all, but was confined exclusively to the shoe." 
 
 In addition to this, we must know, that the shoe be- 
 ing thus set off at the heels, which, not having sufficient 
 bearing, they will in a short time push down between 
 the shoe, and be confined as though they were in a 
 vise; this must produce contraction, the very thing in- 
 tended tu be remedied. 
 
 When the frog appears too large, as it sometimes does 
 in cases of flat feet, which have generally very low heels, 
 it is better to supply this defect by a slight increase of 
 thickness in the heels of the shoe, than to strip the frog 
 of its horny covering. By this means the heels are 
 raised to a level with the rest of the foot, and the weight 
 is equally distributed to every point of the circumference 
 of the foot. 
 
CONTRACTION. Ill 
 
 There is a deep-rooted, but unnecessary prejudice 
 against the application of a hot shoe to the foot ; some- 
 times the over-growth becomes so hard that it is almost 
 impossible to cut it, and it is then necessary to soften 
 it with the hot shoe, but the burning should not be so 
 much as to affect beyond the part that is to be cut 
 away. The shoe being applied moderately hot, will also 
 afford the advantage of detecting such projecting por- 
 tions, as would cause an uneven bearing of the shoe. 
 
 CONTRACTION. 
 
 The causes have been noticed in the last few pages. 
 
 The best remedy for contraction is to take the shoes 
 off, and turn the animal out. If he can not be spared 
 for this purpose, the most of feet can be opened by ju- 
 dicious shoeing, but not by setting the shoe -well off at 
 the heels," as is so often supposed, and as I have shown 
 at pages 109, 110 ; for this purpose, (instead of paring 
 the wall or seat of bearing perfectly level, as I have re- 
 commended for feet that are free from defect,) I pare 
 the sole moderately thin — the wall concave to the outer 
 edge — particularly the heels; and instead of mailing the 
 shoe level or concave, as described at page 10S, it should 
 be reversed, so as to press the foot out as the horse bears 
 his weight upon it. The shoe should not project be- 
 yond the foot at any part, but should fit neatly for the 
 purpose ; the nails as few as possible, and put in well 
 toward the toe, so as to allow the heels to expand. 
 When the heels open, the shoe should not be suffered 
 to remain on and press altogether upon the sole, but 
 
112 horseman's companion. 
 
 should be taken off and opened to suit the foot, and 
 nailed on as at first, and repeated until the foot acquires 
 its proper form, when this mode of shoeing should he 
 discontinued. 
 
 I am aware that some writers have no great opinion 
 of this mode of shoeing ; but, if properly done, I believe 
 it (from experience) to be the easiest and most effectual 
 remedy we have, including the various screw or joint 
 shoes, which may, for the time, force the heels open, 
 but too suddenly for the benefit of the parts within, 
 and, besides, they are more trouble. 
 
 THRUSH 
 
 This is a disorder of the frog, caused by contraction 
 and by cutting away too much of the horny covering, 
 and exposing the tender parts to hard substances, etc. 
 Its early symptoms are a slight issue of offensive matter 
 from the cleft, and if not checked in time, may cause 
 considerable trouble. 
 
 Recipe No. 106. 
 
 SALVE. 
 
 Calamine powder, . . .six drachms. 
 
 Sulphate of copper, powd., . four drachms. 
 
 Alum, powdered, . . . five drachms. 
 
 Tar, ..... one pound. 
 
 Lard, ..... half pound. 
 
 Melt the tar and lard together, and when they begin 
 
 to cool, add the other ingredients, and stir them well. 
 
 Take a small pledget of tow and dip it in this mixture, 
 
 and put in the cleft as neatly as possible, and then a 
 
CANKER, QUITTOR, GRAVEL. 113 
 
 larger pledget should be put over this. In bad cases, 
 I frequently put a bar over the shoe by making one or 
 two nail holes at each end of the bar to correspond with 
 the holes in the shoe, and let the nail-heads rest on the 
 bar, (or the bar may be welded on,) this will keep the 
 pledgets in, and protect the frog. 
 
 The ragged portions should be cut off before the foot 
 is dressed, and the foot should be kept from water. If 
 proud flesh appear, apply a powder of burnt alum or 
 blue vitriol, and if that is not strong enough to repress 
 it, add a little corrosive sublimate, or touch it with the 
 butyr of antimony. Sometimes a portion of the fun- 
 gous growth can be removed with the knife. If the 
 reader wants any further information with regard to 
 healing, etc., let him turn back to pages 82 and 86. 
 
 CANKER, QUITTOR, GRAVEL. 
 
