69 i^ p. JOHNA.SEAVERNS Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2009 witii funding from Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries http://www.arcliive.org/details/groomsoraclepockOObadc V ^ CONVERSATIONS ON CONDITIONING. GROOMS ORACLE, AND POCKET STABLE-DIRECTORY; IN WHICH THE MANAGEMENT OF HORSES GENERALLY, AS TO HEALTH, DIETING, AND EXERCISE, ARE CONSIDERED, IN A SERIES OF FAMILIAR DIALOGUES, TWO GROOMS ENGAGED IN Ciatuing iegor0r0 to tljeiv WXovix. WITH NOTES, AND AN APPENDIX, INCLUDING EXTRACTS FROM THE RECEIPT B O aK OF JOHN HINDS, V. S. AUTHOR OF " VETERINARY SURGERY." *ecoiitJ OBtritiOtt, WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS. LONDON : PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR/ FOR SHERWOOD, GILBERT, AND PIPER, 23, PATERNOSTER. ROW; HURST, CHANCE, AND CO. 65, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH- YARD; AND WHITTAKER, TREACHER, & CO. AVE-MARIA- LANE. 1830. LONDON ; MARCHANT, PRINTER, INGRAM-COURT. PREFACE. All knowledge belongs to all men. •' The Grooms' Oracle ! " was an epithet be- stowed, about twenty years ago, in derision, upon one of the best books that had hitherto appeared, in this or any other country, on the Veterinary Art.* Allowed, from the first, to be the best book, because the easiest to be comprehended by * The scandal was repeated by a Mr. W. Percivall, in 1823, with still more angry feelings, though that book had already reached its tenth edition. In sooth, because of that very success, probably ; for hereby would the doctors' half-guinea- fee trade receive a salutary check, and wary people keep their cash from waste. "With the like sort of venal feeling, regarding this volume of Conversations, did the same partizans candidly avow — " We really wish Mr. Hinds would write no more books ;" a wish that we readily admit was as sincere and heartfelt, on the part of Mr. P. and his coadjutor, as it was cheering and consolatory to us two grooms. For we really entertain vast reverence for Mr. Percivall's excessive learning, and deeply lament that he does not make himself understood. IV PREFACE. the generality of persons engaged in that pursuit ; and therefore did it become more extensively useful than any of its cotemporaries, notwith- standing its extra-learned detractors hoped to abash its author by that puny, ill-applied imputa- tion ; for Mr. White, the person alluded to, so far from temporising with grooms, frequently lashed their well-known negligence and want of foresight, until he has wrought a happy reformation in both respects. Generally speaking, they benefitted by this and other means, and, at this day, they READ, we are pleased to observe, and this is sufficient guarantee that they will STUDY, more than the old grooms could do : may they digest and put in practice the intellectual treat to which we know so many of them are invited by their employers ! They may rest assured that no pains shall be spared to afford them the means of ac- quiring knowledge from books that are adapted to their capacity, notwithstanding the array of writers and doctors just adverted to would nip their pursuits in the bud. One of these, alluded to by name in the margin, and calling himself ** the Veterinarian," after some vapouring, becomes serious, thus: — " Now, ** is it far from our desire to be considered hypercri- *' tical by any author, and more particularly by *' Mr. Hinds, lest he should think fit to rank us PREFACE. V *' among those who, in his estimation, compose '* * the quidnunc part of the press:' but really we '* cannot proceed, and leave our readers, or even " Mr. Hinds' readers, to conceive for a moment ** that a groom, admitting even that he can ascer- ** tain a horse's actual state of health, is equal to ** * find out the seat of ailment, and the cause " ' thereof! ' If the groom can do all this, what ** need is there for the Veter-inary Surgeon? *' [What, indeed ?] If Mr. Hinds's works can " qualify the readers of them to take the medical as ** well as the hygienal charge of studs, what further " occasion can there be for the Veterinary Col- " lege?'' Answer — very little, if any. As regards the latter question, let the writer turn to the Preface prefixed to the new Edition of Osmer's Treatise on the Horse, page viii. and he will perceive that his fellows of the College have been wofully deficient in their researches during the first forty years of their infancy — unless those which have been made in the pages of WilHam Osmer ; and an answer to the first question will be found on page XX. of the same Preface — thus, '* By the way, we are very much mistaken (says the Critic) if the grooms' employers may not derive as much pleasure and profit from the perusal of these Con- versations, as tJie class of persons for whose use a2 vi PUEPACE. the Volume appears to have been ostensibly de- signed." Yes ; let it be avowed, that the present title was adopted, and is preserved, for the purpose of cast- ing a triumphant rebuke in the teeth of those who would willingly smug the curative art within a circumscribed space, misrepresentations (false facts) being one of the worthy means employed. Will it be believed, without asseveration, that one of those hippological critics (as they assume to be) should attempt to decry my volume of Veterinary Surgery, by making alleged quotations from it, twenty-two in number, seventeen of which do not so appear in the original ? Hence I was led to ob- serve, that inapplicable criticisms which are ground- ed on their own Laiider-like garbled quotations can do no service to the falsifying parties, only in the same manner as the rod which truants at school are compelled to gather for their own backs. Every one will allow that those are the weak subterfuges of paltry gain, if notwicked attempts to withstand the instruction of the lower classes, to darken the light of science which casts its influence over the un- initiated, and indeed to deny what is quite palpable as regards the horse — that ** the Schoolmaster is abroad," and will be heard. Grooms of to-day, then, are not the grooms of PREFACE. VU tliirty to twenty years ago ! They possess as much Intellect as other persons of the same standing in society, it is presumed, and some do acquire book- learning ; whence we are emboldened to ask, with- out fear of giving offence to a large class of meri- torious persons, how it comes to pass that so many horses died under their hands whilst training for the course or the chase? For, the solution of this tjuestion is the foundation of all the inquiries set a foot, and resolved in the present volume. This also constitutes our apology, if any be necessary, and is the reason for printing another volume on HorsemansJiij), so soon after having given to the world a somewhat elaborate treatise on the physio- logy and pathology of the Horse, which might seem to have exhausted the subject of his ailments.^ But, there are other and more remote causes of disease than the immediate and recent ones there- in described, which are brought on by neglect or the inadvertence that constitutes mismanagement of man ; whilst he who thinks he can never do enough, in anxious mood, will for ever be doing something, until he commits the mistake of over management. Among the latter (incredible as it may appear) must be reckoned overfeeding, warm clothing, and * Alluding to '' Hinds'sVeterinary Surgery," the first Edition of which appeared in August, 1827, the second in July, 1829, much enlarged. VIU PREFACE. hot stabling; whilst the contraries, poor feed, or irregular, exposure, and uncomfortable stables, belong to the first series of blunders. Both errors fall, chiefly, on the hest description ofhorses, (see page 124,) upon the welfare and fitness whereof immense fortunes are annually staked, 1st. in the prime cost, or breeding ; 2nd. in bringing up pro- perly to go through their work ; 3rd. at the post, in performance, &c. &c. Whence results an aggre- gate sum, equalling, almost, the capital employed in the staple manufacture of the kingdom. On the second, or intermediate point, what care do we not bestow, what expenses lavish, in training our first-rate cattle to win ! How we sometimes fail, after all our care, is worth all the pains we may bestow in the inquiry. We may even save time, and trouble, and expense, and immense anxiety, by investigating in the parlour, what ought to be done in the stable, according to the test of experience of others ; for this is really the age of improvement in the arts of life, and of veterinary knowledge as much as any ; though the communicativeness that marks the spirit of libe- rality in almost every other, hath not extended itself to the art of training. So truly is this the case, and so great the dissonance of opinion as to what is right or what wrong in the process, that every horse which dies in training (and they have PREFACE. IX been lately estimated at three in eleven) may safely be said to die of training ; and as purgatives and cordials are the most active materials by which the people employed in this business hope to accom- plish their object, and they use both unreasonably, such horses may be considered as being " purged to death," or morbifically cordialled, until phrensy or visceral inflammation relieves the sufferer of existence ; or else, haply falling short of this acute species of attack, a comparatively short time re- duces a valuable animal in the scale of beings to which it belongs. That these Conversations were maintained as here set down would be too much to say ; but, that a good many points were elicited in argument is evident — though we claim no merit on that account. Each is supposed to occupy a day or single meet- ing, and the whole aims rather at establishing general principles from particular practices than to enter into all the minor details of the stable. Our endeavours have been directed towards at- taining a more rational mode of treatment, one that is somewhat conformable to the laws of nature, such as shall turn aside the prejudices that have too long infested the stable. That we have succeeded completely cannot be said at present, neither are our own wishes satisfied ; but we, nevertheless, find great gratification in the intelligence that so much X PREFACE. good has been achieved by the first and less deli- berated Edition. In the present, however, much care has been bestowed in pruning redundancies, in making additions, and such alterations as a year of experience, nearly, might seem to have pressed itself into our service. In doing this, — and indeed in producing this volume, or any other on the Art, we knew, beforehand, the mighty offence it would inflict on those who live by giving advice ; but a lingering hope, that they who have abused and be- lied us — as before noticed, would have the common prudence to desist when they found their acrimony served but to recoil on themselves with increased force — is yet unrealized ; — a kindly wish, that we might be spared the trouble of castigation, is yet to be fulfilled. J. H. Bridport-PlacCj March 14, 1830. CONTENTS Page Conversation I. — Introductory : Groom's first duties : Prognostics of Disease: general Health ; the Pulse, how available. Inbred Disorders; Young animals and fresh ones 1 Conversation II. — ^The Foot : Lameness in general ; how produced ; and of particular Accidents. Racers ; con- tracted Hoof; internal Causes ; Founder ; Foot-Fever ; bleeding Hunters ; run at Grass ; stopping 16 Conversation III. — Condition : Cordials, use and abuse of; Effects; Indigestion, Colic, Worms: Recovery from severe Work ; natural Cordials 47 Conversation IV. — Condition soiling, necessity of: Advantages and Disadvantages ; physicking ; turning- out ; and taking up ; the Humours ; in-door Mistreat- ment 53 Conversation V. — General Health — Feeding and Exer- cise ; in-door Treatment. Wind. Costiveness ; Speed, Physic. Of blank Days, Rest. Distress. Watering ; qualities. Stone. Temper, ravenous Horses and tender ones. Gross Food. Stretch and Length. Foreign Horses 64 Conversation VI.— Gross Habit. Grooming, its Be- nefits : Litter ; Blear Eyes 87 XU CONTENTS. Page Conversation VII. — The Stable : Ventilation— draining. Properties of Air, Gas 91 Conversation VIII. — Of preserving health : Work, Tonics. Legs. Misusage. Powers of going — Phy- sicking, its use and abuse ; Preparatives ; mode of giving Balls 104 Conversation IX.— Of Appetite. The Stomach; how affected, by bad Mouth, and how affecting Condition. Of Lampas ; Paps ; Quidders ; Bad Provender ; Crib- Biting ; Worms ; the Straw- Yard 124 Conversation X.— Inflammatory Complaints. First. Of the Stomach and Bowels : influence the Kidneys and Liver. Colic and inflammatory Complaints ; Adhesion ; Jaundice, retention of Urine, Bladder 146 Conversation XI. — Internal Inflammation, continued : Diseases of the Urinary Organs; the Kidneys and Liver. — the Bladder, incontinence of Urine and Suppression thereof ; Stone 160 Conversation XII. — The Lungs ;— Wind-Pipe and Mid- riff : a Cold, Catarrhal Inflammation ; Broken Wind, Roaring ; Law-Suits 176 Conversation XIII. — Cough 183 Conversation XIV. — Inflammation of the Lungs, how incurred. Pulmonary Consumption. Adhesion of the Parts : Symptoms. Crisis, how denoted : Effusion . . 200 Conversation XV. — The Liver, its Complaints. Func- tion impeded, and the same over-excited. Adhesion . . 212 Conversation XVI. — Of some necessary Operations ; and chiefly on Shoeing refractory Horses 2_21 Appendix. — Hinds's Book of Receipts; tests for detecting adulterated Medicines ; and observations on various dietetics 237 THE GROOMS^ ORACLE CONVERSATION I. Introductory; Grooins first Duties: Prognostics of Disease ; general Health ; the Pulse, how available. Inbred Disorders; Young Animals and fresh ones. " It is better to prevent than to cure ; to reclaim than to punish." A FEW cursory remarks, only: No apolo- gies, I apprehend, will be required ? A. None are necessary : proceed, freely ; and with as much order as you can conveniently. Q. What is the first duty of every good groom? A . To ascertain the state of health the horses, at any time placed under his care, may be in ; to pre- serve them in that state, at least, and to find out the seat of any ailment that may occur, and the cause thereof, so that it may be removed as soon as possible, or, at any rate, alleviated ; for you cannot reasonably hope to keep a horse in working condi- tion whilst he suffers pain. 2 FATNESS deprecated: OF FEEDING. [CONV. Q. Or inconvenience, we may add? A. Yes; when speaking of high-bred cattle. Q. Be he never so fat, the least pain of long continuance throws him out of condition, I observe? A. Fatness! fatness is not necessary to condi- tion, though 'tis proof of it, unless for slow draught-horses, for your London merchants, who love to make a show of their teams. Hunters, stagers, and roadsters, that require the powers of going to be combined with strength, should not be fat — racers least of all. Do we not hand-rub and otherwise dress them, till our arms ache, for the very purpose of circulating the blood, and thereby reduc- ing the size of the muscles, by promoting absorption, and of the fat above all. Never talk of fat again for fast animals, as 'tis an impediment to their speed. Q. I know, I know ; strong exercise and regular physic will alone keep your running-horse up to his paces. But how do you proceed with a fresh horse, now, generally speaking ? A. By watching his mode of feeding, by ascer- taining whether he be craving for water, a rave- nous eater, fretful, or otherwise ; judging by the quality of his dungings, as to colour, consistence, and frequency, whether he has been made up ; and, by his urine and perspiration at exercise and in the stable; also, whether he suffers any obstruc- tion internally, to say nothing here of his appear- ance upon the view, which may have previously deceived the purchaser himself, or 'tis to be pre- sumed it would not have been bought at all. I.] EXCITEMENT, ITS EFFECTS. 3 Q. Made up on purpose for sale, possibly, by such treatment as will assuredly prove the ruin of the animal in a short time after he comes to the stable. A. Its whole system excited, and its health undermined to such a degree by cordials, and fig- ging-, and *' things for his wind," and those '* good for his eyes," that it never fully recovers the effects of so much excitement. Q. But looking fine, brisk and sleek, neverthe- less ? A. Yet being actually very tender, in conse- quence of the means employed to make him look so. Such new purchases usually acquire diseases of the lungs, or of the skin, the first day of taking tliem home, or 'tis much else. Q. Unless you continue the same treatment ; the decoction of linseed, for example, can do no harm for a little while. A. Nor any good, except with a view to re-sale ; an event the real gentleman does not look to, you know. But some stand in immediate need of physic, their bellies being so drawn up at the flanks by the fiery things given them by the dealers, to inspire a short-lived vigour, that inflammation of the intestines is to be apprehended. Q. Or the solids so much afl^ected from a con- tinuance of the same excitement, that, upon pres- sing your finger upon any fleshy part of the carcase, the indentation remains awhile. A. Whereas, the flesh of horses, in full health, b2 4 NEW PURCHASES: TREATMENT. [CONV. and young ones, obliterates such a pressure instant- ly. Yes, yes, at all events, give to newly-pur- chased horses plenty of bran-mashes or dilute oat- meal-gruel in the first instance, to neutralize the offensive contents of the stomach, &c. and then pro- cure the three evacuations. Should these not come on regularly, or the urine and dunging be of a bad kind, hide-bound and other diseases of the skin follow ; as they do the disuse of habitual diaphore- tics, as sweating powders and the linseed decoction you just now mentioned. We should study the de- fects of our nevf acquaintance, however ungracious the task, especially if it be one we would make free use of, as we do of the horse. Q. He may have been originally ill-formed, and so the inheritor and possessor of some family disease, as narrow-chested (bad lungs), hollow- backed (injured kidneys), and the like. A. True ; but I would also desire to discover his acquired disorders, that lie concealed from the sight and the touch, those which are brought on by accident, or by the misapplication of his powers. Q. Of what nature is the principal of the less evident disorders of horses ? A. Heat.^ Inordinate heat, occasioned by the * A very grave gentleman suggested, that physic was the principal ailment of the horse, not so much on account of ignorance in the compounders, as of the motives to prescribing; which would superinduce giving too soon, and continuing too long, the very best remedies, — or what the interested party would call " regular treatment." I.] BODILY HEALTH* WHAT? 5 great exertions the animal is compelled to make ; and, when excessive, the bad effects thereof de- scending to the feet and legs, we invariably find these affected with some defect or other, which every act of progression does but exacerbate, especially if the pace be quick : the pain then endured at the extremities re-acts upon the carcase, or some vital part within it, and though it may produce no marked disease, irritates the stomach and intestines when behind, and prevents the food from doing good, or 'tis rejected altogether, where- by the horse goes out of condition ; or, if the pain be in the fore limbs, the lungs soon suffer from its effects, and that invariably after every long-con- tinned exertion, and more in hot than in mild sea- sons. Q. But you would not extend this observation to mere accidents, and the wear and waste of going ? A. Yes, I would, in great measure ; the aggra- vation we sometimes find to attend the most trivial prick of the foot, or slight touch of one leg by the foot of another in training, being wholly attributable to the bad or the heated state of his blood at the time of its occurring ; for, do we not know that such injuries sometimes happen and go away again without any medical treatment whatever, or any imaginable reason than comparative rest and good bodily health prevailing at the time ? Q. How would you come at a knowledge of this bodily health, as you call it ? 6 PULSE INDICATIVE OF HEALTH, [CONV. A. By the practice o^ feeling the pulse frequent- ly, whereby we ascertain the degree of heat, and other interesting- intelligence as to what is passing withinside. I can go through this part of my duty with our stables full of horses, in half an hour daily, including the time necessary for making my remarks upon such as require it. Owing to the thickness of the skin, however, in the minor breeds of horses, I find you must regulate the pressure of your finger point, so as neither to stop the pulsation entirely, by pressing too hard, nor by the direct contrary practice allow yourself to be deceived on the score of indistinctness in the beats. Q. On what artery is the thinnest skin found I A. Near the eye, at about an inch and a half from its corner ; but a larger artery may be consulted more instructively, underneath the edge of the jaw- bone. By applying this test of health to those par- ticular parts we are enabled to ascertain two or three facts of paramount importance at one and the same time, — namely^ the number of beats in a minute, and the regularity thereof, as also the force of the stroke, or its imbecility ; whereas, by placing the hand, as is usual, against the left side, under the elbow, the first point of information only is obtained. The heat and dryness of the mouth is also a sure indication of that heat and irritation of the whole system, denominated fever. Q. Well ; and if the pulse beat quicker than or- dinary, what opinion should you form upon it? What if slower than common ? I.] AND OF DISEASE. 7 A. In the first case, I should conclude the patient had an access of fever, which is always the case, tem- porarily, when the animal has been put on his mettle, and the more so, when he goes in jjain ! so, on the contrary, if he feed badly, or has some languishing disorder of the liver, as obstruction thereof, jaun- dice, or low fever, his pulse would be slower than usual and languid. Q. What, then, do you consider the common medium of pulsation, or healthy state ? A. It varies a little, according to circumstances and the breed of the animal, from thirty-six to forty beats in a minute ; the pulsation of large heavy horses being slower than that of the smaller breeds, and that of young horses quicker than old ones of their own kinds respectively.* Q. Are there no other indications given by the pulse of the animal's health? A. Undoubtedly : irregularity of beating is a sure sign of something being amiss with the nervous part of the system : fluctuation in the beating of the pulse tells us, as plainly as words can, when the animal has been flurried in any manner; if by ill- usage, the beats increase in quickness, a few strokes hard, followed by a fewer still indistinct; if the * So is the blood of all young ones thinner, paler, and quicker in the circulation than that of old animals ; age increas- ing its colour, its thickness, or viscidity ; and its resistance to the contraction of the containing vessels is consequently greater, therefore is it slower in motion. 8 OF THE PULSE: TEMPER; [CONV. agitation has been caused by pleasurable sensations, as the sound of horn or hounds, or the near ap- proach to home, then the number of low indistinct beats exceed the hard ones. Animals of bad tem- per, those with defective eyes, or skittish ones, that are apt to shy, and mares in heat, all evince this irregularity of pulsation ; whereby I first learned to come at a knowledge of each individual's temper, and I take care to treat him accordingly. Q. That is an excellent distinction of yours; I have an idea it may be pushed much farther, to the benefit of the noble animal, whose merits we are now discussing. A. Undoubtedly, the jo/acitZAorse which is kindly and docile in his nature, will be found with an equal moderate pulse ; whilst that of the voracious, tear- away, craving horse, which is never still, never satis- fied even when foremost, and \ns pulse shall be from four to six beats a minute quicker than the first- mentioned, and not regular either. Q. We will enter more fully into the distinctive attributes of the several classes of prime horses at some future opportunity. [Conversation ix.] Meantime, have you aught further to say concern- ing the pulse? A. Not at present. I shall reserve somewhat I have further to observe, until we come to talk of inflammatory fever and of bleeding ; in both which respects, my plan of daily ascertaining the state of my horses' pulse in health has been found of critical 1.] REGISTER OF HEALTH. 9 benefit by the actual doctor, when he is called in, as sometimes happens, to consult over a patient. [See Appendix, Pulse.~\ Q. Do you, then, keep a register of the state of your horses' pulse ? A. Yes ; of valuable ones, regularly, throughout the year, along with my Stud-book, Racing Calendar, Trial-book, and Account-book. You form a library of the same materials, do you mind me, with a cou- ple of books on Farriery, and read them with atten- tion; you'll ride none the heavier for it. As to ordinary or working cattle, they are not so readily affected, nor so dangerously, as horses with some breeding in them, and require less care. Q. Neither do they require vowWne physicking, like the thorough-bred horse, flesh being no incum- brance to them ; and nature, with the casual relish of green food, doing for such animals all that is necessary. A. Yet, notwithstanding I can recollect tolerably well what state of health every horse is in by a hasty touch, I like to put down my remarks on the hook, when any alteration takes place, to look it over at my leisure, that 1 may compare one season with an- other, and the state of one animal with that of another, and all with any change of circumstances. I once had an employer who called the pulse " the index of health ;" and at one time he observed that it ** resembled the thermometer,'' or weather-glass, which hangs up in the stable. Q. Very like, indeed. By these means, I per- b3 10 MISUSAGE IN BREEDING, [CONV. ceive how persons may also obtain a good insight of each animal's temper; for every one has its peculiar disposition, like mankind, and each requires a different treatment. A. To be sure they have ; all different, according to the breed, the gestation and rearing, * the manner in which the mounting and breaking, the shoeing, grooming and exercising, have been con- ducted, with other misusage; to say nothing of some inward disorders with which horses are occa- sionally afflicted at the time of foaling, or shortly after — as, when distemper prevails ; f the which, if ever they get over, shews itself in a vicious dispo- sition that nought can cure, though we may alle- viate such, by gentle means, — and by these only, in our approaches to the afflicted creature. Q. Stop. Misusage is a very undefined expres- • Inconsiderate persons about every farm, almost, who ad- mire tlie gambolling of foals, too frequently set them off^ for their amusement: and when they are taken in, the boys will often play tricks with the younkers, and teach them pranks the animals never forget : the habit of shying is thus engendered, and leaves us in doubt whether defective vision may not have been caused by this evil habit, as well as causing it. The optic nerve, by being constantly employed and excessively strained at every bugaboo sight, is thus disposed to occasion an access of humours at the part, more than is required naturally to supply the (Bquous humours thereof. t Some very judicious and extended instructions for the re- covery of mares and foals in seasons of the Distemper ^ may be found (by those who require them) in " Osmer's Treatise on the Horse," a new edition whereof, being the 5th, re-written by John Hinds, was published in January, this year. I.] AND REARING. MARES AND FOALS. 11 sion. What one person would consider so, another might look upon as quite necessary ; — chastisement, for example, of a hard-mouthed, country-bred, headstrong horse ; — it must be rendered tractable, you know, cost what pain it may. A. And never fails to become so under mild management, nor when employed in its proper work from the beginning ; and not pushed onwards, flogged and constrained to exertions beyond its powers, particularly whilst young ; nor at any age, indeed, while suffering under some well-suspected malady. Q. Shoeing particularly disobliges some horses, every fresh shoe being the signal for a fresh battle between smith and horse, the man attacking the animal, as 'twere, in the determination of perform- ing that operation by force of arms^ which a little coaxing would have effected equally well — if not better. A. Horses so treated must, I think, be consi- dered as misused creatures, without taking into account the capricious tempers of certain proprie- tors, and keeping quite out of view those occasions when some of them get into jolly company, and thereupon become as careless of their own health as of the valuable animals committed to their charge. You may have observed that an ill-tempered breed- ing farmer generally rears vicious horses ; the evil, in such cases, usually beginning with the mares in foal, whom he scares, or keeps uncomfortably, or works the mother up to the eleventh month. 12 RESTIVENESS: CASE IN POINT. [CONV. Q. This she communicates to her offspring. I'll give you a case in point, as to this fact, of a half- bred mare, belonging to a Cambridgeshire farmer, which produced five or six times, and every foal grew up as fretful and ill-tempered as it was finely shaped and full of fire ; and all sold at high prices, too, though all committed some mischief or other. One three- year old colt nearly killed the farmer himself; and, being sold to a neighbour, Gazzam by name, his new master reclaimed him by gentle treatment and steady usage, taking especial care, however, not to over-feed him at any one time, nor too much upon the whole : this he did on the princi- ple that distension of the stomach of young animals always engenders evil disposition, and fills them full of humours — which appear in the form of tumours, of strangles, lampas, and similar luxuriances. A. That is to say, the stomach governs the dispo- sition. In this lies the secret of all animal manage- mentf and that of the temper as much as any thing, since you thereby act upon their hopes and expec- tations of gratifying the appetite as much as on their fears of the lash ; in lieu of which the groom can substitute his voice in the correction of any vice he may discover, whereas hasty, petulant cor- rection does but confirm it the more. With this end in view, I always attend to the feeding and rubbing down every new purchase, of whatever kind, my employer sends into the stables, the better to ascertain its temper, to notice its manner jaf feeding, to watch the state of its blood, which I.] ROUGH RIDING SUPERSEDED. 13 marks the distinctive character of most horses, as much as its quantity ^ and to make such other close observations as may enable me to perform my duty as I ought, and which points of intelligence are only to be acquired by those means. Q. Still I must insist, that some vicious horses of robust constitution, are only to be reclaimed by rough usage! an absolute conquest over their un- toward temper, is necessary to render such animals at all tractable — they must tremble at the voice of the rough rider ^ (as in cases of cavalry remounts,) ere they become fit for service. A. Instead of turning out, like a couple of bul- lies to fight it out, as I have seen many soldiers enact with such evil disposed brutes, I have dealt successfully with two of those untractables, by dint of voice, and mode of feeding, with very little use of the whip, and less of spur. Both cases were those of half-bred horses. The exercises were conducted on the usual plan, and at first with the usual kick up between horse and rider. The feeding was not spare, but divided into smaller portions and oftener ; and accompanied with rebukes or caresses, as the individual might behave himself; but the main part of the victory was obtained by iiight work, as I was resolved not to be beaten. I took to the boys' bed, slept in my clothes, and every two or three hours summoned my restive customer from his sleep, got him up, pulled his head a little, spoke according to circumstances, and occasionally put on the saddle. Q. He would be tame next morning, and still 14 groom's stable-management, [conv. more so on a repetition, I apprehend ; you suc- ceeded by those means 1 A. Perfectly so ; but I am now past the endur- ance of so much privation of rest, as such an un- dertaking requires. Q. You are a man of acute perception, I see, and well deserve the confidence placed in you ; may you meet your reward. A. I have that already, in the health that pre- vails in our stables, one and all, and the commen- dations bestowed upon my management by the noble and distinguished visiters to them. As to money-rewards, they come as matter of course ; I am made quite easy on that score, as we scarcely win a race but I find myself remembered in some shape or other; not so much (I observe) in pro- portion to the amount of the stakes, but, as ap- pears to me, according to the exertions made, and the goodness of the cattle we may have been op- posed to. I like that vastly. Q. Then, a " walk-over" is not to your taste? A. Not a bit of it : give me a neck-and-neck win against the best bred cattle in Christendom ! I don't care where they come from. How the thoughts of such a race make my old heart to mantle ! But your inquiries do not so much tend to inves- tigate the particular economy of a racing stud, I perceive ; unless in that general way wherein this agrees with the management of half-hreds (as we call the main class of horses) and labouring cattle, I.] VIEWS OF THE PARTIES. 15 not forgetting your well-formed hunter, which, if it be not three-quarter bred, should at least be strong built, well upon the haunches, and of robust constitution. Come, come, I begin to discover that you desire to worm out of me not only all I knoiv, but whatever I may think upon the subject ; but, in saying this, I mean not to object, for I am no undelightful churl, and shall answer freely all your questions. Let us confine or talk to the pre- liminaty at first, or that mistaken course of treat- ment with superinduceth disorders, as well as the means of avoidance : it is better to prevent than to cure, — more humane to reclaim than to punish. This sentiment is not new : our countrymen have long learnt that the necessary operations — as dress- ing, shoeing, and exercising, are as well accom- plished, if not better, by coaxing and watching the temper of horses, as by that constant coercion, force, and brutal language, which formerly dis- figured our stable-management. 16 [COMV. CONVERSATION II. The Foot : Lameness in general ; Jioiv produced : and of particular Accidents. Racers ; contracted Hoof; internal Causes ; Founder ; Foot-Fever; bleeding Hunters ; run at Grass ; stopping. A. True ; lameness may proceed from several causes that may not reside in the foot at all, or, at any rate, not originate there. The inquiry as to which of these exists at any time, and how it has been brought about, is of primary importance towards its removal. Q. With what anxiety every one examines the feet of his horse, or one he is about to purchase ! And not without reason ; however good in every other respect, if he fail in this he is good for nothing. A. Less than nothing ; he is an encumbrance. Lameness frequently comes on in the fore legs without other cause than brisk work; it goes off after having puzzled us in searching for the seat of pain, and returns again on a repetition of the same fast-going — until, at length, 'tis found incurable. Q. Therefore is it extremely desirable to pro- vide an early remedy, when we have discovered whereabout to apply it : but sometimes 'tis a long while invisible. Strain of the shoulder, probably ; by some persons termed *' shoulder shook ?" A. Never, from such a cause ; nor unless the II.] SEAT OP LAMENESS, WHERE? 17 horse has sustained an accidental blow there, or has been thrown down, or he has sustained a twisted tread upon uneven ground, which the rider must have noticed at the time of its happening ; in all which cases the person in charge of the sufferer should be invited to declare the fact, and if uncom- plying, should be compelled to acknowledge it, by dint of threats, o^ ground ashy or of tongue. Similar accidents happen behind, at the stifle, or the whirl- hone, but are seldom acknowledged by ordinary drivers, with whom they mostly occur, in driving carelessly through the crowded road, or upon en- tering the narrow stable-doors with which an ill- judged parsimony has unblest a certain description of proprietors. Q. When a better description of horse falls lame under the like circumstances, we are no better oflF. A. We try every art to find out the place af- fected ; so, to make sure of the shoulder first, lift up the head of your patient high, compare the size of his two shoulders, let go his head abruptly, and he will drop it towards the side his pain lies, when the shoulder will be found swollen either towards the breast or near the withers, and he evinces pain upon its being rubbed down hard. Q. With us, they rattle some corn in a sieve behind the horse, now on this side, now on that, and you shall discover whether he flinches when turning his neck this way or that, as he will do if the ail- ment be in the shoulder, and not in \\\e foot. 18 LAMENESS IN TRAINING, [CONV. A. According to the extent of the injury, and the state of the patient's bodily health, will be the amount of inflammation and swelling, although both are absent on some occasions, and no other symptom remain in common but lameness, and the flinching you speak of: "when heat and swelHng supervene, rub the part well with camphoretted spirits, No. 2 ; when no swelling is perceivable, employ the cold lotion, with the roller-binding. [See Appendix, Lotions.'] Q. Well, and suppose the lame horse does not flinch, nor drag his toe on the ground, nor any of those other symptoms you speak of? A. Then does the lameness lie in ihefoot, or in the leg, just above it, but seldom in the latter when the lameness is before; except, indeed, with blood horses in training, which are very liable to '^ fall lame," as the people about them falsely say, un- account ab 1 1/, Q. But can you tell me how this falling lame occurs so often with racers in training, and the young ones principally, notwithstanding the inde- scribable care that is taken to bring forward this description of horse in the very best possible state to the post? A. This may be, and often is, occasioned by the weights put up being too great for their strength ; the younkers then bringing their fore legs close to- gether, the better to sustain the burthen, and when they move onward the legs interfere with each other. II.] HOW INCURRED. 19 Q. Repetition of the hlow enhances the harm thus inflicted, and continuance of the exercise sends the sufferer home lame. A. Frequently. Boys should be allowed the dis- cretion of walking home from the downs when they discover that such an accident has occurred ; and the immediate brisk application of a spoonfull of vinegar to the part removes the effect of the blow. Q. Aye, better carry up with them a pewter phial charged with vinegar rather than brandy, which then does harm. A. As it does in all recent cases of strained sinews. After the heat and tension is gone down, then indeed ardent spirits may do good. Too much anxiety often defeats its own purpose : the very best things may be overdone ; so is hand-rubbing, car- ried to an extreme, upon the legs of those horses until they become susceptible of the least injury, as may be inferred from the lowering of the pastern bone, its inclination downwards increasing as this operation is more assiduously performed. This ap- pears to me to be one of those things in stable management which, being good and beneficial up to a certain point, when pushed to excess becomes prejudicial, to any description of horse and to none more than the hunter, jaded with a long chase, par- ticularly when the rubbing commences before the tired animal has been suffered to cool. Q. The humours being stirred up by strong work, are attracted, by the friction, to the legs — in the nature of a blister, and they thicken. 20 TREATMENT OF LEG-LAMENESS. [CONV. A. And if they do not swell, rapid absorption of muscle goes on, and produces legs too fine for going over a rough country ; so you had best wait awhile ere the rubbing begins, or first wash the legs in warm water, wipe and scrub them quite dry, ban- dage them spirally (See Appendix) with long woollen roller binding. This doctrine I have always maintained, and acted upon it. The part having lost its defence in consequence of the muscle being absorbed by the friction — the bared sinews are exposed to blows — the which, however trivial, are felt in their degree ; and as they occur (I believe) about the time of going to exercise, i.e. at clothing, putting up the boy in the stall, and partly turning, instead of backing quite out — the gallop renders a most insignificant touch matter of importance ; for the horse comes home lame. Q. We frequently notice that high-bred cattle, young ones in particular, are given to cross the fore- legs in turning ; this is one of their habits, which is more observable when in training, and tells us plainly, they should not he turned round too sharp at any time. In the actual race, I have noticed several instances of falling lame while running, and of breaking down, that these occurred at, or soon after passing some turn in the land. A. 'Twere better, if the accident could be dis- covered before going out to exercise, when a walk for an hour might probably restore the leg ; but it is the pace that has brought the accident to maturity, which is only to be got over by comparative rest ; II.] hunters' knock-up, lame. 21 nay of absolute rest, if the walk has increased the lameness aught. [See Camplioretted Sjnrits, in Appendix.] Q. Ah! J^e^Hs incompatible with training; it puts on JlesJi, that enemy of pace. A. Which must then be got rid of by physic ; purging-balls and sweating-powders must take place of sweating over the hills and downs, and the na- tural evacuations. Q. Sweating-powders! Surely you do not A. Not upon trivial occasions, truly ; but I will insist upon reducing the animal's fat, and I find no more inoffensive aid than the all-efficacious evacua- tion by the skin. We apply the cold lotion or camphoretted spirits, according to the nature of the accident, and restore the limb to its former state by those means ; but much valuable training time is thus lost in the process, whilst we still look upon the leg with suspicion, and the proprietor acts under a doubt with his engagements. Q. What further happens, even in the slightest cases, but that every day the work is suspended, the animal loses temper, much to the disadvantage of his form of going. A. He becomes choleric in consequence of his blood thickening, and must be bled, to the amount of two quarts at the least. Indeed, if the accident has been greater than what I have hitherto contem- plated, the cure would be advanced by bleeding in the first instance, to the amount of four quarts, or rather more, if the subject be one of the strong, 22 STRAINS AND KICKS. FOOT; [CONV. hearty kind, and consequently full of blood, and of irritable disposition. When lameness is inflicted on such an one, bleeding is no longer optional, nor should its quantity be trifling. Q. Walking exercise (gently does it) on a pad- dock completes the cure ; I have worked at it my- self, as it requires much care. A. And 1, too, ofttimes ; but 'tis generally under- taken too early. Whilst dressing, the last-mention- ed description of horses will strike a foot against its corresponding leg, unless you take the precau- tion to guard against this accident by putting on the boots. Q. I also remember a fine horse being kicked by a lad, in the act of dressing him, as he said, " in his own defence," the horse having rammed him against the wall in its agony at the curry-comb. A. This is an off'ence seldom happening in the present day ; but whoever put that barbarous in- strument into the poor fellow's hands was the pri- mary offender, though only to use it for cleansing the brush, which is itself too generally coarse and unfit to apply to the coat of a thorough-bred horse. Q. They make brushes of whalebone hair, now- a-day, which should be rejected for thin-skinned horses, as a few hairs always retain the original hardness of the whalebone. Huntet's likewise fall lame through the same causes ; and also by hard work over an uneven country, as they do by leaping, without exactly clearing the object they go at. I!.] INFLAMMATION INDICATED. 23 A. Then it is that a little strain, or rather sprain^ of the back sinews and ligaments, which, although they be lai^ge in the hunter, contract lameness after a hard day's work is over, when the whole of the shank-bone loses its shape, and becomes round, large, and hot. This more certainly happens, if the horse is neglected, or " left behind," perhaps, at some stray farm-house, near where he may have knocked up, and no opportunity offers of bandaging the legs, as ought to be done after every day's sport — provided there has been sport. Q. At our stables, when the hunters come in, previously to bandaging, we bathe the fetlocks with warm water, and the knees too, giving the flannels a twist round each joint, and supplying every one with three or four turns of the water, a little warmer each time, but no lotion or embroca- tion is employed. A. Of course, you take care to wipe quite dry, and that before the application is suffered to cool. You will find that horses with legs too fleshy have the most tendency to contract inflammation of the parts, as may be easily felt on grasping the leg be- fore applying the water; which also dries up sooner the more heat you may find on either foot respec- tively, as it also is an indication of that heat, if not otherwise noticed by tlie touch. Q. If the hardness remains, whether of the bone or its coverings, next day, and subsequently, we wash the legs in strong salt water, in the same manner, after walking out the horse, and give him 24 SALT, ITS MANY VIRTUES. [CONV. the same exercise immediately after the cold salt- water bathing."^ A. The virtues of salt applications to the legs have lain hidden, neglected, and despised, for the last half-century; its only advocate, William Osmer, having been placed himself in the same predica- ment. A charge or cataplasm of salt applied to any affection of the legs, when pursued assiduously, is a fine discutient. Q. Descending to the foot; — have you not ob- served that the majority of horses leave the shoeing smith with a different gait from the one with which they entered Ms sliop, for 'tis ill advised to shoe the best description of horses in sight of their own stable. A. It is so. Better lead such in company of a pad-horse or hackney, along the stable front, to a shed or shop at the further end ; where, let us sup- pose in fairness, he is shod in the best manner; yet, if the smith pare the sole in large slivers, though altogether no more than is needful and proper, the horse will go away in a crippling gait ; a proceeding that is ill-advised, even as regards the cart-horse. * The whole subject of strains has received enlarged notice elsewhere — " Veterinary Surgery," i)age 481. A deposite of lymph underneath the skin is the consequence of a blow, the which forms the groundwork of disease, either immediate or remote ; whilst the strain causes exhaustion of the same means of lubricating the tendons, and they become arid and lose their flexibility. AVarm bathing, however, corrects the tendency to either extreme, and moderate walking exercise completes the cure. II.] NAVICULAR DISEASE, ASCERTAINED. 25 Then, if the work of either description of horse be carried on to its utmost powers, the lameness increases, or goes and returns, until it fixes itself somewhere, and the disorder receives in due time one or other of those pretty sounding names which tickle the ears, but which T am assured from good authority have no foundation in fact, in reason, or in analogy. Q. Here they are, two of them — '^ navicular disease,*' " strain of the coffin joint" — both those bones lie concealed in the internal of the hoof. A. So nobody can know when either the one or the other afflicts the animal, until after death* Q. Much too late to do any good, I think. Pray, who gave them those names? A. I profess not to know ; but apprehend that they mean nothing else but the founder , when the horse, from his manner of walking, is also termed groggy. Many other causes of lameness are much better defined; contraction for example. * No one has yet shown, upon paper, what symptoms of dis- order have subsequently turned out to be " aflfections of the navicula," or shuttle-bone. In another place, I have given a minute and, I hope, a clear anatomical description of the inter- nal parts of the horse's foot ; whereby we arrive at the certainty that no one can pronounce the drying up of the juices by heat or disease, a " navicular disorder," nor *' disease of the lamina ;" for these juices pervade the whole internal foot, interposing between the coffin-bone and the wall, where the lamina is situated ; but previously the juice lubricates the navicula, and ascends to the coi'onet. Enlargement of the cartilages at the coffin joint may be tolerably ascertained by the finger touch ; but is in- curable. — Vide Hinds's " Veterinary Surgery," page 443 C 26 CONTRACTION, DISPUTED. [CONV, Q. Not allowed, I understand ; one of the mis- taken notions. A. No ; not wholly so. The advocates for the doctrine of contracted lioof asked for too much credence ; their opponents deny that contraction causes lameness, because they could adduce marked cases of contraction without lameness existing^. Q. Were they not then satisfied with this closer i A. I was not, for one, nor ought you. The dis- pute is thus solved : — when contraction comes on slowlijy as it does with ordinary draught cattle, no lameness afflicts them, even though the pommiced sole be as convex as a bowl; but when the higher orders, as saddle-horses, stagers, hunters, experience contraction, it makes rapid strides in proportion to the quick pace at which the sufferers may be ridden or driven. Comparative rest alleviates the pain and heat, and the contracted hoofs that can be so laid up awhile, never become absolutely lame. Q. Our modern stage-proprietors seem to have found this out by experience, for many of their sets consist of five horses, leaving one idle at the tail of the journey ; or, at least, they keep a spare wheeler and leader to three or four sets. Besides this, they are become wise enough to run short stages, forward and backward daily : there's the rub. A. The consequence of both sorts of arrangement is, that we scarcely ever see lame horses in a stage- coach now, as formerly. But the sudden contraction, arising from a harsh, compulsory, unrelenting, un- relaxing, performance of its duties, is that which II.] STAGERS; FLAT FOOT. 27 brings on lameness of both fore-feet, if it does not extend to the whole set, and the horse is rendered useless awhile, or ruined for the remainder of its days, by quickness of the pace. Q. This, then, is lameness from contraction; the former is contraction without the immediate production of lameness. A. But still very liable to become so, if the horse so affected be pushed in his work, in pace or length, beyond his usual performance. Both degrees are affected alike ; that is to say, the hoof contracts upon its contents, the coffin and shuttle bones, and the vessels around them that secrete the horny material. When the contraction is gra- dual, these contents adapt themselves to the new state of things hy degrees ; the secretion then going on with increased feverish activity, throws out horn superabundantly, and what the wall is deficient in shape it acquires in substance. Most horsemen like a strong foot, and this circumstance blinds them as to defective shape; for such, most un- doubtedly it is, when the heels become low and the front of the hoof sinks or becomes more and more inclined. Q. But many thousand horses — carriage and cur- ricle — have those flat feet you allude to, yet never fall lame of a sudden. A. Don't say never, for when they do, they no longer go out as such; they are allowed rest and recover ; rest, physic, and walking exercise is the c2 28 SOFT FOOT, NOT FLAKEY : PARING. [CONV. panacea for all recent, unaccountable lameness, whether of leg or foot. The feet of this descrip- tion of horses are soft ; they are naostly high-goers, and instead of contracting (growing less), in the manner that your hard feet do, these spread out, expand, flatten; by which species of distortion un- natural heat is engendered, as in the preceding in- stance, much horn is furnished to the wall, so as to give it the appearance of strength, and, perhaps, the reality. But then the heels contract, the frog loses its shape, and requires frequent paring off of its rotten surface, as does the sole, little though it be, every ten days or a fortnight, when in full work on hard roads. Q. These large-footed horses seem inspirited by every fresh shoeing, as if conscious of the benefits derived from a moderate use of the butteris and drawing knife; but their soles are seldom flakey. A. Never, I should think, owing to the softness of the hoof, which seems to direct that such soles as these should be used tenderly, whilst the rotton frog of the same demands reduction, and the bars require opening a little. Q. We have been all along thinking of the fore- leg only. A. With its foot. Lameness frequently depends upon some internal disorder — that is to say, is caused by it, and may be removed by restoring the body to good order. So do original defects of the organs of life affect II.] FORE AND HIND LEG, AFFECTIONS. 29 the limbs. Unfavourable growth of the lungs, for instance, affect the fore-feet; disorders of the liver, kidneys, stomach, the hind legs. Q. Of these internal parts let us talk more here- after. [Conv, xii. and xv.] At present the legs, the feet, demand our care. Is it not strange mat- ter for reflection, that so many disorders, all well marked and distinct, should be inherent to the fore- feet of our horseSy which are wholly unknown he- hind, whilst the only two that afflict the hind-feet very seldom appear on the fore-feet? Ringbone and grease are the pair of posterior diseases I now advert to. A. *' Entirely owing to the act of progression!" I concluded lately, after contemplating over the same subject, and taking into account the balance which the fore limb and the hind one strike in reckoning up the greater number of disorders that belong to the hiud-/e^, which are unknown to the {ore-leg. Leaving out of our estimate inflicted disorders, or accidents, (as broken knees, cutting, &c.) the fore-leg, I believe, is subject to but two disorders, the hind-leg to a dozen. Q. All which must be attributed to the superior severity of the beating or battering the fore-foot undergoes in its smart contact with the hard ground, from which the hind-foot is comparatively free. A. The office of this latter limb, being evidently to propel the body along, that of the fore-limb to sustain the weight, which falls the more heavily as 30 concussion: pace, founder, [conv. the pace is accelerated, and the concussion becomes greater the faster the animal goes. Q. 'Tis the pace that finds them out; but con- cussion as a word descriptive of this kind of inflic- tion on the fore-feet has been sneered at by the mere controversialists. A. Let them ; 'tis, nevertheless, a just terra, and the thing is as much a disorder as a wound, or other infliction. This new custom of ridiculing the Professor may be reckoned among the excesses of the times ; though he may not be always right, none ought to charge another wrongfully, even with the venial offence of surpassing in wisdom. Q. We have settled our question, however, that accelerated speed causes increased concussion of the fore-feet against the stones ; hence, the disorders that attach to the fore-feet ; the hind ones, being simply employed in propulsion, suffer less concus- sion — hence less disease of the feet behind. A. So far you fill up my idea justly ; but our question will only be ** settled," by bringing into estimate how much the rapid acf of progression puts a tax upon the lungs to the utmost of their powers to discharge ; nay, beyond their power, at a quick pace and extra lengths, whereby an inflam- matory disorder is engendered there, at the mo- ment a correspondent one is inflicted upon the fore-feet, and a fellow-feeling or companionship is kept up between them, which is renewed, pro and con, upon every future occasion of inflammation, II.] STRAIN OF THE STIFLE. 31 of broken wind, of founder, of cough, or extra hard work. Hence the confusion of people who speak o{ foot-founder and chest -founder, mixedly, as begetting each other : nor were they altogether wrong, as we shall see upon further examination. Q. What a source of ingenious inquiry have you here opened up ! We must postpone closer in- vestigation of the premises to a future day. [^Con- versations xii. and xiv.] Meantime, let us turn to '* the posterior limb," as the hospitallers of St. Pancras would say. A. Lameness of the hind-leg is almost invariably charged upon strain of the stijie, of the hip-joint, or whirl-bone; but generally with as little justice as we lately discoursed regarding shoulder-strain. When either of those large projecting bones are anywise affected, we may safely ascribe it to acci- dent, inflicted upon the animal at going into the narrow stable-door-way, or by the driver's running against posts, walls, and carriages in the streets. When the seat of the disorder is ascertained, fo- mentations of bran-poultices, of marsh-mallows, and of the camphoretted spirits [set down in the Appendix], may be applied with good effect; but if the stifle swell in consequence of the injury in- flicted, it will also feel tender, i. e. the animal will shrink from the touch ; you must then bleed and purge to an amount commensurate with that of the accident; the tenderness of the constitution being taken into consideration, and actual state of 32 CANKER AND THRUSH. [CONV. the animal's bodily health, his fleshiness, dungings, pulse, &c. Q. Very similar to the treatment for shoulder- lameness we were talking of this morning, except as to bleeding the patient. A. In like manner, if you do not discover the cause of lameness to reside in the upper part of the limb, 'tis occasioned by bone-spavin, by ring-bone, or some other of the many disorders of the hind- leg ; for, I presume, you will have ascertained be- forehand that your horse is not afflicted with that beggarly disorder of a filthy stable, a i^unning frush, or its equally disgusting, but more extended, suc- cessor, canker, which are in fact but one disease ; although some affect to confine one of these terms to the fore-foot, the other to the hind one. Canker and Thrush, — by the way, 1 may ob- serve, are brought on by want of pressure on the frog, and attack the better description of horses occasionally ; but these are invariably of the heavy, fleshy variety, whence I am led to conclude that this is 07ie of the disorders that is engendered in the system, probably at the liver or kidneys. Our best London dray and town-cart horses, for example, fall martyrs to this disorder, on account of the high calkens the smiths give to their shoes, whilst those with lower heels, and in poorer keep, escape with impunity. In proof that it is want of pressure on the frog which brings on this disease, I may adduce the fact, that procuring pressure to the parts is II.] FROG-PRESSURE. BRITTLE HOOF. 33 the chief means of cure, and which never fails to relieve. Q. Pressure of the frog is thus proven beneficial, its absence harmful, to the well being of the sole, if not of the whole foot. A. It promotes secretion of the horny juices ; and although these might and do go on secreting, whilst the frog is suspended from the ground, yet no one will pretend to say that secretion proceeds healthfully, when they see such an infernal product of the smith's labours as a running frush, as we now call it. Turn the question how we may, frog- pressure has an effect, and that effect is desirable, notwithstanding the opponents may adduce a hun- dred instances of horses going well without it. Q. The dispute seems settled on its proper bases; one party asked for too much belief, the other de- nied them any credence ; both were wrong in the extent of their views. You were speaking just now (p. 26) of the great heat of his body affecting the horse's feet, causing brittle hoof, and contraction ; pray how is this evil brought about ; and this again leads me to ask, what is the remedy? A. You are perfectly correct there, in . asking about the remedy, there being but one, and that one comprised in a single sentence, namely, — 'Re- duce the heat, and that of the body first ; ^ supply * The heat here spoken of would be better understood by many as stimuiation, of which the horse possesses a good deal naturally, and much more is cast upon him by forced exercise, c3 34 PRINCIPLE OP CURE. TREATMENT [CONV. the moisture which your arts have denied him : work less, or give full rest. ^^* This is the principle upon which the cure of all diseases, of whatsoever kind, must be under- taken, if you mean to succeed, viz. ** Take away the cause and the effect ceases;" unless, indeed, the cause has been neglected so long, or persevered in so ruinously, or the remedy so ignorantly applied, that part of the effect of either error becomes per- mament, and then acquires a different name — (de- manding a different treatment) besides the indis- criminate ones of mere " lameness," for example, or ** out of condition," or " touched in the lungs" — neither of which means any thing that we can apply a remedy to with precision. Q. Thank ye, my good friend. Must I, then, cool his feet and legs after a hard run, by walk- ing my horse into cold water, or should I stop his foot with cow-dung and soft clay, or any of the other cold things so strongly recommended? by the stimulation of oats, beans, malt, cordials, instead of the natural green food : besides the constant irritation upon his memory (mind?) of visible objects of desire or aversion, which at the highest pitch we term fretfulness, and the disorder to Avhich it gives rise is the fret, a precursor of umbilical inflam- mation. Thus, the pain which succeeds the pleasurable sensa- tions derived from the use of stimulants, is spasm ; and as the tirst acted primarily on the bowels, so do these sustain the con- vulsive contraction we call spasmodic colic, gripes, or fret ; which, by continuance, reproduces inflammation of the parts we previously stimulated, and its adjacencies. Sedatives allay pain ; stimulant medicines restore the tone ; and both prevent that re-action which is so dangerous in all such cases. IT.] OF THE FEET. STOPPING: SOFT HOOF. 35 A. By no means ; at least, not abruptly, whilst he is yet reeking hot, nor keep him standingin the water, least of all in winter; for such practices are more likely to bring on and confirm lasting diseases of the feet, if they do not cost many a horse his life at once. Sudden death from inflammation of the blood (and its vessels), by its determining to the brain, being- most imminent, though similar attacks on the bowels and the lungs, after such chills, are of more common recurrence, and in hot weather more than in cokL We will talk more of those internal parts hereafter. Q. But you yourself practise stopping on brit- tle hoof, I see ; pray do you ever use horse-dung for that purpose? A. The last thing before bedding up, I often do ; but horse-dung is oftoohota nature, even though you allay its heating qualities with strong 5o/w^io7iq/'«i^re, as recommended. If ever horse-dung be preferable for stopping, it would be after a hard chase in winter, when the extremities have been suffered to cool below natural heat, as happens to soft hoofs, ere they get flattened: to ascertain which fact, you feel the pulse at the pastern, and by grasping the foot with both hands, compare the general warmth thereof with the quickness of the pulse — or rather say slowness, on the present occasion. Although most of those applications, as well as the sponge- boot, are undoubtedly useful in the sequel of attacks on the feet, yet are they no less improper whilst the horse is yet jaded, the feet feverish, and susceptible of every variation of temperature. Let the pulse 36 CHILL, AFFECTS THE FEET— BY THE [CONV. subside and the sweating cease, ere you wet the feet or the legs, though this best be done with warm water. Q. Am I to understand that neither extreme is good ? For the old practice of applying hot remedies to the feet has been long exploded, I hear, as being detrimental to the growth of horn, and causing the hoof to assume a wry shape : even the admixture of vinegar must corrode and destroy, whilst its cooling properties are fully acknowledged. A. Yes, most assuredly; hot tar, hot oils, and all heating things, are proveably destructive of animal substances, dead or alive, and therefore to be avoided in every shape; unless it be a styptic ap-- plied to a puncture or sharp wound, and then instead of all other prescription of the oils, &c. of which we once heard so much and so stupidly said, a drop of brandy, or Dutch drops, is as good as any for stanch- ing the blood. On the other hand, colds, fevers, and inflammatory complaints of several kinds, are caused by such sudden checks as those just alluded to, being given to the circulation of the blood, and is then termed ** chill." More particularly when this takes place at the time the blood flows most determinedly towards the feet, as it does a long time after hard work, or a hard run, it would be evidently danger- ous to walk your horse into cold water, to apply chilling mixtures to his feet, or do any other act that is likely so to produce a revulsion of the animal's system ; whereby the blood is compelled to rush back to its sources (the heart and the liver), or to the head, the skin, or wherever it may expend II.] LUNGS; AND THE HIND QUARTER. 37 its malignant force the readiest ; the weaker part of the system being most liable to receive the severest shock, and the disease is then very significantly said to Jix itself there. Tender horses suffer most in the *' lungs y^' at the windpipe^ and its lining ; irritable ones — those of them which feed heartily, craving for water, and fretful, suff*er in the stomach and kid- neys ; whence the efi'ect descends to their hind- legs, whilst the fore-feet of those tender ones are mainly affected on such occasions. Q. If the same sort of chill were to attack the carcase, the effect there would be the same, I presume I A. Very nearly ; but does not happen so often as that by the feet, which necessarily suffer more hardships than any part of the frame. In fine, no other treatment seems necessary on such occasions, than permitting the jaded beast to cool gradually, sheltered from a current of air, after scraping off the sweat, loosening the saddle, harness, &c. Walk- ing does all that is necessary in this state of his body, and bringing him to his food restores his spirits ; with these, a just circulation of the blood ensues, with renovation of strength : then only it is that washing the feet and stopping the heels can be re- sorted to with advantage, as the system of bodily health is now such as to absorb or take up any hu- mours that his former languid dejection may have permitted to subside there.* * So true are these observations, that we may notice a horse 38 EFFECTS OF STRONG WORK. [CONV. Q. Aye, aye ; the want of sufficient vigour failing to keep up the due circulation of the blood, the animal functions droop. Good. Thus have I found the work has been so severe at times, that the horse can neither walk or feed : and at other times so excessive that bleeding the bars was found insufficient to make him take his corn — what then I A. In that case, bleed him in the neck-vein at once, a quart or three pints, from a large orifice ; for, when he is in that state, you will find his pulse quickened and full, though occasionally indistinct, as if its power of flowing were obstructed at inter- vals. The black state of the blood at the bottom of the receiving vessel will tell how necessary the operation has been :* give a mild purgative after- which at any time has sustained a bodily disorder, always proves it afterwards by the ailing state of his feet and legs, though when illness affects only one limb, this is no proof of snch bodily disorder having been the cause of it. So will the inordinate use of cordials produce in time brittle hoof, contracted heels, and one or other of the train of diseases arising from an imperfect secre- tion of horn, in which the heat prevails over the necessary moisture ; hereupon we endeavour to amend the defect by apply- ing artificial exterior moisture, by means of the sponge-boot, stopping, &c. In like manner, but inversely, do accidents at the feet affect the carcase, as the stomach and lungs, the liver and kidneys falling into disease by a kind of sympathy with these, or communicating it to the two first, on suffering greatly from anguish of the feet. The treatment for this apparently complex attack is, however, very simple : the disorder at the feet being reduced (according to its nature), restoring the stomach to its proper tone usually effects all the rest. [Consult for this purpose Tonics, in the Appendix.] * The muscle or fleshy parts of all over-driven or hunted ani- II.] BLEED, FOR A '* KNOCK-UP." 39 wards (see Aloes, § 10, and Physic, § 3, in Ap- pendix), and plenty of water-gruel or bran-mashes next day. Give the cordial ball No. 1, i?i the first instance ; unless it be an old horse which has been inured to cordials, when No. 2 will be found not over strong-. Q. ''A stitch in time saves nine," according to the old adage. A. But neglect your horse awhile under those circumstances, and low feverish symptoms ensue, as certain as does the more acute attack, whose origin T touched upon in the last page. In this event it consists of increasing excitement of the whole system, in the preceding the animal droops, and the disorder falls into his feet; for, you will re- member, there is always a subsidence of the blood to the feet going on, which tendency is further ac- celerated by the great exertions the animal is com- pelled to make, generally over hot roads. Unusual heat of the feet is then prevalent, and is kept up after that of the body has resumed the natural, which may well be considered, ** fever of the feet," and as the harbinger of a more defined disorder, with twenty names, but having only one origin, — viz. mals approach towards mortification, by the finer blood vessels being driven full, and detaining their contents until putrescence comes on ; at the head atrophy and sudden death ensues. Meat of the chased stag is purple, so is that of hunted hares : if shot dead it is red ; but if after being stricken the fallow deer runs (as he is wont) to a ditch and lingers, the meat is paler than usual. 40 LANCET? BLEED THE FEET: [CONV. drying up of the moisture that should have supplied new healthy horn, after lubricating the internal parts of the foot. Q. Seeing the benefit of promptness, better carry a fleam about one, then ? or a lancet, perhaps ? I once saw a sporting doctor, in the north, pull out a lancet and bleed his hunter, and that of another gentleman, in the middle of a ploughed field, where they had knocked up after a severe chase ; where- upon both went away much recovered ; and a cordial, which he carried in his pocket, did the rest. The lancet is the best instrument, is it not ? A. Not for every purpose, nor in every one's hands : use does a good deal, as in the case you mention; but 'tis an uncertain instrument, when large quantities of blood are required to be drawn off, not making an orifice sufficiently large, besides being liable to abuse in the hands of ignorant per- sons. On those occasions, when bleeding in the mouth, the feet, or at the temple, may be deemed requisite, however, it may be employed with reason. Q. The employment of the corn or sharpened stag's horn, is generally decried I believe, as too rude for the present improved state of knowledge ; although I have seen it used in bleeding the bars of the mouth, for which it seems particularly well adapted. Pray, would you bleed at the foot for an undefined lameness ? A. Not always. If fever of the part continued, whilst that of the body was nearly natural, I should II.] COOLING THE HOOF : THE BOOT. 41 think the cause defined enough for my purpose, and be inclined to bleed at the pastern, more especially if I had already bled at the neck-vein, and the lameness were no better for it. It is thus de- fined to be perfectly local, and has been occasioned by the rider or driver constantly making this the leading foot at setting out. Q. But stopping f if persisted in, effects amend- ment. A. If you also change the leading foot in going, the cure may be completed ; 'tis long continued work and the infliction of the beating on the in- jured foot that fixes the lameness. Q. Ill-built horses, those with the legs badly set on their bodies have always a leading foot; what is to be done at them. A. Reject them in toto. Q. Few stable people are adroit at stopping heels, so as it may remain secure during the night. A. Nor at bandaging either, for fistula, wounds, quitter, &c. Splents of wood, resembling matches, inserted under the inner rim of the shoe, retains the mass tolerably well, or a tin slider, entering at the heel. Then there is the boot, and a patent sponge-boot, forsooth, which any of our harness- makers can contrive and adjust to circumstances, according to order ; these are well adapted for re- taining moisture or any application deemed neces- sary to the foot ; the only objection I can see being in cases of fever of the foot, when we so much desire coolness for the patient, which the boot 42 HUNTERS KEPT TOO TENDERLY. [CONV. counteracts after beino^ on the foot three or four hours. Q. For which purpose some persons wash fre- quently the stable-floor, or contrive to give the aH- ing horse a standing on sodden or clayey ground, when they cannot turn it out to the homestead, un- paved yard, or loose in a linhay, or shed. A. For working horses that are wanted in turn, either is a good substitute, but nothing like so eflB- cacious as sending such horses to field by night in summer, and during the brightest hours of the day in colder seasons : with these we find no lasting complaints of the feet, besides accidents. All hunters are too tenderly kept ; to my mind none but hearty, robust horses, half-bred and three-quarter bred, should take the field after fox or stag. Q. The advantage of turning out to such cattle is inestimable. A. Lungs and Iwofs admirable ! Though coats roughish and legs a little fleshy to be sure, requiring occasional physic, and much manual labour : it has been practised on a large scale with regard to hunters, also, in mild countries. At Chumleigh, as fine a stud as ever followed fox, lived in the open air during the hunting season ; what their coats suf- fered in appearance was fully compensated by the super-excellent manner in which they finished the day's sport. No piping, nor any distress that a slight cordial or warm ale could not banish. Q. They could never be in condition, according to the present accepted phrase, with a sleek and II.] EFFECTS OF SOILING: DRY FOOD. 43 fat exterior. Gentlemen now-a-day, require some- thing handsome to look at ; you know as well as I do, that a queer-looking set-out would excite jeers in a crack hunt, any where about 3Ielton, for example. A. Gentlemen must follow their own fancies, but the constitution of a horse 'tis impossible to control by fashion : every one is aware, that 'tis very sel- dom the sleekest or most spirited horse at the covert-side in the morning, returns in the best state to the stable at night : never, if he owe his sipparent condition to cordials, and woollen clothing in a hot stable. Q. Better to reserve these until the return home, you say. Pray did they cordial the hunters at Chumleigh any 't A. Only on emergencies — they would be too ten- der for the open air else. I speak of 1824-5. No coughs, no foot-fever, no affections of the stomach, always ready for their corn, nor any blear eyes as some might expect ; nor, indeed, any days of rest, they took as much exercise on blank days as they chose and went the better for it. " Grass !" I do not think they took any. What made you think so I You dispute like a Nimrod. Q. You agreed with me, that he was right in keeping up his cattle always in condition. A. Always fit for sale, you mean; and herein lies the germ of the dispute between that jjeriodical writer and his opponents, who maintain the lasting benefits of soihng the hunter, unless like him they 44 STOPPING, PRl^CAUTIONS ; [CONV. can attend throughout the summer to a scrupulous regulation of the animal's digestive organs, which must otherwise suffer by the constant stimulation dry food keeps up. Look at His Majesty's hunters, for example, which are annually sent to the neigh- bourhood of Maidenhead to disport in the natural soil ; then look at them when they return to Wink- field again. The thing speaks for itself. Give me good feet and good wind, the back-sinews large and well-covered, before all the fine coats and full- fed carcases in the world ; health, and vigour, and lastingness, to the end of the chase are sure to follow a summer run at grass, if well-conducted, and the feet looked after, so that little accidents be repaired at once. Such animals return home, laughing, as 'twere, at the fatigues of the day. Then turn up their heels and thumb their soles ; — no flinching there. Q. Very fond oi thumbing y I perceive. A. To be sure I am : at coming home and going out, and whenever danger is to be apprehended, that is my habit. You may not have observed, that after stopping his heels a few days, the sole will feel soft, or the application would fail in its effect ; but clean it out, give your horse a few hours stand- ing, and the hardness returns naturally. Observe always to renew the stopping afresh at each re- moval ; and also that, although coolness be benefi- cial to ihafrog and bars, yet constant wet is not so, therefore, previous to stopping, let these parts be payed with tarj to defend them from soaking too II.] THE KINDS PROPER; MOIST SOLE. 45 much : whenever the sole bends to the the pressure, discontinue the stopping. Q. Of which fresh cow-dung is the basis, with an admixture of soft clay? — A. With the addition of a strong solution of nitre, when greater coolness is required ; but this is not necessary for the sound foot or feet, nor do these want renewal so often as the lame one. Q. What! Stop three sound feet when one only is affected ? A. Yes, after much fatigue ; and the corre- sponding foot in every case. For this reason — the lameness owing its origin to the previous general ill state of the body, might as readily attack one foot as another, if the same immediate cause exist- ed ; but as the lameness we have now under consi- deration is not denoted by any other symptom ex- cept greater heat, has been brought on simply by the horse beating with it, or making it the leading foot in going, we should probably, by stopping one foot only perform a care as regards that one, leaving the others open to the same influence of his bodily ill-health, to say nothing of the sympathy that exists through the medium of the lungs between one foot and another before, as it does in a less degree behind, through the medium of the kidneys and stomach. I can account for it in no other way. Q. Nor I, I am sure. The sole of each foot would differ in the degree of hardness, if treated differently, that is evident. 46 STRAINS. MOUNTING COLTS. A. And then, by affording more moisture inter- nally to one foot only we might bring on another kind of lameness, akin to founder. So we should also a disposition to incur others, if the stopping be continued long after the cure has been effected, as would be known by the pulse shewing reduction of heat for awhile. So much for counteracting incipient lameness, and its train of evils. Q. Concerning the more marked and distinct disorders of the feet arising from the same cause, we will say a few words hereafter. \^Conv. xii.] A. Next to these, the whole class of strains are most frequently recurring; some being original disorders of misconstruction of the limbs, or of these being badly placed on the body, but the far greater number is attributable to the crime (let me say) of mounting too early, and the vanity of running horses too young. Q. That is a point in horse economy beyond our control, how much soever we may lament the degeneracy, we sometimes witness in the perfor- mances of our best-bred race-horses. A. Reject all such as are so misconstructed, or worked too early in life, ye who would make a living by the animal, or receive pleasure by its exertions. Q. Good, again. A. Bad enough, I should think, for those who get hold of such things. 47 CONVERSATION III. Condition : Cordials, use and abuse of. Effects : Indigestion, Colic ^ Worms: Recovery from severe Work. Natural Cordials. Q. Your plan of reducing the quantity of blood when the animal is knocked up by his exertions, seems to me at total variance with the general practice of giving cordials on such occasions, and your own admissions. A. Not at all irreconcilable are those means of restoration : bleeding has the effect of relieving the rigidity of the blood vessels, and with it that of the whole frame, whereby the blood finds free circula- tion, whilst the cordials stimulate to the same end — namely, acceleration of the pulse. Q. The adoption of the latter means of restoring the animal powers in the first instance, appears to be putting the cart before the horse ; though many persons have recourse to stimulants upon every little occasion, and some sportsmen carry with them cordial-balls for the purpose, administering these in ahy ivine, ^c. [Appendix, Cordials.] A. So they may, very properly, upon small oc- casions of knock up, and these only, provided the pulse beat regularhj, though low ; but not when quick and slow alternately, as if the animal already laboured under too much excitement. Another 48 CORDIALS, WHEN NECESSARY ; AND [CONV. means of judging when stimulants would not be improper, is found in the circumstance of the now jaded horse having been recently bled and purged at home, whence we may reasonably conclude that his system is not then overcharged with ill-humours, and therefore that exhausted nature may now re- ceive a fillip advantageously; in this case, also, his pulse will be regular^ however low. Under such circumstances I have known a cordial remove lame- ness that had been brought on by excessively severe work, and the consequent want of vigour in the cir- culation of the blood ; but your hunters, to which my attention has been mostly directed for this half- hour past, are bled too frequently, without other cause assigned than custom, or fashion — this is one of the mistakes of superfine management. Q. This practice of bleeding at stated intervals, you have shewn is — A. A mereJo6, you know, of certain parties; so is the boasted " regular physicking" of hunters ; and then the heavy doses usually administered is really destructive of the passages : aloes lose their effi- cacy, and do harm by frequent use. Q. Is there no mode of alleviating the ill-effects of this very prevalent error ? Horses in quick work and on high feed require physic, you know ? A. Less might serve. We will recur to the subject of " physicking" at some future day. [Conv. viii. and see Appendix.] Q. But the bare mention of physic brings us back to the pulse again : when this " index of health'* is HI.] BAD EFFECTS OF TOO MUCH. 49 low, and the horse dejected, and heavy in hand, should we always give cordials, whether or no ? A. Perhaps I might say yes with propriety, but you, I fear, would be apt to carry the admission to extremes, and give them upon trifling occasions. But, remember always, that cordials given to horses operate like drams taken by mankind ; the short- lived vigour thus infused causes the spirits subse- quently to flag below par, until the fresh dram and another cordial bring the taker up to his former pitch, and both ultimately become as necessary as food, especially in advanced age. Q. Thorough dram-drinkers are not long-lived. A. So do cordials wear out the horse. For the tendency of all stimulants is to destroy the digestive powers, on which all the other functions of life mainly depend ; so that the desire for food daily lessens, the stomach loses its proper tone, and what the horse does eat is taken capriciously ; that is to say, either without a relish, or voraciously swallowed, without due mastication. Q. What a train oi' ills is hereby engendered ! A. Flatulency, colic, affections of the ivind, worms,* inflammation, of the intestines, staggers. * No doubt but that the substances taken for food, if detain- ed for want of the power to expulse them from the bowels, oc- casioned by torpor or inactivity, will engender insects ; although the larvcB (eggs) of the gadfly which produce that particular worm, which has acquired the name of bott, should not be pre- sent. But in tliis case, the worm that is so engendered is with- out the hooks that characterize botts. This ordinary worm is an effect of full feeding on ill selected hay and corn, neglect of D 50 CORDIALS, HOW CLASSED. [CONV. Q. I conclude that the hahit of giving cordials is a bad one : at intervals, then I A.. Whenever sufficient occasion demands it, no better restorative can be employed than cordials ; wantonly used, nothing is so replete with mischief. The drunkard's ** short life and a merry one" is strictly applicable to the cordialled horse ; the cor- dials used by him are well said to '* wear out the constitution of a horse," as if the speaker had our present topic in view. Q. We might safely administer cordials at the lowest pitch at which they would do good, I take it ; never give more or stronger than will just restore the animal to his wonted vigour, nor that oftener than is absolutely necessary. A. Then return to the usual mode of feeding the evacuations and the stubborn costiveness that attends weak intestines, further weakened by the stimulant nature of cordials. It may be reckoned the disorder of towns and crowded places ; whilst the bott is acquired by the country cattle mostly, the eggs of the breeze or gadfly being taken into the mouths of the ani- mals, and would certainly pass through, as probably multitudes do pass, inoffensively, but for the detension alluded to in the text, and the facilities afforded the bott-worm to fasten its hook in the thickened soft coats of the stomach and intestines. Inso- much is this the case, that we frequently find the two kinds of bott that are known to enter the mouth in the form of eggs, thickly inhabiting f/ie rectum, or straight gut ; the third sort of bott-fly, they term Oestris equi, is proved, in " Osmer's Treatise on Horses," to have deposited its eggs at the anus, whence we conclude they are the proper inhabitants of the rectum, or straight gut, though sometimes ascending as high as the stomach. 111.] CONTROVERSY ON CONDITION. 51 gradually, whenever the cordial-giving has been abused. Q. Step by step, eh ? A. Good oats, barley, beans — all broken ; a little malt, as a mash ; these are gradations by which we resume the healthy aliment after the animal has been pampered too much with cordials. Those substances have themselves the effect of cordials, in various degrees — oats being the lowest, though giving to the horse which masticates them well, an invigoration that is truly surprising; sodden barley being next in order, and in this state well adapted for agricultural horses ,* heans are the strongest ; and all the class, when given to excess, predisposing the animal to contract inflammatory disorders of parti- cular organs, or fever of the whole system, which ul- timately fall into the feet, if the complaint do not commence there ; of these latter, grease is the most speedy in its appearance, if the other, or immediate cause, a chill, also conduce thereto. Q. Unless counteracted by physic^ as the urine- balls,— A. Or green food : a turn-out is the best physic, provided we can spare our faithful servant to take a hoHday, and ruralize a little '* among the green fields." Many of the grasses partake of some medicinal vir- tue or other, the cooling principle most evidently. Q. How many accidents happen to the lower description of horses by the imitative cordialling of their horses by some carmen, who desire to see their teams with sleek coats ! d2 52 FINE COATS DEARLY BOUGHT. [CONV. III. A. And some coachmen, too, who would please their employers by the appearance of their teams ; but this is a practice to be reprobated in them, at any rate, as they cannot possess the requisite judge- ment for employing such ingredients properly ; nor does discretion as to adapting the use of diaphore- tics to the animal's work and actual state of body, ever accompany the sycophancy that would purchase approbation at so great a risk. Q. Eggs can do no harm, I should think — A. Nor any good, but to put on a factitious show o^ fine condition — Q. Where the reality is wanting, eh? A. Besides, I read last year (1828) of a horse of this description which was choked by an e^^ admi- nistered by a driver y and it died before the booby's face, without exciting, by its throes, sufficient can- dour to avow the act he had committed ! Q. In another case, that T also read of, the sur- geon who was called in, broke an e^^ which in like manner stuck in the gullet, and thus relieved the patient. A. But the preparations of antimony, which are now so well known, effects this desirable appearance when the owner desires it, better than any device of such servants — however cunning they may be. [See Fever Powders, in the Appendix.] 53 CONVERSATION IV. Condition: soiling, necessity of; Advantages and Disadvantages ; Physicking ; turning-out, and taking up. The Humours; in-door Mis- treatment. Q. What an immense variety of opinion has been recently broached on this subject alone, that is described in one word, and that one mis- understood as to what is meant by it — *' condition." Each party seems to have the best of the argument, for both refer to facts and to experience for their assertions ; but how vast the dissonance that exists ! A. Yet is no contrariety sooner reconciled, if we place ourselves in a situation for forming a right judgement on the point in dispute. If horses re- mained in a state of nature, they would require natural food only, but they could not thrive during the inclement months for want of proper nourishment; and man provides for them dried provender and shelter, which improves their breed in every other respect than wind : he likewise de- mands their services to the utmost extent, and would keep them in a condition to perform those services all the year round, by stable management. He fails, however, in accomplishing this to the extent of his wishes. Q. How he fails is worth knowing. 54 DRY FOOD, ITS EFFECTS: [CONV. A. Dry food, as oats and hay, forms their main support in-doors, keeps up their strength, and with it the fullness of the juices ; irregularity in the three evacuations, and a thickening or stagnation of the several secretions from the blood, which we then call " the humours" follow, whereby disease is quickly engendered. Q. Which man endeavours to amend by me- dicine — A. Instead of preventing, by assimilating the natu7^al mode of living with the forced or domestic manner of feeding. An abundance of /my, for instance, impedes the action of the lungs of a well bred horse, if he is permitted to stand to his hag all his leisure time ; whilst oats given lavishly dispose the intestines to costiveness and consequent inflam- mation, with a tendency to several other tedious affections spoken of yesterday [page 49 note']. And notwithstanding both those evil consequences may be assuaged by frequent waterings, yet man has the arrogance to deny his animals this cheap and simple boon, because it aff'ects their external appearance, forsooth. Q. He covers them up in hot clothing, with the same end in view. A. Which frequently puts an end to their services by obstinate catarrh, or to their lives, by incurable inflammation of the lungs. Q. Close and crowded stabling augments the long catalogue of evils that surround the mere do- mestic horse ; — IV.] MYSTERY OF TRAINING, NONE. 55 A. By raising an eflfluvia that becomes more and more noxious as the food may be heating, gross, and tending to thicken the blood, and in time pro- ducing similar diseases to those enumerated by me at our last talk, [page 49.] As the heat and acrid stench augments itself, it soon affects the eyesight, inflames the lungs, and causes diseases of the skin, through excessive perspiration. Only see how a healthful horse will sometimes refuse to enter the door of an already crowded stable, as if prescient of the danger to be encountered within ! 'Tis scan- dalous man does not condescend to receive lessons from his horse ! Q. Don't be warm about it; but let me hear your sentiments *' on condition," as I have seen it titled up half a hundred times lately : is there any mystery in the process of training a horse into con- dition ? A. None whatever, with me; though some training grooms do make a mighty secret of their mode of treatment. Q. Quit controversy, then, with its subtle doubts and flat contradictions, and favour me with a few words of good common sense on the subject. A. Common sense never entered into the consi- deration of what condition really meant, or it would have marked the great difference that exists between bringing ahorse from grass into condition, and keeping him in that state after being once trained up to the right pitch for doing his work. Q. A hunter cannot go through a hard day's 56 GREEN FOOD; PtllGATIVES. [CONV. work with green food in him ; I believe that is allowed. A. No ; nor a dray-horse either, unless it be a casual mouthful, or an armful of vetches in the spring ; certainly, not these or any others after a ru7i at grass, the better bred ones being most easily affected in the bowels by green food. Q. In this case they give three doses of strong physic, and then — A. In nine cases out of ten, horses from grass do not stand in need of any such triple physicking. Q. Well, I'm sure, now you do cap me to a fright! Why, every body gives physic after a run at grass ; ahvai/s, I may say. A. I don't care for that ; though that practice is not now so generally followed as formerly. Has he not for months been taking the physic of nature, in the shape of succulent herbs and grasses of twenty different flavours, some oi' v^hich are positively pur- gative ? [See Hay.'] And is he not thereby reduced in strength sufficiently, though puff in the flesh, without the farther aid of the doctor ? Hearken a bit : after your horse has been taken in and put on full allowance of dry food, say 121bs. of hay and three feeds of oats per day, stinted in his allow- ance of water, and his exercises scandalously ne- glected, to be sure his blood-vessels fill rapidly with a superabundance of the humours •* his perspira- * Humours. Taking for granted that this word is vulgar, and often wrongly applied, as represented by the doctors, yet I think it an allowable one in the mouths of much higher edu- IV.] THE " HUMOURS." OVER PHYSICKING. 57 tion is trivial and clammy, though incessant, his urine scanty and tur'oid, and even his dunging is impeded and hard — and all this within the first week — then, indeed, brisk physic becomes neces- sary ; I might say indispensable. Q. Oh, I thought you'd allow it right. A. Not I, upon my word : your party give phy- sic without observing any such cause for it as T have just now mentioned ; they also give iJtree closes when one might serve, and those so very strong as to shake the animal's constitution to the foundation. Never give physic or bleed without cause ascertained before-hand ; but sure I am, that these condition-halls do not effect a benefit by *' getting rid of the grass," which rids itself fast enough, but by carrying off the load of dung which begins to accumulate and to harden from the very first hour of his return to full feed ; 'tis the oats that have effected this change in his body. Q. But they always return from grass full of fogg, with thick legs and loose flesh all over, which the medicine sends away. A. True, so far, and the reason I'll tell you pre- sently ; but with it there goes also a good deal of the cated persons than grooms pretend to be, if for humotirs these learned persons will understand secretions as meant to be im- plied; that is to say, a depravation of the usual secretions having occasioned these to disperse over the body, Avhere they do not belong, and commit harm, instead of coming off in the usual manner, as they ought and do when health prevails, by the three excretions, viz. the alvine, the cutaneous, and the urinary evacuations. d3 58 EFFECTS OF STRONG PHYSIC. [CONV. animals' fine bracing vigorous health they had ac- quired at grass. Perhaps you don't know, that 'tis a point gained in favour of longevity and sound stamina when we can do that without employing medicine which others only accomplish with it — if they do succeed. Q. Really ! Why, most people employ physic upon every occasion, and some upon no occasion at all, as if it were a fashion ; what is the effect of all this management ? A. Effect ! Why, of many kinds : it wears out the animals' organic functions, and prepares them to receive other disorders than those it cures, like the tinker and his holey kettle : the stomach is compelled to a feverish secretion of its gastric juices, the bowels exhaust their mucous lining, whereby the former lies open to inflammation, the latter to molten grease or to scouring ; whilst the livery although stimulated by some medicines, yet retains its bile as supernecessary by the action of others ; and the kidneys being under the direct influence of the stomach , secrete urine by hasty instalments, until they cease to act at all. Q. I perceive that no other function goes on regularly while the main canal is thrown into a rude commotion. A. How difficult is it after a fever, for example, to bring back the bowels to their former regular state, in consequence of the strong physic employed to " kill the fever," as we say, having thrown them into disorder? So much are they then affect- IV.] BOWELS, EXCORIATION OF THE. 59 ed, that the old farriers in our grandfathers' time called it " excoriation of the guts ;" and they were not so far from the fact as they were from elegance of expression ; for, upon noticing the intestines of several such dead subjects that were cut up at our kennel, I remarked that the bowels were quite of a livid red, as was the lower part of the stomach, also, when turned inside out. Q. Ecod ! that is the way to examine into the truth of the matter, in its recesses ! A. Who, then, in their senses would think of giving three doses of terrible strong physic, or three of any thing that art should devise, so soon after the animal's system had been similarly exhausted by the natural 7neans. Probably, as often happens, he may have had a scouring whilst he was out. Q. In consequence of cold wet weather, or wet lying, perhaps? A. That is a different case altogether, and seldom occurs, unless through carelessness in the first turning out; when spirited horses that enjoy their freedom overmuch usually contract slight affections of the lungs, by wallowing in damp spots to cool the overheated carcase : I contemplated only the consequence of taking too much grass for the weak bowels to bear of such harshly-physicked horses as I before alluded to. Q. When the scouring so brought on has ceased, such animals get fat and puffy on grass. A. This proves the beneficial effects of a run at 60 TENDER HORSES — TURNING OUT, [CONV. grass, even for horses with tender insides : the jaded and relaxed bowels require the cooling re- gimen ; an effort of nature to relieve itself of something offensive takes place, and the old cru- dities, or indigested particles, being thus thrown off, improvement takes place immediately after. Q. A process of nature that tells us plainly what estimable advantages would accrue from giving green food partially in the stable, or in a barn, to horses slowly recovering from illnesses that are ascribable to the harsh remedies which have been given to subdue inflammatory complaints. \See Conversations xi. xii.] A. Just so. They ought rather to be emptied previous to turning out, as well as the more hardy horses, or at least their dunging should be brought into regular order, lest they acquire a cough , and at taking uj) from grass those tender ones which have thrived upon grass to fat and puffiness also require a 7nild purgative after a few days of dry feeding. [No. 1 of that class in the Appendix.] This constitutes the single case out of ten I had in my mind's eye when 1 allowed lately that that pro- portion might stand in need of physic upon coming from grass; whilst a single dose is now sufficient, and an alterative laxative is preferable to a purgative in every such case. Horses so afflicted with weak lungs and disordered bowels, which is known by the irregularity of their dungings and a disposition to habitual costiveness, should neither be put out IV.] AND TAKING UP—TREATMENT. WIND. 61 to grass nor brought in abruptly, but both changes be effected by degrees. They also require light body clothing for the first few days of being out. Q. Subtract from their allowance of corn pre- vious to the turning out, and give small feeds upon first coming in, with a continuance of grass, cut and put in a prickle. A. So, of all other horses, however hardy: nei- ther bring them into close stables at once, but confine them under a shed or outhouse, with at least one side closed by a pole only. Give a small quantity of green food in-doors, or new hay, and, in a few days, if there is a necessity for bringing them into good-looking condition out of hand, clothe them, but not too warm : a coat that resumes its smooth- ness gradually being worth twenty that are forced by diaphoretics; for these do not stand adversities of weather, nor long exposure at the covert side, the horse being rendered very tender by the medicine, as well as by the clothing. Q. Still harping upon the hunter , I observe. A. Or any other valuable horse that is worth the trouble, the hunter being the medium : thus, the condition that would be considered very fair for a road horse would not pass muster for a hunter^ whilst the racer requires to be brought out in a much finer state than either. This latter is termed " training," because of the additional care we bestow in bringing up the animal to exert its best strength and powers of performing his courses, which he cannot accomplish unless the lungs have 62 LYING OUT, ITS EFFECTS. COUGH. [CONV. been trained to their full inflation by gradual means — weight, distance, and speed well regulated, of which more anon. As to the quantity and kind of clothing proper to be put on, the state of his skin will best direct how these should be regulated, as this will be hotter in comparison with the pulse than was usual with the same animal before he was turned out, and for this good reason among others — namely, one effect of lying out being to close the pores of the skin by the constant refrigeration thereof by the air, and this ceasing altogether in the stable, the heat causes the skin to relax, the pores to open, the perspiration issues, and the loose redundant fat being thus reduced, he partly loses the fogg he had ac- quired at grass; hereupon, the flowing of the per- spiration freely, in conjunction with the dressing he receives from rubbing and brushing, from the hair- cloth and towelling, and hand-rubbing the heels, brings him to that condition which enables the horse to perform his work satisfactorily. But here lies the point for your consideration : as the pores do not always open readily, with aged animals in particular, they must be induced to do so by the use of a mild diaphoretic [as No. 1, in Appendix], but not rudely forced ; in the mean time, an excessive heat of the skin takes place that is truly disagreeable to the touch, whilst the pulse increases. At this period, carefully exclude a current of air, defer the use of woollen clothing, adopt the linen or hempen atjirst, and remember, now and for ever, to reject the use of cotton cloth for any purpose. IV.] CONDITIONING THE HUNTER—PACE. 63 Q. Why is this ? They make some that is very stout and of hard fabric in my country. A. Not to its texture, but to its physical pro- perties, is raised the objection to the use of cotton : it is found detrimental to the growth of hair, and is consequently harmful to the appearance of the coat, besides having the effect of enervating the wearer. Q. Many horses cannot bear turning out at all, whilst those large bodied hunters, which benefit most in constitutional strength by getting rid of their staleness, generally come up with a cough ; and, although stronger, are ever found slower and heavy in hand after soiling. A. Part of the duty of conditioning the hunter is to bring him to his paces again by daily strong work, opposed to others of his own class ; by im- proving his stretch, and, with it, his wind, by increasing the lengths he is expected to go ; all which is only to be accomplished by regulating his body and adapting the hours of his exercise to its quantity. Q. Very few sweatings do for the hunter, I believe ? A. He need no extra clothing beyond a hood and quarter-piece, but if he be not sweated by strong exercise, and the loose fat kept down that always accrues after he is taken up from grass, he steps short, as if tied at the legs, and is disposed to tire and shut up with any little extra work. Q. Which will not answer : it is essential to his future services that he should be brought out of those evil ways by the means you prescribe. 