 There sometimes appears an ugly horny or fungous 
 growth about the hoof, called canker. The enlargement 
 should be cut away, and the remaining parts touched 
 with a caustic, as the butyr of antimony. Should the 
 canker be so situated as to leave an orifice or opening 
 after it has been cut away, it may be dressed with a pled- 
 get of tow and salve as described in the preceding- 
 page. It will sometimes grow again, but the treatment 
 should be repeated until it is destroyed. 
 
 In ease of quittor or gravel, so much of the outside 
 horn, around the edge of the sinus, must be cut away 
 as to enable you to get at the inside, which may be 
 washed with a weak solution of blue vitriol, in the pro- 
 portion of one drachm to half a pint of water, and the 
 10 
 
114 horseman's companion. 
 
 orifice may be dressed with a pledget of tow and salve, 
 (page 112,) referred to above. Put it in neatly so as 
 to keep the dirt out, and the feet should be kept as 
 much as possible out of the water. 
 
 sand-crack:. 
 
 This is a crack or split in the hoof, frequently of the 
 inside quarter, but sometimes in front, and if not at- 
 tended to in time, it may be very troublesome. Take a 
 sharp hot iron, and burn to the quick, just above the 
 crack, transversely ; if it is on the quarter, a strong clip 
 should be made to the shoe, and fit neatly to the cracked 
 quarter, so as to keep it firmly to its place. The dirt 
 should be cleaned out, and the crack filled with tow and 
 tar, or the salve at page 112, so as to keep the dirt out. 
 I have cured sand-crack in this way when it was split 
 up to the hair. \If the crack is in the front of the foot, 
 good may be done by making a large clip on each side 
 of the shoe, and one also at the toe, so as to keep the 
 parts firmly together ; but if the crack is very bad, it 
 may be better to put a band over the top or front of the 
 hoof, which every shoer should be able to do. The two 
 pieces that form the band should be very thin, except 
 at the top or front, where they are connected with a 
 screw, and not more than three-quarters or an inch 
 wide ; and the lower ends may be fitted neatly under the 
 shoe, and receive one of the quarter nails, which may 
 be as strong as practicable for the purpose. I have 
 found this better and less trouble than welding them on 
 to the shoe. Clean out between the cracks, and fill 
 them up as directed above. 
 
METHOD OF TAMING WILD HORSES. 
 
 The art of horse taming was successfully practiced in 
 England and Ireland half a century or more ago, by 
 the Jumper, and by Sullivan, better known as the 
 Whisperer ; but, it seems, that their secrets were not 
 known after their death. Some years after this, in 1814, 
 Mr. Willis J. Powell discovered some valuable principles 
 with regard to the taming and management of wild 
 horses, which were published with some additional and 
 useful instructions. 
 
 It seems that Powell's system was not much noticed 
 until within the last few years, when we find it prac- 
 ticed with some additions, and recommended by the 
 most expert horsemen of the present day. 
 
 About ten years ago, Mr. Gffutt, of Kentucky, made 
 some valuable discoveries on the management of wild 
 horses, but I am not aware that he ever (intentionally) 
 made them public. 
 
 Within the last few years several books (from differ- 
 ent authors) have made their appearance on the secret 
 or modern art of taming wild or vicious horses. These 
 works are all about the same thing ; although each of 
 the different authors claim the paternity of the art. 
 
 I never saw one of these books until about two years 
 ago, when I purchased one from an agent — of the 
 original (as I supposed) of the modern authors — with 
 the right to do with it as I pleased ; but 1 have never 
 used it up to the present time. I have seen several 
 since, and they all contain the very same principle with 
 regard to subduing vicious animals — that I had prac- 
 ticed many years before — in the operation of shoeing. 
 But I never published them, or carried the principle so 
 far as others have in training horses, etc. These prin- 
 ciples are undoubtedly good ; and if I knew who first 
 found them out in this country, I would give him the 
 proper credit. 
 
 (115) 
 
116 
 
 POWELL'S SYSTEM OP APPROACHING THE 
 COLT. 
 