64 APPETITE ; ANIMAL PROPENSITIES. [CONV. A. Gently does it best: the time is past when violence and coarseness would endeavour to manage the most docile of animals : if his instructors do but once study his attributes aright, and govern him by dint of his appetite and his emulative dis- position, they will find how wofuUy their laboured force has been hitherto thrown away. Q. We shall have to return to the discussion of the various appetites of horses at some future opportunity, [Conv. ix.] as we have more than once touched upon that topic without entering into it so fully as it deserves. A. ** Deserves V why 'tis the all-in-all of animal management ; there is nothing but his animal pro- pensities that we can govern a horse by ; you and I have nothing else to talk about but keeping these in the right trim, all the rest of our investigations tend to, and depend upon, this one thing. CONVERSATION V. General Health — Feeding and Exercise ; in- door Treatment. Wind. Costiveness ; Speed, Physic. Of blank Days, Rest. Distress. Wa- tering : qualities. Stone. Temper, ravenous Horses and tender ones. Gross Food. Stretch and Length. Foreign Horses. Q. Besides those persons who keep their horses up all the summer long, from principle, there are v.] FEET BENEFIT BY TURNING OUT. 65 many who are precluded from sending them to grass by imperious circumstances ; would you then recommend soiling-, or bringing the green fodder to them in-doors ? A. This, although doing something by way of alterative, will not effect all the benefits to be de- rived from a complete turning out ; the feet, more than any other part of the horse, require the cooling so necessary for promoting the renovation of fresh healthy horn, and the bracing which is only to be attained by running bare-foot on the green sod. Indeed, the whole frame of the horse is refreshed by it: all his sinews, ligaments, and joints, acquire the springiness of youth, — old age seems forgotten, and a wanton coltishness returns the while. Q. The relaxation of the back sinews, which we call " low in the pastern," increases with horses that are kept up all summer long, for want of this general bracing of the nerves. A. Let a substitute be found, then, as near as may be, in exercising the horse upon some undres- sed slip of land, and turn him loose or tether him while taking his green food, for a few hours daily, on a soft spot, patch, or straw-yard, which almost every establishment offers ; if not, let him run loose about the stable, out-house, or linhay, and receive any other indulgence in his natural habits that is similarly calculated to renovate his powers. Give green food of various sorts — but very little oats, if any — as clover, grass, saintfoin, lucerne, vetches, &c. fresh cut; let them be served out 66 GREEN FODDER; CARROTS, ETC. [CONV. alternately or together, until the body is relaxed, and he produces what may be considered a natural stool — better still if it amount to a complete purga- tion. Chopped carrots are also a very useful addi- tion to those greens ; besides which, they have the additional recommendation of being available when nought else of the kind can be obtained. [See also, in Appendix, Mangel-wurzel, Lettuce, Hay,'] Country people give their ailing horses potatoes that have been boiled, for food, and where these can be procured while summering your saddle-horse at home, may be profitably adopted in moderate quan- tities for another of those changes in diet which are found so desirable on the alterative plan, Q. For stagers and post-Jiorses, also, potatoes would prove a very acceptable provender, instead of 7iag, I should think, during a busy time of it, but never saw it tried on a large scale. A. Nearly half an hour is consumed in eating each pound of hay, that is to say, three hours for a stomach full of hay, whereas the same animal may devour a suflScient meal of potatoes in a quarter the time ; he would, of course, gain five hours a day for lying down, as such horses are wont to do, in the intervals of their ten or twelve mile stages forward and backward daily. When their labour is much required, more time would also be saved by giving their oats broken^ or oatmeal along with the pota- toes. Q. You have said very little about exercise, nought concerning dressing or water. v.] RETURN TO DRY FOOD. 67 A. While your horse is upon green food the craving for water exists no longer. It may be allowed him at will ; to which end a shallow vessel may be placed in a come-at-able situation, and be oft replenished, upon the sly, so that we may ascer- tain what is going forward in this respect. If he now require as much water as ever, 'tis the effect of his exercise, which is thus proved too strong for his present mode of living, and must be abridged ; or 'tis the effect of a feverish habit, and it must be re- strained. As to dressing down your horse, he will require very little whilst on green food, especially if he can be accommodated with being out-doors, as I before suggested ; whilst your pJiysicked horse in-doors does better for dressing. Q. You would adapt every part of his treatment as near as might be to the out-door system : the open air, I understand from you, is refrigerant of the skin, and serves instead of rubbing down ? A. As far as health is concerned, it is so. Q. But the supply of green food sometimes falls short, not to be had through some devilry or other ; would you in that case return to hay and oats awhile for the hunter? A. If you do, you must increase the amount of exercise, or you will soon have good occasion for physic-giving — which is always to be avoided, and strong doses ever. But better diet him at such intervals on less nutritious substances, though as much in hidk ; as oats and chopped hay, or bran with the oatS; which some also give on the same 68 EXERCISE AND FEEDING. [CONV. days with green food; whilst others sprinkle these with water, which secures the certainty of mastica- tion — a very important feature in horse-keeping, whether as regards health, economy, or work, which would not, of course, be very hard under those circumstances. Q. Must we then withhold the horse's food when he lies idle, and increase it when he is worked : that is to say, in strong exercise, and so *' the more work the more food ? " A. Not exactly so ; you go too fast for me : 'tis the reproach of youth that they always run into ex- tremes ; though I really don't know, my fine fellow, whether an over-fed horse would not derive as much benefit as man does, from being compelled to observe a maigre day, occasionally — only this must not be tried on whilst he is training into con- dition, and is wanted. My objection is to the excess of either food or exercise ; the constipation pro- duced in this way upon racers in strong exercise is ever extremely obstinate ; and the quantity of aloes must be then increased to a harmful amount, or grossness appears on the skin — like farcy. When the hunter is brought back from grass to oats and hay, the willing exercise he recently took while at large should not be relaxed in the least, but aug- mented by little and Httle, as you increase his daily quantity of oats, until these are given to the full allowance; his exercises should then amount nearly to a sweat, on alternate days, in the morning, and a short gallop every afternoon — if he be cut out for v.] IMPROVING THE WIND: SPEED. 69 speed ; but if calculated for a lasting one over a deep country, to go after heavy hounds, two long breathings a day does better. In the case of a thorough-bred in training for the race, which has not been at soil, the effect of dry feeding and strong exercise is to cause constipation ; this begets the necessity of purging this class of horses whilst so training, as the costiveness is daily becom- ing more obstinate when neglected, and he de- clines in the extent of his stretch. But, whatever }our horse is designed for, let him begin at short exercises, and do each day a little more than the preceding, until you have *' brought him to his wind," or the best length he can do without distress, (which includes also a trial or two of his greatest strength and best speed united,) doing at last nearly as much as he will have to perform in the actual chase, race, or journey, according to what he may be cut out for. Q. Aye, thus it is you find out the bottom of your hunter, and improve his wind, if the horse be not taken out for strong work too soon after feeding, nor absolutely empty of a morning. A. No hay on his stomach, at any rate, though you do not feed ; and if the going out be very early, no occasion {ov feeding ; i{ not early, then a small feed betimes will be proper — a double hand- ful ; he will perform his day's work the more easily with it than without it, and this fact ought to possess sufficient recommendation of the practice. Q. Speed will be impeded by its adoption, be 70 WORK ON EMPTY STOMACH. [CONV. assured ; moreover, after the corn the horse would crave for drink, which would ruin all. A. Not after so small a quantity as a quart or less of corn, or a handful of crushed beans to an old hunter. But neither on this or any other occa- sion give your horse to drink immediately after feeding, nor just before it; for by the latter method you fill the large gut, and by the former distend the already large stomach. And as to speed, I have yet to learn in what way that of a hearty, ravenous horse, full-grown, let us suppose, which is entered to run heats, or over a Craven or King's plate course, can be retarded, when the main tug of the race — its termination, rather tries its strength than its fleetness, which is then pretty well taken out of the whole lot. Q. For three-year olds, I perceive, you think the case is different. A. Much depends upon the ground itself; if heavy, and strength is requisite to bring the younger ones over a long mile-and-three-quarters course, racing all the way, a lasting quality is indispensable to winning, rather than mere speed. On such occa- sions the best trainers give something more than bread and butter for breakfast — seven or eight hours before running. The old plan of running horses quite " empty," is not worth a straw. Q. Your mode of gradually increasing the exer- cise of the unconditioned horse, inures the lungs by degrees to fill to their utmost capacity, which promotes his lasting qualities. v.] LUNGS, MIDRIFF; DISTRESS. COUGH. 71 A. It promotes the expansion of his ribs, and of the muscle that joins them together, braces the membranous lining of his windpipe, (which in aged horses is liable to collapse,) and promotes the due action of the diaphragm, or rather the skirt thereof. Be sure you go on gradually, step by step ; for if you distress your cattle, or cause a cough to come on at the end of a gallop, as v* ould be the case if you proceed abruptly, or if you have previously given dry hay, or the stomach is near full of corn, you must then desist and abridge the length of your gallops, beginning again on a future day at the lowest length. Avast heaving ! ere you rupture the cells of your horse's lungs, and cause a minor description of broken windy that time and a repetition of the same speed confirms. Q. Your six-mile gallops are too much for three- years-old, and such — A. At any time ; the strongest cattle tire at it, more than is desirable under any circumstances. Indeed, our training, in all its departments, is carried to extremes that often destroy the purpose intended. Partial lameness follows the distress that is so occasioned. Q. Distress is known by great facility of perspi- ration, by a certain uneasiness of manner, by fal- tering in his paces, by — A. It may further be known by the pulse conti- nuing irregular, as well as quick, long after the gal- lop, and by a kind of catch in the breathing, wherein the inspirations are tardy and defective. 7^ WORK AND CORN EQUALIZED: [CONV. though each expiration be as right as a trivet: chronic cough is superinduced by repeatedly over- marking your horse thus, in pace and length. Q. Though many horses also become broken- winded by being worked on a full stomach, I apprehend that moderate work of any sort, espe- cially if that be slow, upon a middling feed of corn, never affects the lungs. A. Though, if much dry hay occupy the stomach, with a denial of water, the lining of the throat is affected, which occasions a wheezing cough in his endeavours to get rid of the particles that tickle and irritate the passage. Oh, never fear working a hunter well with a moderate feed in him, pro- vided he have taken it early — say at six o'clock, when the appointment is ten or later, according to the fashion of " these degenerate days." If *' little work less corn" be worth aught as a maxim to keep down flesh, then the reverse, " much corn much work" must be a wiser, — and a still better than either is ** the more work the more corn," to keep up the strength. The opinion of our forefathers on these points ap- pears, from some old sayings, to have tallied pretty even with my own. Here is one of them : — " THE HORSE TO HIS MASTER. Take care of me a mile out and a mile in; Up the hill, spur me not, Down the hill, push me not, On the plain, spare me not, In the stable, forget me not. v.] REST. SEA-VOYAGES. 73 Q. But you would not withhold his reg-ular feed on the days of rest, I think you said ? A. There are no days of rest m nature: when man domesticated the horse with high keep, he had no right to deny it the exercise that was designed by the great Author of all for digesting his food — it was a cruel proceeding. Q. It might be given to him prepared, partly digested, i. e. cooked. — See Barley, in Appendix. A. So be it ; but being carried to its extreme, this course would alter the power of digestion in a horse so treated ; bad blood would accumulate, or it would become too rich, lose its fluidity, cease to flow naturally, and disease would spring out of the obstructions thus occasioned. Q. Unless the use of salt with such provender is freely adopted, the humours would become visible on the skin : I now perceive that I did not examine the afl'air close enough to form a safe opinion. A. No! You looked no further than your nose; as usual with all those of your age and standing in society. Q. I'll owe you one for that. But I have seen horses on board ship take so much rest, that when set on shore they have staggered as if groggy. I doubt much whether some of them ever recovered the perfect use of -their limbs. A. I have the like doubt. This must have hap- pened during one of your sea-voyages, I guess ; but why did you not prevent this stiff*ness of the joint by artificial action? Though the horses be E 74 PREVENTIVE OF STIFF JOINT. [CONV. slung up, the means of giving motion and a tem- porary resting place to the hoof, seems to me easily contrived. Do you know, that the Arab horses recently brought to this country by the Mediterra- nean sea, never turned out so good as those which formerly came to us through France ? And this I take to be one reason why, — but we begin to deviate. Q. Would you take out a hunter on the blank days ? Would you not at least give him complete rest the day before an appointment? A.' No ! Nor the day after, either; I would give him a hreatliing rather, though not amounting to a sweat, to prepare him for the coming day ; and the day following a hard run he should also go out, at any rate a little further than to water. The fresh air revives the spirits. I would carry the principle to every gradation of cattle; and were I in charge of such, even the dray-horse should be walked forth on Sundays. Q. A pretty sight, truly; Messrs. Whitbreads' thirty greys, for example, taking an airing on the Sabbath-day, would sound well over the stones ! A. They would be the better for it, notwith- standing, and then be less disposed at any time to stand and sleep, as is usual with old ones of that breed, which I have seen fall whilst stopping in the streets. One of their teams did not lie down for several years, I find; and Mr. Shore, the miller, of Nottington (Somerset), had a horse which did not fairly lie down for sixteen years, to 1828, when he fell and broke a leg. v.] DAILY EXERCISE: HORSES SLEEP. 75 Q. A log hung at his tail would have prevented this accident,! should think? A. So should I ; as I have observed such horses ever tumble forward ; the log would act as a coun- terpoise, and has been tried, I hear. Q. Well then, out every day, am I to under- stand ? A. Every horse of the better sort every day ex- ercised, from eight to twelve miles. Meantime, all the litter out, the stables emptied and well cleansed ; racks cleared out and re-filled, gutters washed and drain-holes opened, — in warm weather, employ a profusion of water. All which operations, if per- formed while the cattle are in-doors, afford cause of much discomfort, especially to the high bred and the irritable. Then, also, all windows and doors open, at all seasons, except only during sharp frosts and fogs. The practice of watering horses at a distant stream is a good one, inasmuch as it insures a two or three mile airing each time ; it pos- sesses no other advantage, however, the same water being commonly found nearer home, ex- cept cantering home, and the pleasure the animal derives from going to take it, being more natural to him than swallowing half a pail full all at once, and standing still with it cold in his inside. Q. Which makes him sweat unnaturally, I have observed, by the hair becoming roughish, in a short time, if it do not turn and begin to stare imme- diately. A. By checking the action of the stomach and E 2 76 COLD WATER : CHILL, COLIC. [CONV. intestines, I believe, and causing those spasmodic aifections thereof, which we next day detect and term colic or gripes, and give the cordials ; though when the cold water has done its utmost mischief, colic is not then the disorder the animal has in- curred, but another much more virulent, namely, inflammation of the intestines — when the exhibi- tion of those same cordials would kill the patient outright. Q. I have known colic which consists of twisting of the guts, caused by giving cold water in the sta- ble to a fine horse in full stay-at-home condition. A. Ha! none other incur it, than your high fed cattle, out of work. Here again, the exhibition of Glauber s salts is a good preventive, 1 have lately found, as is the common house salt, given to such gross feeders to the amount of four ounces a day ; though the disorder is not properly a twisting, this appearance being an effect, only, of the disorder. The strangulation of the gut, so termed, is occasion- ed by an encysted tumefied gland, detaching itself from the mesentery, and hanging down by a corded pendulum thereof, ties a knot of the gut, and de- stroys the animal in a few hours, by mortification. You see, how dangerous is the giving such an attack that term, or indeed, merely inflammation, or colic, which admit of cure, the other not so. Q. Concerning which two disorders I mean to tax your patience a little more in the sequel. [Cow- versations x. xiv.] At present, food, air, and ex- ercise claim our undivided attention. I am now v.] TEMPER ; RAVENOUS HORSES. ARABS. 77 aware how much the continuance of health depends on regularity, in the hours and quantity of feeding- and watering, likewise on airing and grooming, as affording the horse pleasurable sensations ; all which, combined, conduce as much to his condition almost as the meat he takes. A. Much also depends upon the manner of doing the same thing by two differently tempered men — one being of an indifferent turn in that respect.* His treatment, likewise, should not be capricious as to hours of feeding and watering; the same amount of corn at three times doing more good than if given at twice ; and whatever the al- lowance of water per day, it should he divided into four services at least. Q. At our first interview (p. 2) you observed that some horses were characterised by a craving for water ; now, I have met with many that care little about water, and refuse it, or but just dip their noses in the pail or the stream. A. The first are, also, ravenous eaters, have large stomachs, and a craving appetite that is never satisfied, but of strong constitution notwithstand- ing. ♦ Well bred horses are cognizant of kind words and mellow voice : the Arab and Tartar nations, from whom we derive the stock, are even said to converse with their steeds. When a horse is kept alone, he appears to congratulate the return of his keeper ; as an antidote to loneliness, some persons keep a goat in the stable — in other respects such a guest is unserviceable. 78 LARGE STOMACH ; AND SMALL. [CONV. Q. Their manner of going is likewise anxious, impatient of control, and irritable; when runners, they perform this pace with the head down. A. Because wide-made at the haunches : and, although deep-chested, are usually narrow before, yet not coming up to my notion of mal-confor- mation of the parts. We should carefully avoid distending the stomach of such horses by giving large drinks of water at any one time, but rather divide them into five, six, or seven services a-day, provided the value of the animals so addicted war- rant as much care. Neither should these drink soon after feeding, as this swells the corn. Q. The example operates beneficially upon the fourth description of horses, those that care little about water, which are also, invariably, poor feed- ers, and tender of constitution. These require coaxing to drink, which commonly begets an appe- tite for their meat. [See Conv. ix.] A. Always ; as it cools the blood and supplies with aqueous particles the several secretions, on which health and vigour so much depend. After you have extended the capacity of the stomach of such a horse, with augmented services of water on his corn, you may inspire him to increased exer- tions by means of a handful of split beans occa- sionally, an hour or two previous to his gallop, and then work into him better pace and greater lengths in consequence. v.] LONG BODIED ; CRAVING WATER. 79 Q. Two grand points these. Why, the manage- ment of the watering is of equal moment, in a train- ing point of view, to the regulation of his feeds ? A. Every bit. And should the horse's appetite outstrip the intentions of his trainer, in his endea- vours to keep down flesh by strong exercise, then he has recourse to physic for his auxiliary. Q. Horses training for speed evidently improve their s^re^cA after physic, and, of course, their pace. A. Those kinds I have been speaking of parti- cularly so ; in truth, horses we would train to strong and rapid exertion perspire so much, that they de- mand a greater quantity of fluid to keep up the supply. Your long-hodiedy reedy horses, do not form an exception ; but they are the most uncertain animals going, in this respect, some of them being light-built, fast-goers over short courses, and mode- rate in appetite ; others, again, are strong-consti- tutioned, robust, and hearty feeders ; they live to the end of the chase or race, be it never so long, and do the thing respectably, if not toppingly. These last are also disposed to crave for water, but eat still more voraciously, and should be stinted in their appetites, and watered often, in small quan- tities, while in training. Q. Then, again, there is the great bulk of horses that belong to neither extreme, they do not crave overmuch, nor refuse food or water ; qualities these that reside in the square-built horse : one, I mean, that you can see the light forming a square under 80 BAD WATER, HOW CORRECTED, [cO^r. him — that is to say, neither high-mounted or long- backed. A. Such horses are ever good goers, always playful at exercise, and seem to enjoy the race ; — thus closely connected is our best breed of horses with the disposition to crave for water inordinately, or, on the other hand, to put up with a moderate quantity of this indispensable lubricator of their parched animal system. Q. The admixture of oatmeal, bran, or sugar^ is found to entice those delicate horses to drink, of which we were first talking. Salt, given in com or hay, to horses ** suspected of small stomach," [^Conv. ix.] induces them to take more water, so £is to distend the stomach to a desirable capacity -^ besides superinducing a better state of the blood and creating appetite. [See Appendix, SaltJ] A. These articles are likewise goodly corrective of water, to which we may have well-founded ob- jections, as regards tender horses. Q. The qualities of water vary much, and ought to undergo examination : it carries off horses of great value — if very cold at the spring or draw- well. A. As it does if impregnated with minerals ; or with rotting vegetable substances, as the falling leaves, &c. of autumn. Q. Thorough-breds in training have very suscep- tible insides, which such waters either irritate or relax, according to circumstances* v.] CHALKY WATER AND TURBID. 81 A. We may divide all water into the hard and the soft kinds; the first mentioned, rising from a stone or gravel substrata, is commonly drawn from the well and drank upon the spot; it is the prolific harbinger of internal inflammatory complaints and of tubercles on the lungs, the liver, &c. ; and of encysted tumours on the mesentery of fat and idle horses, causing strangulation of the gut. Q. We can detect this water by making a lather with soap in it, which curdles if the water is hard, I. e. is impregnated with stone, whereas, if not so, the soap dissolves equably, and impregnates alike the whole of the water. Indeed, all water is thus impregnated with some foreign substance or other. A. As a corrective, let it be procured a long time before required for use, and kept in a tank or cistern, exposed to the sun. Give less at a time and oftener, when the obnoxious kinds cannot be avoided. I am convinced that many a horse has lost his race in a distant part of the country, through not being inured to a certain kind of water that is inoffensive enough in itself. The chalky water of Kent, in parts of Gloucestershire, below Bath, and along by Basingstoke to Winchester, is that which most com- pletely belies its first disgusting appearance. I am not certain, but it may possess a salutary eff"ect on the constitution of some horses, upon the same prin- ciple as that ascribed to lime-water, of the nature whereof it partakes: solvent of stone, destructive of worms, absorbent of bile, I apprehend a better e3 82 EARTH BALLS, HOW FORMED. [CONV. corrector of hard water than chalk or whitening cannot be employed, artificially, when required. Q. The experiment would be worth trying in that part of the country ; but more appalling is the turbid water of stagnant brooks, and those outlets from factories and house-drains that, under a glassy surface, leave a foul residuum below; as may be observed upon taking up and examining the bottom. A. The latter are positively deleterious in sum- mer time, and the harbingers of fever, tumours, and those other indications of depravation in the secre- tions, which we will term •' the humours," let the doctors say what they like. Q. Charcoal, pounded in water, and stirred up with such putrid waters, is said to carry down the obnoxious animal matter, and leave a good whole- some and drinkable water above, A. 'Tis good to know, though we desire not to put in practice, the means of discovering and amending this all-important beverage. Q. Boiling does it, I believe, in all cases, except that of iron-5/9ri«^ water, which maybe detected by the rusty colour of the stones, &c. over which it runs ; as well as by soaking a linen rag well in the water, and, after drying it, pour a little tea on the same, and it will assume a huff colour on being again dried. A. From unsettled field-waters, and those flowing from the hills after rains, we may expect a more latent enemy : the earthy particles of these subside v.] CORN MILLS— STONY PARTICLES. 83 in the (ccecum, or) blind gut, and there form concre- tions, that the heat of the body converts into stone; as happens more facilely with water from a cold spring, which contains the principle of stone in abundance. Passing from that gut into the kidneys, generally, such a stone will there stick fast, and assume the most hideous cell-like shapes, displacing one of these glands nearly, so that the whole func- tion of separating the urine from the blood is thence-forward performed by one kidney only. Q. How provident are the ways of Nature ! I observe, by some stones I have seen severed in two, that a little pebble which must have been taken with the food, formed the nucleus or central begin- ning of such a stone in the bladder, whilst others are found in the passages leading to it.* A. An accident that happens most frequently to the gross feeders and ravenous ones just alluded to ; but whenever high-bred horses incur this disorder, their sufferings are more acute in consequence of the superior irritation of which they are susceptible. Oatmeal and beans bruised for horses are thus charged with stone-dust occasionally, by millers reserving their coarser mill-stones to be employed in such services, as happen also when their stones have been newly chipped or roughed. Q. Your iron-mill is preferable, all to nothing. * Though sharp pebbles miss their way, occasionally. A peculiar case of one such making its appearance at the point of the yard, is detailed in Veterinarij Surgerxj,yA%Ql5A. I could not reckon this among the calculi spoken of above. 84 FOREIGN HORSES; HOW FED. [CONV. A. Always sweet and clean ; never clogs like the old hand-mill. Ours was made by Yearsley, in High Holborn> I observe; but his charge is much too high for general use. Q. Such particles of stone as we have been speaking of, often subside in the hinn, I find, by rowing about the meal, and will then be found at the bottom. A. Or, more certainly, on mixing oatmeal gruel, when the rough bottoms or sediment may be pro- fitably thrown away; indeed, you may feel it grit between the pestle and mortar, when gruel is made according to my directions. [See Appendix, White Water, No. 4.] Q. You order water-gruel to be given frequently, I observe, and in large quantities. A. Always to the ailing animal, as well as to any that may have performed a hard day's work, young or old, with the addition of crushed beans to the latter. Indeed, I would give no beans unless crushed : young horses do not stand in need of them, and the teeth of old ones are past grinding them as they ought, so bruise them by all means ; bruise all beans, or give sodden barley. Q. In Flanders they give their working horses all kinds of sloppy food, as grains, wash, &c., and every green thing that grows, nearly. A. Which gives them those washy carcases we so little admire. I never saw them at such work ; but all we get from thence have large flat hoofs, and are of the heavy kind. v.] OATS, HAVE FINE HEART. 85 Q. Owing to the humidity of the climate, princi- pally which bears close analogy to our Lincolnshire country. They bring the best from the county of MunsteVy and other parts of Lower Germany, which more resembles our Craven country : all the Netherlands are swampy, save a few spots, as I may call them. In some parts they give their stage-horses a food of — what do you think ? A. 'Don't know any thing about them. Not milky surely, as the Arabs do their horses : when grass is not to be found, they give nothing else. 'Tis said, they drink the mares' milk themselves, and give camels' milk to their colts ; whilst their filly foals are allowed to suck their mothers, — at least so a late French traveller tells us, after living among them two or three years. In Bulgaria, a Turko-Russian principality, where the people are equesiriati to a Yorkshire excess, they, too, drink mares' milk, and eat horse-flesh — so I hear, and believe. Well, as to the Germans ? Q. The driver carries a bag of dark hread, made of buck-wheat, which he slices off and gives on the road, much after the fashion our stage-waggoners manage with a whisp of hay; and this food they call humpernike: whilst, near Caen, in Normandy, they grow a plant, with a yellow flower, (like rape) in abundance, for their horses of every description. A. No heart in either, as oats have. Let them contrive whatsoever they may, nothing gives to horses vigour and strength like unto all-congenial oats. Fed on these, an ass may be brought into 86 BUMPERNIKE. TRAINING-BREAD. [CONV. condition fit to drag a load at ten miles an hour. Even the training-bread, formerly made in race- horse studs, and composed of oatmeal, wheat-flour, and bean-flour, equal quantities, mixed up with ale and eggs, and baked in cakes, is now gene- rally disused, though good for old horses. I wonder, in my heart, what our old ancestors did before oats were brought over? Q. Much the same as the Germans, I suppose; as well as they could. But they had no racers in those days ; though they bred many tolerable good horses, and exported them and all other kinds of cattle to those very parts. A. But now we import their heavy, unwieldy, draught-horses, that are known by the immense crest, great head, thick shoulder, and large flat hoof; with some coach-horses, too, but few for the saddle, I believe. But I never saw one that I should call a tight, well-built, firm horse ; none to be compared to the Cleveland-bred ones, not in a day's march. Q. You bear a little prejudice, I observe, against the foreigners. We do get a few good chariot- horses from them, occasionally, that are worthy any one's looking at. VI.] 87 CONVERSATION VI. Gross Habit of Body. Grooming, its Benefits: Litter ; Blear Eyes, Q. Those large foreign horses we were speaking about yesterday, do not seem to carry themselves well, with their bellies full of our hard meat, with which they are stuffed to repletion by the emulative pride of their London owners. A. Everlastingly uneasy, snorting, and casting off the superabundant secretion from the throat — both windpipe and gullet, I should think. Q. They seem like pampered christians, bursting with choler. A. Whether narrow or flat chested, these, nor any other breed, are difficult to keep in condition, if that be your fat condition. We often hear it said that such a horse " never thrives unless he have plenty of corn ;" of another that it is always " found at the rack," to denote its ravenous dispo- sition ; this is as much as to say, that his circum- scribed chest, and consequently bad respiration, prevents his coming up to ivorking condition, but that much gormandizing always covers that defect with fatness, though it evidently hinders the due action of the lungs. Hence the uneasy, burly manner of those Flemish and German horses, whose gullets are looser than is common to other breeds. 88 FATNESS BEGETS DISEASE. [CONV. They always appear to me as if their skins were too large for their bones, and these not tightly strung together; and then their new mode of living fills up all the intervals with fat ; an incommodious, enervating, and gross habit of body, alike opposed to exertion and to health, unassisted by purgatives. I once saw the carcase of one of those heavy ones, which had been slain in full health, in London- streets. When the skin was removed, the whole external surface, down to the hocks and knees, was completely covered with faty utterly obnoxious fat ! What service could all this fattening answer? For labouring cattle I abhor the thought; whilst for pigs, indeed, for bean-fed deer, and oil- caked oxen, the thing may be suffered, nay, is delightful! Q. Cart horses in town are always feeding; the nose-bag goes on at every i-est, though I believe *tis mostly chaff, of the worst description. A. Who's to blame? Fill them with gross hu- mours first, and then physic off the ills you your- selves have created ; or prepare to expect disor- dered intestines, staggers, molten grease, inflam- matory complaints, tumours, and so forth. This species of mistake is not confined to the owners of the lower description of horses. Q. Many of those evils are augmented by the practice of standing this class of cattle upon their litter of several days' accumulation. The feet in- variably suffer ; and although not every species of disease, yet enough to cripple the gait. What horrors do not such feet present, augmented by the Vl.] LITTERING — STALING, REST. 89 heavy pulls they are compelled to perform, with the hoof brittle, thin, lovv-criistedj and pommiced soles, often with great fissures too. Q. The London art of shoeing such horses, the filling up cracks, and adapting their shoes to awk^ ward tread, you must allow is very ingenious. Those horses seldom lie down, I presume, because they always stale on getting into their stalls. A. So do some other kinds; they wait for the straw, as it prevents splashing against their greasy heels, &c. which tolls how necessary 'tis to leave some of the old litter for them outside, as an enticement to stale. No, they have less occasion to renew their strength by lying down, than your stagers, post-horses, mail-horses, and those others which are constrained to quick action ; for, being once down, the former find a difficulty in regaining their legs, whereas, the quick goers no sooner feel their fatigue gone off, than up they get, fresh as the daisy, ready to feed, and fit to start. Q. At our coach-horse stables, we do not clear out the best of the litter in winter, but shake it out and get it up, after allowing the siall to dry, against the partition. If there be a disposition to lie down after work or exercise, we encourage it by making up again, A. The additional trouble is well repaid, even for ordinary cattle. You may observe horses that have been unused to the practice, when suffered to stand on their foul litter during the day, do so in a shifting uneasy posture, long previous to the 90 BLEAR EYES. GROOMING. [CONV. swelling of the heels, that inevitably takes place, if persisted in ; also, that on the days when they are not taken out, as on Sundays, the best eyes of healthy horses close partly up, owing to the vapour and heat of urine and dung, and of rotten straw, that is incessantly ascending. But if those animals are at any such time removed to a clean stable, those symptoms pass away, the eyes invariably ex- pand to their natural size, whilst the manner of standing is restored to the healthy and vigorous style of an animal quite at his ease. Q. I will try the experiment on Sunday. Ct'ib- biters, filled with wind, and those suffering under internal galling pains, as the worms, or long- standing affections of the lungs, are also induced to eat their litter, under the circumstances de- scribed, and thus increase the evil. A. Physic then again becomes necessary, to restore the depraved appetite, instead of that ne- cessity being obviated by proper precautions, and ventilation is among the chiefest of these. Q. This and some other topics (and, among the rest, physic itself) I reserve to a future opportunity. Neither have we said aught of actual grooming, va- riously termed dressing, rubbing down and clean- ing, of its beneficial effects, and how restorative a strict application of the brush, and, perhaps, the curry-comb in some cases of ordinary cattle, is to the preservation of that health which is so deser- vedly matter of boast with you ; A. By exciting the nervous system, exhilarating VI.] VENTILATION — THE STABLE. 91 the spirits, by increasing the action of the blood- vessels, and thus compelling the heart to quicker vibration, and affording to the animals pleasurable sensations : these are the immediate effects of rub- bing down the animal in any way whatever, to say nought of the fat and humours which are thereby dispersed and finally absorbed and sent off by the proper evacuations. Q. This duty is too well known, however, to need my troubling you with further questions ; and, as to the stable itself, its construction and fitness for the inhabitants thereof, these are topics quite beyond the groom's situation in life. CONVERSATION VII. The Stable : Ventilation — draining. Properties of Air, Gas. A. What did I hear ! " the groom's situation." — By no means ; I crave your mercy awhile : nothing that pertains to a horse lies beyond his ken. I say beyondy too ! No subject whatsoever is above the reach of a man of common sense, espe- cially when so closely connected with his avoca- tions in life as a stable is with a horse, and a horse with a groom. Neither should the head man of a stud hesitate to bend himself to the meaner 9S GROOM*S DUTIES. [CONV. offices, when the welfare of his horses demands manual assistance that is not otherwise at hand effi- ciently. For example, he should know how to put on a thrown shoe, though that be with a stone on the road, he will then know when this service is properly done ; give all physic with his own hands ; fasten bandages expertly; and, though he have plenty of helpers, lads, and junior grooms about him, never flinch from administering a clyster, or back-raking, or any other of the less agreeable ope- rations; because his cheerful acquiescence in such offices tends to infuse into those about him an active sense of their duty, and to inspire the young and inexperienced, who look up to him as a practical monitor, with a due respect for his assiduity, if they do not reverence his talents. Q. Your remarks are very just. I did not re- flect, that your experience and constant anxiety to discharge the duties of your situation with credit to yourself and to the advantage of your employer, must have furnished you with much sound practical knowledge on this as well as every other topic con- nected with the horse. As to the construction of stables — you must have put up with some that were very unfit for their intended purposes, and others that were built with every convenience — expressly to your taste, perhaps. A. People do not rebuild premises simply to adopt some new invention, however demonstrably beneficial ; so I will not occupy time in describing how stables should be constructed for this or that VII.] VAPOURS OF THE STABLE. 93 particular purpose, further than by observing, they should lie at a tolerable distance from the farm or dwelling-house, by reason of the constant disturb- ance the better bred cattle are annoyed with ; also, the unseemly stench arising from various offices; and the danger of incurring worms from the second order of bott-fly, that is often bred in exposed or- dure.* The object should be for us to render such ancient buildings as healthful as possible, by con- trivances adapted to remedy the defects we may find at them. Q. The principle being, to admit atmospheric air equal to the quantity consumed, but not a cun^ent of it, in order to expel the vapours, saline exhala- tions, and gas, that constantly arise from the four seve- ral evacuations, and consequent heat of the inmates. A. Rather say, " to permit those gassy vapours to escape ;" for the tendency of all such bodies is to ascend upon the atmospheric or healthy air, un- less, being confined together in a given space, (a room or stable,) the two airs mix, and pervade the whole area so circumscribed, whereupon by further stimulating the animals' lungs and skins, it repro- duces itself over and over again. Q. Aye ; it has the same buoyancy, or disposition to ascend, as the gas that impels our balloons up- ward ; having the like quality of being ignited too, as the same gas that is burnt in our street- lamps. It must, therefore, contain some quality * This fly has the name of Oestrus hcemorhoidalisy and is said to deposit its eggs on the skin of horses. 94 GAS OF STABLES — EXPERIMENT. [CONV. that is totally different from the pure air, and inso- much unfit for mortal man or beast to breathe and live healthfully. Whoever advised the lighting a stable with gas was not a good judge then, unless a shareholder in some gas- company : a mephitic odour always issues from the burner, the light greatly destroys the pure air, and the gas is fre- quently found to escape from the pipes, and even to rise up through the pavement, occasionally. A. The action of the horse's lungs being twice that of man, besides the multiple of these with his greater bulk and heat of carcase, accounts for the superior destructiveness of stable air, or rather gas; a fact any one can put to the test if he will con- descend to rest a whole night with his horses, as I have done, and, partially, several times in full stables, to say nothing of my boyhood, when I literally slept with my horses. Q. You found the air oppressive, no doubt, in the full stable. A. After the first hour and a half excessively so, for it was during the races, formerly, where I suspected a fellow of some foul intentions towards my horses in the adjoining stables, as then hap- pened too frequently ; so I did not sleep, nor in- tended it. After the second and third hours had passed away, during which I suffered great op- pression at the chest, not to mention the stench, the pain wore away, and I felt comparatively restored, but still perspiring copiously, with a slight discharge at the eyes and nose. VII.] LOFTY STABLES, AND LOW ONES. 95 Q. Some change had taken place, I conclude, in the state of the A. In me, and no where else : my lungs, I ap- prehend, having" been saturated throughout with the noxious gas, the ceils at length lost part of their resistance and elasticity, when the feeling of oppression ceased and the gaseous poison had complete possession of the pulmonary function. What a very pretty state I should shortly have been in, if the full glare of morning had not relieved me from my watch. Q. The remedy is evident: a ventilator would cure this ; or ventilation of some kind or other. A. A very lofty stable, say twelve or fourteen feet high, would contain as much of this noxious gas above the animals' heads as they would produce in one night, probably ; a benefit incalculable in severe weather, when we might safely close all the aper- tures, those at the doors being ever the most detri- mental. A less elevated stable would effect the same salutary end, partially ; but we most frequently find those of middling proprietors constructed in a corner, narrow and confined, and very few that you may not reach the ceiling of with your whip. What is then to be done, where the means of. im- provement, or the disposition to undertake it are equally beyond control ! Q. Aye ; in the midst of a town, or populous neighbourhood, for example. A. If you find not that the first piece of parsi- mony, or of ill-design, has been partially corrected 96 VENTILATOR FOR LARGE STABLE. [CONV. by another, whereby the gas is permitted to ascend as it is formed through certain improvident open- ings, to the hay loft above, or by way of the racks, &c. whence it escapes by some crazy lattice or im- perfect boarded work, then a rustic contrivance, that shall effect the same service, may be applied to the windows of such a building as admits of no aperture in the roof. Q. Or, a more finished piece of carpentry to the stables of the wealthy. What is the nature of your contrivance ? A. A cell, or box, placed at the highest window of the stable inside, having a door, or doors, that open outwards only, and always stand open, unless blown fast by the wind, or fastened purposely. If you have the opening to make, avoid a north- eastern aspect, as you should also for the entrance of your stable. Its depth inward should be one- half the breadth of the aperture, which its frame should fit exactly, the lower part slanting outwards, to carry off" the rain. On the inner side, two fold- ing doors, of slight materials, are to be hung on hinges, with a pulley and cord that descend to the ground, whereby the doors may be kept open, or closed at will. At night, this cord being cast loose, it is apparent that the springing up of a blast of wind would close the doors, and, upon this ceasing, the weight of the cord, or of something fastened to it, equal to the resistance of the doors, would again open them. Q. A very simple contrivance, truly, and which YII.] ADAPTATION TO CIRCUMSTANCES. 97 may be applied to a more elaborate aperture in the ceiling, if deemed necessary, like the top of a malt-house. A. And if the ventilation be considered at any time too much for the season, or for the inhabitant animals, one of the doors may be closed, or both re- tained by pegs ; in like manner, by passing over another pulley a contrary pull of cord, and making all fast, the same object may be attained more permanently. Q. As, in cases of sickness, the higher state of internal inflammations, or in fevers. A. In the latter series of disorders, the air would refresh and conduce to the cure, after the patient has been reduced by bleeding and purgatives. In affections of the lungs, sharp gusts of wind can be prevented from entering rudely, by stretching a few yards of canvass, or an old sack unsewed, across the window, within a foot or two of it, inside. Q. Since the time I first became a convert to your doctrine respecting the healthfulness of venti- lation, in general, and proved its efficacy in fe- brile disorders, T have noticed several very faithful fellows, hesitating about executing my orders on that head, and others complying partially, or with reluctance, as if — A. They thought you insane, no doubt. If any one among them venture to give proofs of the benefits he has witnessed arising from the exclu- sion of air, his experience has been drawn from some ordinary stables, be assured ; the race-horse, F 98 STABLE-FLOOR; SLOPES. DRAINS. [CONV. more than any other standing in need of pure air ; which is mainly ascertained by its temperature — coolness and purity being the same thing. Q. The flooring has also divided the opinions of the knowing ones, both as to shape and material; those of hrick had many advocates, who since abandoned their prejudice. A. As being liable to get out of repair, being generally too soft burnt, and so likely to retain the urine and to form small channels. No ; good hard large pebbles are your only material for the body of the stable and gutters, however they may choose to lay the inner standing of the stalls with ** fire- brick, laid edgewise ;" having a slight fall towards the middle, but no other visible slope in the stall. Q. In the Netherlands they lay the inner part of the stall with Dutch tiles, as they do the bottom and sides of the manger. A. Dry, cool, and cleanly ; and worthy of imi- tation here. Q. A gutter or channel to carry off the urine is indispensable, I apprehend ? A. But the slope this form of floor occasions is evidently calculated to strain the back sinews of the hind legs, besides being further objectionable on account of the constant wet state of these channels, by the flowing streams of the urine from the adja- cent stalls, in large crowded stables, which occa- sions to the horses in the lower part much discom- fort at all times, and a proneness to acquire grease, especially when further aided by a chilly night VII.] grease: urine, useful. 99 coming on, which nips the heels whilst in this state. Q. Most channels, however, in stables of any consideration, are so constructed that the urine of one horse cannot incommode another, either as to dampness or smell. A. By means of an under- drain, into which gratings, or perforated iron sinks, permit the urine to drop as soon as 'tis passed. Some persons lay these gratings within the stalls, on a small scale, the whole communicating with the main sewer, which terminates outside the building."^ Q. Objectionable, on account of the cold and damp of winter, thus liable to be admitted — to say nothing of rats coming up, and so forth. A. Both which may be prevented by making a retmn, or sharp bend at the outlet ; by fitting on a trap-door grating, making the end of the kennel take a dip in the water outside. Much water and filth always descend the stable-kennel, and this kind of drain is easily laid open by lifting up the gratings. I have heard of some nobleman, in Germany, whose stables were supplied with a constant stream of water running through them : how grateful in summer! Q . Everybody, almost, now understands tolerably * And the urine afterwards profitably employed, where the stables have been erected on a convenient eminence, in irriga- ting the land, by being pumped from the receiving pit. At Stean, near Brackley, I have seen this contrivance applied to bullock-houses, upon a large scale, with much success. F 2 100 STENCH; HEAT: THERMOMETER. [CONV. well the great importance of keeping down the stench necessarily arising from so many huge hard- working animals being crowded together, and using up the fresh air as fast as it enters. A. But how few, among those who do know, adopt the commonest precautions to admit the re- quisite supply of fresh wholesome air ; and fewer still those who employ that sure guide the thermo- meter, whereby the temperature of the stable may be ascertained and regulated to a nicety at any time — say a due mean of 60 degrees ; and if the attendant found the quicksilver approaching to 70 degrees, or a still more deleterious heat, he might be taught to throw open every door and window; still excluding the sun, by means of long canvass curtains, with a make-fast or weight fasten- ed at the bottom, capable of being hitched to a nail or staple, or sufficiently heavy to detain them to the ground. Q. Since our first conversation, in which some allusion was made to the instrument, I bought a thermometer for our stable, at very little less than a sovereign in price ; but, for the convenience of your pocket, I now inform you the same thing may be bought for half the price at Taroni and Lourighi's, next the City-road turnpike-gate ; of Copini, 217, High-street, Shoreditch ; of Tournerelli, Greville- street, Hatton-garden ; and a dozen other makers. A, I knew as much ; and, what is more, if you are content to put up with a glass mounted on plain box, you may get three or four for a guinea. VII.] GROUND current: FIRED STABLE. 101 equally good for use in every respect, at the same places. Q. All horses like warm lodging in winter, though long usage inures them to bear much cold: thorough-breds require more warmth than working cattle all the year round ; 'tis the nature of the countries whence we derive the breed. A. They do not thrive else ; but you may over- do the most desirable service : and, do you mind me, be the stable never so warm, there is always a current of air running along the ground from 10 to 15 inches high. The warmer the stable is, the more severe is this current of air, and the keener its rush ; which is usually supplied, in the common run of stables, from a faulty door-way, a worn-out step, or some rotten board, time-worn window- shutter, or disused key-holes. Q. All which appear to me like illegitimate means of admission to aid the ventilation. By the way, I once saw an exemplification of this truth in the case of a stable being on fire in London. None could look in at the door for smoke, though all were eager to withdraw the horses; when a fireman went down on his knees, crept to a stall, and having fastened his jacket over the eyes of one of them, led him forth safe ; whilst two others that remained immovably fixed to the spot were dreadfully burnt, and one so much so, that it went to the slaughterer's next morning. A. Greasy heels is the consequence of cold air 102 CAUSE OF CERTAIN LAMENESSES. [CONV. making its way along the ground. Indeed, all disorders of the hind legs that arise from chill or other functional derangement, are thus originated : whilst the body is warm, tired, relaxed with heat, and the blood circulating fast, cold seizes the heels and prevents the finer blood vessels of the foot from returning their contents into the system, agreeably to the dictates of nature. The blood thus detained loses its quality, is diseased already with fever, and only waits to show its acrimonious nature by the in- flammatory destruction of the juices which supply new horny matter; whence rigidity of the coffin- joint ensues, that some mistake for strain thereof; but the lameness oftener proceeds from enlarge- ment of the cartilages, and a subsequent ossification of the same, that is incurable. However slight, ring-hone is induced, as well as hrittle-hoof, the wall of which is ever thin and unretentive of the iron defence ; generally, it produces grease; any or either of which evils are further promoted by the prevalence of diseases of the urinary organs that usually concur to afflict the large fleshy animals I have now mostly in view. Q. In this latter case you give diuretics; what in others ? A. Do nothing bat keep the evacuations steady : for those disorders do not soon show their precise nature, farther than increased heat comes to, when, perhaps, \o\xm'dy bleed ; but as to grease, though always to be alleviated by superinducing more VII.] DEPTH OF STALLS; LOOSE STALL. 103 urine, it is not always that the kidneys, which form the urine, are capable of carrying on their secretory function to a sufficient extent. Q. Stimulated to rottenness, perhaps? How this is effected I will take a more leisurable opportunity of inquiring". A. Better prevent those evils altogether, I should think, by making the stalls deep enough to contain the whole animal, say ten feet, so that he can neither kick his next neighbour, nor catch a chill that is replete with such bad consequences. Try the experiment of giving a good horse the loose stall ; and, if he be not an old one, swayed by habit, he will not lie with his legs outwards, but the contrary. Q. The value of a loose stall, or single horse stable, is very great, for the ailing animal, on his recovery from sickness, or after much physicking, its benefit is incalculable. In some parts of Ger- many, they heat the stables, during seasons of great inclemency, by means of stoves, constructed out- side the wall. A. Very good, but not a little dangerous ; and, furthermore, is liable to make the hearty animals artificially tender. Horses in strong work and corn-fed, of whatever description, stand in no need of such an auxiliary in this country — unless, indeed, they be Arabs recently arrived ; which shiver as they stand, though clothed, and the stable at sixty- five degrees heat. 104 [CONV, CONVERSATION VIII. Of preserving Health : Work, Tonics. Legs. Misusage. Powers of going — Physicking, its use and abuse ; Preparatives ; mode of giving Balls. Q. The obstacles to keeping a horse in a healthy state are numerous : besides feeding and exercise, grooming and ventilation, and soiling, many im- portant points remain for discussion ; the principal of which is, arresting the progress of disease upon lis first appearance. A. If watching its progress, and enabling our- selves to distinguish between any two or more dis- orders which may be somewhat similar, be not equally important. Q. How shall we proceed with this inquiry, think you ? A. Any how suits me, so that you observe a little order in arranging the topics, and stick to one at a time, as nearly as you can. Thus, follow up what has been said as to bringing a horse from green food into condition, with an investigation of the means of preserving him in that state without physic, if possible; but in cases where "regular physic" is rendered indispensable, as with horses training for the race-course, we must apply our- selves to the means of achieving our object of VIII.] health: WORKING CONDITION. 105 cleansing out the animals, by using the lowest quantity of drastic medicine capable of performing that service ; thus, by combining it with milder substances, palliatives and preparatives may be found in abundance. Q. This, I take it, is the true art of preserving health, or keeping your cattle in proper working condition; which, you justly observed, does not always imply ^b^ condition. A. Most assuredly not — unless for waggon horses. The due consideration of this subject in- cludes sober and liberal reflections regarding the keep, or manner and amount of feeding and sta- bling, airing and exercising, the qualities of food and water — on all which topics we were recently talking, together with other subordinate matters worthy of being known to all ; though many grooms, however adroit in the details of training, are pre- cluded from carrying into practice, owing to supe- rior orders. Every proprietor will have his own way in such matters. Q. None will be deaf to reason, whose interest is so materially concerned. A. Provided it be reason and not twattle. Every groom, within the years of maturity, should think twice before he speaks once ; he should study his subject a few years at least before he presumes to give advice, as is often done, upon the information of others. Q. Very material to him is the knowledge — 1. As to what quantity of food and water is need- f3 106 GLUT. CAUSE OF DISEASE. [CONV. ful for each individual horse. 2. As to what course of feeding engenders disease. A. They termed it *' Glut " formerly ; no doubt, from the word '* gluttony," or indulgence of the appetite, which occasioned it. No less worthy his attention are the symptoms that precede any and every disease, that he may take preventive mea- sures in time, or call in the aid of the well-bred veterinary surgeon. Q. The groom, I think, is pla:ced in a much better situation for curing, or alleviating a first attack than the doctor himself, according to your maxim at the beginning of our third conversa- tion, — (p. 47) ; as he must necessarily know the cause of the disorder. Hereupon, he has but to surcease the course of proceeding which brought it on, and the cure effects itself, without the aid of medicine, or very little of it. A. A cause that is so readily ascertained, ought never in common prudence to have existed at all ; and I may add, of that which mostly escapes your notice, that the cause of diseases generally, with you young fellows of the hunt, is mostly referable to gross feeding with irregular exercise. The mistaken notion of *' giving much rest" to horses in health (whereby you rest yourselves) coupled with neglect of the proper evacuations — which none of ye watch after as you ought, is the prolific harbinger of all disorders of the horse, that are not fairly ascribable to hard work, a cold, and pure ac- cidents : the pest of a rich man's stable is high feed- VIII.] COMPARATIVE DEFECTS OF KEEP. 107 ing, idle days, warm clothing", and closed windows. In these latter respects the poor man's cattle have the advantage of yours ; whilst he is wofully cir- cumstanced in all others ; the diseases of his team are consequently of a totally different Dature to the rich man's. Q. Look at our butchers' nags, in which their owners invariably discover some latent power of going, mostly the trot: their exercise is brisk and unflinching; the keep full, but not redundant: their stabling scarcely second best. A. Their usage, too, as regards temper, is firm and bland towards their horses, however it may diff'er regarding other animals. Q. Accounted for; inasmuch, as no intention can exist of *' going to scale," with the one as with the other. Would you draw a distinction between the ailments of the needy proprietor's cattle and those of the rich man's stables ? A. I would go farther, and divide all acquit ed diseases of horses into, 1st. Those of the rich, and 2d. those of the poor, as to cause; — thus, those of one entire class I would attribute to repletion, those of the other to starvation ; the one kind being brought on by comparative inactivity and pamper- ing, the other by hard work and hard usage ; whilst neglect, proceeding from motives equally opposite, fosters both until some confirmed disorder ensues, and fastens on the animal till death, in one descrip- tion of property; and in the other, until physic and cordials have rendered death desirable. 108 ILL USAGE, ACCIDENTS. [CONV. Q. Like unto many other affairs in life, the wisest course, I perceive, lies in the middle. A. As you rightly observed at our first conversa- tion, there are diseases in-hoim with some horses, being the defect of parentage, of race, or of certain obnoxious breeding countries ; besides these and the acquired before spoken of, let us reckon up diseases of accident, as broken knees, bad shoeing, excessive labour, bad roads, the owner's cudgel, and above all, his physic, his cordials, and his oyls. Q. Why, some of these latter proceed out of, and as it seems to me, are occasioned by the former. By mentioning a '* cudgel," I perceive you have an eye to the lower order of these created beings, and presume you allude to a hit upon the kidneys. A. Or any other very sensible part, as the head, legs, and most dependent part of the belly ; but a simple kick of the toe on the latter, or a trivial slap of the hand upon the kidney, when the receiver is in a state of excitement, are replete with mischiefs of very serious import. Q. No man can expect a horse to keep in con- dition under any of those several circumstances, unless he attend to each peculiarity of formation, adapt himself to every departure from nature, and as to any harm so inflicted, he must first eff'ect a cure thereof, and then recommence his conditioning afresh : of the ailments so produced, I will seize a future opportunity to take your opinion. A. So be it. The preservation of health is so VIII.] RESTORATION OF STRENGTH. 109 closely connected with the restoration of strength, after the animal has been brought out of an illness by dint of physic, that you had better consider both at the same time. Q. Great weakness and lassitude always remain after a fever has been cured; especially with ani- mals originally of tender constitution, and those of every degree which may have been abused at racing, hunting, staging, or otherwise. Old horses of the first mentioned description suffer more from misusage than ordinary cattle ; one season of over- work degrades them from their caste — one day of mal-treatment may consign such to the errand-cart or hackney-coach. A. The unfavourable symptoms all reduced, let us suppose, yet the horse still unfit for work. The same drooping debility attends the removal of in- jlammation in all cases, whether of the lungs, the stomach, the intestines, or the kidneys ; but only when much inedicine has been required to subdue the disorder, — though, when a small quantity achieves the same end, those symptoms of weak- ness do not last long, especially with robust animals of high breed, having youth on their side. Q. The appetite bad in every case of much physic taking: it must be restored, and that by tonics, I apprehend. A. Else, no good can be expected for a long period ; though nature does a great deal — nay all. Q. Our proper office is but to aid her. 110 TONICS, BENEFICIAL: FAILURE. [CONV. A. Gently as we can ; though she sometimes throws down the ill-calculated efforts of the veteri- nary art, and performs cures in her own way, spite of its professors and their boasted skilL Tonics y the species of remedy just recommended for the convalescent horse, are of tioo sorts, if not three; though the writers on veterinary matters teach us to rely too securely on the use of the medical class alone. The proper to?ie or tension of the stomach, for example, may be restored, as much by relaxation, or by stimulating that ore/an, as by the bracing tonics, according to the circum- stances that attend the particular case. If the stomach has been disordered through inflammation of the kidneys, as always happens, the tone is already too high, and the exhibition of Peruvian bark, arsenical preparations, cinchona, and other medical tonics, would but increase this species of derangement. If the disorder has originated in the stomach, then indeed will the bark prove itself a valuable bracing tonic, after the disease has been reduced. Q. Ha! I perceive how it happens that in human ailments, also, hark is so uncertain in effect- ing any good, — and often the contrary; always causing to the patient great dismay at its failure. A. When the heart also may be said to lose its tone, and the reasoning patient droops. But to return : the stomach, in the first case I have sug- gested, would be best restored to its proper tone VIII.] REGIMEN. REGULAR PHVSIC. Ill by the cooling regimen — i.e. green food, carrots, and mashes ; for this it is which corrects the long excited kidneys. [See Appendix, Tonics.'] Q. This regimen I take to be the second class of tonics. A. As it is the most natural one, and best; un- less the third class be its equal — I memu fresh air, taken with exercise — that is to say, walking exer- cise, and a good deal of it, when at length the convalescent animal recovers strength sufficient. Whenever the horse's appetite fails, without any assignable cause is discoverable, no febrile heat, no inflammation of any organ, pulse not high, the stomach must be considered as having lost its tone, by the presence of some ill-digested food, or it is simply relaxed, and aloes, exhibited as an altera- tive laxative to the amount of a drachm and a half a day, for a week, or until purging takes place ; this purgative restores the right tone thereof, and it then becomes really a tonic, though a purgative. Q. Great reliance is placed on regular physic, in preserving the health of our horses, by Mr. B ; principally, I think, because it imposes on us the necessity of further regulations. A. Regular physic, or " routine physic," as he calls it, can never be requisite or desirable " upon a large scale." I would have you recollect, that the more physic any animal takes, the more it must take to produce similar effects; and then, see to what dangerous extremes this leads, in the frequent use of strong purgative medicines ! If 112 PHYSIC NOT REQUISITE, ALWAYS. [CONV. physic bring about any change whatever, is not this indiscriminate purging of a whole stable of horses, or an entire stud, at certain intervials, very liable to find some of the inmates in good health? Then, what is the alteration thus brought about, but a retrocession from sound health to that which is at least a step below it, besides begetting the neces- sity of following it up with repetition, and im- posing upon us the destructive alternative of in- creasing the quantity to a frightful amount, or of seeing our expectations baffled ? Q. But, when the dunging is hard as pellets, as you will see in many hunting establishments, ac- cording to your own axiom, the horse must be emptied; as he must, also, if putting on fleshy or faty so much despised by you. A. You sadly disorder all the points at issue between us : I do not dislike fat for the mouth, but 1 am not a going to eat my horses, in whom I would as soon see a thick head, or large hoof, as a large belly and fleshy shoulders. Again, as to horses dunging, doubtless you quote me aright; but what 1 object to is, the indiscriminate use of physic upon a number of horses at once, at given periods, whether in that state or not which war- rants a purgative. '* Regular bleeding," upon which we passed sentence awhile ago, (page 48,) is of a piece with ** regular physic;" both in my opinion are exceedingly irregular, and contrary to the nature of things animate, which cannot pos- sibly stand in need of this subtraction of the vital VIII.] ALOES, INDISPENSABLE. 113 fluid, or '* draining," of its material^ as yoa seem to advocate, and Osmer observed formerly. Q. I stand corrected ; A. Or you lie open to the reproach of being an indiscriminate purgator ; which you will find a poor recommendation to any rational sporting gentleman now-a-days; they know better, in general. Q. When hunters get thick about the legs, in consequence of a hard run and neglect, you cannot recover the original shape of them without the use of aloes? A. That depends on what cause they owe the mis- shapen legs to ; and we inquire, 1st. Whether it be owing to straining every sinew in going? when the warm bathing and bandaging, the hand-rubbing and rest (i. e. walking, and a loose stall) will restore a slight attack in a day or two ; but, if not, we must blister. 2d. Whether this is accompanied by swelling of the fleshy particles, and the skin, oc- casioned by the animal's languor of system, debi- lity, or being spirit-broken. Q. When you allow that cordials may be given with profit. A. Yes; but you must also procure healthy dungings, or the mildest cordial may do harm, if repeated beyond the day of such a run. Q. Both objects may be accomplished by giving the scouring -water the morning after a hard chase ; although you were pleased to designate it as ** a mere cordial," it never failed to cheer up the horse, and to procure a good dunging on such occasions — 114 CORDIALS — NOT DESIRABLE. [CONV. owing to the fatigue, perhaps, that yet remained in the animal, and the stimulant nature of the cordial. Here is the receipt for making it. [See Appen- dix. White Water, No. 5.] A. This '* receipt," as you very properly term it, might prove a receipt in full, like many other cordials, if given to a horse with inflammation of any internal organ, or fever of the whole system. Q. I do not perceive the difference. A. Nor is there any — so far as your famous ** receipt" is concerned; since it would be equally dangerous either in inflammation of kidneys, sto- mach, intestines, or lungs ; as such an affection at any of these ^ar^*, occasions an accession of un- natural heat of the skin, without perspiration; this is fever, though fever of the whole system may supervene without any of those internal parts being particularly affected, which fever any cordial would but increase. Q. Some horses become so difficult to purge at times, that our best grooms cannot get the fat out of them by this means alone, without sweating first and galloping immediately after giving physic. A. Those are your strong-constitutioned horses, required for hard-and-fast work, but which put up flesh when lying idle, or the ** getting into going order" is relaxed, even for a day; the racer, for example, which is wanted by a certain day, and cannot be waited for, nor can another supply his place, like the mail-horse. My objection to strong exercise for horses in physic is valid, nevertheless : VIII.] PHYSIC : MODE OF OPERATING. 115 because, when the spiral contraction of the in- testines, which the aloes accelerates, is at its greatest pitch, galloping adds to the action of the physic and may be said to inflict further friction on the bowels and stomach alike. Hence, if we do not exactly say " the horse is worn out" by these means, 'tis very much like it. Q. I never saw any harm arising from the prac- tice, however. A. Possibly you may not ; the visible effects are slow, I allow, but not less certainly injurious. Q. And is very commonly resorted to in all the stables I have seen. The method with us was to clothe and sweat at his usual paces the horse in- tended to be physicked that morning, and whilst sweating in the stable, after dressing and clothing afresh, his physic is given, and he is taken out for his ordinary afternoon gallop, so that no time is lost, A. This last measure is what I object to entirely ; all horses show debility after the physic is worked off; and although the strong-constitutioned animals soon recover its effects, the more tender ones suffer longer ; and, after all, much time is not saved by the method you advocate so warmly. Q. ** Warmly !" Not I; I merely described what I believe is the prevailing practice in all our racing-studs when the horse is wanted for an early engagement; and by some persons generally so. What plan of proceeding would you recommend? A, Give two or three warm mashes of while 116 BRISK MEDICINE— ITS EFFECTS; [CONV. water [Appendix, No. 2,] the day preceding the physic ; at night keep the horse short of hay, and in the morning give a small mash early, fol- lowed by tolerably strong exercise, according to his nature, so that he bring down the contents of his stomach, perspire, and evacuate. Being re- turned home, rub him down, and quickly give the physic. You will then find five or six drachms of the aloes in general do as much service as seven, eight, or nine. [Prescribed in Appendix and else- where.] I say this, who am not an advocate for strong 7nedicine, even to such horses as absolutely stand in need of purging physic, and cannot from circumstances be taken out for the strong exercise proposed. Q. I understand you ; we were conversing now of the better sort, that by their value deserve superior care, and require reduction of superfluous flesh. A. The brisk purge, that is accompanied hy pers^nration effects this reduction excellently well, by reason of the heat of his body dissolving the aloes. Not only is the general health bettered, but the mis-shapen legs become fine and strong immediately ; therefore, do not neglect to promote this discharge by the skin, which further mashes, hand-rubbing the legs, and assiduous rubbing down, effects completely. Q. Most people keep their physicked horses clothed all the day after it begins to work. A. To be sure ; the tender ones in particular. VIII.] NONE, WITHOUT CAUSE FOR IT. 117 But I should remove each piece of the clothing, and having scraped, dressed, and dry-rubbed the part uncovered, replace dry clothing, piece by piece — that is, if the horse required this sort of reduction, and is of tender constitution. Q. The legs, of course, would come in for their share of attention. A. Of course ; the whole of the muscular system feels the effect of the absorption thus superinduced ; the animal comes out of its physic stronger also, and can stride greater stretches in all his paces in consequence, even his walk is bettered, and the stroke in galloping remarkably so. Q. By brisk physic and much physic I perceive you mean two different modes of giving it, or, rather, prejKiring the animal that is to receive it. A. This is the more necessary, as these better sort of horses in strong exercise are more difficult to purge than your ordinary cattle ; whilst country working Jiorses never require it, they having fre- quent opportunities of taking nature's purgative — the grasses, require little or no physic. Q. We should, then, purge all our high-bred horses, I presume, before we commence the con- ditioning of hunters or training the race-horse? A. Psha ! As to those terms I see no distinc- tion. But even your thorough-breds, if delicate- constitutioned horses, with tender insides, do not stand in need of this " regular physicking," unless good cause is evident, and, when necessary, small doses effect their object best ; and even then the 118 OF ALTERATIVE PHYSIC; AND [CONV. mildest, and therefore preferable, mode of ad- ministering any prescribed quantity of aloes is to divide it into two, or three, or four doses, giving one daily until the desired effect is produced. Q. When one can spare the time it requires, this method of proceeding by alteratives, I have heard you say, agrees better with animal nature than harsh physic — • A. That sometimes makes great ravages, by violent and long purgation ; which, however, may be stopped, or much alleviated, by coaxing the animal to take large quantities of thick water-gruel, or stout wheat-flour gruel. [See Appendix, White Water, Nos. 4 and 6.] Take this excep- tion with you, however : when you adopt the system of purging by this alterative plan, there needs no preparation by mashes, nor cessation from exercise, nearly, until the physic operates ; on the contrary, exercise promotes the action of physic so given in a mild and therefore not injurious manner. Q. But why should we keep the horse to be physicked short of hay the night preceding ? surely not for the saving it eff'ects ? A. Surely not. If you do not prepare the bowels with mashes, no occasion for stopping the allowance of hay ; but if, after the horse has been mashed in the day, you suffer him to blow out his stomach and intestines with hay, the ordinary dose of seven or eight drachms of aloes will defeat your hopes : you stare, and wonder how this comes to pass, increase the dose, and thus add to the evils strong purgatives VIII.] PREPARATIVES FOR THE STRONG. 119 produce in the course of time — if they do not come on immediately. Inflammation of those parts is the disorder most frequently recurring-, though it also affects the kidneys or the liver , if either be previously ailing. Q. True; and how often do we hear it said of an ailing horse, that " he has not been well ever since physicking!" and "caught a cold upon his physic !" When, perhaps, no more than the ordi- nary dose has been given. Sometimes the physic fails entirely, though a full dose ; — A. A failure very common in aloetic purges ; of which we may say, generally, that the more fre- quently these are given, the greater is the quantity required to effect the desired end ; the coats of the stomach and intestines, having become paralyzed, refuse to be agitated, Q. Until several days have passed away, or we give a second dose upon the first ; A. And thereby commit ruin by excessive pur- gation. Mind what you are about : under my ma- nagement, with all the care possible, near a week has elapsed with a regular dose of aloes, before it came off. Q. Besides the preparation by bran-mashes, I have known calomel, a moderate dose, soften the dung. [See Appendix, Physic, Aloes, Mercury.'] A. The hlue-jnll effects the same beneficial pur- pose of solving the indurated foeces ; and, in either case, a smaller dose of aloes operates as much as a large one without the preparations of mercury. 120 SALT — ITS VIRTUES, MANY. [CONV. As to the employment of ** Epsom Salts," of which you always seem so fond, I must tell you, I once witnessed its failure as a purgative, in the amount of ten or twelve ounces ; therefore it is, that I have never used this saline mixture since ; but apprehend it would do well to be given the day after either of the foregoing prepartions of mercury ; yet would, even in that case, require to be exhibited to the amount of from six to eight ounces — an immensely inconvenient drench! Q. Purging salts do not agree with aloes: I once saw a violent purgation, from an over-dose of aloes, stopped by giving salts in gruel made of boiled wheat-flour. [Wliite TF«^er, No. 6.] A. The cure might be indebted to the wheat-Jlour probably, as much as to the salts, which is not an eligible purgative alone, as the case you have just adduced seems to prove. Q. There lies your mistake respecting the exhi- bition of the salts to horses. I'll be shot if ever I once thought of giving salts of either kind as " pur- gative physic :" but, as a most excellent preventive of internal disorders, in all quadrupeds, nothing has ever been prescribed, or given, that is at all to be compared to what they call the neutral salts. A. That is to say, common house-salt, bay-salt, nitre or salt-petre, Glauber's or Epsom salts. Q. You are right. All or either of these, admi- nistered constantly in small quantities, operate im- perceptibly on the blood, changing its state, correct- ing any disposition to putridity, or decomposition, VIII.] VIRTUES OF SALT. 121 and removing the obstructions that arise from high feeding or otherwise. A. In-deed ! Q. Yes, by my truly : I have been giving the common house-salt, not only as a corrective of had hay, as recommended by you, \Conv, ix.] but as conducing to health generally. A. Why, you seem suddenly enlightened on this topic, all at once — Q, I am not the only one, by a good many, who have obtained Hghts from the same source. — To the '* Treatise on Diseases and Lameness, by William Osmer," I am indebted for much sterHng infor- mation on the virtues of salt, internally and exter- nally given, as well as on many other important topics. The book should be read by every body. A. Ecod ! he is correct in his practice with the neutral salts ; I can see that, at the first blush of the affair. Besides, yon will do me the justice to recollect, that some reference is had to this topic in the " Receipt Book." [Appendix.] Moreover, I now remember that, when living in the south of Devon, many agricultural horses employed in fetching sea-sand from low-water mark, to dress their clayey soil, lost several kinds of affections of the limbs after labouring at it a week or two. The grease, eschars, &c., all disappeared. Q. Hence it is that Osmer recommends a charge, or cataplasm of dry salt in such cases. A. But we deviate egregiously — we were talking of the most eligible purgatives, and how to work G 122 MANNER OF BALLING: [CONV. them off with the least distress to the horse we have occasion to physic. We cannot always wait for the operation of alterative laxatives. Q. No, Sir; nothing- like whipping into your horse in training every eight or ten days, one of your casted balls of aloes. [AloeSy section 7.] Leastwise, if you find he does not dung tolerably regular, and his carcase is distended. A. Really, this is very odd *' stable talk" of yours ! This whipping in, I am decidedly of opi- nion, deserves a whipping out of you. Flippant — Q. Spare me, I pray you ! 'Tis but the language they use — A. Which, by its flippancy, shews how little they reflect on the importance of the act, who employ such a phrase to denote pA?/5ic-^it7*w^. Besides this, you accompany it with pointing a finger at one, as they do, to denote your supposed cleverness on the occasion, but which really proclaims great vulgarity : know better. Q. I see my error, and acknowledge it. Yet you will allow, that the most expert mode of hailing is to let go the tongue at three or four moments after delivering the ball : more, if he be an old and crafty horse, who would detain the ball in his mouth, and afterwards cough it up again. A. To be sure he would : but no less expertness is shewn in the manner of taking hold of the tongue, which many of you practise, like sailors catching hold of a cable, whereby many a good horse gets its tongue lacerated, or torn out by the VIII.] ERRORS AMENDED: ACCIDENTS. 123 roots, should he throw up his head.* If neither accident happens, the least harm we expect is, that the animal will prove confoundedly shy the next time we find occasion to give a ball. Q. The strong", fractious horse is always shy, and you cannot succeed without employing the halling- iron ; else how are we to avoid pulling hard at the tongue, unless we submit to have the hand bitten ? A. Take hold of the tongue with the three first fingers of the left hand, pressing the little finger on the lower jaw, inside ; whereby you have good hold of the jaw, and as the horse moves its head, your hand and arm move after it, without any chance of pulling the tongue amiss. Deliver the ball from the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand, and then quit hold of the tongue, without which the horse cannot possibly get down the ball by in- gulphing it, but is nearly choked by the passage being stopped up. If you have light sufficient, you may perceive the ball at its going down the throat. * Early in 1829, a horse of 3Ir. Verrall's, brewer, near Brighton, was so served by his drayman, who detained the tongue so long and so forcibly, that the tortured animal literally bit off four inches of its tongue, and it was killed. g2 124 [coNV. CONVERSATION IX. Of Appetite. The Stomach; how affected, hy had Mouthy and how affecting Condition. Of Lampas ; Paps ; Quidders ; Bad Provender ; Crib-biting; Wor7?is ; the Straw-Yard, A. Conditioning never can proceed a single step unless the stomach be in good order. If the appetite fail we must restore it. You would do well to study closely the function of digestion. Q. Appetite y as was remarked by you at our very first conversation (page 12), governs the animal dis- position generally;* in like manner as you had already allowed (page 2) that his mode of gratifying the first calls of nature, shows the temper of every individual horse, in the performance of his work, whether that be fast or slow. Animals with deep chests, i. e. capacious lungs, are always hearty ones, by reason of the great pulmonary action of which they are susceptible. A. I would now go further, and say, that each description of horse — as, 1st. Racer; 2d. Hunter; 3tl. Stager or Coach-horse; 4th. Saddle-horse or Hack ; 5th. Waggon-horse, — may be divided into classes, according to temper : and that this may be * A remarkable case of large stomach being accompanied by vicious disposition in man was adduced in Veterinary Surgery, page 132. IX.] CLA.SSIFICATION OF HORSES. 125 ascertained by the mode of feeding, and craving for water observable in each individual. In fact, l would test every horse by his appetite or stomach, and the size of it ; one kind having an over-large stomach, requiring to be filled with food or water ; another kind having a stomack too small for sup- plying the other organs and muscles with invigo- rating juices sufficient ; whilst the medium, or duly proportioned stomach, is blest with fair appetite and good digestion, being that kind of horse wherein resides the best disposition and means of going — shape and make answering thereto, as ge- nerally happens. Now, considering that the sto- mach is the central organ of the body, having many and varied functions to perform, receiving and imparting sympathies with every other organ and function, from the head to the posteriors ; that those functions are cherished or disordered by the substances sent into it, as food or as medicine, or taken through vice or depravation thus occasioned ; I do not expect too much when I desire you to believe, that not only the powers, but the temper, feeling, disposition, mind, manner, call it what we may, is also influenced by the stomach. Hence, I should be led to say, that each of my five descriptions of horse included the following classes, viz. — 1st, The ravenous eater (always craving for food, impatient, robust, speedy). 2d. The hot constitutioned horse (craving for water, long-bodied, fretful, brittle hoof, anxious manner). 3d. Moderate horse (of fair appetite, goodly car- 126 TEMPER, HEALTH, STRENGTH, [CONV. case and constitution, lasting). 4th. The tender horse (suspected of small stomach, a poor eater, or capricious one, incapable of great exertion, goo4 only at short distances or slow work, given to vice). Whilst the first two classes are known to have large stomachs, and, although making way admirably at the commencement of a race, are not to be trusted at the long pull, wherein strength requires the support of bottom. Of those several classes, the first two owe much of their evil disposition to disparity of size between the stomach and the lower intestines ; inasmuch as the latter, being small in comparison, (the second class particularly so,) occasions a constant tendency to heat, which influences the temper, and is readily raised to inflammatory symptoms. This happens when the body at any time becomes cos- tive, and physic is neglected, or fails to come off ; thereupon the disorder ascends to the stomach, and thence to the head, causing defirium, staggers, megrim, in ordinary horses ; in the higher bred, apoplexy and sudden death, of which more anon. [See page 115.] The fourth class, on the contrary, do not take food enough to satisfy the strong digestive powers of their guts (i. e. ileum and colon). This kind of disparity, however, is mostly observable in the lower order of horses, whose owners fill such bellies with large quantities of hay ; for higher bred cattle, we take some trouble to distend the stomach and blind gut mechanically, by coaxing such horses to take liquids IX.] DEPEND ON STOMACH: SYMPATHY. 127 often, and in large quantities ; sugar, cordials, salts, and the examjyle of others, are the means of doing this. Q. By this mode of reckoning, I should con- clude that, independent of individual powers, shape, or make, there must be at least twenty differently disposed kinds of horse, all requiring separate and distinct consideration, to keep them in health, by means of regimen or appetite, and each demanding peculiar treatment when indisposed ; for, take whatever precautions we may, disorder will creep in, in spite of our teeth. A. Staring coat being the earliest indication, if depraved appetite do not precede it, though not previously observable ; for the stomach always feels the effect of every ailment, and soon shews its evil state on the skin, between which two there exists great intimacy. Q. Our governor calls it '' sympathy :" and says that this same sympathy or fellow feeHng, exists between the stomach and kidneys, as it does also between the kidneys and the bladder. A. Of course these latter organs being so near together, and both closely engaged in the same office of creating urine, the design of the Creator would not be complete without it. Q. ** Creating," was it you said ? that is not the exact word, I think? A. To be sure not. Secreting is the properest term, though, I perceive, you knew what I meant : 128 HUMOURS: DEPRAVED SECRETIONS. [CONV. io secrete, to separate or divide from the other parts of the animal's system (from the blood chiefly) this urine or any other liquid or solid, being- the means of continuing life ; and when performed aright, that is to say without obstruction,* health prevails : but if the secretions do not go on properly, illness ensues :f the stomach supplies the means of all the secretions. Q. Then it is we say a horse has ** the humours." A. The humours, ** diverted to a wrong course," you might add ; or call it ** depravation of the hu- mours." \Yhen the urine or the perspiration, for instance, do not come off by the proper outlets, what ought we to expect but grease, farcy, fistula, hide- bound, those most evident effects of all misdirected humours ? Some of the secretions hear the name of '* humours," even before they are so depraved, and * jSa/f prevents this species of obstruction, by removing tbe constant disposition, in dry fed cattle, to too great viscidity of the blood. See the next note, and consult Index, and Appen- dix, under the word Salt. t When the membranous part of the animal system, which performs the office of secreting liquid particles for its defence, is affected with a febrile thickening of its substance, its office or function is then performed amiss, and the secretion is now fit only to supply the matter of tumour or abscess ; but, failing to appear thus critically, it ranges through the circulation, infects llie mass, and fever or heat of the whole system rages to its ut- most ; this terminates favourably in critical tumour, or else in death; unless, indeed, we arrest its progress by reducing the heat, fever, or inflammatory symptoms in time, by means of what Mr. Osmer aptly terms " the drains ;" that is to say, bleed- ing, purging, rowelling, blistering, the salts, &e. IX.] CAUSE AND SYMPTOMS. 129 occasion disease. Thus we have the vitreous hu- mour , in the chamber of the eye, the humour that moistens the nose, throat, &c., an aiquous humour which is secreted to lubricate the coats of the intestines, as the mucous is to defend them, &c. But I will refrain from further remarks on those disorders until a future day ; meantime the sto- mach and bowels require our attention ; Q. And the principle by which diseases act upon this main organ of the digestive powers. A. When the perspiration (which is the secretion of sweat J is suddenly checked by cold, it is then thrown back in upon the stomach, the blind cjuf , and other intestines. Loss of appetite ensues, speedily with old w^orn out^ or enervated horses, but more slowly with those of every age, when their lungs being at any time heated by extra exertion first attract the injury, and its baleful influence is shown by a staring coat at the chest ; afterwards extending itself to the hinder part of the carcase, Hbout the region of the stomach and blind gut, thence to the flanks, neck, and limbs, as the bowels and other organs may receive the aff^ection. Q. Drinking cold water produces the same efl'ect, and immediately thereupon the rough belly proves how improvidenlly the horse has been permitted to drink whilst he is warm ; in default thereof, tumours arise at a period somewhat more distant — the remote consequence of a disordered, though full, circulation of blood. A. Quite as often, the chill at the stomach, no mat- G 3 130 THE ORGANS SYMPATHIZE. [CONV. ter how produced, communicates itself to the lungs also ; but whichever of these two organs is then in the highest state of excitement is also most affected by it ; the first-mentioned by the injudicious exhi- bition of needless and strong physic or cordials, the latter by over work, either in pace or too long continuance. Remember what was said in our second conversation, of this same chill arriving by the feet, either before or behind, or by all four, on entering cold streams. [Pages 34, 36.] Q. Cold washing the feet and legs at home, of horses just come off hard work, is nearly as dange- rous, if not assiduously dry-wiped. A. As one proof, by the contrary, see how resto- rative is the bathing of the legs of hunters in warm water ; then rubbing and bandaging for the night ! Q. Nothing can be more refreshing or restora- tive : but as for the appUcation of cold ivater! 'Tis horrid to think of; whilst the horse is hot, too ! A. Then it is that the blood, being driven back upon the liver, this organ is thus the first affected ; whence the inflammation, thus lighted up, com- municates to the stomach and lunys, by means of the blood which has passed repeatedly through the liver to be refined of its bitter principle, and finally fixes on the weakest of those three organs, if not upon that which is most excited— eithev state being generally described as its susceptibility . When it happens that all three organs may be in a weak state, and the bowels excited or tender, then these become the seat of the disorder, as I will shew IX.] PROCESS OF DIGESTION. 131 at some future opportunity ; but, when the whole system is debilitated extremely, then low fever ensues, with low pulse and drooping manner ; whilst the direct contrary, or high fever, follows a considerable state of excitement upon a full habit of body. Mark the variations that exist in the whole series of abdominal inflammation ! Q. I do ; and am greatly amazed at the various functions the stomach, with its ccecum, has to perform, besides that of receiving food ; as well as the number of ways by which these together may be influenced, and the positive appeal that must be made to the stomach for the cure of all consti- tutional diseases, and most of the local ones. The digestive powers of which you were speaking ere now, effect this, I presume, and must be set a-going. A. They cannot be relied upon ; as in such cases the stomach too frequently is found to lose its functions at the first attack, already predisposed thereto by the abuse of aloetic purges. [See Aloes, § 6,] This may be either torpor (or inacti- vity), or else excitability. Q. The process of digestion must be exceedingly curious : exercise, I suppose, keeps the stomach and C(ECiU7i (of which latter we will speak anon) at work upon the food taken into them, until both press forward their contents to the large gut. A. Ah, like a mill, you would have folks believe, to grind the meat ; but the stomach is not like that machine ; nor is it a fermenting- vat, as some do 132 BLOOD, OBSTRUCTIONS IN. [CONV. suppose, in which the food is reduced by fermen- tation ; nor is it a stew-pan^ for stewing down its contents, according to others. But it is no other than a stomach after all ; a thing of its own pecu- liar kind, that may partake of all three qualities, and I believe does so. Q. Neither triturated by exercise, nor exactly fermented by the gastric juice, nor quite stewed by bodily heat, but digested by a junction of all three I I like your definition, vastly. A. *Tis only mine as applied to our present subject : I had it from a doctor, remarkable for his familiar manner of explaining the functions of animal life. Q. Looking over what you have written down concerning this point, under the head of *^ Aloes,'' [in Appendix,] I apprehend that when fever prevails, the appetite fails, because the function of digestion by this fermenting-stew-mill process has ceased ; then, let me inquire, does not the blood get thinner from want of a yre^/i supply, which it could only receive by means of the digestion I A. Certainly it does, after awhile, which shall be longer or shorter, according to the previous state of the animal's corporeal system; but take this with you -the fever would never have accrued but for the previous thickness of the same blood, its viscidity, its consequent unfitness for circulation, its heat, then its tardiness, and incapacity for re- turning out of the finer vessels (capillaries) where the riot first began, into the general circulation. IX.] CONDITIONING, HOW IMPEDED. 133 Q. We must, then, look narrowly after the sto- mach and its affections, and meet the first symp- toms of derangement therein by correctives; say a purging-ball ; or at least alterative laxatives, (as the salts,) and subsequently, when all is set to rights, your tonic medicines and tonic regimen. A. Not quite so soon. Let us see whether we cannot do without medicine, according to my maxim, of " taking away the cause, and the effect will cease," (page 34). Our endeavours to bring the horse into condition are sometimes procras- tinated by trivial causes, producing sinister effects, that ought to be removed in time. Sore mouth, arising from various causes, often leads to disordered stomach, as it impedes due mastication of its food, by the horse swallowing its corn imperfectly broken, and quidding its hay, which occasions indigestion ; the effect v/hereof is costiveness, flatulency, worms, and undue secre- tion of the juices of the stomach. When this is taking place, the unbroken corn may be detected among the dung; and the mnne also comes off turbid, by reason of the lighter particles of food having been absorbed half digested, by certain entrances to the veins, some part thereof entering into the circulation wholly so. Q. I perceive now how indigestion, so brought on, may cause the stomach to imbibe heat, receive back the contents of the intestines by the counter- action of the spiral njotion these are known to pos- sess, and thus throw up its fumes to the head^ 134 FIRING, SINGEING: LAMP AS, PAPS; [CONV. causing vertigo, megrims, and so on, which are diseases not exactly confined to the ravenous eaters and foul feeders. A. Nor to old horses, having defective teeth. But most of the evils may be prevented in time, by detecting any defect in the mouth itself, the most frequent of which, in young horses, is lampas, which have been occasioned by full feeding, and the consequent grossness of the blood — we call ** the humours," for want of a better term. Q. We burn the lampers with a hot iron, and invariably effect a cure by washing the gum with a lotion made of honey dissolved in rose-water, with a little tincture of myrrh in it. A. Cutting with the fleam, or knife, or scari- fying the gum with a lancet, is preferable to the hot iron, which we should avoid applying to the horse on any occasion — with a single exception, perhaps. Q. In France, the military farriers (marechal" lerie) receive pointed commands from the mare- chaUen-chefy ** never to apply fire to the horse on any pretence whatever." A. Your chief must have forgot, I presume, that firing is of great service in strains of the tendons, and in most enlargements of the legs after hard riding, though resorted to much oftener than is absolutely necessary in this country. He must have been thinking of the barbarous custom of singeing off the hair in the ears ! or of the equally disserviceable practice of applying the shoe quite IX.] CURE FOR. THE SALIVA. 135 hot to brittle hoof and large ones — I should think, both of which ruin the animals subjected to them. At any rate, both those methods of reducing the luxuriance of the mouth may be dispensed with, by substituting a solution of alum in twelve times its weight of the honey and rose-water, before recom- mended, (page 134,) and washing the mouth gene- rally, by means of a small syringe. If the mouth be otherwise sore than from Icunpas, in conse- quence of the heat and inflammation so occasioned having stopped the secretion of saliva, which ought to be always going on there, the alum opens the glands and restores the flow of this secretion ; whereby the increasing humours its suppression had caused to stagnate, soon flow by their natural chan- nels into the stomach. Q. Where they are required, as you say, to as- sist in the work of digestion, and subsequently pass off* by the three evacuations. AH that was amiss being thus set right, peace and order succeed ; the functions go on regularly, and the animal improves in condition. A. Why, yes ; after giving soft food to soothe the irritated stomach, as bran-mashes, oatmeal-gruel, and such like ; whereupon healthy dungings suc- ceed ; but, if not, then compel them, by j^ur- gatives or laxatives, and then tonic medicines, which may be requisite if the mouth has been a long time sore, and the stomach and intestines pro- portionably weakened in their functions. Washes, bags, and other soreness at the corners 136 SORE MOUTH. QUIDDERS. [CONV. of the lips, which also impede mastication, may be removed by the same treatment, as may also the har^hs or j9a/?5 that come up under the tongue, which ordinarily never need be reduced by any other means ; unless, indeed, they come with white points, and then simply pricking them answers the purpose better. Q. But old horses, as well as those younger ones, go off their feed through defective mastica- tion with the same evil effects ; or swallow their corn whole, in large quantities, and get blown oc- casionally. Others unaccountably hecoxne quiclders awhile, chewing their hay at intervals, or by moving the lower jaw from left to right, contrary to the nature of their kind : have these the tooth-ache, as said 1 A. I believe they have ; but the teeth of all horses change their sJiape, in old age, and those of some others decay, the gum shrinking from them, and leaving small chasms between each. With some of these old ones, an upper grinder on each side grows aslant, gets sharp, and wounds the cheek ; as may be ascertained by the horse flinching from the touch there. An application of the first-named myrrh-lotion, (page 134,) will cure this, temporaiiiy. Give oat-meal mashes, but no more hay, nor un- broken corn, until you have rounded off the sharp tooth with a file that has one side smooth, or that kind which is called a hollow file. By the same means may likewise be reduced, a luxuriant tooth — the first of the lower jaw, that is IX.] TOOTH-ACHE; CRIB-BITING. 