 He says — " A horse is gentled by my secret in from 
 two to sixteen hours. The time I have most commonly 
 employed has been from two to six." And goes on to 
 say — " Cause your horse to be put into a small yard, 
 stable, or room. If in a stable or room, it ought to be 
 a large one, in order to give him more exercise with the 
 halter before you lead him out. If the horse belongs 
 to that class which appear only to fear man, you must 
 introduce yourself gently into the stable, room, or yard, 
 where the horse is. He will naturally run from you, 
 and frequently turn his head from you; but you must 
 walk about extremely slow and softly, so that he can 
 see you ; and whenever he turns his head toward you, 
 which he never fails to do in a short time — say in a 
 quarter of an hour, or half an hour ; I never knew one 
 to be much longer without turning toward me — at the 
 very moment he turns his head, hold out your left 
 hand toward him, and stand perfectly still, keeping 
 your eyes upon the horse, and watching his motions, if 
 he makes any. If the horse does not stir for ten or 
 fifteen minutes, advance as slowly as possible, and, 
 without making the least noise — always holding out 
 your left hand, without any other ingredient in it than 
 what Nature put in it. If the horse makes the least 
 motion when you advance toward him, stop, and stand 
 perfectly still till he is quiet. Remain a few minutes 
 in this position, and then advance again in the same 
 slow, almost imperceptible manner. Take notice, if the 
 horse stirs, stop without changing your position. It is 
 very uncommon for a horse to stir more than once, after 
 you begin to advance, yet there are exceptions. He 
 generally keeps his eye steadfast on you till you get 
 nigh enough to touch him upon the forehead. When 
 you are thus near to him, raise slowly, and, by degrees, 
 your hand, and let it come in contact with that part 
 just above the nostrils, as lightly as possible. If the 
 horse flinches, (as many will,) repeat, with great rapidity, 
 
Powell's system of approaching the colt. 117 
 
 those light taps or strokes upon the forehead, going a 
 little further up toward his ears by degrees, and descend- 
 ing with the same rapidity, till he will let you handle 
 his forehead all over. Now, let the strokes be repeated, 
 with more force, over all his forehead, descending, by 
 lighter touches, to each side of his head, till you can 
 handle that part with equal facility. Then touch, in 
 the same light manner, making your hands and fingers 
 play around the bottom or lower part of the horse's 
 ears, coming down now and then to the forehead, which 
 may be looked upon as the helm that governs all the 
 rest. Having succeeded in handling his ears, advance 
 toward the neck with the same precaution, and in the 
 same manner — observing always to augment the force 
 of the strokes whenever the horse will permit it. Per- 
 form the same on both sides of the neck, till he lets 
 you take it in your arms without flinching. 
 
 " Proceed, in the same progressive manner, to the sides, 
 and then to the back of the horse. Every time the 
 horse shows any uneasiness, return immediately to 
 the forehead, as the true standard, patting him with 
 your hands, and from thence rapidly to where you had 
 already arrived — always gaining ground a considerable 
 distance further on every time this happens. The head, 
 ears, neck, and body being thus gentled, proceed, from 
 the back, to the root of the tail. 
 
 " This must be managed with dexterity, as a horse is 
 never to be depended upon tnat is skittish about the tail. 
 Le't yonr hand fall lightly and rapidly on that part next 
 to the body, a minute or two, and then you will begin 
 to give it a slight pull upward every quarter of a minute. 
 " At the same time you continue this handling of him, 
 augmenting the force of the strokes, as well as the rais- 
 ing of the tail, till you can raise it and handle it with 
 the greatest ease, which commonly happens in a quarter 
 of an hour in most horses ; in others, almost immediately ; 
 and in some much longer. 
 
 " Begin, by degrees, to descend to the legs, always as- 
 cending and descending, gaining ground every time you 
 descend, till you get to his feet. Let him hear the sound 
 
118 houseman's companion. 
 
 of your voice, { hold up your foot,' etc., at the same time 
 lift his foot with your hand. He soon becomes familiar 
 with the sounds, and will hold up his foot at command. 
 Then proceed to the hind feet, and go on in the same 
 manner ; and, in a short time, the horse will let you lift 
 them, and even take them up in your arms. All this 
 operation is no magnetism, no galvanism ; it is merely 
 taking away the fear a horse generally has of a man, and 
 familiarizing the animal with his master. As the horse, 
 doubtless, experiences a certain pleasure from this hand- 
 ling, he will soon become gentle under it, and show a 
 very marked attachment to his keeper." 
 
 TO PREVENT A HORSE PROM FRIGHTENING. 
 
 Every one that has paid attention to horses, has 
 noticed his inclination to smell of every thing which, to 
 him, looks new and frightful. This is their peculiar 
 mode of examining every thing ; and when they are 
 frightened at any thing, though they look at it sharply, 
 they seem to have little confidence in the examination ; 
 and are not fully satisfied until they touch it with the 
 nose. When this is done, their fear of the frightful 
 object is gone, and they are perfectly satisfied. 
 