137 sometimes thrown up higher than the rest — usually in strong robust horses ; who then exhibit the same symptoms of wearisome mastication as that just described, and which seems the natural means of breaking off the protuberant part ; whence man has learnt to perform the same operation with the hammer, generally in too rude a manner. Those may be set down as the more visible causes of want of condition, arising from disordered stomach. Q. But still more apparent is the depravation caused by the horse eating his litter, licking the wall^ or gnawing every thing it comes near, which receives the general term of crih-hiting ; all which cause an uncommon waste of the saliva, you were just now speaking of, as being exhausted thereby ; and thus deprives the stomach of this natural de- fence of its coats, besides loading its cavity with harmful unnutritious substances, or incurring the like low-hred distention thereof, by inspiring air into it, as 'tis believed, but not proved. There is little hope of reclaiming an animal thus viciously disposed? [See Crib-biting, in Appendix.] A. Certainly none of his ever getting into con- dition, while it lasts. Q. Crib-biting is one of those evil propensities that detracts greatly from the value of a horse ; and what is more to be deplored, this is a vice invariably found in horses that are otherwise good ones of their respective kinds. A. Although deemed incurable, I have no doubt 188 CURE OF CRIBBING. [CONV. it may be removed by perseverance; one of my lads having succeeded in three or four obstinate cases, through superior cunning as to the likes and dislikes of the animals. Q. This would, indeed, be a valuable discovery, A. Oh, as to discovery ^ it was no secret at our stables how he achieved his object, although he had no chance of going to work upon our own horses, for I never had a crib-biter. When sent for to one of these, after conciliating the good graces of the afflicted animal, he payed the manger-edge, the stall, and other objects of the crib-biter's attention, with bitter, stinging, and other substances that would prove nauseous to a horse-palate, or act as escharotics on his lips and gums. At one place he payed it with aloes, and then putting in the afflicted horse, he tied him up short ; this the animal did not relish to lick as usual, it seems ; and he found him- self no better satisfied when being hitched up to be rubbed down, his propensity was met by similar treatment. Nettles and culrage were used upon some occasions. When taken out to exercise, the horse and his rider invariably stopt to take a blow at a post or rail, already prepared for their reception, in some way or other of a disagreeable nature, to lick or bite at ; and in this course of proceeding he persevered until the cure was effected. Q. Very simple and very easy: does the habit proceed from defective lungs, originally ? A. Not so easy^ unless you reckon a week or ten days' close attendance at stables, with the wits IX.] EFFECTS THEREOF. 139 constantly at work, as nought. As to its connection with the lungs, no one, I think, can doubt, who is acquainted with, and convinced by what has been said on the construction and functions of the lungs elsewhere ;* but we may here observe, that the air having once inserted itself in the cellular mem- brane at the lungs, distends the stomach and intes- tines generally, besides inducing the horse to swallow all kinds of injurious substances — as earth, litter, old wall, &c. to distend the stomach, and thereby alleviate the pain caused by the depravation, or the absence, of the proper humours of the stomach. Q. What other obstacles to digestion, that are not absolute diseases^ do you consider as likely to mar our endeavours to keep the horse in condition t A. Bad provender ; also, too much or too little of any sort, capricious feeding ; had water ^ or too much at any one time, as well as too little ^^er day ; a slight cold occasionally, and a kick under the belly oftener, inflicted by the unthinking ostler when hacking-in hard-mouthed draft-horses. Worms, also, obstruct the acquirement of condition ; but are themselves only a consequence of one or other of those evil causes just named ; being engendered by the inaction of the intestines, and the long con- tinuance therein of such substances undigested and * See more fully, " Hinds's Veterinary Surgery," pages 98 to 106, on the Physiology of the Lungs ; and on inflammation thereof, pages 208 to 248 ; an elaborate series of inquiries, that admit not of curtailment or augmentation at present. See, also, Conversation xii. 140 WORMS; STARING COAT. [CONV. unexpulsed.* Staring coat is not itself a disease, though the precursor of hide-bound, &c. ; but is the common symptom of the forenamed causes of some disorder existing in the digestive functions, or in the lungs. Q. Your practice of watching after and keeping up the regularity of the horse's dunging and other evacuations, by regimen, or, in default, by having recourse to medicine, is thus incontestably proved to be the only wise course of proceeding for any one to pursue to whom is confided the important charge of ordering the economy of a stud of valuable animals. A. The thing stares one in the face at every turn we take in exploring the rise and progress of diseases : however, let us postpone further consi- deration of these symptoms and remedies until our next meeting, when we will talk of inflammation of the organs of digestion, and the causes that lead thereto. Q. Of water and its contaminations we have already discoursed ; musty oats and rick-burnt liay are no less injurious. A. To blood horses either is actually destructive, by reason of these being either tenderin theirinsides, or very irritable, let us call it ; which state has been • Other causes of worms, of several sorts, are treated of, instructively, in Osmer's " Treatise on the Horse ;" but as these pertain mostly to country cattle, and the investigation is very extensive, few readers of the present volume, it is presumed, would desire a repetition. IX.] MOW-BURNT HA.Y ; DIABETES. 141 brought on, or increased, by frequent repetition of the strong " regular physic," of which they are the victims, as much as by their hot nature. Q. MoW'hurnt* is the name bestowed upon over-heated hay, in some parts ; and when this has not proceeded too far, 'tis sweet, and our country horses are very fond of it. A. But it is, nevertheless, very injurious to the better sort of horses ; causing diabetes, or excessive staling, by reason of the thirst it engenders, and the consequent copious drinks the animal is induced to take ; unless this tendency be corrected by giving a capital sampler q/'ort^^, or a few beans with these, daily. Salt is a good corrective of either. Q. What happens when the oats, too, are musty ; or ill-dried, or touched with sea-water, as happens on importation from distant parts ? A. Diabetes is then more obstinate, or the kid- neys now produce bloody urine ; unless the injurious nature of those damaged substances expend their virulence on the boiuels : causing these to scour in the mild attack, or exciting inflammation when more severe and meeting with obstruction, cos- tiveness, or any previous evil affection of the ali- mentary canal. * Here are two opinions on the effects produced by mow-burnt hay ; and although both are right, as applied to the several kinds of horses each had in view, a third will be found in the Appendix (article Hay), equally entitled to consideration, from the distinc- tion there drawn as to the hay which suffers most by being so mow-burnt, and that other kind which suffers not at all, or is greatly benefitted by it. 142 CORRECTIVES OF BAD FOOD. [CONV. Posting and job-horses, and some stagers, being liable to be thus fobbed off with those kinds of da- maged foods, and usually worked to the very extent of their powers, fall victims in good numbers after bad harvesting seasons. The more discerning of our stage-coach proprietors, however, prudently prepare the antidotes for the evil : I am happy to bear this additional testimony to their humanity or to their regard to interest — which are, happily, both consistent with each other, in this as in many other points of horse-ownerhip. Q. What are the antidotes to bad provender? A. As it seldom happens that all are bad in the same season, the substitution of the good of their kind for the bad of another kind goes a great way to correct the latter. A solution of salt poured over bad hay, after it has been opened and shook out, does something to prevent its inflicting harm ; good beans and oats (as before said) do as much more. Then, there are the potatoes (boiled), socU den barley, the grass and carrots, mentioned the other day, from all which support and succulence may be obtained for ordinary cattle. And if no other benefit is derived from the last-mentioned, we know^ that the usual irritation of the kidneys is greatly alleviated by the use of that root; as they are thereby superinduced to pass much urine, and thus run off the more harmful particles of the bad pro- vender, because they are the most subtle.* * This alternation from one description of provender to another, is not only good in itself, as so many changes that are to eifec- IX.] ALTERATIVES ; TONICS. 143 Q. Ah, you have in view the posters and stagers, again ! They suffer severely, I trow, on all such adverse occasions. A. They get variety in their journeys, and this operates some little good for them upon the al- terative system ; when they also obtain the so much desired frequent waterings. Give them the sub- stances just named, a little of each in succession : feed often on this diet, with malt-mashes and water-gruel, and these will further act as altera- tives in such a manner as to carry off the offensive hay, oats, &c., as the case may be. Q. But previous to this alternation, disorder has crept in and is already committing its ravages on the constitution, though not, in general, visible for some time. A. If the dungings appear in a very pale state — no matter whether washy or indurated, give the laxative ball. No. 1, to get rid of the offensive matters by a stool or two ; if the horse droops dis- pirited afterwards, give a moderate cordial that is not too stimulant, as of white water. No. 5, which really belongs to that class of medicines, and is a better form than the hall upon the present occasion. Q. When, however, the bad provender has been continued a long time, the horse does not recover tuate good, but are they also desirable in an agricultural point of view, when the grain may be badly got in, and requires to be given to cattle (as bad barley), or when the oat crop falls short, and the farmer is compelled to have recourse to sodden barley [See Barley, in Appendix.] 144 STRAW-YARD, MISCHIEVOUS. [CONV. his wonted powers, even when the bowels again become regular, A. As soon as these medicines have fully subsided, give the tonic medicines, with such a tonic diet as we were talking about yesterday. [Page 109.] Q. Improper substances remaining long in the stomach necessarily spoil its power of digesting good food, long after the cause is removed. *' Give him a run in the straw-yard," says the Commercial Tra- veller ; being his favourite but ungrateful resource when the animal has finished a long and fatiguing journey, and may not be required for a month or two, and this usually in winter time. A . Blazon this among the many mistaken notions ; when they likewise allow no corn : or rather say, " when they give none J' as usually happens at the " straw-yards" — hateful name! Q. Such road-horses generally return from the country sadly indisposed — A. Invariably so. The nature o^ straw, for long continuance — its entire want of hearty is incongenial to the stomach and bowels of the horse, by dis- tending their capacity, and causing torpor and ob- struction at the several turns (so many sphincters) of the bowels ; besides that it makes poor blood by itself, and is little bettered by the ill-gotten hay, usually served out in farmer's yards, for horned cattle and working teams. The single crime of the straw-yardy is the unfaithful distribution of corn, which would tend to correct all other evils ; and a couple of small feeds per diem will be found IX.] GLANDERS, HOW INCURRED. 146 sufficient to effect this good. Then the sapient owner, upon taking up, has but to clap his pro- perty suddenly upon full diet, and the mischief is complete. Q. After such meagre keep the famished animal must enjoy it much, I should think. A. Aye, like other brutes, over-much. The horse usually comes up with blear eyes, a hectic cough, thin flanks, and thick heels, all which unfa- vourable symptoms do but increase upon the horse being thrown at once upon the full establishment of corn and hay; the heat of the large stable he usually inhabits contributing its aid in confirming either complaint, if it do not add thereto farcy tumours, or else a running nose, which may, pro- bably, degenerate into glanders; and is so, if the running he confined to the left nostril only. B^If the right nostril runs at all, 'tis not true glanders. Q. All which misfortunes might have been evaded by a gradual return to his former habits, as vou recommended on a similar occasion. H 146 [coNV. CONVERSATION X. Inflammatory Complaints. First, Of the Stomach and Bowels : influence the Kidneys and Liver, Colic and Inflammation — Adhesion — Jaundice, retention of Urine, Bladder. Q. In our previous conversations together, I ob- serve, you generally connect " the bowels" with wliatever you remarked respecting the stomach. Considering the organs of digestion as performing an important oflBce in the well-being of the horse, let me ask, are those two parts nearly connected in their functions ? A. Intimately so, when functional derangement occurs: in the process of digestion, however, the stomach itself scarcely does more than the office of introducing the food to the more active organs — the intestinal canal. At one part, near the stomach, this canal suddenly enlarges to a capacity equal to the stomach, whither all drinks descend immediately on being swallowed, and remain until called for by the secretory organs, or by inflammation, which is performed by an effusion of watery particles, that is as well recognised as it is inscrutable, this part of the canal is called the blind gut, or ccecum, of which we were talking lately, (page 131) ; Q. As a second, or auxiliary stomach. But, whatever be the functions of the blind gut, I hap- X.] STOMACH, ITS FUNCTIONS. 147 pen to know that in the stomach the food remains long enough to undergo a change^ at any rate. A. Which it could not perform without drawing a supply of aqueous particles, as it does by effusion from this its counterpart, the blind gut. Besides all this, the stomach's chief purpose is the secretion of two distinct and very important juices ; one whereof, with the descending saliva, is intended to defend its rough inner coat from the hard substances that are taken as food ; the other is an acrid secre- tion, admirably calculated for reducing the food to an homogeneous pulp, well adapted for affording the blood-vessels fresh supplies. Q. I can easily conceive how the cessation of those secretions at any time would cause the de- rangements of the inside we yesterday talked about, (p. 131,) and on a former occasion ; (pp. 75, 128,) as I can, also, how the chill, whether internally or ex- ternally given, may occasion gripes and inflamma- tion, or even sudden death may ensue ; but, tell me are these different objects of attack, and degrees of virulence, on which the hooks lay so much stress, deserving of separate consideration ; or, rather, do they require a different treatment, when the viru- lence is the same ? A. Not to the extent insisted upon, nor with the nicety of distinction set up by some writers; though we certainly come at a better knowledge of the degree of virulence that is to be subdued, by ascer- taining the seat of disease, or point first attacked. h2 148 SEATS OF DISEASES. [CONV. Q. I thought so: one of the first writers going- is of the same opinion with me. A.. I know of no " first writer," where all have done their best, and every one something worthy of being recorded. The bare saying was very in- solent towards the profession, especially when ut- tered by a near relation of that writer; and you, you are the worthy echo of the general slander that sets up one before all others of his profession, trade, or business — as this is: he has committed blunders, too, like all other folks.* Q. Me ! I am sure I did but endeavour to do what you often taught me should be done in all such inquiries, namely, to simplify the matter, that we might sooner arrive at the truth. A. With that 1 have no quarrel, though I dislike your sweeping authority ; neither had I conceded the point in dispute. For, 'tis most easy to perceiv e that, by ascertaining the organ whose functions thus cease, and thereby communicates its baleful influence around, we are enabled to prevent a re- currence in future, which I insist is no mean point gained in the practice of the curative art : Hu- manity says yesj with both hands extended. Q. I cannot deny this: physiology would lose half its value without it. A. Moreover, do we not find certain medicines * See p. 445, of Hinds's Veterinary Surgery, for the verifi- cation as to one point. X.] physic: mode of operating. 149 act more speedily, more effectually, upon certain given parts than others 1 Resinous substances and alkaline salts upon the kidneys, for example ; ca- lomel on the liver, and so on ; and shall we not em- ploy those in preference which go at once to relieve the patient at the main seat of disorder ? Q. Allowed, sir; I confess I was partly wrong. A. Say mistaken— that vfill do for me. There is something in the form of administering medicines, too, in all those internal disorders that lead to in- flammation, which shall contribute its mite towards the cure — and every little is something in our ex- tremities. Balls that speedily dissolve may afford the desired influence to the stomach in time ; but purgatives in that form too frequently pass so far down before they begin to act, as to perpetrate fur- ther mischief at the rectum ; a drench of the same materials begins to operate at the stomach, or in its second — the blind gut, immediately on passing- down. Q. I now perceive how inflammation of either of the vital organs may be arrested in its terrible progress, by addressing our curatives to the seat of disorder, in its strong hold, at once. A. Considering the many fine horses — indeed, always the Jinest, that are carried off in two or three days by abdominal inflammation, I really think we have achieved a very great good by saving one of those valuable days. Q. I have known a horse in training to die in 150 ABDOMINAL INFLAMMATION. [CONV. twenty^our hours, of inflammation in the bowels; in fact, every body on the turf knew the horse. A. Of over-training, you mean; being fed too high, kept to strong work, and punished with re- peated doses of physic, to counteract the effects of both : i. e. aloes, to the amount of an ounce or ten drachms,-^sometiraes much more. I know their mode of proceeding ; something like the soldiers' mode of doing things, ** by force of arms" But you seem to know that this horse died of in- flammation in this particular organ, — " the bowels," say you ; this quite cuts up your former opinion as to generalizing all internal inflammation whatever, eh? Q. There was not time suflScient in that case for the inflammation to reach the other organs. A. There you give up the whole point; but, by the way, the disorder had reached one other organ at the moment of its death, (its brain,) of which more anon. Meantime, I will also concede one point, which is this — make distinctions they who may, we are sometimes baffled in drawing con- clusions upon one case out of another, as nature does much more for one animal than for another; and we are not always told whether one of the patients between whose two cases we endeavour to draw a parallel, had not been previously abused with medicine f (or purgatives, or cordials,) or by hard work, on turf or road ; to say nothing of age, of breed, or of the class he might belong to, as we X.] HORSE *' OFF HIS FEED;" HOW? 151 were talking of yesterday [vide page 124]. This latter consideration makes a vast difference in the operation of any given prescription. [See Ap- pendix, Physic, section 3.] Q. Internal inflammation, o^y^hoXsoBvex \i2LXi,\ conclude, communicates its baleful influence to another and another part, in exact accordance with the amount of the original attack, contiguity to its seat, and the previous disposition of the animal's constitution to acquire inflammation of every sort, whether of one particular organ or of the whole system. A. This one maxim, however, may as well be repeated here from yesterday's conversation, and be always borne in mind, viz. that the stomach always feels the influence of every such increased action we call inflammation in any other organ, and very properly resents it by refusing food, which would but increase the disorder. Q. Off his feed, as we express it, at the stables. A. "Off* his feed," to be sure. When the whole horse is affected all over, solids, skin, tongue, hoof, head, we call it fever, or inflammatory fever, wherein great heat of these several parts, and of all the others, are found to have increased rapidly and ten-fold ; the blood, which has been the vehicle for conveying all this mischief into these extremi- ties, proves its participation by an increased pul- sation, doubhng its number of beats to eighty, or ninety, or one hundred, strokes in a minute, and being extremely irregular. [See Pulse ^ Bleeding.'] 152 INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. [CONV. Q. You may feel it under the tongue, which is very hot, and the salivary glands that moisten the mouthy become dry : the perspiration also ceases ; A. The supply of ** aqueous particles," spoken of just now, (page 147,) being exhausted by the heat. From the same cause costiveness ensues, if it be not itself the original cause of all these unfavourable symptoms, as sometimes happens. Q. The treatment proper for inflammation of the stomach and bowels is not very difficult, I apprehend? A. The chief of your study should be, to mark any change of symptoms, or disparity, between what you have already seen and treated, and the case in hand. After giving a bran-mash, bleed- ing speedily to a large amount, say four quarts, and then a purging-ball, amends a slight attack ; a quiet stable, and close attention to the symptoms, are indispensable to completing the cure. If the bleeding has extended to faintness, or staggering, give opium, to prevent the re-action of the heart. Consult the long and accurate investigation of this whole series of disorders, in •' Veterinary Surgery, by John Hindsy' pages 171 to 208 ; the transcribing of thirty-eight pages will not be time thrown away by you : though, for my part, I am too old to submit to the tameness of copying a single page of any body's book. Q. Too proud, perhaps, sir ? and a very becoming feeling, in you. A. You do not promise me to study the subject as I recommend, therefore go, call in the doctor ^ X.] COSTIVENESS, HOW CAUSED. 153 you have no other chance of saving- your horse, unless the bleeding effects it. CostivenesSf or constipation, as was just re- marked, I have reason to know, is an original disorder, brought on by high feeding, upon horses of tender insides, mostly ; but all classes of horse are similarly liable to incur the same hardness of dung, by being kept upon dry food, (oats and hay, augmented by beans, threefold,) as race- horses must be while in training, at very strong exercise.* The heat consequent upon galloping, clothing, and sweating, contributes to the dis- order ; which sometimes defeats the aloetic purge that is usually given to remove the one and the other, but which sometimes fails in producing the desired effect, and the animal is lost ; unless the dose be repeated in an increased and ruinous ratio, so as to inflict a lasting and incurable * " This is the reason (says " an Old Hunter," in the Sim'ting Magazine for October, 1829) why our best English horses soonest acquire diseases in the feet, and the ordinary ones preserve theirs : 'tis the feeding too high ; like the steamer, which, being/ed with too much fire, bursts : so 'tis corning too much that spoils the feet." Such a corroboration is cited here as a rebuke to some of the College, who affect to deny the connection that exists between the digestive powers, and the extremities ; not in words, truly, but by interjection, with oh's ! and ah ! ! and notes of admira- tion ! ! ! But their laboured nothingness has received a bitter rebuke in the Preface to Osmer's Treatise, a new edition, lately thrown in their teeth, to make them angry : for they cannot feel shame who are detected in carrying on thirty years of purloin- ment, as they have been, from the pages of old Osmer. H 3 154 staggers: CAUSE; TREATMENT. [CONV. nrrrtability on the stomach, and a tenderness of the bowels that re-produces the same disorder at some future period. A race-horse thus treated never again recovers his paces^ his stretch, nor his lasting powers : a hunter, under the same circumstances, is one of the first to knock up, or the last to be in, if he ever come in at all. Q. According to your former advice, we should reduce the heat ** by opening the body" with pur- gative-balls. A. Right. But these do not act quick enough in extreme cases of costiveness, when this has origi- nated the disorder, and caused derangement of the head, and dropping down ; as happens frequently to the high-fed waggon- breed we spoke of some time ago (page 74) ; the primary evacuation having been neglected, and the consequently turhid urine being treated with stupid indifference, they thus show the symptomatic effects of gross feeding, we then call vertigo, delirium, and megrims, or staggers, which, with better bred cattle, becomes inflammation of the stomach and intestines of the most dangerous description. Q. Do you treat both classes of horses alike ? A. As to the last-mentioned, I have already said how. But as to the heavy ones being down^ the manual operation (back-raking) must be per- formed at once, when the horse will try to rise ; but keep him down, [a single hand upon the head effects this best,] and throw up a warm clyster, in quantity commensurate to the size of the animal. But as X.] CLYSTERS' AND BACK-RAKING. 155 this is an application not always at hand of the most desirable kind, viz. the laxative clyster, employ the second best, a sedative , or the least effectual, namely, simple warm water, with a handful of common salt in it : but give a clyster , be it com- posed of what it may : pot-hquor, from the kitchen, is no bad subtitute for the prepared clyster. [See Clyster, Camp1ior,'\ Q. Protrusion of the anus presents itself, in bad cases, to some extent. A. Then employ the sedative clyster, camphor four drachms, dissolve it in the water or water-gruel whilst making ready. Give bran-mashes, as much as the patient will take, or some of the same gruel, thin ; bleeding will be proper, as you may learn by consulting the pulsation ; and, whether or not, the animal must be emptied by purgation. Give the purging- ball_, No. 2, if the patient be very foul, as is usually the case. Q. This treatment effects a cure, then if A. If taken timeously in hand. But if not, and the animal be whipped uj), and worked on, the causo of the disorder is thereby enhanced, though nature rights itself for the present, perhaps, by eliminating part of the dung; for the remainder, being ab- sorbed up into the system, circulates in the blood, — the sure harbinger of future disorder, if death do not more instructively intervene. Q. Would you back-rake a blood horse, should his evacuations have been unfortunately neglected in the same manner? 156 RETENTION OP PHYSIC. [CONV. A. I can scarcely suppose any one would be so unmindful of his duty ; but rather than the hardened faces should remain a day, after the usual quantity of aloes might have defeated our expectations, I would remove the obnoxious obstruction by the hand, or rather the arm, of one of our boys, taking especial care to file the corners of his nails, &c. ; for the intestines of this first description of horse are always irritable, if not tender ; whereas your fifth order, which we have now mostly in view, might suffer nothing, though back-raked by their own waggoner. Q. I remember me, once on a time, that your stables were all being purged, what anxiety marked your countenance when a certain strong robust horse, a favourite of yours, kept his phj'sic in him up to the thirtieth hour, and no signs whatever even of dunging ; no more than if the physic had taken a quite contrary effect : was not that a fit case for back-raking, pray? A. No ; not for so short a delay, nor for a day longer. 'Dare say 1 gave a clyster, though ? Q. Nay, you did not. For about the time of goiny out in the afternoon, while the people went up to ^et one ready, your favourite produced a famous stool, also. A. "AU-so— o!" Don't be ridiculous. Q. Colic more frequently attacks the intestines than infiammation, I apprehend ; and if suffered to continue unchecked, terminates in the more severe affliction. At its commencement, and for a long X.] COLIC AND INFLAMMATION. 157 time after^ the pulse is not found to increase much ; whereas injlamination is attended by quick pulse and a sharp one, conformable to the acuteness of the attack. In colic, if we put on a blanket, or a sweater, and broad girth tight, the animal will feel relieved and take it quietly : if the pains be inflam- matory, the patient will plunge, look sharp at his sides, lie down and jump up again quickly. This is one of those minor diseases that lead to a more serious one, and therefore the causes being known are easily avoided. A. Colic or griping pains are referable to se- veral causes, varying from each other as the poles asunder; and was the term formerly given to all pains of the inside, and is now so applied by the majority of stable-people, whether the animal writhe with pain of the lungs or of the bowels : and when these latter are the seat of attack, they make no distinction between spasmodic colic, and that which is inflammatory, simply, tending to gangrene ; or that which is an eff*ect of strangulated gut, itself the consequence of encysted tumour, vulgarly de- scribed as the dry gripes and twisting of the guts.^ K cold, walking into a river after travelling, stand- ing exposed to a current of air under the same * Strangulated gut has received much attention in Osmer's Treatise on the Horse, Page 123 to 128, where is given an engra- ving of this evil. Very distressing symptoms accompany this species of attack, and the afflicted animal dies of gangrene, inevitably, in twelve hours and thence to twenty. It is to be ascertained by the strait gut being empty. 158 ADHESION — ITS EFFECTS. [CONV. circumstances, bad provender, musty oats, rick- burnt, coarse, or ill-got hay, bad water, and denial of a sufficiency ; these are the forerunners of colic, gripes or fret, in the great majority of cases, and all admit of remedy as they do of avoidance ; Q. But, when such dangers cannot be avoided, may well be met and counteracted by a cordial, I should think. A. So should I, if given immediately ; yet 1 would advise you to recollect all that was said re- specting those same cordials at one of our earliest interviews. (Page 47, &c.) Give laxatives, how- ever ; and No. 2 being a warm one, is to be pre- ferred. [Vide Appendix.] Q. We should use cordials with moderation, I perceive, only when indispensable, and in those cases without any delay ; by which means the dan- ger to be apprehended from inflammation being brought on by colic would be entirely obviated and done away with. A. Perhaps you might, if no other colic pains afflicted the animal than those arising from the fore- going causes. But there still remains another species of attack, very difficult to manage, and almost incurable in slight cases — quite so in the more inveterate, and must be described as '* caused by adhesion.^' If the horse is always found to perspire greatly after moderate exercise, and nothing else is known to be amiss with him, the sweating is brought on by internal pain, arising from the growing together of one organ or part to X.] MISTAKES CONCERNING IT. 159 another. He is then termed fretful^ is described as one that ** sweats with the least extra work:'* and though he goes a good pace for a short burst, race or stage (as the case may be), he does either in evident pain, whilst his whole frame shakes a long- time after hard work. His appearance altogether bespeaks colic in its highest state, or inflammation of some vital organ ; but all goes off* again with a few hours' rest, and he becomes well for a time, or until the extra work is again required of him. Inflamed kidneys is also evinced by symptoms resembling colic, in many respects, and so is in- flammatory adhesion of the lungs, of which we shall come to speak at some future interview.* [Conversations xiv. and xv.] Q. This adhesion, appears to me a cruel dis- order. A. And the more so, as 'tis usually treated amiss with the cordials and other heating mixtures, under the false idea that 'tis genuine colic pains ; whereby cordials do but increase the evil, and pave * The seat of the disorder might be ascertained with consi- derable accuracy, if it could be brought to answer any practical good purpose. Adhesion of any portion of the organs of respi- ration to each other, or to the ribs, for example, which is the most frequent point of attack, shews itself by the horse's dis- tress of wind coming on previous to the distress evinced by sweating ; whilst, if the liver (at its lower extremity) adheres to the intestines, the horse sweats before he blows for wind. If tlie liver adhere to the diaphragm, the expirations of wind, even after walking exercise, will be slower than the inspi- rations. 160 REMEDY FOR ADHESION; [CONV. the way for its return, until it terminates in extended inflammation of the most inveterate kind, — fatally, at last, by aridity of the whole frame, locked jaw, or apoplexy. Q. What is the cure ? A. There is none for aged horses, long afflicted and repeatedly brought down by the extra work : though younger ones, in the worst cases, may be relieved by being allowed comparative rest, and a gradual return to ordinary work. Q. What description of horses lie open mostly to a disorder of this nature ? A. All: all that are kept in-doors from sea- son to season on dry food, and stinted in their tvater, are very liable to adhesion of the inter- nal parts. The fluid secretions, I was speaking of just now, being thus denied the means of re- newal, suffer exhaustion, when the vital heat that always prevails, soon becomes inflammatory, which any little exciting cause may light up in its worst forms. Q. Injlainmatioji of the bowels, that is not pre- ceded by colic, I begin to perceive, must frequently be owing to this cause ; even the extreme irrita- bility of the intestines, which we know attends all blood horses by nature, and the stallions in par- ticular (because of the contiguity of the organs of generation), together with the class of horses we deem to have tender insides, must undergo consi- derable exacerbation by reason of any such adhe- sion, however slight, diff*used, or partial. X.] DISCRIMINATION NECESSARY. 161 A. I have been thinking the same these two years past ; as, also, that the term ** peritonaea! inflammation," which the doctors have conferred upon every such adhesion, (because of the periiO' neum, or suspensor membrane of the bowels, being commonly affected,) is likely to lead us astray, as regards one species of adhesion, at any rate. Q. This one is a suflScient exception to the ge- neral name : the treatment also differs, eh? A. Undoubtedly it does : in all cases of adhesion, of whatever part it lays hold, mild exercise, for horses under age, does nearly all the good that can be hoped for : except in one species, and that is the attachment of a diseased liver to the intestines, usually at its lower extremity, and of the right lobe. When this happens, the horse sweats uncommonly, without any other assignable cause, previously to being blown by his exercise ; and in this case he will require comparative rest a short time, for the ulcer that is then formed destroys so much of the gut as it adheres to ; it then sloughs off into the intestinal canal, and goes away by evacuation. Q. Why, there is a vast of difference indeed ! The one species of this disorder requiring exercise, to bring about amelioration, in the other it would go near to kill the horse, I should think. A. Nature does much in those cases. If left to himself, and the gut were to be closed entirely, I have reason for believing that a new passage would form of itself; but man, the sad creature, will exact severe services from his horse, and, not con- 162 EFFECTS LEFT BY [CONV. tent with this infliction, further adds to liis crime by giving cordials, under the mistaken idea that the animal suffers colic; whereas, a soft and cooling regimen is plainly marked out by the nature of the disease, as the only sane and reasonable course of treatment. If the body have a tendency to cos- tiveness after this, give clysters of warm gruel with salts in it, or common salt, Q. After this disorder is subdued, or any other of the like inflammatory nature, great weakness of the whole frame ensues, that requires all our skill and management to bring the horse out of; the medicines administered *' to kill the disorder" (as they phrase it) having relaxed the stomach and bowels, these are thereby disposed to contract colicy or even in- Jtammation, from every trivial cause. A. As you rightly observe — inflammation of the lungs, the kidneys, or liver, being cured, still leave behind the same weakness of the intestinal canal as does any functional derangement of this last-men- tioned organ. The cooling regimen before spoken of repeatedly, and keeping the body gently open, with walking exercise, i. e. no galloping, and good grooming, are those means ; but we will speak more to this point when we come to talk of inflammation of the lungs, and recovery from that particular ail- ment. [^Conversation xiv.] Colic, gripes ox fret, (remember,) is of the same nature, though lower in degree, as inflammation of the intestines, — that is to say, the mild and the severe attack, arisingfrom the same causes, — viz. X.] COLIC AND INFLAMMATION; 163 a cold, a chill, exposure to harsh weather, uncloth- ing a tender horse, as frequently spoken of before, and the remains of an old ill-cured attack. Q. Sure ! The mild by continuance becomes the severe, like unto most other febrile disorders. A. As sure as fate. As happens, also, when the medical remedies for either are poured into the animal after the disorder has been subdued ; those good for inflammation having a tendency to dispose the bowels to future access of colic, whilst those which cure the colic, do so by exciting the parts, and, therefore, if long persisted in, must predispose the bowels to acquire inflammation. Q. The last-mentioned being only a little more tardy than the colic in tbis kind of reproduction ; whereas, colic is never fatal, I believe, unless ter- minating in inflammation. A. Though very troublesome when the horse is liable to it frequently, which is the case with every horse that has been physicked a good deal, and that harshly ; whilst one that has been cor dialed much is liable to contract inflammation ; until the stimu- lant having died away, then would he acquire colic readily ; or, in either case, torpor of the parts, in- sensibility, want of action, accompanied by loss of appetite, would defeat the powers of the best medi- cine that could be compounded by the art of man. Q. The state of the ears is a good indication of the change, I think you said : hot in colic, cold in the inflammatory attack, wherever this latter might fix itself. As to the liver and kidneys, however, I 164 REPRODUCTION OF COLIC PAINS; [CONV. mean to trouble you with a few questions to-morrow, perhaps. [See Conversations xi and xv.] A. Much depends on the acuteness of the attack, and on the fullness of the animal's system at the time of its occurrence. Also, whether any such adhesion of the internal parts, about which we were lately talking, then existed, in a slight or severe degree, as this would tend to give even a trivial attack an unfavourable turn, according to its de- gree.* If no adhesion, then would a slight cold in the bowels appear in the form of colic ; the symp- toms whereof indicate lowness of system, and point out the propriety of employing cordials, whilst in- flammation, on the contrary, demands a reduction of the already too great excitement. * Such appearances of adhesion in the animals sent for our sustenance are considered sufficient cause for rejection of the flesh thereof by the Jews and others ; a defect that some one suggested is hereditary, but which we apprehend is mainly at- tributable to the water of certain districts, to seasons, to climate, and to the kind of land, the substratum whereof may have been bedded in some mineral or other — very frequently of manganese, small particles whereof are found on every land, giving a reddish tinge to vegetable productions that are otherwise green or white. The practice of offering up sacrifices of animals among the an- cients, to propitiate the gods, as we are told, had more of state policy than of religion in the ceremony. The officiating persons were physicians as well as priests, and on occasion of settling a new colony, sought in this way to ascertain the healthiness of the country before they began to build : the awe and reverence thus inspired, the wily rulers afterwards kept up by a repetition of the sacrifices from time to time, and demonstrated the anger of their gods by the animals dying in that disease which they termed tri/er, whilst freedom from such adhesion received the name of cochcr, or good. X.] SYMPTOMS FOR ASCERTAINING 165 Q. Your practice of feeling the pulse frequently would then stand you in good stead : you would soon detect the corresponding symptom, its acceleration, and inequality of the beats to indicate inflamma- tion; as, also, whether acute or diffused, by its sharpness or its rigidity. A. True ; and in all acute attacks you will find the pulse differing in number and in sharpness, when tried at the several parts of the body. The ears and legs turn cold at the same time with the paroxysms of pain coming on. If those parts (ears and legs) retained their natural warmth only, and the pulse fell lower than ordinary, I should then pro- nounce the pain evinced, to be genuine colic to all intents and purposes, and give a cordial drench, No. 1 or 2, [See Appendix,] or the white water, No. 5, of a strength suitable to the urgency of the case, and throw up a clyster. Thus if the animal were already purged, warm water might suffice ; if extraordinarily so, I should add to it camplwr three drachms, well dissolved ; though thin plain water- gruel would do better in either case, save the time expended in making this according to my receipt, [See Appendix,] and suffering it to nearly cool again. Give drenches of the white waters, warm, as much as the patient will take freely. Q. Purging comes on naturally, in some cases, but this happens mostly with ordinary cattle. A. Which may then be considered an effort of nature to relieve the body of some offensive matter, and nought more is requisite than giving thick oat- 166 DEGREES OF INFLAMMATION. [CONV. meal-gruel in abundance. On the contrary, you will but deceive yourself if you expect your horse to put up flesh sufficient to strengthen his muscular action whilst he fails to dung in form ; and you may ascertain when this desirable object has been completely attained by the firmness of his fleshy parts, the springiness and re-action of any pressure upon the buttocks, shoulders, flanks, &c. Q. At the mane we employ the same test : when this is firm, and not readily loosened by a shake of one's hand, we need not doubt of the horse being in health, and of strength sufficient for his work, be that what it mav. CONVERSATION XI. Internal Injlammation, continued: Diseases of the Urinary Organs; the Kidneys and Liver — the Bladder t incontinence of Urine and sup- pression thereof: Stone. Q. The same change from warm to cold legs and ears we lately spoke of takes place in all in- ternal inflammation, I believe ? A. And of the kidneys and liver as much as any other organ ,• these being engaged in the func- tion of separating from the blood those humours that are known to us as the principle of urea, and XI.] THE SECRETIONS AND HUMOURS. 167 the principle of hile, without which process the blood would be unfit for further circulation. Q. But it follows, when these organs do not perform their functions by reason of torpor or in- action, that the blood cannot be so cleared of those offensive humours, and circulates injuriously. A. Then may we pronounce that the horse " has the humours," as I observed to you upon a former occasion (page %2). You state the thing correctly as to the injurious nature of the blood, the vital fluid, when unrefined; but what must be its state when the kidneys or the livery being excited to over-action, or, on the other hand, obstructed, im- parts this evil feeling to the blood, in addition to its own previous foulness ? Q. The bare reflection on this subject is appalling. A. The existence of inflammation at the kidnevs is further known by the urine coming off high- coloured and small. Symptoms very similar to inflammatory colic pains likewise attend an affection of the kindeys, from the contiguity of these with the bowels, principally; but the real seat of the disorder may be ascertained, with sufficient ac- curacy, by passing the hand over the region of the kidneys, when the animal will evince signs of ten- derness there, which becomes extremely acute, if not checked in time. In this and all cases of inflammation, bleed to an amount commensurate to the disease : if the pain be acute, the pulse quick, sharp, and irregular, let the bleeding be promptly performed, in quantity 168 GREASE, DROPSY, TUMOURS, [CONV. three or four quarts, at least. If the pain and the pulse do not decline their irritation, the bleeding must be repeated. [See Appendix, Piihe,^ Q. Whatever ails the kidneys, they cease to secrete the urine regularly, at times without being sore ; should we not then give diuretics, or p g balls, as they are called ? A. Don't be vulgar ; nor lead people astray. When the kidneys are not sore, (as you term it,) or inflamed, the ears being also of their usual warmth, the urine will come off of its natural colour, and the obstruction to staling then lies at the neck of the bladder only. This has been occa- sioned by the gut being distended with hard dung ; and in this state pressing upon the ureters and neck of the bladder, the water cannot pass, but is taken up or absorbed into the system again, and thus becomes the harbinger of grease, of dropsy, of tumours, and other disorders that depend on a depravation of the blood. If the retention has lasted long, and the danger thus become immi- nent, give a laxative clyster, or a dose of castor oil (12 ounces), and conclude with a brisk purgative- ball that will empty the great gut. [See Appen- dix, Physic, No. 3.] Q. Inflammation of the intestines extends its influence to the liver, does it not ? A. It does, notwithstanding some attempts to deny that this organ is susceptible of inflammation ; leaving there, also, some of its baleful effects, after the bowels may be pronounced completely XI.] FROM URINARY DEPRAVATION. 1G9 cured ; for the blood, which has been accelerated by the heat, in its passage through the liver to be refined, leaves a portion of its heat behind, each time more and more ; this increases the viscidity of the bile, until the vessel (duct) that conveys it to the bowels is choked up — an obstruction that is not always removed along with the original disorder. The consequence whereof is constipa- tion, and the return of the bile into the circulation: if the attack be a slight one, jaundice ensues ; if severe, then inflammation of this very delicate organ takes place. But, with a view to prevent the fixing a tedious and troublesome disorder on the animal, we should ascertain the fact before the yellows appear at the eyes or in the dung; and, as enlargement of the liver always attends such an accession of heat there, this scrutiny cannot deceive us. By the way, hot stables produce the same symptom of enlargement, as may be ascertained any morning, by passing the hand over the region of the liver, and it will be found most palpable on the ofF-side, at the last rib. Q. On finding the liver so diseased, you bleed ? A. Not for the minor attack; because this proves that the poverty of the blood is already the cause of derangement. But for inflammation of the liver, we do bleed (as in all other cases of inflammation), according to the degree of pain and sharpness of the pulse, as I observed yesterday ; taking the precaution to give bran-mashes to soften the con- tents of the inside, as costiveness always attends I 170 URINARY ORGANS; ERROR [CONV. denial of bile to the bowels ; or give a pint of castor oil, instead, if more readily procured. After the ojyeration the patient must h?ise physic : but instead of a purgative, as usual, give now an alterative laxative, No. 2, of that class of medicines in Ap- pendix, because calomel addresses itself to the liver. If the enlargement do not subside with the bleeding, rub the sides of the patient extensively with the blistering ointment^ but not behind the last rib. [See Appendix for this.] Q. The liver is liable to adhesion and other dis- orders, I think you said before ? A. To scirrhous tumour also ; when we come to talk of the organs of respiration, I shall take occa- sion to show how the liver adheres to the midriff. Q. The urine is an important evacuation, re- garded as one means of bringing the horse into condition. The hladdei- is the chief of these organs, is it not? Nay, do not shake your venerable locks at me : it is, at any rate, the most obvious — A. Not until an after-death examination takes place. As for •' the most obvious/' to the sight, this is the orifice of expulsion ; to the touch, the kidneys are the most obvious of those organs; they are likewise the most active; but the ureters, two longish tubes, which take their origin at the centre of each kidney respectively, and communicate from these to the bladder, are no less important, whilst the bladder is little better than the depository of the urine. Q. Yet several disorders, as retention of urine. XI.] CONCER>JING. THE BLADDER ; STONE. 171 bloody urine, excessive staling-, &c. &c. are as- cribable to the bladder, of course. A. Not of course. Quite a vulgar error, be assured, and one not the less to be deprecated, because so generally believed ; but much better informed persons than you are every day falling- into the same mistake.^ Q. What, then, are the disorders of the bladder? A. None, that we know of for a certainty, or could divine upon dissection ; palsy of the bladder (inac- tion, torpor, insensibility) being of doubtful exis- tence ; the grand disorder and final one, a rupture of the fundus, and immediate death, being the fault of the neck becoming suddenly collapsed, while the kidneys continue their healthy action of sending down a full quantity of urine, and the animal is worked on, without being allowed to stale, until at length it is incapable of straitening the neck of the bladder by the usual natural efforts, and the bladder bursts. Q. On such occasions you set the neck to rights by introducing a small hand at the rectum, and smoothing it forward with the balls of the fingers. A. An operation that is more easily performed * Since the text was written, it becomes' me to observe, that the admired periodicalist, Nimrod, in copying a passage from my volume, " Veterinary Surgery," falls into the like eiTor prepense ; instead of my phrase " urinary organs," having substituted the vulgo — bladder, to the utter derangement of the sense. This is one of the passages he fails to acknowledge Aug. 2, 1828. J. Hinds. I 2 172 SUPPRESSION OF URINE. [CONV. on the mare than the horse. At times we meet with an obstruction at the neck, of quite another nature than collapsion amounts to ; a choking up, by the coming down there of some concretion of earthy or stony particles, and consequent " suppression of the urine." But even the presence of stone within it must not be wholly ascribed to the bladder, as all such concretions commence higher up, namely, in the ccEcmn, and the kidneys; and are oftener found there, and in one of the ureters, than in the bladder itself; to which they descend by the united powers of gravitation and efforts at expulsion, and get entangled in the membranous processes of the inner coat of the bladder. Q. Although speaking so lately pretty much at large respecting abdominal inflammation, I must return to that topic once more, to observe that, although not originally affected, the urinary pas- sages seem to retain the influence of such disorders long after these appear to have been cured. A. *' Imperfectly cured," you mean; or the cu- rative process carried on with so much injudicious violence as to leave weakness, and dregs of the disorder, that seek to pass off hy urine ; but the kidneys (you mistake) having been already com- pelled to accelerated action by the contiguity of inflammation, and quite neglected at its termina- tion, now perform their function of secreting urine defectively, or with so much labour as to wear out that function. The evil thus begun, goes on with various fluctuations and changes, from one extreme XI.] ROTTEN KIDNEYS: COOLING REGIMEN. 173 to another, that are commonly exacerbated by the ill-judged practice of giving diuretic medicines, which stimulate to exertion but to destroy; whereas, the disease already consists of a disposition to se- crete too much water; the *' retention of urine" being no defect in quantity, though it certainly is in the coming off. Q, You lately described this species of ailment and its remedy, as " suppression of urine." A. I see no difference in the distinction you at- tempt to draw ; though I am free to allow that suppression of the power to secrete any, is one thing; it is quite another when the urine is secreted and retained until it be absorbed in the system, or else rupture the bottom of the bladder. Q. T am quite content with myself, when I can oope with you in any way, however trivial. A. Pray note, that the kidneys suffer a long while before they refuse to perform their office of secreting the urine — even for years ; and then their incapacity is denoted by blood coming off with the water. This is termed " bloody urine" in the veterinary practice. Q. The kidneys are then said to be '* rotten." A. And are so, in reality ; but the immediate cause is hard work. When the region of the kid- neys being strained, at the heavy drag, for exam- ple, parts with small portions of the blood that it is their office to refine from the principle of urea^ as before described ; but which office having ceased, you will perceive the utter ridiculousness of giving 174 DIURETICS; COLOUR OP URINE. [CONV. diuretic medicines in such a case, and thereby sti- mulating these delicate organs to an accelerated performance of a health-giving office whilst in a disordered state. Q. Rest and a cooling regimen, do all that can be hoped for, in this, as in all other ill-cured in- flammatory cases. A. For this reason, among others : as green food and soft food cool the kidneys, these secrete urine by a very diff'erent kind of action from what they are called on to perform, when this evacua- tion has been caused by the stimulation of medical diuretics. Whereas the green food (grasses, vet- ches, carrots) may be considered natural diuretics, such as the horse would take if allowed to run at large. [See Cooling Regimen, in Appendix.] Q. Excessive staling, I take to arise from weak- ness of the bladder, and consequent inability to retain the urine, which is thereby called for in greater quantity. A. Occasioned by the absence of its mucous defence ; which has been exhausted by the action of great quantities of stimulating diuretic medicines,*^ * In making his remarks on the variance in colour of the urine expelled after giving medicinal diuretics, and that ^^ hich comes olF after the natural diuretics, the close observer may draw a tolerably safe conclusion as to the mode in which either acts upon the same organ ; the first or medicinal being high coloured, the effect of over action, the natural is low coloured : the modus operandi of those resinous and alkaline substances upon the kidneys is explained elsewhere. [See Index, Kidneys.'\ XI.] REMEDIES, VARIOUS. 175 employed in curing some recent inflammatory dis- order, added to the poverty of the blood. " Incontinence of urine" is the same disorder, with a less discharge of urine, but often, and affect- ing the neck of the bladder, chiefly. Q. These appear to be diseases of the poor man's stable. I take the remedy to consist of better living ; more oats, green fodder, sodden corn, malt-mashes, oat-gruel, and gentle exercise. A. Should the pulse increase, when either of those disorders may come on, (as happens v/ith higher fed cattle,) give the fever-powders: and after this symptom is reduced to the natural beats, give ionics. [Vide Appendix.] If the feverish state of the pulse does not subside, continue the fever- powder ; give also the cooling decoction, and ad- minister clysters of water-gruel two or three times in tlie day. When costiveness comes on, as will fre- quently happen on this change of living, do not give purgatives, nor diuretics — nor soapy or re- sinous substances ; but cease to administer all other medicines, and give a drachm or a drachm and a half of the unmixed aloes per day, until the horse has a soft stool, which will take place when the patient has taken the quantity that usually operates as a purge. For the mode of casting aloes, see Appendix, under " Aloes, sections 7 — 9." 176 [coNv. CONVERSATION XII. The Lungs ; — Wind-pipe and Midriff: a Cold, Catarrhal Inflamination ; Broken Wind, Roar- ing ; Law Suits. Q. To this moment, neither of us has said a word about the organs of respiration, although we know how indispensable the well-being of these are to bringing a horse into going condition: unless these be in the best possible state, he cannot run any, and is often beat at a pinch for want of " a little more co7nmand o( wind, '' to bring him through. A. I beg your pardon there : we may not have mentioned those organs bg name; but how often have we not brought them on the carpet, in one respect or another, as " the lungs," and sometimes by inference. 1st. As depending for goodness on the conformation, or shape of the chest, (page 4). 2d. As suffering from weakly nature or tender rear- ing, (page 37). 3ci. As requiring much care upon the turn out to grass, as well as attention upon taking up, (page 60). 4th. As to obstruction by much feeding (page 87) impeding the respiration ; and, lastly, the injuries of which they are suscep- tible in training, (page 69,) their great action, (page 94,) and the galling pains of which they are the victims, (pages 29 and 158) — all these have not been forgotten, nor mentioned out of place. Q. True, true. We did well to postpone more XII.] IMPORTANCE OF LUNGS TO SPEED. l77 particular inquiry hereon, to this moment, per- haps. The windpipe and the midriff should also enter into our consideration of the organs of respi- ration I now observe, of which they form an eGS- cient and very material part. A. The distance to which the two extend being above two-thirds the length of the whole animal, though the two lobes of the lungs occupy a very great lateral space between them — -whilst they are in- flated ; whence it is that this term (lungs) is so generally used for the collective organs of 7^espira- tion : a function, by the way, that is composed of two actions — viz. inspiration and expiration, and that horse which performs this double function by the longest and strongest action is the greatest laster and surest goer, though he may not, at the same time, possess so much of the go-away quality. Q. Fine in the wind, depends greatly upon the re-action of the muscles between the ribs, you say, (page 69) : the racer appears to tax his lungs to the utmost when these muscles of the ribs are well braced. A. That is to say, nervous, vigorous, elastic, strong — these are your qualities for going away. Then it is that ** his wind brings him through the piece in style," if you please ; and with good rea- son — the lungs being composed of a fine cell-like membrane, as is also every muscular fibre of his flesh, however minute, an intimate and instanta- neous communication exists by these means be- tween the lungs and all other parts throughout the i3 178 THEORY OF BROKEN-WIND ; [CONV. whole frame ; so that health or ailment of the lungs will influence the entire body to such an extent, that these being suddenly *' touched" or broken, in a manner or in fact, the horse then declines his pace or trips, falls or breaks down, according to the amount of injury and the kind of attack his lungs may sustain. Q. Something much to the purpose was men- tioned by you, two days ago, and at our second meeting, concerning this companionship — of the feet with the internal parts of the animal, behind as well as before. A. Faulty pace frequently depends upon faulty lungs; foundey^ always upon injlammalion of those very communicative organs; by which we learn that this communication between the fore-feet and lungs is reciprocal, each influencing the other, both par- taking the ailments of the other. Q. A horse that snorts and wheezes, and coughs only with great exertion — as if the lining of his pipe were hanging loose within side it, appears to fill his skin out at each eff"ort. Animals unfurnished with lungs, as birds, are reported, by ' the great Naturalist,' to supply this defect by retaining air in certain other receptacles — the quills of their fea- thers being apparently the cavities into which it passes incontinently. A. This drives it within the cellular membrane I spoke of just now ; the wind being hereby driven from the lungs all over the body ; and as it makes its way underneath the thin membrane that lines XII.] TEMPORARY CURE FOR. 179 the throat (of either pipe), it there lies con- cealed, or sinks back towards the lungs, liable to renewal — we know not whether ; until some uncommon exertion of the sufferer again drives the wind the same way to the upper part of the throat, and there narrowing the* passage by dis- te'nding; the membrane, the horse then becomes a roarer,"^ notwithstanding the dealer's arts some- times effect a temporary cure, and he sells or foists off his beast as a sound one. Q. Horses so affected slightly, can perform a given distance per clay for years, or go a certain pace — say eight miles an hour, and perform it tole- rably well ; but if you put them out beyond their pace, a mile or two, '* it soon finds them out" for confirmed roarers, that scarcely any thing can alle- viate, nothing cure. A. In this remark you develope the ground- work of many an action at law concerning alleged unsound horses. Q. And reconcile some apparently contradictory oaths of persons whose characters may not be otherwise impugned with sinfulness — of this par- * After awhile a fluid matter is secreted in the cavity thus formed, which hardens, and the horse is then said to be " a confirmed roarer ;" but when the enlargement of the membrane is more extended, the sound issued upon his being put upon his best paces is shriller, and he is then termed " a whistler ;" but, when the air has been driven higher up, to the membrane that lines the nose, (where is also the secretory seat of glanderous matter,) he acquires the title of '' a trumpeter, or high blower." 180 ROARERS; REMEDY. — LAW-SUITS. [CONV, ticular cast. *' Drive that horse no more thao seven miles an hour, for he can^t bear no more," says an owner to his '^ boys;" and he knows by the symptoms of distress at coming home when his commands have been exceeded, and hy how muchy too, pretty nigh. Then, in the event of " finding a customer," he himself prepares a temporary re- medy in a feed of oats steeped in chamber-lye,* and sells the afflicted horse at a price that, by its largeness, implies warranty. Hence arises good cause of action at law ; his pockets get properly squeezed by the attorney, and all his yard ^ei buffetted by the counsel, admonished by the judge, and disbelieved by the jury. A. Ha ! ha ! ha ! Good ; curst good ; very good_, for you, my fine fellow ; why, this *' open- ing up of a horse cause" is admirable, and no sophistry either. Q. Some doctors talk of making an incision in the wind-pipe, where the seat of disorder lies, and thus apply the remedy. A. Calling it hronchoiomy ; and I once saw tlie operation performed with success, in a case of an obstinately ulcered sore throat ; though this might have been cured at an earlier stage of the disorder by the application of camjyhoretted sjnrits to the throat. * How the grinding of this medley is performed I can only guess, never having ministered to such a nauseating practice ; but apprehend that the saline quality of it drains off much saliva, and the swallowing takes place hygulphs, as all animals swallow sophisticated food, or the doubtfully agreeable prescription. XII.] SORE THROAT; BLISTERING. 181 Q. Blistering the throats of roarers is efficacious, is it not ? A. You have but to make sure of the spot, of which there is little difficulty, on which it has fixed, and you cannot fail. This fact may be known by passing the hand down over the throat repeatedly, where the point of obstruction may be ascertained — usually at the throat-apple, by the animal then flinching a little, though he does so with signs of more acute pain when it is ulceration that has taken place. Q. So7^e throat is one of the early symptoms of catarrh, which we this day set out with investiga- ting ; roaring proceeds of an old neglected cough, I think you said ? A. Nearly always. Much depends upon the state of relaxation in which the membrane of the pipe may be at the time of a hard fit of coughing, and the obstruction in this case usually becomes an induration of the lymph which has been secreted within the membrane, as I before described, as being brought about by heat. Q. Which; if recent, you can relieve by blistering. A. If at all. But the further signs of mahgnant .sore throat, besides flinching from the touch, are sluggishness, ears and legs cold, appetite gone, shivering, with unequal breathing, and cough sup- pressed. Those symptoms come on rapidly with horses in good keep ; slower with those out of con- dition ; ordinary cattle, or husbandry horses, seldom contract the ulcered throat. 182 SEAT OF BROKEN WIND. [CONV. Q. 'Tis not, I perceive, a disease of the poor man's stable. Sometimes the soreness, instead of being at the throat, is felt at the glands under the jaw. A. Which swell. If tardy in coming forward, let these be speedily treated with the camphoretted spirits, and kept warm, but not too hot, as fre- quently is done ; but if this, with physic, does not reduce them readily, change your plan ; apply a bran-poultice to bring thera forward, and, in the event of matter forming, continue this plan until the swelling breaks and discharges the matter, an event vou may accelerate by touching the point of the swelling with a lancet to about one-third of its extent, downwards. Express the matter completely, and dress with digestive ointment. Q. As in the former case, the patient loses his cough when the glands swell. A. Because the inflammation having fixed itself on a certain circumscribed space, the effect is less diffused, and, not further titillating the membrane, the cough ceases. Q. Bran-poultice to the neck is very difficult to retain, although they employ the bandage of eight corners, each having a tape fastening to pass over the forehead, the neck, and at the girth. A. Steam the head, then, over a bran-mash, placing the pail in a larger vessel, capable of re- ceiving fresh supplies of hot water. The cooling regimen, with green food^ will complete the cure. XIII.] 1S3 CONVERSATION XIII. Cough. Q. Broken wind is of several other kinds, you said ; which be they? A. Scarcely worth our inquiry: because we can- not tell with precision till 'tis too late, whether the particular misfortune has been occasioned by the cellular conformation of the lungs having burst into each other by excessive exertion, in which case the expirations of the wind are quicker than the inspi- rations ; or whether the two branches, into which the w^ind-pipe divides at its lower extremity, are affected at their conjunction (producing Ihick ivitid), or at their entering the right and left lobe of the lungs ; when the respiration is difficult both ways, the sound hollow, sepulchral, long incoming, and in- distinct, the chest never being properly filled out, nor the flanks working in unison. In all these cases the wind also partially enters the cellular membrane of the solids ; as we find upon any such animals being- hunted to death, or slain soon after great exertions, the cellular construction much more apparent than in those others which die quietly, and at once. Q. Exceedingly curious and very instructive; but, for my part, I should rather know how to arrest the progress of a cough, or catarrh, at its first coming on, than learn in what precise manner it had 184 COUGH, OF SEVERAL DEGREES. [CONV. fixed itself on any given part of those organs, unless some practical good would accrue to me out of that knowledge. A. The most we can expect from it would be, to know when to alleviate the pain, by employing the sufferer in some less trying and ignoble labour — which you will tell me is beneath our notice. Q. At present, at present. Let us talk of the cough first, then the more acute inflammation of those organs wherever it may fix itself; the causes, means of prevention, and mode of cure, will be more desirable information to me, because more practically serviceable in my present pursuits. A. All cough differs in its tone, length, and force, according as the disorder may be seated lower down or otherwise, but the remedies differ nought, only inasmuch as it may have lasted long, or be of greater or less amount; which should give cause for apprehending it might end in inflamma- tion, or consumption. Q. Or, it seems, that the animal will at least contract broken windy by its continuance. A. Cough and inflammation of the lungs are but two degrees of the same species of attack, both being the effect of a coldj chill, or check, given to tlie chest externally or by inhalation, or else arriving by means of the feet, when either the one or the other has been laid open to incur that kind of inflic- tion by being exposed to cold winds, cold water, or severe weather, at a time of great bodily ex- citement. XIII.] CATARRHAL INFLAMMATION. 185 Q. Brought on by excessive work and stimulating keep. A. As well as recent illness of any sort, with strength scarcely recovered ; also, a certain tender- ness superinduced by hot stabling, warm clothing, and the long use of warmed water during any in- flammatory complaint. Q. We may safely conclude the patient's illness to have been infla7n7natoryy or at the least of a feverish nature, as, according to your doctoring, his complaints all hinge upon excessive heat. A. Which includes, of course, its converse — excess of cold whilst the animal is in a high state of excitement, whether of work or mode of living. A horse long kept up, with full feed, is little adapt- ed to a five-mile hurst of a cold sleety damp morn- ing, though that were down the wind ; and less so when shortly afterwards it happens that the patience of the three ijarties to a chase is pretty well tested in finding a fresh fox in the wind's eye, with the glass at Zero. Q. Or a couple of mail leaders, worth a brace of hundreds, after a ten-mile full-tilt stage, standing still to set down passengers, with wind and weather ditto: then it is the lungs go to wreck. A. Rather say, " the organs of respiration," for it needs no witch to tell us that the diaphragm is now mainly engaged in '* recovering second wind." Q. And when your hunter, stager, or roadster, does come in under those circumstances — pop! he goes into a stable already robbed of its air by too 186 A COLD, AGGRAVATED. [CONV. many inmates ; unless, as you remarked the other day, he draws back at the doorways, ** as if pre- cient of the ills that await him within." It was finely said, and justly too, according to my way of thinking". A. Another of the mistaken notions, that lies open the horse to catch cold, is the practice of keeping it clothed constantly, and that in ivoollen, whereby the insensible perspiration, the most subtle of ail the evacuations, is detained and taken up i again by absorption into the system, to fill it with 1 the humours which ought to have flown off and mixed with the atmosphere : costiveness, also, ensues, that enemy to prime action ! This er- roneous course of proceeding occasions the com- plete relaxation of one portion of the internal organs before another, whether those of respiration or of digestion^ that part being soonest affected which suffers under the highest state of excitement — which, in this case is generally the lungs. Thus the membranous lining of the nostrils, windpipe and branches, first in order, then the lobes of the lungs, partially, leaving the midriff to recover its tone as it may: a ** cold in the head," and consequent running at the nostrils, is never brought on in any other way than this leading the animal into an already warm, hot stable. Next day, after the attack, if an inverate inflammation does not take place, nor the nostrils run, a scattered, diff'used cough comes on, that is commonly slighted. Q. Now, as the latter being neglected produces XIII.] RUNNING AT THE NOSE. 187 the former, whilst an ill-cured inflammation leaves behind it a tedious hectic, we thence term *^ chronic cough," which is itself the harbinger of future inflammatory aff'ections, and so on — I should like to know the earliest remedy I ought to employ, that prompt measures may be taken to stop the evil, upon the principle of a '* stitch in time," &c. A. All cough is inflammatory, a little ; or it may be severe, and yet confined to a small space, as at the Icu^ynx^ or throat-apple, where certain brutes *' cough the horse," upon making their purchase. Q. And thus injure the part so as to render the horse liable to contract future disorder there, A. Permanently. I have examined the throat of a dead horse which retained the mark of the finger and thumb of one of those cougJiers, quite plain : it had been a horse of good price at one time of day, and was a prepense roarer.^ The audible symptoms of a sharp but circumscribed attack on this upper part of the wind-pipe is frequent short coughing, with a trivial discharge of the humid secretion each time : both which increase as the disorder is allowed to linger unattended to whilst the horse is still worked on, from day to day, until it has crept down towards the lungs and appears to jiave exhausted the secretion — for at this stage none comes forth. * At Tattersall's sales this practice is disallowed, to the great chagrin of some newcomers ; but we have seen a horse '* couglied" by half a dozen of those coughers at other Reposi- tories, without rebuke. 188 OF *' COUGHING THE HORSE." [CONV. Q. But the cough becomes worse if nothing be done, and that in proportion as the subject of attack may be pretty well conditioned, fleshy, or tolerably full of blood. A. When also the pulse, which may not hitherto have materially changed, is found exceedingly ir- regular and full, which further increases, as well as its quickness, as the inflammation lays hold of the vitals, which they term the pulmonary action. If the patient should have failed in the necessary evacuations, these are to be attended to, assidu- ously, and tlie inain one opened by the purgative- ball No. 1 ; which is frequently found to reduce tlie symptoms of a mild attack with very little further treatment. Q. Still keeping in view well-conditioned horses, would you not bleed in the first instance ; for this, I understand, was your practice in all injlammatory coTiipla in Is w h a te v e r ? A. Assuredly; only taking care that inflammation be well marked ere I resolve upon that step, on the former principle laid down by me, of not resorting to extreme remedies until the evil to be removed is an extreme one. Vulgar horses, that are too well fed for their breed, cough through mere re- pletion, when their work is easy; a half bred, upon being exercised too abruptly, does the same ; the first require bleeding, the second does not ; unless he be too fat for his work, whereby one point of his " conditioning" has outstripped another: as they have neglected to keep pace in food and exercise, I XIII.] THE COUGH OF DIFFERENT BREEDS. 189 he, too, requires bleeding in the first instance, as yon justly say. Q. Then, sir, as to the thorough-breds ? A. As they never cough through fullness of the system, like the foregoing, some injury must have been sustained in the organs of respiration, when such a horse, in training, coughs any whatever. If it come on after ordinary exercise, or none at all, catarrhal inflammation has commenced ; which may more certainly be rehed upon when the pulse is found to have been affected by increased action, or disordered action, or both united. Q. Then, must you not bleed? A. Then you must inevitably bleed, as in the former cases, to the amount of two or three quarts, with a repetition next day, if the first bleeding has effected no marked alteration within twelve hours. Q. But it frequently happens that young colts in training, when put to their best speed, and, for the first time, to the full length of their powers, say a three-mile gallop for rising three-year olds, cough upon coming in, repeatedly and violently, in the most alarming manner. A. Occasioned by the virgin distension of the organs of respiration, now newly brought into play.* * How this takes] place may be learnt, with instructive mi- nuteness, by the curious reader turning to mij '' Veterinary Surgery," pages 98 to 113. — J. Hinds. 190 YOUNG HORSES COUGH. [CONV. The circumstance ought to give no uneasiness to the training-groom, however, the parts which have been so strained by the trial soon recover their soundness^ by moderating the exercises. Q. When this cough comes over a young horse in training, does it not prove he has been put to too high a test of his powers ; that is to say, more than he could achieve for his time of life? A. Right! His capability of (jfom^, or his strength have been estimated too highly — overmarked. Q. And ought not to have been tried to their utmost for a year or two more, say four or five years old. Our best racers of the old time, upon whose performances we look back with admiration bordering on astonishment, never made their ap- pearance on the Turf until full-grown, though they are not reported to us as being bigger than our modern cattle ; all which proves that we of the present day do not fail so much through deficiency of strength of limb as for want of due maturation in the organs of respiration ;* which being thus 'prematurely taxed to their utmost, lose * The Godolphin Arabian did not cover until his twelfth year, and all his get were winners ; Eclipse was not entered until his fifth year, and he won all he ran for; and as to large cattle, the Duke of Bolton's stud of thorough breds, one hundred years ago, were big and well calculated for carriage horses: the Duke was a successful Turfite. The whole question of breed- ing speedy horses, as to lungs, size, and stretch, is discussed at large, in Osmer's Treatise on the Horse, Part iv. XIII.] TRAINING FOALS BY ARABS. 191 their elasticity, or further acquire some one or other of those evils mentioned in our Conversation of yesterday. A. As to this question of running horses too young, we may justify it by the custom of the Arabs, who gallop their foals at the mother's side, from the very earliest age, in their predatory movements from one place of encampment to another, v/ithout injury, if not with advantage to the younkers. Q. True ; but they travel in hand until full- grown — a consummation that arrives earlier than in this country. Might we not deduce from this fact the inestimable advantages of rearing racers to run their utmost speed after their mothers, whilst they are yet suckers, and continuing the exercise (in- creasing it) up to the hour of taking them into training for the course ? A. Training them by the stomach, as 'twere, or natural desire. The mares might also be super- induced to run for each feed of corn daily, as fast as her love of kind would permit her to leave the foal behind her. What think you of the scheme ? Q. Well ; but the cough, the cough, and the bleeding, with a repetition of this primal remedy, about which we were talking ? A. Seldom required, if the first operation has been duly performed. That is to say, apportioning the quantity to the irregularity of the pulse ; and, according to the height of the pulse, so let the bigness of the orifice be. 192 BLEEDING FOR COUGH: EFFUSION. [CONV. Q. Hereupon the horse parts with his cough, all at once, sometimes ; at least, as soon as the physic which follows the bleeding begins to operate. A. By reason of the effusion of water in the chest, which then seems to have soothed the parts affected, and lowered the inflammatory tone of the whole system. We know then this effusion has taken place, by a visible remission of the symptoms ; the ears, which are always cold in inflammation of every kind, resume their warmth ; the cough subsides ; and the patient, though hitherto languid, looks about him as if for a feed, which he may now be indulged in, moderately, of bruised oats. Then continue the cooling regimen awhile [see Appen- dix], until the cure is complete, and bring round the patient to his original food and exercise by gentle means, similar to those employed when he came fresh to your hands. Q. -4 " cold in the head" sometimes begins the complaint by a running at the nose, very much resembling glanders, preceding the cough. A. But with this special distinction, viz, that the running in this case comes from both nostrils, whereas one only, and that the left nostril, is found to run in the true glanders — when the gland also adheres to the left jaw. Q. A distinction this that is worth a hundred — A. Hot^ses' lives, you meant to say. Q. Rheum from the eyes accompanies a cold in the head. XIII.] REMEDIES FOR CATA.RRH: 193 A. ^Yhich leaves as tlie disorder creeps down- ward, as 'tis wont to do. Q. So, when the cough has continued a long time, the discharge by the nostrils also ceases. A. That is to say, in other words, the inflam- mation having increased, and with it the consump- tion of the watery particles in that region, the heat thickens the membrane that lines alike the nostrils and wind-pipe, and its power of secretion ceases. As the disorder proceeds down towards the lungs, the demand for the watery particles is still fur- ther augmented, until no discharge whatever comes off. Q. Then, I observe, the cough becomes more troublesome than before : 'tis a pity the discharge should cease in this manner. A. It may be restored, in some measure, by the use of expectorants, which lower the inflammation, and enables the disorder to rim itself off. Keep down the system by purgative ^j/it/^zc, that ope- rate on the water also, [No. 1 and 2,] together with swealing-poiuders [see Appendix for all those], as the patient may seem to stand in need of either the one or the other. Q. But animals in fat condition, or which were fleshy previous to the bleeding and physicking, frequently make efforts to bring off the mucous secretion that they cannot accomplish without great fatigue, and then imperfectly. A. In this event, soften the agglutination by giving the acetous drench. No. 1 and 2, still look K 194 BOWELS AFFECTED BY [CONV. to his dungings and urine, and give alterative laxa- tives to meet any cessation in either way. Q. Mercy on us ! What a number of prescrip- tions ? This practice is at variance quite with your usual doctrine. Surely they would not all be requisite 1 A. Not for the same animal, except under different circumstances. But " disorders of the lungs" are of so variable a nature, that seldom are two animals, though of the same class and descrip- tion — nay, even making part of the same set, attacked in the same manner ; whilst the symptoms change about most unaccountably in the same individual, at times ; so that we do well to face about, not only in conformity with that change, but with the hope that one remedy may aid another. Q. Still, I do not see how you reconcile the seeming contrariety. A. Thus. As to the last point, for example, the dunging, be it remembered that the strong efforts at expulsing the wind, which the cough oc- casions the animal to make, always affect the state of the bowels ; besides that, when the disorder continues obstinately to baffle our endeavours, the patient devolves into a crib-biter, gnaws the wall or eats his litter, with other evil propensities, the effects of the pain he endures. Hence the defective produce of saliva, and the consequent ill state of the stomach and its dependencies, (see p. 124, 138,) which induce the horse to swallow his corn whole^ or quid his hay. Either vice being replete with XIII.] CONSTITUTIONAL COUGH. 195 danger to the intestines, as I dilated upon in our tenth Conversation, p. 146, 166. Q. Constitutional cough. — Is this notion well founded, or is it one of the fancies? A. Well or ill, of this we may be sure, that some animals cough only upon high feeding, without other cause, notwithstanding the three evacuations may be in proper trim ; or at least when the exer- cise may not be commensurate with the feeding, as before observed, (page 67.) A certain looseness of the membranous lining of the windpipe, some assert to be hereditary : the secretion of fatty sub- stances therein, or a disposition to plethorGf or fulness of habit, causes the blood to stagnate in the finer vessels that line the throat, and there produces that titilation which ends in a queer kind of cough they call '* constitutional," in consequent Jieatj and a disposition to inflammation of these fine organs, as before described. Q. Unless we stop the cause, as much as in us lies, by stinting the food to less nutritious substances, by a meagre dag, occasionally, by purgatives, and by exercise : Am I not right now 1 A. Either will suffice, in slight cases, to reduce the troublesomeness of the cough, though the whole being put in requisition may not cure it. You did right not to commence your proposed remedies with " exercise," as most people, conscious of their primary neglect, would have done. This is the same kind of cough as that noticed before, as being the plethoric cough of the foreign draught horses, K 2 196 TEST FOR DETECTING COUGH. [CONV. imported here to enjoy hearty food and a life of comparative laziness in their younger years. Q. A certain " very ingenious gentleman," who occasionally " rides the tall horse/' swears himself to the fact, that none so congh upon high feeding but such as are touched with latent chronic affection of the lungs. A. His objection is not worth a straw, though it chance to be better founded than mannerly. I will tell you a fact, however, which he has seen me practice with success. When I suspect a horse I am about to hny '\s touched in tTie wind, and has been treated with the saline feed of oats you spake of, or has been shotted, I take him out for a trial, order him a full feed of oats, (but no water,) and, in the drive home, keep a strict look out for any indication of *' badness in the wind." Q. This soon finds them out: a full stomach is a sad tell-tale. A. Whencesoever the hectic may arise, I care not, I simply do not purchase. Q. On driving a horse sharp, after such a feed, there is a catch in the wind observable sometimes. A. Occasioned by the full stomach pressing upon the midriff, and not allowing of sufficient room for the tender lungs to play — at least not to their ordi> nary extent. Q. It soon goes off again, however, and nothing more is seen of it. A, Oh, yes ; but ^'something more is seen of it," though not by you, my friend. The ieet falter XIII.] LUNGS AND FEET, SYMPATHIZE. 197 when the lungs are so touched for any length of time ; whilst, by the same sort of sympathy, com- panionship, or fellow-feeling between them, the quick ixtce the horse is put to punisheth the feet, and these communicate their baleful sufferings to the lungs ; hence is it reasonable to conclude, although I did not know the fact from experience, that the communication of such ills is reciprocal. Can you have forgot, already, how strenuously I insisted upon the same indication of incipient founder in a former Conversation we had when talking about foot lameness I [Page 30.] Q. I do recollect it well ; and hope I shall never forget that important advice, or aught else I have heard from you with as much pleasure as attention, and, I expect, of eventual profit : what is more, I have made a memorandum of all that has passed between us daily. A. And if you dare to print it, the Pancras doctors will nothankye for your pains. Q. What is more, they will say you do not speak in language sufficiently scientific, for them. A. I care not : my wish is to be useful to the majority, not agreeable to a secluded few. Q. By the way, being myself tolerably well up to the medicated corn I hinted at just now, as being given by a certain description of dealers, I have tried the effect of filling the stomach of the horse, so treated, with unadulterated corn after- wards, and, although defective wind was percep- 198 EPIDEMIC COUGH. [CONV. tible, the going was true enough ; no faltering or tripping occurred. A. In that case I conclude the horse was an exception to the general rule, not so bad as he might have been, or you did not try him far and fast enough to find him out. Q. Going eighteen miles within an hour and three quarters, with a heavy gig and two persons behind him, is no child's play. A. If so well after such work, hopes might rea- sonably be entertained of the lungs recovering, by giving the attenuating powders in his corn, when- ever such a cough makes its appearance, or we have reason to expect its return. If the horse refuse the corn thus prepared, give the same in a drench ; but, should you desire to aid the secretion of urine, do not increase the dose of nitre, but add to it camphor one drachm, dissolved in the gruel. [Turn to Appendix.] Q. Some horses contract a cough periodically, either at the season of turning out to grass, or at the moulting season. A. Either description of this malady is likely to become chronic y or lasting, without due care : if a good number of horses are attacked at the same time, they consider the disorder as an epidemic^ and infectious. Q. Epizootic is the new French name, and the most proper, I am given to understand. A. Nay, nay ; stow away your fine learning in as small a compass as you can afford, if you please ; XIII.] CATARRHAL DISEASE. 199 your friends, the French, don't know above a quarter about horses that we English do, notwith- standing their boasted ** discoveries;" though I grant they pursue the labour of dissection more assiduously than we do, generally speaking. The epideimj is attributable to the wet season, I tell you ; we alluded to these matters in Conv. iv. when talking about soiling (p. 60). Such horses as are of tender constitution, as all are which have under- gone catarrhal disorder, should be exposed as little as possible to sudden changes in the air ; though that be from cold to hot, from humid to arid, or as some would think from a worse to a better state 1 They suffer most, or benefit in no trivial degree, by a run at grass, according as the season may be cold and damp, or hot and dry. Q, To conclude — Whichever way the symptoms tend, they should be met by an ever-varying treat- ment ? A. It follows, from all that has been said, that he who undertakes the cure of any affection of the lungs — all of which are of an inflammatory tendency, and every one of them preceded, accompanied, or followed, by cough — must have recourse to expe- dients of several kinds : he must, in all cases, assi- duously guard against relapse, and distinguish between fresh attacks that are incurred by needless exposure to inclemencies, and the aggravation of any old complaint by overwork. Q. Any other course would but confirm some 200 AFFECTIONS OF THE LUNGS. [CONV. one or other of those hateful symptoms we have been talking about these two days past. A. That incurable malady, a ch'onic cough, being the main one to be dreaded ; though, when the incipient catarrhal cough we set out with talking about this day, becomes, by neglect, confirmed inflammation of the lungs, and this is partially cured, the thing is not rendered a whit better ; nor, indeed, altered one way or the other, as regards the future disposition of the organs of re spiration to acquire fresh inflammatory disease of one kind or the other, from the least cause whatever, or from none at all. Concerning that general illness which some sea- sons produce, and thence acquires the term epi- demic , we should act wrongly in speaking further in this place ; so much having been written and to the purpose, by Osmer, p. 103 to 113, &c. that no one having the charge of horses ought to neglect reading, if he do not learn it by heart. CONVERSATION XIV. Inflammation of the Lungs, how incurred. Pul- monary Consumption. Adhesion of the Parts : Symptoms. C7^isis, how denoted: Effusion. A. Not at all necessary is it to inflammation that the patient should contract the minor disorder of XIV.] THICK IN THE WIND. 201 these parts, (a cougb,) at first, and we indolently permit it to creep on unchecked, until its virulence extends to the central and more vital parts ; and there pursuing its ravages, obstruct the busy action of the pulmonary arteries in their function of reani- mating the blood by the health-imparting influence of atmospheric air. hijlammation of the lungs as often commences the attack in its most appalling form ; and also affects the horse's going, instanta- neously, as 'twere, when the cold caught has been very acute, or to a great extent. Q. I contended for no other, and merely meant to say, that the cough we usually find prevail on shedding the coat, might be prevented from running to a height by attending carefully to two or three points of our grooming duties at the time. A. To be sure : let him lay aside the curry- comb, and dress with brushes only, nor that too much, and let him clothe lightly his less hardy horses. Let him also look to the dungings, which he will find assume an obstinately costive appear- ance, when the individual patient may be full of hard meat, and altogether so replete with blood as to render such an attack dangerous in the ex- treme. Q. All other causes of inflammation of the lungs, properly speaking, may be referred, I imagine, to those already stated as producing " a cold" of any other description, as catarrh, &c. ; only with greater aggravation, symptoms more virulent, greater danger, and leaving behind more tenderness, and k3 202 CONSUMPTION — DEBILITY. [CONV. increased liability to contract anew a similar series of inflammatory disorders at a future period. A. Any of which, by neglect, mistakes in the treatment, or of frequent recurrence, leave behind a cruel and incurable disorder they term consunrp- lion in human medicine, whilst they of the vete- rinary practice, as well as those of the stable, reckon it wasting away, debility, done up, &c. Q. Yes; consumption they call pulmonary. A. Because of the arteries, so termed, that perform their part of the important function of blood -refining in the centre of the two lobes of lungs ; which are liable to an original disease, (as well as this acquired one,) believed to be hereditary, and consists of want of action and consequent obstruction in the parts, occasioning adhesion of the parts together, and eventually consumption or decay. Q. Some gets prove thick in the wind, or roarers, from parent to foal, with such remarkable trueness as ought to teach breeders a lesson. A. Adhesion of the pleura j or thin covering of the lungs, to the ribs, as also of the lungs to the midriff, on its upper side, and of the liver to the same membrane on its lower side — as these afflic- tions cause greater labour, pain, and consequent heat, upon the animal being put to his paces, so does this inflammatory tendency further dispose the parts to augment a dangerous disorder of which it is itself but an effect. In what manner this evil is first brought about XIV.] ADHESION, OF SEVERAL PARTS. 203 has already been dilated upon when speaking of the same description of adhesion afflicting the mo- tions of the intestines (page 157); but how much more oppressively the lungs must feel its effects re- tard tJiew motion, may be judged of from the more extended action these are subjected to by every effort at progression, when compared to the mere corkscrew-motion of the hoivels and stomach, alluded to in Conv, ix. page 139, &c. Q. Which lie in comparative quietness during the greatest speed, while the lungs are taxed to their utmost inflation and efflation at an ordinary canter, if long kept up. But why should we look about for nice distinctions, when we know those frightful adhesions we speak of communicate their baleful effects from one internal part to another so readily ? A. For this reason alone. As adhesion of the organs of respiration, and even of the heart (or its appendages) to the surrounding parts (the ribs,) and to each other — the induration of some (the pulmonary), and the thickening of others (the pleura) — admit of alleviation, if not of cure, upon being detected in early life, though utterly incu- rable when lasting to full age ; whilst in all cases of adhesion of the bowels, the stomach, the liver, &c. to each other, and to their surrounding parts, admit of no alleviation but of that which time effects, and nature herself performs. The latter may therefore be permitted to take its course ; man acting simply as the handicraft of nature, ad mi- 204 LUNGS; INTESTINES. [CONV. nisters only such remedies as address their efforts to these parts. Whereas, whatever aid he pre- sumes to afford the lungs must be given promptly, or not at all ; relaxation from severe labour, the cooling regimen, and regulating the evacuations, being nearly all the treatment that is common to both kinds of attack. Q. A horse may get fat, puffy fat^ with a sleek coat, although suffering from a partial attack of this nature in the hinder part of his intestines ; and he may go tolerably, even when the adhesion has extended itself; but he is incapable of quick action, or of long continued work, when the organs of respiration are the objects of attack in any degree. It would be highly desirable to know how to distin- guish between the attack upon one part and that upon the other ; distress, and defective going, I take it, indicate this disorder generally — but how shall we know whether the one or the other kind is then present ? A. Thus : by dint of close observation you will be able to judge when any horse under your care is otherwise than well, though standing in the stall or hitched uj) outside the stable, and the healthy pulsation not materially affected ; chiefly by the state of his mouth, which will be dry, if not hot, and shortly the whole muzzle becomes hot, the legs and ears rather cold, and the eyes dull. When going, this becomes more apparent in his defective paces; tripping, relaxing in his speed, clicking a hind toe on the ground, being considered new de- XIV.] SYMPTOMS OF ADHESION. 205 fects so acquired. If he be put out on his best pace awhile, those indications become the worse for it ; unless the disorder be so virulent as to stop some vital function, and the animal drops down. By continuance of labour the pulse increases : when the pain lies at the lungs, 'tis more acute than when the seat of disorder is behind; and as the beats increase in number, greater sharpness also becomes sensible, if before ; not so if it lies behind, when the pulse, though it rises in propor- tion to the mischief going on, is dull and scanty until the inflammation reach its height. Q. Perspiring freely at less than ordinary exer- cise is one sure sign of *' something amiss with him," as our lads of the stable express themselves, quaintly enough. A. If this takes place without any other assign- able reason, the disorder, whatever it be, lies in the hinder part — the bowels, liver, kidneys, 'or stomach ; if his ordinary exercise aff^ects the wind first, the perspiration following it, proves that the animal is pained in the fore part — i. e. the lungs, the heart, or the midriff; Q. This being ascertained, you take your mea- sures accordingly. A. Cessation from labour being self-evidently the first. For, should the disorder be owing to adhesion of the parts, continuance of hard labour will be sure to end in inflammation of them ; if inflammation have already come on, stojJ it, or 206 SYMPTOMS, ALARMING. [CONV. you kill your beast, as sure as fate, if a good one : vxilk him. Q. He totters and stumbles about ere this final stroke takes place. A. The fore-legs being mostly affected when these latter — the organs of respiration, are attacked, his hind-legs when those of digestion are the seat of disorder. Q. All four at his coming down. A. Don't attempt ivit : 'tis misplaced on such an occasion. From whichever cause proceeding, when a sharp attack of inflammation has struck the lungs of the animal, the symptoms rapidly follow each other in fearful succession ; of which, shortness of breathing, though at rest, is the earliest and surest indication, accompanied by drooping of the heart, parched muzzle, cold ears, and, shortly after, shi- vering. Refusal of food, and a sharp, agitated pulse, from the first, with subsequent quickness, prove with what facility the disorder extends. If, in the course of the attack, shivering recurs several times without the intervention of a corresponding fit of sweating, the danger is imminent indeed. Horses in your ^* fat condition" decline from the healthy state more rapidly than those which may have been in my " working condition," those out of condition slower than either. Q. I see ; I see my error, as to fatness not being the genuine state for doing quick work. A. By the way, with what anxiety, after a hard day's journey, does the commercial traveller iw^wzr^, XIV.] traveller's horse: LUNGS. 