 If you want to satisfy yourself of this fact, turn your 
 horse into a large stable or barn-yard, and then gather 
 up something that you know will frighten him, a buf- 
 falo robe, red blanket, umbrella, or something of that 
 kind ; hold it up so that he will see it. He will stick 
 up his head and snort. Then throw it down in the 
 inclosure, and walk off to one side. Watch his motions, 
 and if he is frightened at the object, he will not rest 
 until he has touched it with his nose. You will see 
 him walk around the frightful object and snort, but 
 getting a little closer, as if drawn by some magic spell, 
 until he finally gets within reach of it. He will then 
 cautiously stretch out his neck, merely touching it with 
 his nose, as though he thought it might fly at him ; but 
 after he has touched it a few times, he will find out, 
 
HOW TO SUBDUE OR DRIVE VICIOUS HORSES. 119 
 
 by the sense of feeling, that it is nothing that will do 
 him any harm, and he is ready to play with it, and if 
 you watch him closely, you will see him take hold of it 
 with his teeth, and raise it up and pull at it. This 
 should be repeated with horses that are subject to being 
 frightened, until they perfectly familiarize themselves 
 with the object that frightens them. 
 
 TO SUBDUE OR DRIVE VICIOUS HORSES. 
 
 This requires kindness, patience, and perseverance ; 
 always bear these three things in mind. To subdue a 
 vicious horse, take up the left foreleg, and bend it 
 until the foot is bottom upward ; slip a loop over the 
 knee, well up, and tie a second strap in the middle of 
 it, so that he can not get the foot down ; this will leave 
 him standing on three legs. Sometimes the horse 
 strikes out desperately with his right foreleg, but you 
 can keep out of his reach, he can not kick or do mis- 
 chief, and when he finds that he can not get his leg 
 down, he will quiet down and become perfectly gentle. 
 There is something about this that conquers a horse 
 quicker and better than any thing known. I have shod 
 the worst kind of mule this way, long before I ever 
 heard of the new secret, or seen one of the books. If 
 you want to carry this process further, and make him 
 more gentle, so that you can handle him as you please, 
 lead him about on three legs, (with the left fore foot 
 tied up as I have just described,) until he is tired; (it 
 will not be long,) then take another long strap, and 
 fasten it around the right foreleg just above the foot; 
 bring this strap over his shoulder from the off side, or 
 under the surcingle. You must stand on the left side, 
 'with this long strap drawn tight in your right hand, 
 and your left hand hold of the bridle or halter close to 
 the mouth, bear against his shoulder till you cause him 
 to move. As soon as he moves or lifts his weight, pull 
 the long strap, which will bring him on his knees. 
 Keep the strap tight in your hand, so that he can not 
 
120 
 
 straighten his leg; hold him in this position and bear 
 against his side with your shoulder, lightly, and in a 
 short time he will show a willingness to lie down. 
 When he is down on his side, if he should attempt to 
 rise, you must prevent it by keeping his head down, 
 and bearing it toward his shoulder. In most cases, as 
 soon as a horse lies down in this way, he will be com- 
 pletely conquered, and you can take the straps off, and 
 handle him as you please. As soon as he is done 
 Struggling, caress his face and neck, handle every part 
 of his body and legs, and make yourself as familiar as 
 possible. If you do not think he is thoroughly sub- 
 dued, after he has been quiet for about twenty minutes, 
 let him rise, and repeat the operation immediately, 
 taking off all the straps as soon as he is down, and if 
 his head is kept down or pulled toward his shoulder, 
 it is impossible for him to rise. After throwing him in 
 this way a few times, he will become perfectly submis- 
 sive, and you can handle him as you please. When you 
 take off the straps, straighten out his legs and caress 
 him. It takes longer to subdue an old horse than a 
 young one, as his habits are more confirmed. A very 
 wicked horse should have at least two lessons a day, and 
 about the fourth or fifth lesson he will be completely 
 conquered and made to lie down, by lifting up the foot, 
 and telling him to "lie down," having previously made 
 him familiar with those words. Bear in mind that the 
 horse should not be forced down by violence, but he 
 must be tired out till he has an inclination to lie down. 
 Take care not to throw the horse upon his neck. A soft 
 place with plenty of room, is best to perform this opera- 
 tion, which is called "taking him down." 
 
 If it is a horse that has been dangerous to drive, you 
 may tie up one foot, and walk him about until he is 
 tired, (as described in the first part of this article,) and 
 hitch him to a sulky, and drive him on three legs until 
 he becomes submissive, when his leg may be let down; 
 but if he should be an old horse, whose wicked habits 
 are more confirmed, it may be necessary to "take Mm 
 down" a few times.