207 (if trade press so heavily that he cares not to go and see, as he ought,) " Ostler, does my horse take his corn?" conscious, from long experience, that the concern at home must lag if his horse does not pro- ceed. How very liable are the horses of such tradesmen to acquire disease of the lungs — usually in its milder forms ! A. But always with the disposition to wax worse ; owing to the very long stages they occa- sionally take, each followed by very long rests; their journeys being performed more in conformity to the demands of their commercial views than to the preservation of their horse. They quite lose sight of the due subdivision of labour and rest into minor portions, as well as rightly apportioning these to the kind of feed — such as you and I agree upon in the main. [See pages 143, 4.] Q. Then again, a fresh stable and a change of water, ten or twenty times a month ; A. With each time, a change of ostlers, and of treatment, as regards the mode of watering, and the variety — nay contrariety, of commands, all equally imperious and distracting, as to much and little, often and seldom, cold or tepid, before set- ting out (alas) or at coming in. Q. Those disputed and debateable points upon which we discoursed in our Fifth Conversation, (pages 67, 71, 77 — 81 ,) and which might well divide the opinions of persons more exclusively attentive to horse-fesh than the vendors of shojy-goods can reasonably be expected to bestow time upon. 208 EFFUSION AT THE CHEST. [CONV. A. Are they not, like the industrious Bee, " here this hour, gone the next?" Yet they should study with care, indeed should they, the earliest indications of affections of the lungs, just adverted to. Q. Their interest is mainly concerned in this injunction. A. Cold ears and legs, as in other inflammatory complaints, come on with these first symptoms, and last until the turn of the disease, which we watch for with sedulous care, and of which those parts are the true thermometer. Q. ^Yl\\e pulse is no less so. A. After the first day of a mild attack on the lungs, most assuredly, when it may not exceed forty-two to forty-six beats a minute ; but in twen- ty-four hours it mounts up to sixty or seventy, becoming still more quick (though not fuller J and irregular, sharp, and indistinct by turns, as the pain may be more or less acute. For remedy, bleed as directed for colic (p. 152), and three or four quarts will not now avail, but must extend to five or six quarts ; and the repeti- tion as there directed, if needful, should now amount to a state of tottering, particularly if the pulse have increased since the first bleeding. Q. Will nothing less suffice ? A. Not an atom ; for, unless you procure that *' turn in the blood," which shall cause the happy effusion of water at the chest, we spoke of four days ago, you have achieved nothing. It sometimes XIV.] BLEEDING ; MISTAKEN PRACTICE 209 -takes place \vhile the operation is going on, and is the signal to desist : but more frequently it is found to come on after the first motion consequent on the physic that is invariably to attend upon the bleeding. (See page 152.) Q. " Desist," was it you said ? What ! when a great good is being brought about by bleeding, or any other means, would you give over, desist, just then ? This requires — A. Requires : It requires nothing — but common sense. When you have accomplished all you want, when you have attained your end, what necessity for pressing a remedy at a time that nought remains to he remedied I Would you keep on asking the governor for your salary, for example, after he had paid you, because asking turned out so beneficial I Would you continue galloping about, like a cock- ney, after the fox is killed I Would'st eat more after thy stomach is tilled, thou precious admirer of fat— cattle I Q. Nay, nay ; I'm sure a thousand people, taken from all the studs of England, including Ireland and Scotland, would have asked the same question, whether fat or lean. A. As weak argument as 'tis poor geography : the number of persons that support an error does not sanctify it into truth. Moreover, by reducing the system too much by bleeding, by purging, diu- retics, or other attenuants, we cause this salutary effusion of " water in the chest," to flow until it becomes a disease, bearing that very name ; for, 210 IN INFLAMMATION; PRECAUTIONS. [CONV. although the membranous part of the system con- stantly requires this kind of lubrication to prevent the ills of adhesion and inflammation, yet a super- abundance thereof getting into the cellular passages, dropsy ensues ; which although never appearing in horse medicine in that general manner they term anasarca, yet is evidently the cause of those numerous tumours underneath the skin, they term oedematous swelHngs. Q. You blister the chest extensively, I observe, for inflammation of the lungs. A. And would hkewise put in a rowel, or a couple of setons, if I had your heavy, fleshy cattle to deal with. But for the better bred horses, — goers, bhstering efi'ects all we want, as to diverting the disease from the vital parts to the superficial. Q. The bleeding you advise appears to me ex- cessive ? A. It must be proportioned to the danger : and if this be imminent one large bleeding — say five or six quarts, is better far than two moderate ones of four quarts each. For patients that may be costive at the commence- ment of the attack, the good to be expected from the^r^^ oj^eration Vf'iW be mainly assisted by giving a hran-mash previous to the bleeding ; or a dose of castor-oil (one pint), and a clyster, consisting of a solution of Epsom salts, or common salt, in warm wa- ter ; and in case of the costiveness being at its worst state, let the dung be drawn forth with the hand. Never bleed in the open air for inflammation of XIV.] RESTORATIVES: TONICS, AIR; 211 the lungs, nor give a very strong purgative after it, but prefer dividing the apportioned dose into two parts (one for morning, one for afternoon), lest you otherwise transfer the disorder from the lungs to the bowels, which inevitably carries off the patient. Q. Inflammation of the lungs, as you observed before, resembles very much, in symptoms and cure, the like kind of attack on the bowels — in all but the part attacked. A. They tally in other respects, also : and so do the relative minor diseases of colic and catarrh bear the same affinity to the two major attacks on the like organs ; both devolve into the more dan- gerous state by neglect, both influence one other organ, viz, as the stomach does the kidneys, so do the lungs the liver, whilst your labour is but half completed in either case when the inflammation is subdued. Q. Then commences the ceaseless duty of restor- ing health, in all such inflammatory cases, by get- ting the stomach into good humour, the bowels in proper trim, and keeping the body cool. A. Give tonics [Appendix] for the first; for the second, give alterative l^ixat'ives ; but, for the last, do not apply cold water any where, nor per- mit a stream of air, nor clothe with woollen by day, unless the weather be cold. Walk the con- valescent animal to breathe the fresh air, by day — shaded in summer ; give him a roomy stall and lofty stable, with plenty of grooming, so as to keep down 212 RELAPSE FROM INFLAiMMATION. [CONV. the thick legs that now make their appearance ; and so continne until the faculty of perspiration returns, at which period the extreme heat of his skin goes off. Hereupon his exercises are to re-commence with the most gentle walk, daily increasing as his strength returns, and hard meat and full feeding take place of the green food, mashes, and gruel, I before recommended, when speaking of the twin affliction^ inflammalion of the intestines f page 173. Q. The animal's restoration is yet uncertain, even when the disorder is gone, or, as we say, '* is killed," coarsely enough: when the inflammatory symptoms have given way to those of weakness and langour, enough remains for us to do in restoring its wonted powers and taking care that this be done without endangering a relapse. A. We have already discussed this topic in our Tenth Conversation. CONVERSATION XV. The Liver ; its Complaints. Function impeded ; and the same over-exciled. Adhesion. A. Liver complaints, as all afi'ections of this very delicate organ are obscurely termed, were spoken of lately, as causing some of those de- XV.] LIVER; ITS COMPLAINTS. 213 ran^ements we were then talking about, as, 1st, inflammation of the intestines, — 2dly, inflammation of the lungs. Yet are there some persons who deny that the liver is subject to inflammation at all; many more (writers and others) treat this point with indifference, with frigid silence. Q. They have merely to ascertain whether this organ had ever been found attached either to the intestines or to the midriff, to have been convin- ced, though they might not acknowledge, that neither could take place without inflammation. Do they study practically the anatomy of diseased subjects? A. None other, I understand, what little dis- section of the horse they do labour at ; and some of them would have us believe, that that is the healthy form or function which is produced only by disease.* Now, I have reason for thinking, that some very trivial attacks indeed, which would have gone off with the minor complaints, colic in one instance, and simple catarrh in another, terminated in the more serious ailments, viz. in- flammation of the one and the other viscus, caused by the aggravation of the liver's adhesion to the particular organ so affected, in consequence of its great heat, which would be inflammation of the liver to all intents and purposes, * In the form of the coffin-bone, Mr. B, Clark (the stereo- pieatist) is proved to have mistaken the diseased for the healthy shape, and to have fashioned his shoe accordingly. (See Hinds's Veterinary Surgery, page 445, note.) 214 LIVER: INFLAMMATION, [CONV. Q. Thereupon, its function of separating the bile, being impeded, its action would become more laboured, the biliary duct would vitiate its contents, and return it into the system as jaundice, or retain it and cause inflammation. A. The same vitiation of the bile, its reten- tion in the duct, or re-dispersion over the whole system, might be occasioned by the general ill state of the blood, when the depraved secretion ranged about and committed those ravages we call " the humours." But for the liver ^ the blood would circulate in a state unfit for giving health ; when it comes hither in a state incapable of being refined, inflammation ensues. Q. Whence its several *' complaints," and the communication of these to the contiguous parts. A. How could the eff'ect be otherwise? The growing (which we term adhesion) of the upper part of the liver to the midriff would cause diffi- culty of breathing, proved by a certain catch in the wind occasionally, which the sellers of such things pass over by the slight term of ** only toucht in the wind, but no harm ;" a touch, how- ever, that is likely to turn out incurable, notwith- standing, as described by me yesterday, [page 201.] Q. As to the other description of adhesion, when the lower end of the lobe becomes attached, how comes it to pass that a slight attack on the bowels, which, under other circumstances, might have terminated in spasmodic colic only, and so passed off quietly, is, by this species of aggravation, made XV.] FUNCTION IMPEDED. ADHESION. 215 to assume the most alarming symptoms of obstinate inflammation ? In fact, it soon kills — A. Prime horses in a day or two; ordinary ones resist its direful effects much longer. I thought I had touched upon this topic before; but thus it is, — when the vitiation of the bile or the general ill-state of the blood, just spoken of, has thrown the liver into disorder, heat and inflammation ensue, and ulcerated surface, towards its lower extremity, is one of the baleful effects thereof; as is known when langour is a leading symptom ; but when the ulcer attaches itself to the bowels, occasioning a species of colic pains, the pulse quickens a little, and the horse parts with its languor for more painful symptoms. Or, the ulcer attaches itself to the membrane that keeps the whole intestines in posi- tion, as may be ascertained upon the touch ex- ternally; whence some medical people are led to conclude, that all colic and inflammation is no other than affections of this membrane — they iexm peri- toneum, and its disorder *^ peritoneal inflammation." This, however, is an error, as to the extent of the disorder; for, sometimes both peritoneum and great gut adhere to the liver, in the manner described ; but a natural remedy is at hand : the ulcered liver destroys the gut, so far as the adhesion extends, suppuration takes place, the offensive matter sloughs off, inwardly, and is carried away with the dung. Q. How are we to distinguish between this species of attack and inflammation, or colic pains? 216 SYMPTOMS, DISTINGUISHED. [CONV. A. There lies the difficulty. When the symp- toms vary between these two disorders, and the close observer is puzzled in deciding which of them afflicts the horse [see pages 157, 203]; the pulse being lowy though the pain be acute, and the low^er part of the belly evidently tender, thereby affording a flat contradiction of the rules laid down here and elsewhere for discriminating between colic and inflammation, we run no risk in deciding that the disorder is this one of adhesion. Q. At the time this painful process of nature is going on, it is evident we should not work the patient, nor give drastic medicine, nor cordials. A. Nor bleed; the state of the pulse will not warrant this operation ; its indistinctness and lan- guor forfends the use of fleam or lancet. Neither should the horse lie in the stable, day after day, or any day; nor wear warm woollen clothing; both of which do but increase the capacity of the liver. But he should be walked outj with a thin body covering of linen girthed over the belly and flanks. If the dung be at all in form he must have the laxative hall [No. 1] ; if he droop, as he will upon the ulcer sloughing off, give a cordial drink [Wliite Water, No. 5], not too strong. The process to- wards a cure will be visible in the state of the dung. Q. Whereupon, health resumes its wonted ap- pearance in the manner of the animal. Pray, how long may this particular species of adhesion last, under the most favourable circumstances? And, is it of frequent recurrence ? XV.] NEGLECT OF MEDICINE, BENEFICIAL. 217 A. Much oftener than our observation is directed towards the part; but the duration of palpable dis- order seldom exceeds a week. This will depend upon the treatment of the patient, as to medicine and work : if either be violent, inflammation in its worst form supervenes, and death ensues, provided the animal be one of high temper, or good breed- ing, as usually is the case. Neglect, or inatten- tion, however, assure to the afflicted animal at least this chance of escape from medicine ; in ad- dition to this, we generally have too much grace (derived from interest) to push an animal of great value when he faulters in his paces, as usually happens. Q. I have found, more than once or twice, a horse of known good qualities obstinately to refuse his usual gallop, and return home in a sweat not- withstanding. Those were aged ones, or nearly so. A. Always happening to such, provided they have been misused and knocked about at races or at a steeple-hunt, or in the extreme long chase, although receiving every care the stable can afford, after- wards. In fact, I am not certain, but this very care to wrap up the jaded animal in hot clothing, with a hot stable, and absolute rest — not so much as a walk allowed ! have brought about the disease ; enlargement of the liver being the never failing attendant upon the application of so much unna- tural heat, with the consequent inflammatory heat of this organ, and the dangerous disease we are now talking of. Further, let me add, if young L 218 ADHESIONS OF THE LIVER [CONV. horses are ever afflicted with this kind of adhesion, it goes off again by gentle exercise, aided by the vigour of the animal system. Q. But I have yet to learn how this adhesion of the liver to the bowels can affect the ivind ? A. Not this but another mode of attack, viz. on the thick part of the liver, both species never being present at the same time. When the liver is in full possession of its functions, and any de- rangement of it, or the contiguous organs, takes place through chill, cold, or inflammation — as be- fore insisted upon, in several of our conversa- tions^ (consult Index,) then the superior part of the liver adheres to the midriff; a misfortune this which happens, also, when this part of the organs of respiration is itself the subject of disease, ari- sing from great speed long kept up. You may be assured, also, that adhesion is one of the re- lics of ill-cured inflammation, either of lungs or bowels ; and, that this attachment of the parts to each other continues long after the original disor- der has given way to the remedies. Q. Wait a bit, if you please. Although the glance you have taken of the matter is somewhat too rapid, I begin to be convinced of the important nature of the functions the liver has to perform ; for, I remember well, that the whole blood of the animal system passes though the liver to be refined of its hitter j)rinciple (bile) many times a day. A. This is all the knowledge I could hope to in- XV.] PROVED BY PERSPIRATION: PAIN. 219 fuse you with at present. Your next care should be to bring it into use by close observation, and thereby learn how to obviate the evils arising- from this complaint, which mostly consist of over-phy- sicking upon hard work. Q. Duly apportioning the water in frequent small quantities, being one of the means A. Of iweveniion, after the subsidence of in- flammatory fever, and at all times. As I observed before, this affection occurs often and goes off again by proper exercise, though certainly not so by strong work, but the contrary. Do you not per- ceive, that a horse fails in his performance some- times, and sweats inordinately, (as you may re- member,) but his power of going returns again after awhile, and that in good form ? None have told us the reason why. Q. He halts in his paces, too, occasionally, which also goes off; unless being pushed in his work, severely, the lameness is confirmed, with aggrava- tion, and afterwards appears at his i^eet. A. Whenever lameness comes on, the cause of which we cannot otherwise satisfactorily account for, and this is followed by a partially staring coat, the cause is internal, and whether of the fore part of the animal, or the hinder part, is indicated by the roughness appearing on the chest or on the belly, and shews the ailment to be either of the lungs, or else behind the midriff.^ When we have ascer- * When such partial roughness comes on, most people cry out l2 2*20 WORMS, MISTAKES CONCERNING. [CONV. tained, by means of the pulse, &c. that inflammation exists in neither part, that is to say, no whet^e acutely, we may safely conclude that the liver, which is not subject to an acute disorder, is then affected, and that by adhesion, in the manner described. After all, I believe we must allow that this ad- hesion of the superior part of the liver to the midriff is caused by an original disorder of the latter, arising from the heat occasioned by the quick pace, and great lengths with which most free-going horses are abused ; which is further enhanced by the re- petition thereof, followed by absolute rest, and the exhibition of cordials, with high keep. " worms ! " White, and R. Lawrence, and Clark, prescribe medi- cines that will inevitably kill them, and a thousand botts to boot ; but the best prescriptions fail to produce them in any number, though the globe has been ransacked for remedies. Hence, I conclude, that worms do not prevail so often as is asserted, but that the real disorder, in nine cases out of ten, is no other than this one of adhesion. White had an accurate presentiment of this disorder, but wanted industry to push the hints he received home to a complete developement, in his time. He never went further than admitting, that adhesion of the liver and midrifi' might be mistaken for worms (his favourite disease) ; and, on the contrary, that " a defect in the organs of respiration, which also produces weakness and emaciation, similar to the tcorms,'' might be mistaken for actual worms. XVI.] 221 CONVERSATION XVI. Of some necessary Operations: and chiejiy on Shoeing refractory Horses. Q. A few more heads of information remain for discussion, if you please, all contributing to the preceding views we have taken of the means of preserving the horse's condition ; and, among others, nothing mars our endeavours more than the *^ battles between smith and horse," alluded to by you at oxxx first day's Conversation, (pages 10 and 15,) whenever the animal is taken to be shod. The foreigners have the advantage of us English in this respect. A. *' Us Enghsh" comes with a bad grace from you, my lad, who never take notice of any varia- tion in the practice of this and other countries, but you give the preference " sans pu contredire,'' as you phrase it, to foreigners, and even prefer those foreigners' horses to our own, whatever class or description we may bestow our thoughts upon. Q. Except the racer — say? A. Except all, then; for of what use are the other descriptions of horses, unless they have the ffif* of 90^^^9 i" them, slow though it be ? Mere wooden horses, " say." Do they not come here and buy up our prime goers to improve their breeds m this respect? 222 PACE EVERYTHING. SHOEING. [CONV. Q. They only purchase the second best, or third for the Legers, Derby, &c. A. I infer, that they can only hope to infuse second-rate speed (or going) into their breeds from such stock, down to the third and fourth genera- tion ; and even less when this arrives at the fourth and fifth description of horses ; if their brood mares of the working classes ever do receive the least tincture of the prime English stallions they seek after with so much assiduity, and procure at so great an expense. Q. Good reasoning this ; for I observed that their breeding farmers fall very short of ours in that ne- cessary article to a good get — capital. But, turning short to the left-about, we are accused, I think justly, of treating our horses with too much ** brutal force," in performing the necessary offices about them, shoeing in particular, and that we perform many operations unnecessarily, and some of doubt- ful efficacy. Among the latter they reckon rowel- ling and setons, and firing of the second kind ; hurning out the hairy lining of the ears, cropping, and docking, and clipping the coat, and pulling, the mane and tail, are execrated almost univer- sally in France. The violent manner in which mounting, and breaking, and training, and phy- sicking are performed, you yourself have already- allowed wrong ; next let me draw your attention to the economy of shoeing, not exactly the practice, but the manner of going about it. A. What you say regarding our shoeing-smiths XVJ.] TEMPER SPOILED BY COERCION. 223 may be tolerably accurate, if you speak generally ; but none ever exercised their trade under my directions who employed the '' brutal force" you charge them with : it is our duty to prevent this, should such characters turn up ; but I believe never does happen in the stables of trainers of any degree of excellence, nor in hunting studs. Those who reproach the English nation with this crime, have drawn their conclusion from the lower order of smiths of former times. Q. Truly ; but here and there, the better de- scriptions of horses you allude to are constrained and forced to undergo operations, not in them- selves altogether disagreeable, which might have been as well performed by gentle usage, by coaxing, and the voice. You and I have frequently spokeii to these points, to the temper of the horse, and how it gets spoiled, in the course of these Con- versations, (see Index — Disposition ^Temper ; J but here is a foreigner's publication in my hand, who undertakes to teach by rule what you and some others know already " by rule of thumb," as I have heard you describe some other modes of doiny things without laying down any settled plan of jyroceeding, A. Does he take advantage of what he has learned from the English, and then abuse us ? Q. No doubt he has witnessed the stable ma- nagement y as well as the operations of our cavalry, and that of the fine animals attached to our em- bassages ; but some of his observations are ex- 224 MANAGEMENT OF SHOEING. [CONV. ceedingly plausible. He says, at setting out, that the first blander we commit with our horses is to " transgress the law of nature, according to which they ought to be treated, if we would not run the risk of requiring from them totally contrary services from those for which they were destined." A. Why, I have read the same words, seven years ago, in the Annals of Sj^ortinr^.^ In the course of our preceding Conversations, how often have we not dilated upon the mild treatment of the horse, being far preferable to violent forcible constraint I Q. We agreed, that ** the voice of the groom could be profitably employed in correcting any vice he might discover in the horse ;" it was also shewn that well-bred horses recognized the tones of man's voice, and you very often adverted to the means O'f studying the different tempers of the several classes of horses, which the English are herein accused of disregarding. [See pages 10 to 13, 49, 57, m^ 70.] * Not exactly the ivords, but what may be a translation of them into German, and back again. The same idea appears in Hinds's " Veterinary Surgeon," at page 8 : — " Happily, the cause of humanity may be served, and the interest of his owner promoted at the same time, by our ascertaining the nature and amount of the horse's powers, by his make, shape, or built ; and thereupon demanding of him no more, in the way of service, than is clearly proveable to be within his power." The cause of humanity, the advantages of mild treatment, and the policy of studying the temper of this valuable animal, are advocated throughout the work just quoted. [See, also, pages 97, 102, 137, 139,140, 166, 319, 334, of the Second Edition.] XVI.] MILD TREATMENT PREFERRED. 225 *• 'Tis scandalous man does not receive lessons from his horse," you observed, after reciting an every day occurrence at ordinary stables. Now, this gentleman, (Lieutenant Balassa, a German J does no more than aive his horses during the opera- tions of shoeing, &c. by the voice, Ms looks, and gestures ; and conciliates them by stroking with the hand, aslant the face, over the eyes, whilst holding the head rather short and steady with the cavesson and bridle, A. Such is our every-day practice, when the better-bred horses are taJcen to he shod; not less than three or four of us employing each his best offices in allaying the fears of the irritable animal. This stroking the face is the only new feature in his boasted " art," that I can yet discover, and is a good piece of generalship, Q. His translator imagines that we employ but owe person in shoeing horses here, which is only true as re- gards common working cattle ; whereas, in France, they have two door-?nen and one fire-man to every ten-penny shoe they put on a five pound nag. [See Hinds's *' Veterinary Surgery/' page 489.] A. More frequently they go without shoes, I think you told me, in France and Gei-many. Well thought of — in the latter country they are not all equally clever at eye-work, as this Austrian Lieu- tenant. In his Ge^^man Tour, published lately, Nimrod relates a case of an act of sudden ferocity committed by a very quiet horse, (which his owner l3 226 CASE OF CARELESSNESS. THE [CONV. had purchased in England), upon a boy who held him whilst a limner was taking his portrait. Q. The horse had not been made to comprehend why it was expected to stand still for the painter, probably. A. We are given to understand that the boy's attention was taken from the horse (Rohin Hood, by name), when the animal sprung at him, knocked him down, and, kneehng on the poor fellow's body, was in the act of kneading him to death, when the application of a broomstick marred his purpose. Q. Aye, aye, he was not man enough, not com- mand sufficient, nor steady enough. With leave, I will read on, an extract or two. — At the same time that I call sharply to a horse, says the Lieutenant, I look sternly at him, and every one must be aware that the stedfast look of the human eye has a commanding effect on the horse: kind looks and words encourage and reward him ; the object being to divert his attention from the man who is putting on the shoe to the groom who has hold of the bridle (a snaffle) and cavesson, and to nought beside. Meantime, stroking cross- wise with the hand over the forehead and eyes of the horse, renders the most vicious and shy so gentle and quiet, that, if no objects near him divert his attention, he will hang down his head quite low, and seem to be almost lulled to sleep. A dark^ or at least a shaded place, is most con- ducive to quietness ; where the horse may be XVI.] GROOM CONDUCTS THE SHOEING. 227 placed with its head inwards — the light entering from behind. Any disposition to restiveness may be anticipated by observing- the motions of the horse's ear* and eyes, both of which it then turns towards the smith. This is to be corrected by shaking the reins from side to side, by shortening and lengthening alternately the cavesson, by in- creasing the sharpness of the voice and threatening aspect, and making the stubborn or vicious animal comprehend that something is required of him. Order being somewhat restored, the caresses are to begin, as before said. Placing the cavesson in the left hand, short, along with the bridle, or even taking hold of the ring of the former, patting the shoulder and smoothing it down on that side the smith may be required to work ; stroking the face and soothing accents are the final means of ac- complishing the job — as regards one foot. A. Yes, yes ; and so on for the whole set. 1 see nought very extraordinary fine in these instruc- tions, that you vaunt so much ; nor does he speak to the annoyance such high-bred horses experience from the noise of the smithy and number of people about him, or the presence of the boy who rides him to exercise. Go on. Q. Here, read it yourself, good sir, page 23.* * To make the horse comprehend you is a point of essential importance on every occasion. Thus, if the groom pays con- stant attention to the eyes of the horse, he will easily perceive when it is about to bite, to rear and strike out, or to kick be- hind. He must immediately signify his displeasure by .shout- 228 MANNER OF TREATING THE [CONV. A. But you do not adhere to the book, I perceive; though I allow you render the thing taught more ing, threatening, with the right hand elevated, by shaking the reins, not lashing, but gently ; frequently he will have occasion to employ all these means of overawing the refractory animal at one and the same time, as exemplified in the annexed cut. For example, when the smith is about to lift up the foot of the horse, and the latter is disposed to resist, this will be manifested by its turning towards the smith its ears and eyes, the latter showing much white to the groom who has the horse in charge. Hei-eupon you should make the horse compre- hend that it is ,not to withdraw its foot from the smith, and proceed to employ all the means just described of overawing .such a disposition. As the animal may show a more placid disposition, so must the groom relax his coercion and his threats ; when those unto- ward symptoms return, these means must be resumed. But the horse, however vicious, which has been treated in this man- ner steadily, never fails to show obedience to words of com- mand or of encouragement. During this process the groom must never take off his eyes from the horse's, that the attention of the latter may become more firmly fixed on him. For hereby only will he learn to read, as it were, in the looks of the animal, the purpose of its mind, know how to frustrate any evil design it may conceive, and to direct the smith and his helper how to avoid danger or to proceed with the shoeing. In fine, these persons will know from his to7ie of rating over the horse, or his commendations, when to take care of themselves. They ought to know, also, Avhen the leg has been kept in one position too long, when the horse will require to rest it awhile, as well as when the par- ing away is carried on too roughly ; i. e. in slivers too large [as noticed in this Oracle, in a preceding page, 24], a mode of proceeding that is highly injudicious, and the cause of much Just resentment on the part of the sutferer. Heavy horses re- ceive more annoyance from standing long on three legs than the lighter description of horses ; for the pretended counter-lever which the smith thinks to afford the animal by bringing his hip XVI.] HORSE: OF RAISING THE LEGS. 229 intelligible to me. So much for the oj)erative part of the tansaction. Q. In England, we all know, they perform most of the offices about horses hy forcGy or by dint of strength ; and indeed when encamped in the Bois de Bologne, near Paris, many of the army smiths carried abroad with them this unamiable nation- ality — preferring it to the employment of cunning. They seize the foot at arms' length nearly, drag- ging it towards them ouiwards, instead of hack- wards, a position no horse could long preserve, be it of ever so gentle a nature; in the course of two or three minutes under the drawing knife, the horse, feeling uneasy, seeks to relieve itself from pain ; if a low bred animal, he grunts discontent, and gets a blow, or abuse; if better bred, he kicks or plunges, and is with difficulty restrained from per- petrating some signal mischief. Lieutenant Balassa takes great merit to himself for having discovered the manner of placing the assistant smith in such a situation as not to get kicked or bitten ; and ex- perience has proved his plan good and practical ; furthermore, it is reasonable, and, I must allow, much in conformance with our own management in the better description of stables. against the superior part of the lifted leg, is as nothing com- pared to the great bulk that is thus thrown its whole weight upon the standing limbs, whilst the leg that is undergoing the operation is bent unnaturally, is strained out of its proper position, and the circulation of the blood impeded, if not stopped, for too long a time together. 230 SHOEING VICIOUS HORSES: [CONV. The position of the smith for taking up the off forefoot of a vicious horse, for example, is to place his own left shoulder next the horse's right — look- ing forward at its eyes and ears, watching for any change therein. All being quiet, he proceeds to touch the shoulder with the open left hand, to take hold of a lock of its mane, and to familiarize with the horse by stroking the shoulder and the leg downwards. But, as the horse will not rest quietly under this treatment, the smith must place himself beside the groom, permit the horse to smell him ; then advance gently, touching the mane and shoulder, and bring himself round to the 7nght^ about-face^ looking again towards the horse's eyes and ears, and at the groom. This proceeding he will have to repeat with a vicious horse more than two or three times, at the first shoeing; and when at last he has got hold of the fetlock with the finger and thumb of the right hand, the thumb only is to be compressed, and that gently, against the coronet, in taking up the foot; thus carrying it forwards a little first, and turning both it and himself a half movement round to the lefty he brings the heel of the horse up nearly to its elhow with both hands. A. All reasonable enough. Q. Not at the first essay, however, nor until several times lifting up, and setting down again all the feet of the horse, is the shoeing to com- mence. The position and manner of taking up the hind foot is shown in the annexed figure, being nearly XVI.] OF EXCITING ATTENTION. 231 the same, reversed, as the instructions just read regarding the fore-foot. A. Yes, yes ; I perceive, that, upon the horse attempting to turn and kick the smith, the latter would be thrown ofF a sufficient distance to be out of the way of the heels. I like this manner of placing the feet close together, most of our smiths straddling at it, as if they meant to " stand a tussle" with the horse. Q. The lieutenant also discommends the practice of taking up the feet of vicious young horses in the stable, assigning no reason whatever for this dis- suasive. He also advises that the assistant smith be himself drilled at thus taking up the foot, upon horses of a mild disposition, before he is employed in shoeing the refractory ones. A. This is all very well, and ought to be put 232 CHARGE OF BARBARITY, [CONV. upon paper by you ; but I do not altogether like the attempt of your friends to brand our countrymen with the charge of inhumanity by a side wind, particularly the inuendo respecting the conduct pursued towards a horse (and by inference every horse) in His Majesty's stables."* In all our Coji- versations you will find, upon turning to your notes, neither of us can accuse the other of having neg- lected the cause of humanity. We agreed on this, though wrangling occasionally on other topics. In- deed, the cause of this fractiousness in the Cos- sack general's horse has been already accounted for by us ; and is wholly attributable tb the high feeding at those stately stables, and constant in- door dry meat, that he became so vicious as to *' kick the barbarous groom," as we are told ; whose misconduct, I aver, consisted in nothing else than the common error just mentioned, and which you * The facts are these : — the Russian general Platoif, having presented his horse to His present Majesty, then Regent, it was sent to Carlton-house stables, and fed the same as the other horses : here was the original fault. What followed, but that he put up flesh too much for his nature, became restive, and, like every other created being, spurned his parasites, and pu- nished one of them — appropriately enough ! As to " the ani- mal resenting the ill usage" he received, we are disposed to be- lieve that he was only affected in the head by the heat of the sto- mach, occasioned by indurated foeces and fulness of blood — an every-day occurrence. Since the foregoing lines were first published, a distressing case of strangulated intestine has oc- curred in the same stables, arising from the same cause — viz. high feeding and want of exercise, water, &:c. It is reported in the new Edition of Osmer's Treatise, page 125. XVI.] REPELLED. THE COSSACK HORSE. 233 and I shall never cease to denounce. My own anathemas to the same purpose were put upon re- cord six years ago,* and had been verbally pro- mulged five times as long before that. Q. Doubtless, they followed the mistaken notion of keeping their horses always in-doors, on dry food — at Carlton-house. You certainly anticipated ray lieutenant and his translator by all those years, so they gain nought as regards priority. A. The Cossack wanted to range the hills and en- joy lying out, as was his nature, instead of the stately stable and two-year-old corn. Why, our worst grass-fields would have proved too rich for his un- commonly hearty constitution. In addition^ they gave too little water, at that time of day, so the rough foreigner kicked one of the lads into better manners, it seems. Q. And succeeded ! Ha, ha, ha ; my ''friends,'' then, as you call them, have beat '* us English," after all. Good. A. To be serious — there is no want of humanity in this country, though uneducated persons about stables may make a mistake in thinking they do not swerve from the line of their duty when they out- strip it. The two volumes by John Lawrence, ." a Philosophical Treatise on Horses," had for object * In the Annals of Sporting, 1822, passim : " I never see a horse bolt out of the course, throw or kick the groom, but I imagine it an act of retribution for his mistakes in feeding, de- nial of water, tight girthing, &c. 234 MISREPRESENTATIONS. [COMV. principally to advocate a more humane treatment than hitherto prevailed. WJiite and Hinds followed in the same track ; as is just shewn, as regards the latter. Q. Something occurs to me, on turning once more to this book of the Austrian Lieutenant's, that the slur meant to be cast upon the conduct of the king's servants, in this respect, is the language of disappointment : discarded persons usually think ill of their former employers, and if these do no- thing to merit censure, any little incident is fastened upon to justify that adverse opinion. A. Eh ! Oh, I see, — " revised by the late Ve- terinary Surgeon to his Britannic Majesty." That cannot be true, — the word revised is wrong ; for, had Mr. Goodwin really " revised" the page where this unfounded calumny occurs, (page 27,) he would have amended the sense, by adding, that, '' since the accident, (which is one of frequent re- currence,) the Cossack horse has been sent to Hampton-court, and there turned out in one of the paddocks ; and being thus restored to compara- tive freedom, upon green food, shows no further disposition to kick, or otherwise molest the people tliat come near him." Q. Egad ! he must have known the fact to be as you have stated it ; for I have seen him at Hampton- court, and the Cossack horse too — a little grey one. A. A little grey — nothing very remarkable, only as regards his celebrated master. I would not give XVI.] OF SHIFTING THE SHOES. 235 the two we exercised this morning, (see Frontis- piece,) for a v/\\o\e pulk of Cossacks. Q. A pulk, a horde of two or three brigades. Why, I would not find them. Aprojws, as to shoeing horses whose tread is affected by the jjosi- Hon of the limb, and its attachment to the body, — What remedy would you adopt? A. Merely making the shoe thicker and harder on the side the ivear is most visible, and changing the shoes, when these are worn thin on one side, which effects a temporary remedy. Q. But nothing can cure the original defect of had built or malconformation of the limb. A. As is fully set forth in the first Chapter of " Veterinary Surgery," section 5th, and in the Chapter which the Author terms '* The Shoeing Smith's Guide. '* Speaking of this latter, the Scotch Agricidturist informs his readers it is a very impor- tant part of the volume, and should be read by all smiths, as should the whole book by every Farmer. Q. Is not Osmers Treatise on the Horse, that is just now republished, much devoted to the same topic, as well as to the diseases of horses? A. Yes, and to those of horned cattle, in a less degree ; and is worthy of being read by all persons who would study the subject of horses* diseases ; but the two books do not clash together, nor one supersede the other. On the contrary, whenever either may treat on any matter that has been handled by the other, he seems to throw additional light on it, so as to instruct the reader more fully. 236 EPIDEMIC CATARRH. Q. Ah ! They may be considered as very much resembling two doctors whom we have called in to consult over a difficult case ; and who., having been bred up at two distant schools, each takes an origi- nal view of the case in hand, yet both may arrive at the same conclusion on many points. A. And they do so agree in the main ; but Osmer is particularly instructive on catarrh, which in some seasons afflict so many horses at once, that we do not greatly deviate, when we consider it as epi- demic, and believe it may be infectious, though Mr. Hinds does not treat it as such, but takes each case as a separate attack, and all depending upon an ad- verse season, Q. Whereby many are afflicted at once. But I still think 'tis catching among all quadrupeds that come together a deal. A. At any rate, we cannot err much in keeping the sick ones separately. APPENDIX; Including Extracts from the BOOK OF RECEIPTS OF JOHN HINDS, V.S. FAMILIAR AND EASY TESTS FOR DETECTING ADULTERATED MEDICINES. Alteratives. These remedies require being given for a long time to produce the effect desired, which is mostly accomplished imperceptibly to the common ob- server ; yet re-establishing the healthy functions of the animal economy more beneficially and permanently than more active medicine — the laxative in particular. Be- sides this more eminent class of alteratives, noticed under their respective heads, we have the tonic, the diuretic, ctnd the diaphoretic, i.e. the bracing , urinary , and sweating classes of medicine ; but all vegetable productions contain some one or other of those pro- perties, and when combined, as in the grasses, they contribute greatly to secrete fatty substance in the cellular membrane, which we then term fogg : whilst oats are diuretic, and therefore salutary, on account of the resinous quality of the outer skin thereof. Laxative alteratives. When the animal is one of .the tender class, and must be emptied, but cannot bear the usual dose of aloes without evident loss of strength, let the ball be divided into three or four, and give one on successive days, or until the purgation commences. If a horse be ill unaccountably, some one of the secretions is obstructed. In such case, a course of 238 APPENDIX: salts is requisite, given in small doses ; or, better still, the common table-salt, three or four ounces daily, made up in tissue-paper, like balls, fail not to remove the cause of the disorder. Antimony is a mineral of very great importance to many of our purposes. In medicine, it is prepared and sold under several names, receiving different appellations according to the means used in the several preparations, which changes its manner of operating; whilst its virtues remain the same, whether reduced by pounding, by heat, by alkali, or by acids. In the form of powder, given in oats (after being damped), antimony has the effect of making the coat sleek, and is, therefore, a powerful adjunctive in curing all cuta- neous affections; but when indigestion has filled the stomach with sourness, and the bowels with flatulency, antimony acts with extreme violence, and then should be combined with potass, calcined magnesia, or soap. In its most eligible forcible form it is called sulphuret of antimony, is a bright yellow powder, without smell ; but is often adulterated with chalk, which reduces its bright colour, and its efficacy. From this extreme brightness, it acquired the vulgar title of golden sulphur of antimony. To be pure, it should not evaporate with the addition of vinegar or lemon juice, but will then turn white ; and if put over the fire, the antimony will fly off, leaving the adulteration behind it. t^Have a care, while making these tests, not to inhale the evaporation, for 'tis deleterious in a high degree. In fact, it is in this penetrating quality that its virtues reside ; for, when submitted to the heat of the body, which is very great in the horse, it seeks to escape by the skin, and brings along with it, by effusion, the watery secretions of the membranous part of the system. [See Index, Secretions, JEffusioyi.] Ac- cording as the dose may be increased, it acts upon the stomach, so as to produce nausea, or, farther still, Hpon the bowels, as a brisk purgative. Of Tartar Emetic (Tartaris Antimonii of the ANTIiMOMY — ALOES. 239 shops) prepared, or oxydised, by the action of acids, and therefore white, we have heard it said that ' were every other manner of preparing- antimony (and there are several) discarded from our practice, nothing would be lost, Vv'hilst we possessed emetic tartar ; for it is decidedly the most manageable and least uncertain of all the antimonial preparations/ This was said, as regards the human practice ; but, though the action of antimony is very similar in both cases, yet the cruder sulphuret is frequently required to act more strongly upon the horse than the tartarized will do. In doses of half a drachm, if the animal be well clothed, a perspiration, generally profuse, will come away ; one drachm (the usual dose with farriers) will procure a stool or two, and this will be followed by sweating; two drachms, the quantity prescribed in the books, agitates the stomach, then purges, and both are succeeded by sweating. This substance is ever found adulterated when bought in powder, so as to render its operation uncertain; therefore, let it be procured in the crystalline form, and powdered afterwards. By solution in water, the acid being set free, a copious gold coloured precipi- tate ought to be furnished ; upon pouring off the water, the adulteration (if any) will be found lying upon the antimony. Aloes. This being the chiefest ingredient of all the purgative medicines given to the horse, demands more lengthened notice than we shall find occasion to bestow upon any other substance employed in removing the diseases or preserving the health of this animal ; and the more so, as the danger incurred by the abuse of an invaluable purgative, by over-dosing, is further in- creased by the variety, the uncertain quality, and the adulterated state in which this excellent material is found in the shops. As to its manner of operating, and the means of keeping down the dose to moderate quantities, according to the several kinds, and agreeable to the de- scription of horse to be purged by them, the reader will find more information under the head of " Physickino-," 240 APPENDIX : to which it more appropriately belongs. A loes is an ex- tract from varieties of a plant of the same name, growing in several distant and distinct parts of the world. Im- porters of the article divide aloes into four classes — among themselves, but endeavour to pass off the inferior for the better sorts, to the shops, as often as the former may have been extracted with care and assume a better appearance and smell, and consequently bear greater intiinsic value : in this mode of viewing the matter there remain, in reality, but two distinct sorts. 1. The So- cotrine, or sweet scented. 2. The Barbadoes, or strong aloes, — as we shall see presently. With the Jirst is assimilated the best of the Cape aloes, or third description ; the fourth being- the " Aloe Caballina,'' or horse aloes; so called by certain vendors, from being the refuse of the others, though always made to appear bright, and therefore good enough in their opinions for the animal after whom they have named it in derision, as if any rank, stinking, drastic substance were befitting the horse ! These are to be rejected, as totally unfit, and dangerous to be given to horses with tender insides ; whilst, by frequent use, they render the most robust horses tender, and thus work ruin on either description. Let us prefer the best, or at least, stick to one kind^ of which we know the strength by expe- rience. 2. Such aloes as dissolve the readiest in hot water, in proof-spirit, or weak vinegar, leaving the least of sedi- ment at the bottom ; such as possess, at the same time, a fine aromatic flavour, is hardest, with a smooth, dark, reddish tinged and shining surface, and having the least dirty residue or gourd on solution — may ever be deemed the best and purest, whether coming- from the Cape of Good Hope, from Socotra, or elsewhere. Compared together, the Barbadoes kind has less depth of colour than the Socotrine, and comes to us in larger lumps than the latter, — it has also a ranker smell, without the redeeming aromatic flavour of the Soco- trine, or those of the Cape. ALOES. 241 But this aromatic smell, and facility of solution, just spoken of, upon which mainly depend the mildness of operation, may be both destroyed by joining the aloes with other substances — deemed incompatible in the horse's body, because the sweet odour flies off upon mixing. Nor do they avoid this kind of disaster, when they adopt the alkaline salts, which reside in soap of every kind ; and this latter material is employed exten- sively as the chief vehicle of every description of aloes. Hereby, in time, the abundant bitterness of some kinds is corrected, and the operation rendered milder, but the great gut (colon) is not always emptied alike completely, on account of the best aloes, when thus combined, losing their aromatic odour on mixing, and dissolving in the stomach too soon, thereby combining with the food before its purgative effects reach the lower intestine, if it do not take a contrary turn entirely. Therefore it was that I set myself to obviate the evil of giving a purge on a full stomach, after the manner de- scribed in the article titled Physicking ; and to employ this vehicle only when aloes is given as ordinary physic, when the stomach is presumed to be in a healthy state and little liable to be affected by the action of the aloes; whilst in those cases where this central organ of the whole system might be presumed to be already in a state of excitement, 1 have adopted treacle as the vehicle, and recommended it generally, when the horses we are trainiyig into condition require to be purged have been prepared according to my directions. See Index for Physic. 3. Thus, whichever way we turn ourselves, our ex- pectations are liable to be frustrated by combining the aloes with substances that do not always agree with all the kinds of aloes alike ; for the alkali also differs in quality and quantity in each description of soap, if not in every parcel, and when taken is likely to be affected in one way or other by the actual state of the stomach and bowels ; which is such, at times, as to digest the tvhole of the dose, to retard its operation, or to turn M 242 APPENDIX : aside a large proportion thereof — 1st, To the kidneys ; 2d, To the skin; and, 3d, Into the circulation of the blood, by absorption;* all which aberrations are known to take place, as we shall have to prove, under the head just referred to. 4. Barbadoes Aloes, though spoken of as rough and heating in its operation, is only so in consequence of its resisting solution until the major part of the ball has descended to the colon, whereby this and the last gut (the rectum) are so much excited as to cause a new disordei- of the parts— which require sedatives to allay the protru- sion that ensues. Employing an extra quantity of the soap, when a speedy operation is required, gets rid of this objection to the use of Barbadoes Aloes ; and as we cannot spoil its odour, seeing it has little or none to lose, we attain another end, by the use of soap in large doses, that of exciting the kidneys to produce an abundance of urine, which is ever desirable when we do not thereby weaken the required purgative effect. True it is, that the Socotrine Aloes, without the aid of soap (i. e. of the kaliit contains), produces urine, yet this is only effected by sacrificing the purgative quality of the aloes ; and therefore it is that a larger quantity of the Socotrine is required than of the Barbadoes kind, in the propor- tion that three bears to two, to produce the same effect. See Index for Stomach and Kidneys, to show how this communication is brought about. This allows for about one-third of the Socotrine to be " turned aside," as just observed in the last page ; a defection that does not happen to the Barbadoes Aloes, either on account of their containing less resin and more gum than the Soco- trine, or that the purgative quality resides in the bitter principle which distinguishes the Barbadoes. At least, thus we conclude ; for the question as to those propor- tions, and in which of them the purgative quality resides, is not yet settled by the experimental chemists ; nor is * Undigested particles, as bits of chaff, have come forth on bleeding in the neck. Vide Veterinary Surgery, page 125. ALOE-BALLS. 243 the adjustment of such a dispute of much importance to the practice of Veterinary Medicine, in which we look mainly to effect. 5. Barbadoes Aloes, then, possesses this triple recom- mendation, — viz. 1. That it affords a safe and certain purgative ; 2. That we may rely upon its quality being always the same, except as respects freedom from dirt ; 3. That a less quantity serves our turn. And this last quality is adduced, not so much for the pence which may be saved by price or quantity, as for the fact (which has been already discussed, in Conversation xi.) that the excessive use of this stimulating purgative wears out the horse, if it do not superinduce inflamma- tion of the intestines in four cases out of five. Neither is the case altered when the poorer animals, that are kept without the means of incurring inflammation, die of torpor of the same part, called by us debility, or locked jaw ; or, being better sustained, as to hay and corn, with a constantly-perverted stomach, they go off in vertigo, megrim, or staggers. 6. ^^M/^era^foTi of this article, as of all other drugs, is mostly prevalent when scarce and dear, and the Socotrine being higher priced than any other aloes, we found that kind during the war deteriorated with com- mon resin, thereby rendering the operation of this particular kind extremely precarious. If they be fine and clear to look at, the place of growth signifies little : it is good proof that they have been well got in. 7. A loe- Balls. No one is at a loss to make a ball from the ingredients prescribed, and this is almost the only form in which aloes can be conveniently administered. A mode of casting the balls in moulds, however, as now practised, deserves to be generally known, as being more convenient, and withal retaining the virtues of the more priceable kind of aloes at the same time. By melting, also, the offensive substances that come to us in the crude aloes, are got rid of, the mass remains ductile and subtle for a long time, when kept in bladder, and may be cut into doses with a greased knife as the balls may M 2 244 APPENDIX : be required. For this purpose, prepare a tin boiling saucepan, having an inner tin pot, resembhng a joiner's glue-pot, with a cover. Chemists term this contrivance Balnea Maria, or Mary-bath ; which possesses the ad- vantage of melting any substance steadily, and keeping it in that state awhile, without the chance of its coming in contact with the fire ; as would happen were the boiler to become red hot, and no water intervening in the outer pot, as is done by this sort of contrivance. Tlie inner pot has a spout, resembling that of an ale- house pot, with a strainer inside, and a lid of its own size, hanging by a hinge to the lid of the inner pot, which in like manner hangs by a hinge to the pot itself, that there may be no delay in shutting out the atmospheric air, whenever it may be deemed necessary to ascertain the complete liquefaction of the contents. Into this pot put the aloes to be melted, with about a sixth of its own weight of treacle; or a larger proportion, if the aloes be of the Barbadoes kind, and then set on the boiler. After half an hour's boiling, most of the aloes will be found in a fluid state ; when the whole may be stirred down, and the boiling of the outer pot continue until all is fluid. No delay should take place in pouring off the aloes, into moulds made of paper, or into a long tin mould, which opens at the side, after being disengaged of the fastening that keeps it together. This part of the process is to be performed in a closed room, and whilst the water boils intensely, lest the aloes set, and require to be cut out, or be sacrificed to careless- ness. The spout must be of good width, as the strainer will othenvise choke up with the filth and gourd, that is thus disengaged from the aloes. Should it be deemed needful to introduce the usual aromatic helps— as ani- seed, carraway-seed, cummin-seed, &c. the seeds may be introduced powdered, as soon as the liquefaction has commenced; so of ^riw^fe?' in powder ; but the essential oils of the three first mentioned, so often prescribed in this book for the cold preparations, would be thrown away in the present mode of making up aloetic purges ATTENUANTS. 245 hy heat. Another precaution is proper in the adminis- tering- of these casted balls to delicate horses. As the effect of treacle, sugar, and other sweet vehicles is to render the aloes still more nauseous, the plan of giving the balls in thin paper (tissue) is adopted in our practice. The medium dose of aloes prepared in this way is, of the Socotrine, for a hunter, 7 or 8 drachms ; for a race horse at strong work, and full grown, 2 drachms more than the hunter : of the Barbadoes kind, 5 drachms for the hunter in full work; for the racehorse, 6 drachms, whilst at strong work, and consequently at full feed. I am aware that much larger doses are given, and these combined Avith substances that accele- rate the purgation, or determine the medicine to certain organs of the body. The pre^dous indiscretion of the givers may have rendered such doses necessary ; but I know that less will suffice under proper management; and I feel the truth of the maxims elicited in various conversatio7is, that the more physic w^e give the more we must give to produce the same results, but I know also that we thereby luear out the animal. 8. Another, rather ancient, mode of compounding- aloes has been lately tried, with the best results, as reg-ards mildness of purgation and copiousness of stool. Takje of aloes q. s. and reduce to powder — if in winter, this operation is easily performed ; spiinkle the same with strong infusion of roses, the pale variety being preferred ; diy it in the shade, sprinkle again, and dry once more, when it will be ready for use. The infusion of roses must be stroyig, and is made by repeatedly (thrice) adding fresh rose leaves to the former infusion each time, after letting it stand twenty-four hours. Attenuants. Medicines are so called that thin the blood, and induce the humours to run off; in which man- ner of acting the diluents may be considered as attenuants also. Water is a good natural attenuant ; it follows, of course, that denial of water must occasion the blood to thicken. Nitre powdered, and given with the corn, cools 246 APPENDIX : the kidneys and produces urine by a directly different mode of operating than aloes and soap — the one irrita- ting, the other allaying the disordered action of those organs. Bleeding also attenuates. No. 1 . Nitre • 4 drachms, Camphor 1 drachm, Aniseed 10 drops, with meal and mucilage to form the ball for one dose : give two or three days, successively. No. 2. Nitre 2 drachms. Honey 2 oz. mix in white water, and give twice or three times a-day. Good for a troublesome cough. No. 3. Sea-onion, fresh 5 oz. Vinegar 3 lb. Simmer these a day and night in a warm chimney- corner in a close vessel ; press out the liquor, and after it becomes clear of faeculencies, add of Rectified spirits 6 oz. Excellent in all affections of the lungs, and diuretic also. Ayls. The vulgar pronunciation of Oyls^ a favourite remedy, as they chose to think it, among the old farriers ; but which, in nine cases out of ten, destroyed the parts to which the mixture was applied, without raising a blister, though occasioning pimples and rough coat. It was composed of nearly equal quantities of oil of vitriol, oil of turpentine, and linseed oil. Balls. The favourite mode of giving physic of any kind to the horse, and should be made up as they are wanted, as their virtues decay by long keeping, and the aromatics and spices, with which the nauseous part of the prescription is disguised, lose their scent. We employ bullocks' bladder to obviate this deterioration, and may mention three or four days to ten days or a fortnight, as the extent at which we may safely reckon upon their virtues. Under the article Aloes, I have described the manner of casting purging-balls of that material. Bandaging, [See Lotion; and consult Index.] AYLS — BILIOUS PILLS. 247 Bark. All the barks of trees are found to possess a tonic quality, the Peruvian being the finest, the best got, and in most general use. But cascarilla is found to have stronger powers, and therefore preferable in horse medicine. Although some affect to question the effect of bark on the horse, no doubt remains that these and all bitter vegetable productions have a tonic quality, and are to be preferred before the preparations from mineral substances. The dose varies from ^ of an ounce to double that quantity, requires perseverance, is chiefly desirable after fever or internal inflammation, and should be given in a drench, if it be required to operate upon the stomach. But they obviate this by making- the ball of easily solvent materials. [See Tonics.] Barley, when sodden, and given to working horses, according to the practice in Norfolk, has been proved highly advantageous as to the condition of the horses, as well as regards the expense; even when the best samples are used at high prices. Estimating oats at 16s. and barley at 20s. a saving of £179 was effected in one year upon thirty- three horses fed on sodden barley ; to say nothing of the time so saved daily in taking their meals, nor of the fact that old horses of twelve or fourteen years, or more, that would /«// off'in condition upon oats, for want of teeth to grind that corn, would live on for years longer on sodden barley. Another consideration for the agriculturist is this — after bad seasons, when the sample of barley turns out dingy, is burst, ill got in, or otherwise uncalculated to fetch a good price at market, it does equally well for the horses as if it were ever so bright, full, and heavy. The Excise people, however, dislike the wetting of barley, as it opens the door to fraud by malt-makers taking- advantage hereby of evading the duty. Bilious Pills for the groo7Jiy to cleanse his stomach, Slc. after feeding too much. Extract of colocynth 1 drachm. Hard soap 1 scruple, J alap • • • 1 scruple, 248 APPENDIX : Gum-guiacum • 4 scruples, Tartarized antimony 4 grains, Oil of caraway 10 drops, mixed with syrup of buckthorn, to make thirty pills ; two are a dose. Bleeding has been often spoken of, as being fre- quently undertaken unnecessarily. Refer to Index, under this word, and Pulse, and recollect never to bleed unless you can assign some satisfactory reason for the operation. The heat under the tongue is a good indica- tion of its propriety ; as is, also, fulness of blood, when the artery can scarcely be felt by reason of the patient being thick-skinned, as is the case with the lower descriptions of horses — which seldom require bleeding. Most heavy animals also evince the necessity of bleeding by the anxious manner of the eyes ; the conjunctiva being swollen, and feels rigid on the touch. Taking blood may be pronounced improper whenever there is a running at the nose — of any kind ; always harmful when a tumour is present on the surface. Blistering. As an application for drawing off internal inflammation to the surface, this remedy has been spoken of at various times, in the foregoing pages, as much superior to rowelling, or setons, the efl[icacy whereof have been justly doubted : as regards the better bred horse, these methods are totally inapplicable. Blistering has never been employed in the form of plaster, that I have heard of, though I see no reason why, unless it be the difficulty of devising effectual bandages, in which service the people of the stables are usually so inexpert. Therefore should the operator guard the hand with bladder in the vigorous application of any of the following — Blister Ointments. The mildest receives the term '* embrocation" from the effects being apparently less severe, viz. No. 1 . Flour of mustard • 6 oz. Water to mix to the consistency of paste ; that is to say, the mustard of the cuHnary art. BLEEDING — BLISTER OINTMENTS. 2-kO This maybe converted into a mild blister by adding Oil of turpentine ..•••» 2 oz. Water of pure ammonia 1 oz. ; mix, and apply to the sides, the chest, or to the region of the kidneys, as either may be affected ; always performing" this part of the office with much assiduity. No. 2. Lyttae, powdered, 4 drachms, Venice turpentine 1 oz. Hog's lard ...... 4 oz. ; mix for one application. No. 3, Oil of tui-pentine • • 1 oz. Vitriolic acid* 2 drachms, to be poured care- fully on the turpentine, in an open place, then add LyttaB, powdered, • • 6 drachms, Hog's lard 4 oz. ; mix. As it sometimes is thought adviseable, after rubbing on the ointment, to plaster on a portion with the knife, melt wax 2 oz- then mix it with the turpentine first, and add the other ingredients subsequently, as they stand in order, and reducing the quantity of lard to 2 oz. The next form, which is still stronger, may also be rendered more consistent by the addition of wax. No. 4. Barbadoes tar •• .•....! oz. Oil of bay 2 oz. Mercurial ointment 1 oz. Lyttse, powdered 1 oz. ; mix. Either of the forgoing are adapted for reducing swel- lings of the back sinews and other lameness occasioned by hard w^ork, strains, and bruises, after the inflamma- tion at the part has a little subsided. Repetition will be necessary, in general, for spavin, windgall, and curb ; and for these, as well as every other part, the hair should be clipped close. Remember that the flies (lyttce of the three last formulae) be very well powdered, and sifted, as much depends on the intimate admixture of this main principle of blistering. When the pimples rise, the horse will endeavour to bite the parts, which, if permitted, would raise an indelible blemish, besides blis- M 3 250 APPENDIX r tering the lips : let him be tied up short, or wear a cradle ; with the t^vo following, this precaution is impe- ratively necessary, by reason of the exceedingly great irritability of the ingredients, without which quality they would ill perform the object sought by the application — namely, to remove ringbone, splent, bone-spavin, or other enlargement of bones. No. 5. Mercurial ointment 3 oz. Oil of origanum 3 drachms, Euphorbium, powdered 3 drachms, Lyttae, powdered 4 drachms ; mix. No. 6. Mercurial ointment (old and strong) 3 oz. Corrosive sublimate, levigated .2 oz. Oil of origanum 2 drachms, Lyttae, powdered 6 drachms ; mix, and use with caution. Both these last have the effect of destroying the hair permanently ; an unsightly blemish we must submit to, if we would preserve the services of the horse. No. 7. Take of the preceding, and dissolve the subli- mate in Nitric acid 2 oz. ; then add the other ingredients, and you have as strong a blister-ointment as can be required for reducing the en- largement of bones just spoken of. *^* All these prescriptions should be prepared with great care, the Jiies requiring to be veiy finely powdered and well incorporated ; whilst the effervescence of the acids must be guarded against by the compounder. The patient's bed must be shook out, and covered afresh, in order to guard against the small portions of blister-oint- ment which may fall upon it, and raise a blister on the body where it may not be required. Blue Pill (The). [See Mercury.] Bran-Mash. [See White Water, No. 2.] Broken Knees. Whenever this accident occurs, or whatever the quantity of damage inflicted, a great con- tusion has taken place, although the skin be scarcely BROKEN KNEES— CAMPHOR. 251 abraded. Therefore is it very desirable that remedies be appUed as soon as possible, and that the horse is laid up at rest immediately, for some of the reasons adduced in Conv. ii. ; where we discussed the trivial cause of permanent lamene&s in the higher breed of horses, to whom every act of progression is then exceedingly detrimental. Brushes and the curry-comb have been spoken of (pages 22 and 201), and to which let me add the follow^ ing account of a newly-invented one, for the utility whereof I cannot vouch at present. Horse-Brush. A pamphlet, published at Paris, by M. Go'etz, recommends a substitute, of his invention, for the twist of straw commonly used in dressing horses. The brush, which the inventor dignifies with the title of brosse hygienique, is an imitation of the kaffah brush of the Arabs. It is composed of a tissue of horse-hair, enfolding a pad of the same material, banked by thin iron plates, and covered with varnished leather. It is, moreover, furnished with a strap across, the width of the back, like an ordinary brush. The web which covers the pad, which is equally flexible and strong, it is averred, pene- trates the hair and to the hide of the animal better than any other instrument, and removes all foreign substances, however minute. The size is the same as the usual horse-brush, covers an equal portion of the surface at a time, clears out all the cavities, in passing over them, and, on this account, accelerates the process of dressing. Calomel. [See Mercury.'] Camphor. This gum is one of the best articles employed in veterinary medicine, on account, chiefly, of its anti- spasmodic quality, which it effects by allaying the heat and irritation of which the horse is remar- kably susceptible, wherefore it is employed in arresting the progress of excessive purgation. It acts upon the skin, also ; and, in the form of a tincture, given in gruel, is anti-septic : a quality it must derive as much •25^ APPfiNDl^C: from the warmth of the spirit as to the complete solution it thus undergoes ; for be it known that (notwithstanding the brief eulogy just pronounced) scarcely any medicine turns so completely round upon the slovenly compounder, who should administer the camphor before it be fully dissolved, and thereby farther excite the already inflamed stomach and bowels, instead of alleviating the pain. But the spirits of wine, which it is necessary to use in all preparations of camphor, for its solution, being for the most part incompatible with the purposes for which it is administered, must be used sparingly; and particularly in cases of inflamed rectum and excessive purging, in which I have employed it as a sedative addition to the clysters that then become needful, a few drops of the spirit must sufl&ce ; and then pound the camphor in a mucilage of accacia. If over-dosed, the patient will be thereby submitted to great danger; the weak inside and tender horses being least benefited by the exhibition of this excellent medicine ; as will, also, such as have been much reduced by disease, by misusage, or by old age. To this latter circumstance let us in charitj' attribute the failure of camphor reported to us by Bracy Clark : the stomach of an animal that awaits the knacker's axe being ill calculated to make a fair experiment upon. A herb, serving the purpose of camphor, is obscurely mentioned for its opiate virtues by some writers, and which the sagacious animal would, no doubt, select while in a state of nature. This, however, I apprehend is no other than the lettuce, mentioned below under that head. Camphoretted Spirits, for strains, bruises, inter- fering, and swellings. When applied immediately, the solution of camphor, in spirits of wine, will be found suffi- cient to repel a slight accident, which, if neglected, and the horse is worked on, renders blistering necessary. I have reason to think, that when horses in training fall lame on the downs, the instant application of cam- / CAMPHORETTED SPIRITS— CASTOR. 253 phoretted spirits would alleviate, if not effectually remove, the lameness, in a short time, provided they put up to rest awhile. No. 1 . Camphor 1 oz. Spirits of wine 2 oz. dissolves at once. But the employment of soap, as it adds to the con- sistency of this embrocation, enables the operator to use much rubbing, which is itself a good aid in re- ducing the swelling, the heat and the pain ; therefore, to No. 2. Camphoretted spirit as above ; add Soft soap 2 oz. Solution of ammonia • • 1 oz. ; mix, or increase its poAver by the addition of Oil of turpentine 1 oz. Cover the part, usually the leg, and oftenest of the back sinew, walk him to stable, or, being there, let him rest awhile. See to his evacuations ; give a purging ball ; and, if a very bad case, recourse must be bad to the fleam. When the patient is found somewhat reco- vered, and not before, give him a loose stable ; vary his diet, if you do not completely adopt the cooling regimen. A little walking exercise, in hand, is serviceable as the lameness goes off. 2. A very small variation of the above materials produces that very useful domestic application, opodeldoc, which may be employed instead of either of the fore- going, with advantage, on high-bred cattle of thin skin, and, therefore, very sensitive. Camphor 1 oz. Hard soap « . . . . 4 oz. Oil of rosemary » 2 ^z. Rectified spirit 8 oz. ; pound the soap, and mix with the spirit ; dissolve the camphor therein, and mix. Apply, extensively, twice or thiee times the day of the accident, and subsequently. Castor Oil. Recommended in cases of dangerous constipation, to precede bleeding ; as, also, in severe in- flammation of the inside, to follow bleeding, when the 254 appendix: exhibition of aloes would perpetrate farther mischief. In other respects castor oil is not an eligible medicine. The dose is from one pint to two pints. When delay would endanger the horse's life, as happens when he tumbles down though hardness of the dung", causing staggers, olive oil, i. e. salad oil, may be substituted in larger quantity by one-half. Clyster. These are either laxative, or sedative, or simply emollient, and the basis of all is thin water- gruel, milk warm ; though, for the latter purpose, when the rectum requires only to be softened and soothed, warm water may sufl&ce ; as it must, also, when the danger to be apprehended from hardened fceces is immi- nent, and delay would be ruinous. Laxative clysters are rendered so by the addition of table salt, or Epsom salts, to thin water-gruel, or any purgative — as aloes in solution. The sedative clyster acquires this quality by adding to Thin water-gruel « 3 quarts. Camphor 4 drachms : inject. The camphor will give out its anodyne quality by the heat of the gruel alone ; but where spirits of wine is at hand, a few drops readily procure complete solution, and when any of the lump remains, in either case, the animal may be figged with it. If the camphor offend the gut, it will be expulsed in a few seconds, and need not be lost. [See Camphor. '\ A bullock's bladder and pipe is the usual mean of injecting clysters ; but I hear of an eligible instrument being offered for sale in the form of a syringe * Cold Lotion. [See Lotion.] Colic may be relieved by employing a clyster, as fol- lows : — Oil of turpentine 4 oz. The yolk of two eggs, beat up — mix, and add to. Thin water-gruel 3 quarts : inject. Colt's Foot Decoction, for curing cough, cold in the lungs, hoarseness, and other affections of the throat CLYSTER— CORDIALS. 255 and chest. The colt's foot leaves, gathered in May and dried, will be found to remove any such affection, to which the people about stables are very liable in the in the winter season. Let the leaves be made in a pot, same manner as tea, and kept simmering a few hours ; sweeten with coarse sugar, and sip it, cold or warm, ten or a dozen times a day. If ten drops of paregoric elixir, i. e. opium, be added to a table-spoonful of the decoction, the most troublesome cough is removed by it. I have not attended to the administering of this safe and admirable simple to the horse ; but in a case of catarrhal inflammation, I rely upon the report made to me of its complete success. Cooling Decoction, called also the linseed decoction. Linseed 3 pints. Water, boiling hot 6 quarts, poured on the seeds, and let it simmer five or six hours ; then pour off, and add honey ten ounces, or brown sugar double that weight, and give at three or four drenches in the course of the day. Repeat, if need be. But if the patient droops, and is off his feed, evidently from the effects of this cooling lotion, add thereto, of bitter extractive — as much as he will take freely, i. e. without refusing the linseed; or, more readily, the Extract from hops 2 oz. or more : mix the hops w^ith the linseed before adding the water. Cooling Regimen. [See Regimen.] Cordials. Enough has been already said of this class of medicines ; one entire day having been devoted to a conversation on the abuses of cordials, as w^ell as their proper employment. In the form of balls is the ordinary manner of giving cordials ; but, as they are given invariably almost with the intention of restoring the tone of the stomach, (i. e. its appetite,) and to invi- gorate the animal, this would not seem the most eligible form were it not for the facility with which the materials dissolve. 256 APPENDIX J No. 1 . Carraway seeds, "i Aniseeds, I powdered, each, 3 oz. Cummin seeds, J Ginger 2 oz. Oil of cloves 20 drops ; mix with syrup, enough to form into four balls. No. 2. Ginger, powdered 2 oz. Carraway seeds, powdered 4 oz. Oil of carraway ^ 1 drachm, Oil of aniseed 1 drachm. Liquorice powder 4 oz. ; mix, with honey or treacle enough to form the mass into five balls. No. 3. Liquorice powder 1 oz. Gum ammoniac • • • • 6 drachms. Balsam of tolu • . • 3 drachms. Powdered squills • 2 drachms ; mix with balsam of sulphur, for two balls. 2. Cordial Drenches, medicinally compounded, would prove extremely inconvenient to carry about, as most travellers, and thorough good fox-hunters, do the cordial ball ; nor are they so elegant a form for administering as the latter : but whoever is at a loss for this class of medicines when his horse knocks up, or is worked off his food, will aways find it in a quart of strong ale or beer, a bottle of sherry, or any article of that kind, made warm, with an ounce of powdered ginger in it. Another of those " always ready" things is the White Water, No. 5 ; a ball or quantity in mass being supposed to be always at hand. It is, in truth, one of the best remains of the old school, judiciously used. [See, also. Daffy's Elixir ; and Cordials, in Index.] Crib-biting has been spoken of (page 137-9) as a vice that is to be overcome by management and gentle usage, rather than the application of the strap, or any of the old specifics, which were ascertained to be utterly worthless. However, since those pages went to press we have seen the apparatus of Mr. Yare, and attended at his Hippological Stables, in Dean-street, Soho, CRIB-BlTlNG— daffy's ELIXIR. 257 where he carries on the cure of that whole class of vices which has received the term crib-biting , with the hap- piest result, in the permanent reformation of every horse so affected that has been submitted to his care. We are free to admit that Mr. Yare proceeds with his operations upon just principles, which cannot fail to succeed. He is, in fact, an inventor in the truest sense of the word, and is fully entitled to the benefit of his invention, for a few years, at least. His apparatus, which he calls the Anti-crib-biter, is very ingeniously contrived ; it is sold by most saddlers in town, and is well adapted for horses that waste their corn, destroy their clothing, or are vicious biters. The price is two guineas ; or the entire cure is undertaken for five pounds and the keep. Daffy's Elixir is frequently given to the horse as a cordial, but sometimes very improperly so, though drowned in a large potion of oatmeal-gruel. But for man — the groom himself, who may have been exposed to the rough elements, to cold, or is griped after such exposure, or after taking green vegetables ; or if he become costive in winter time, then Daffy's Elixir is to him a veritable cordial and purgative, that has a thousand recommenda- tions. If he be aged, habituated to dram-drinking, or unhappily shiver after being out, (and no prospect of a stool that day,) let him take a table spoonful of the following- : — Infusion of senna 3 oz. Tincture of senna 3 drachms. Tincture of jalap 4 drachms, Tartrate of potass 1 drachm, Syrup of senna 4 drachms ; mix, and give the horse, if given at all, in oatmeal- gruel. [Vide White Water, No. 4.] N.B. The in- fusion should occupy a week : let it stand (in an earthen vessel) simmering in the chimney-corner : the tinctures are made of brandy, in which the senna, &c. are to be concocted a few days, and then the infusion being mixed with the decoctions, forms the so much boasted Daffy s Elixir. 258 APPENDIX : Diaphoretics, i. e. Sweating Balls and Powders, which see. Diapente. A stomachic powder that is given in the corn, but, when the horse will not take it so, it may be mixed in a quart of white wine, or ale, and given in a horn warm. Myrrh, "J Gentian, v i» u i j i Bayberies, > of each! oz, powdered. Berth worth, J Sometimes is added, Ivory filings 1 oz. Digestive Ointment, for sores. Turpentine • 5 oz. Mutton kidney-fat A oz.; melt over a moderate fire ; and, when nearly cold, stir in, with a wooden instrument. Red precipitate, powdered. • • • 2 oz. ; mix well. Diuretics. Alterative medicines that stimulate the kidneys to secrete urine ; though not always advisable when these organs are already too much stimulated, and, if greatly so, must prove ruinous, as was before said, when speaking of the Urinary passages. The powder. No. 1, however, is calculated to allay any un- due stimulation, whilst it is equally calculated to reduce swdlings of the legs, grease, &c. No. 1 . Camphor 5 drachms. Nitre 3 oz. ; mix for four doses, and give one powder per day. No. 2. Yellow resin, powdered, 2 oz. Nitre 2 oz. ; mix for four doses, as before. No. 3. Powdered resin 2 oz. Hard soap 6 drachms. Prepared soda, powdered, 1 oz. Liquorice powder .... 4 drachms, Barbadoes tar, sufficient to make the whole into six balls, one to be given daily. If given too strong, diuretics stimulate the bowels DIAPENTE — DIURETICS. 259 and pass off by stool, leaving* the kidneys unaffected. This is eminently the case with tiwpentine, (the oil,) which, given to the amount of three or four drachms daily, (made into balls with meal,) is gently diuretic, whereas double that quantity loosens the bowels at once. So do the preparations of nitre go off in a similar manner. The natural diuretics, which it is probable the horse would pick up in the fields, if all grasses have not a tendency to cool his animal system, and thus promote the urinary secretions, are those we have classed under the cooling regimen, page 275. These have this one great recommendation to preference over the medicinal diuretics, namely, — as those stimulate the kidneys to action, and being given to excess tend to ruin this func- tion of those very susceptible glands, so do the natural green diuretics achieve the same good by lowering the excitement raised by the medicines, and cause the water to pass off of a paler colour than hitherto may have been observable. Dutch Drops. Very eligible for recent incised wounds, and broken knees. It is nothing more than the residue left in the still after the purification of oil of turpentine by redistillation — when the one acquires the new title of " spirits of turpentine," the other is " balsam of turpen- tine," or Dutch drops. Embrocation. Stimulating external applications, nexx in order to blistering. See Camphoretted Spirits. The mustard embrocation, at page 248, is an excellent re- medy for drawing pain from the interior to the surface, for strains, and for dispersing swellings. Expectorants were referred to at page 193, &c. as calculated to relieve affections of the windpipe: this good may be brought about either by a sedative or by causing the fluid secretion to pass off by the bladder. Ball No. I . Camphor 1 drachm, Aromatic powder 1^ drachm, Balsam of tolu • 1 drachm. S60 APPENDIX : Sea onion, powdered • • • • 1 drachm; mix with honey enough to make one ball. No. 2. Gum ammoniac • • • 4 drachms. Sea onion, powdered • • • • 1 drachm, Hard soap • 2 drachms ; mix with honey enough for one ball. Fever-Powders. These are all preparations of anti- mony, or, rather, the same under various names. See Antimony. Previous to giving either, the febrile excite- ment must be reduced by laxatives. No. 1. Emetic tartar 1 and \ drachms, once or twice a day for a week or ten days. If the heat be great give No. 2. Unwashed calx of antimony* '2 drachms, Nitre, powdered 1 drachm, mix, and give once a day for a week. Should the bowels be disordered, change the admixture to No. 3. Powdered nitre 2 drachms, Emetic tartar 3 drachms, Camphor 2 drachms, mix for two doses. This, although the strongest, will rest easiest. Give for three or four days. If the form of the ball be more desirable, employ linseed-meal and syrup for that purpose. Those are essentially the same as Dr. James s fever powders, so long- celebrated in human practice, but which we find m'Q not made up according to the specification. Although slow in operation, those powders show their good effects on the skin of the animal, and this points out the neces- sity of clothing the sick horse, particularly about the belly, whilst the physic is in him. Fomentations. These are a well known warm external application, in the manner of a bath, to the limbs mostly. Simple water applied by means of hot flannels repeatedly wetted therein, is found to alleviate, if not to remove, by relaxing, the diseased action of the parts. But its virtue is increased by using marshmallows an armful, FEVER-POWDERS — GROOMS' DISEASES. 261 boiled for an hour or two, when the mallows may be applied in portions, instead of using flannels. If a disposition to gangrene is ascertained, add to the last mentioned of camphoretted spirits and muriate of ammo- nia, 4 ounces each. For a bruise, with swelling, the application of beer-grounds, or what the porter-dealers term bottoms, made warm, is a sovereign remedy. If this could be retained by bandaging, after being thick- ened very stiff with oatmeal, made into " shoemaker's paste," (which has a bit of rosin in it,) its efficacy is greatly enhanced. See Poultice. The time occupied in a fomentation should be above half an hour ; the heat should be above 1 00 degrees of the thermometer, and the final fomentations increased up to 120 degrees. Green Fooc? has been referred to as proper, as a cooling regimen, under various circumstances, and would be taken to mean something else than grass, when the supply of this general verdure falls short. In this volume the colour was less considered than the state of this natural restorative as regarded the dried food, as oats, hay, beans ; they are enumerated under the article Regimen, and a necessity exists for their being gathered fresh, or they sadly disappoint the hopes with which they are prescribed. To this end, a piece of land near the stables (if of sufficient importance) should be set apart for raising the early and fresh supplies of each in succession, except the roots, which do not suffer by coming from a distance ; carrots in parti- cular, which are always acceptable to every horse, whether prescribed for him or not; as, when we would ingratiate ourselves into his esteem, or would coax him, rather than bully him, into compliance with some neces- sary operation. Grooms' Diseases. 1. Under " Daffy's Elixir," I have already supposed one of the most general causes of disorder to such men as are much abroad, in all ivea- thers, and prescribed the elixir for it by way of ready cure. But there are other and various ways in which 9® APPENDIX: men placed in these situations are exposed to ailments that may be got rid of, or prevented from making head, by using one or other of those approved remedies to which I am about to refer. 2. He is very liable to taste too many of the good thing's of this life, or too much of some one or more of them : then let him take the ^^ Anti- Bilious Pills," (prescribed in a preceding page, 247,) ac- cording to the directions. 3. Is he subject to costiveness? He cannot do better than take, of an evening, a small pill of the aloes directed to be casted at page 243, of the size of a grey pea, but not too often. 4. Is he troubled with an habitual cough, he should put a lozenge into his mouth occasionally — always, indeed, at going out in raw weather. 5. A cold in the chest, in the throat, a hoarseness, and a cough, caught by exposing the neck, is much alleviated by sipping frequently of decoction of Colt's foot, and refraining from strong beer, spirits, wine, and things of that nature ; it may be cured, radi- cally, by a continuance of the same simple means, and immediate relief from cough, and rest may be obtained at night by adding thereto the opium mentioned at p. 255. (Paregoric elixir.) Has he the lumbago, a few drops of " Turlington's Balsam" removes it at the second taking, nearly ; should this not succeed, then 'tis not true lumbago, but old age, which afflicts our groom and huntsman, and he must give in, ride no more, prepare to meet Tom Moody, and be content with the life and runs he has enjoyed so long. 7. If, instead of thus *' cutting his stick," he may have cut his hand or foot, or , Dutch Drops is the thing he may rely on for a speedy cure. 8. Do the boys, or the lads of the stables, get kicked, bruised, or contract chilblains, let him then mix Opodeldoc, as we have directed under the head of Camphoretted Spirits, page 253. Harness-Preserver. Durability and pliancy may be augmented in harness, traces, and other stout leather articles, by paying it all over with the composition we have termed the preserver. Take of Neat's-foot-oil 2 quarts, HARNESS-PRESERVER — HAY AND GRASS. 263 Russian-tallow • 3 pounds, Hogs' lard 5 pounds, Bees' wax • • • • 6 ounces, mix, by melting- and simmering until it is reduced to an homogeneous mass ; when the heat is gone off, add a pound and a half of spirits of turpentine, in which India rubber, 3 ounces, has been dissolved. Hay. Almost every one who has the care of horses is so good a judge of hay, that it would seem super- fluous to describe the fragrant, fine, upland grown grasses as the best for this kind of dry provender ; and, indeed, for the better description of horses, any other would prove destructive, by inflaming the bowels, unless precautions be taken to counteract the effects of coarse or ill-gotten samples. We have spoken to the same pur- port at various times in our Conversations, (see Index,) and now enter upon further details. 2. If the hay given to horses were manufactured only of the grasses which they would eat in the field, no harm could ensue, as far as health is concerned ; whilst the advantage of housing, in unfavourable seasons would be added to the certainty of a belly full when no grass can be found. But it happens, that many grasses of very different qualities compose the dried article which ac- quires the general name of hay, some of which our high- bred horses reject altogether, whilst others are abso- lutely deleterious to the tender, the valetudinary, and the irritable of our first, second, and fourth classes of horses (page 124). At grass, the horse leaves many of these behind un- touched; the famed daisy and gilded cup having no attractions for his palate ; but, when the mower comes, he humbles the whole produce of the field in one com- mon mass, and the drie'd provender is served up to the horse of every temperament, and under all circum- stances, for his ordinary food. But it not unfrequently happens, that such hay is, moreover, ill got, that is to say, it retains too much succulence in the stalks, which, 264 appendix: to be sure, produces a fermentation that, in some mea- sure, corrects the original objection. 3. Mow-burnt is the natural operation just alluded to, and if not extending so far as to decompose the finer particles of grass, reduces the rougher fibres to mellowness, and renders the hay more palatable to some horses, though we believe not so to all hay-feeding animals alike. 'Tis true, that mow-burnt (or rick- burnt) hay, occasions the horse to crave for water more than lie would when fed on bright hay, and therefore renders it an improper quality to be given to the second ciass of horses, (see page 124;) whilst, on the con- trar)% for horses of the fourth class, " suspected of small stomach," which we would distend, no better means can be employed to attain that end, than giving this same mow-burnt hay salted, and, upon his craving for it, as much water as he v.ill take. 4. Mow-burnt hay, however, as well as that which is rank, coarse, or otherwise ill-gotten, may be so far gone, as to become the harbinger of diseases without end ; the former having lost all its succulence, the latter hard of digestion, and offensive. In frequent instances w^e have already noted the evils to which these give rise, and will not here repeat them. A further corrective of such ill-gotten hay is found in the free use of salt, and salting it by the process described under the head of Salt — paragraph 3. 5. White clover, or any of the trefoils, are good cheering fodder for a short time, to be given to horses convalescent from visceral inflammation, or fever. Its quality of putting on flesh, or superinducing pursiveness, is no discommendation to a weak and yet ailing animal — to whom change of diet and coaxing to eat, is desirable. Indeed, the great succulence of some grasses, and plants, and roots, are their greatest recommendation in all such cases, however we may doubt the propriety of giving them for a continuance in full health. Speaking of the natural verdure of the earth, a late traveller in Switzer- HAY — HYDROPHOBIA. 265 land says, ^' It is not grass, nor is it turf, 'tis neither green sward nor old sward, but an endless variety of salad throughout." So that what we may deem the only proper grasses are not indispensable altogether. Hydrophobia. The popular name for canine mad- ness, (rabies canina,) in every stage, but which would only be properly applied when this has reached to the symptom of dreadiiig loater. Up to the present writing, (June 1828,) no specific for the cure of this disorder has been discovered; excision of the bitten part not being always an equally efficacious preventive of the genuine disease in man or beast ; so that the best we can do, as regards it, is avoidance, and watching the approach of rabies in its earliest stages. Horses, more than any other animals, are the objects of attack from the more ferocious kind of dogs in street or road, whilst in the stable and yard, the most sociable dogs, being infected, fly at their old friends and companions with blind fury and snappish manner. But when this happens, the infor- mation is worth being treasured in our memory, that the horse does not seek to propagate the dreadful malady, nor is his bite infectious, as the following case will go to prove. Mr. R. proprietor of a short stage, having a pointer in his stables at Paddington, the creature was ascertained to have gone mad, and was shot, in August, 1824. A few days after, one of his stage-horses being- ill, and the doctor, not knowing aught of the case, ordered a ball, which Mr. R. was in the act of adminis- tering, when the horse bit the balHng-iron and Mr. R.'s hand so dreadfully, as to cause serious apprehensions of the result. Nothing has come of this accident, how- ever, to the sufferer, though the animal beat itself to death the same day, and three other horses on the same work were subsequently lost in a similar manner. Mr. Huzard, who has written, in France, three large volumes on Veterinary Medicine, claims to be the first who noted that horses, sheep, and cows, do not commu- nicate this appalling disorder. Camphor has been tried N 266 APPENDIX : in a well marked case of rabies, with complete success, as we hear. The dose is, for the Jirst day, Camphor 1 J drachms, Spirits of wine 2 fluid drachms, dis- solve the camphor herein, and rub down in acacia mucilage : give in Water-gruel 2 quarts, twice a day. Increase the quantity of camphor by half a drachm each day, until the dose reaches three drachms. Laxatives y as before hinted under the head of Alte- ratives and Aloes, (pages 237, 239,) are commonly purgatives divided in small doses, and given daily. This mode of evacuating the bowels is most eligible for horses vAih. tender insides. The subject has been spoken of at large, under Aloes, Green Food, Physic^ and Purgatives. Consult Index. Ball No. 1 . Aloes 2 drachms. Calomel • 15 grains, Hard soap 2 drachms, Oil of carraway • • • 20 drops ; mix for one ball. No. 2. Domestic salt 4 oz. Water-gruel, luarm. enough to dissolve it, Salad oil 6 oz. ; mix for one drench. No. 3. Laxative drench to loosen the body previous to bleeding, when the dung is un- common hard, as, also, in febrile disorders : — Castor oil 1 pint to 1^ pints. Lettuces. The white and red cos lettuce have been raised on a large scale, by the drill husbandry culture, as food for swine, and particularly for suckling sows. The lettuce contains a good portion of the principle of opium, which a druggist in London (Mr. Battley, of Fore-street) extracts, and sells under the name of seda- tive liquor of opium. With this recommendation as a vegetable sedative, its services as an adjunct in the cool- LAXATIVES— LOTIONS. 267 iny regimen is no longer doubtful ; though we have yet had no opportunity of trying- the lettuce on a large scale, nor alone, no difficulty exists in coming to the conclu- sion, that it may be used with advantage, when to be procured in sufficient quantities at clearing away of any extensive kitchen garden-ground, which generally occurs most opportunely when visceral inflammation is most prevalent — namely, towards the end of the summer. [See Hay^ paragraph 5.] Linseed Decoction. [See Cooling Decoctio?!.] Lotions. The cold lotion for sprains and bruises, most readily procured by ordinary people, is vinegar, which may be applied alone by rubbing the parts; but which may be rendered still more effectual thus ; — No. 1 . Vinegar 4 ounces, Goulard's extract • • • • 2 ounces, Water 1 pint ; mix, and apply well. Cover the parts ; and in two hours repeat the same ; then soak a cloth, or the end of a bandage, two yards, or more in length, and the width of three or four fingers, in the lotion ; pass it round the leg (let us suppose) spirally from the lower part up- wards, and make fast above a joint with a pin or a stitch. Should any difficulty occur in keeping up the bandage upon a leg, employ wide tapes passed across the withers, &c. or made fast to the breasting or cloth, which may be girthed on for the purpose of affording this assistance, though not otherwise required. See Vi- negar. If the horse evince increased uneasiness, open and rub the leg ; at least, let it be looked at in four or five hours, and replaced. When the part becomes very cold, as it will, — add to the above — in proportion, Camphoretted spirits 4 ounces, Mix and apply as before. For cleansing old ulcers, take. No. 2. Nitrous acid 4 drachms, Copperas 1 ounce, Water . • 8 ounces ; mix. Mangel -Wiirzel, now tolerably well known on all N 2 268 APPENDIX. larg-e dairy farms, is a root of some size, introduced here about the year 1788, as the ^' root of scarcity," by Dr. Lettsom. Whatever its succulent recommendation may be for milch kine, to whom they give it three or four times a-week, in times of scarcity, it never can be presented to horses of any breeding, however prepared by sweating the roots, (i. e. trenching-,) without some peril, though I find that farm-horses have taken small portions and escaped. 2. Since the foregoing was written, I hear of the root being employed in foddering working horses, by Mr. Evans, of Caermarthen. His were the hardy horses of the prin- cipality, which, he says, are never treated with corn ; and the reverend gentleman contrived to keep his faithful servants even without hay occasionally, by substituting a mixture of this root and straw, salted with brine. [See Salt^l Further, we find that mangel-wurzel root is used as a substitute for carrots, when these fall short : thus verifying a claim to its second title as " the root of scarcity," It should, however, be very well sweated for the horse, and then not given for several days in succession, nor alone any day. The tops are exceedingly succulent ; are used as a pottage, by man, instead of spinach, which it much resembles ; and is also given largely to cows, sheep, and swine. Mercury. The quicksilver of the shops is too well known to require description. Bright, ponderous, and cheap, adulteration or mistake in the purchase is not probable. Powerfully solvent of animal matter, in every form of administering it, much caution must be em- ployed in using this mineral, — the mildest being, as cor- rosive sublimate, rubbed into the flanks or inside of the legs, for affections of the skin, for glanders and farcy, to the amount of two drachms, per day : but, being a rank poison, must be employed with care by unskilful persons, who should be advised to begin with less than half that quantity, to watch its progressive effects, and to guard against accidents. For example, when so applied, the pa- tient's head should be kept up in a cradle, or haltered short, MERCURY. 269 especially when applied to broken knees, or old ulcers that he can easily reach with his mouth. Again, whenever mercury is given internally, a clyster should be injected, as well as when 'tis found necessary to rub in the sub- limate for a long time, whereby the stomach and bowels are frequently affected, and the animal droops his head, \i very bad and salivated, discontinue the mercury and give aloes, three or four drachms, unless the bowels be already loose and the rectum affected ; in which case, instead of aloes give opium, from half a drachm to one drachm, in a ball, and inject a clyster of warm gruel, in which camphor, two drachms, is dissolved, or the lump inserted at the part. [See Camphor.] When the horse is put upon a course of mercury , in any form, he should be well kept, on nutritious diet, without any green food, and none of the warm water or other liquids so strongly recommended by the doctors ; as the first will gripe the bowels, and the warm mashes are insufficient to keep up his stamina, under the operation of this particular physic ; though this practice be proper enough with every kind of medicine besides. Another rule to be observed on giving mercury is, that the legs be assi- duously hand-rubbed daily, and the patient kept clothed, especially about the body : but not with the thick woollen material mistakenly employed by most grooms. In sum- mer, stout linen body-clothes, hood, and neck-piece are sufficient, unless the course of mercury has been con- tinued three or four weeks, when a rug may be added outside. The horse should also be partially stripped, wiped down well, and reelothed, piece by piece, beginning with the hood : walking exercise is all the work he should be put to. Caloynel is the prevailing form in which this mineral is employed in horse medicine, because of its supposed mildness in operating ; though we find the muriate of mercury, as PilulcB Hydrargyri, or blue pill, equally efficacious, when employed as alterative medicine, in doses of half a drachm, and given with aloes, about half the usual quantity. But, when so employed, the prefer- 270 APPENDIX: able mode is to give the mercurial ball in the evening, twelve hours before the aloes (without taking the horse abroad), whereby the hard lumps of dung, which may have escaped former aloetic purges, are softened, and so disposed to come off when the aloes begin to operate. When thus combined with a purgative the horse will not require to be prepared with bran-mashes, as directed on other occasions of physic giving. Milk. Artificial mares' milk may be procured by boiling hartshorn shavings, 2 oz. in water, 1 quart, till 'tis reduced to a pint. Add 2 pints of cows' milk, sugar 1 oz. ; or 2 oz. for foals. Nitre. [See Diuretics, Fever-Powders.^ Opodeldoc. [See Camphoretted Spirits, § 2.] Physic, in its most extended sense, means any me- dicine given with the hope of curing or alleviating diseases. Physic, however, is generally understood to mean, in the stables, purging physic, — and aloes is that which is meant, if no other is specified. The propriety of administering regular physic, or routine physic, at given intervals, has been discussed in the foregoing Conversations ; and, doubtless, if we would have the horse come out of hand in a fit condition for quick work, we must, above all things, prevent his putting up flesh, which would most assuredly retard his going. Yet, as the racer could not last to the end of his course without great strength and firmness of muscle, he must be fed on hard meat, and undergo strong exercise, to give him those qualities : and these impose upon us the necessity of physicking. Our next affair is to devise the means of producing this excitement with least injury to the vessels upon which the medicine operates. I very well know how it happens that routine physic, every eight or ten days, is found to act upon the several inhabitants of a stable so nearly alike, inasmuch as they have all been fed alike; as also, that the immense doses, which such regular recurrences render necessar}^ perpetrate so little harm as " the destruction of one horse in five," according to a cotemporary writer, who takes into his MARES' MILK — PHYSIC. 271 estimate every class and description of horses they deem it necessary to " physic regularly." 2. Preparing the horse for receiving such doses, in the manner spoken of below, is found to lessen the evil in gTeat measure ; and the following Scale of Pro- portions, in which aloes may be given, with the well- grounded hope of obtaining the desired effect on each kind and description of horse, in health, presupposes the horse has been so prepared by mashes. The Bar- badoes kind are here understood, and those pills made ac- cording to the formula directed at page 244, for casting aloes are supposed. For a delicate blood horse • • 4 drachms of aloes, The same, in strong exercise . 5 to 6 drachms, Robust blood horse, of class 1 and 2 (page 124) 5 drachms. The same, in strong exercise . 6 to 7 drachms, or more. For the hunter, under the like circumstances, three- quarter bred add' 1 drachm more, Road-horse 5 to 6 drachms, Stage-horse, on dry food* • • • 6 to 7 drachms, Waggon-horse (having no green food) • • • • • 1 oz. to 9 drachms. These proportions extend to every variety of bodily state, but the amount of all must be enhanced when the individual has been long inured to the use of aloes. 3. Over-physicking has been spoken of elsewhere, [consult Index for Physic]; but does not always consist in giving too much of the purging material at any one time, but in giving too often, and frequently in the mismanagement of the animal after giving the physic ; either of which produces a disorder we recognise as '* over-physicking," the symptoms of both being the same. These symptoms develope the disorder, by evident griping and distension of the abdomen, refusal of food, and hanging down the head, or drooping, as one of our foregoing conversationists has it; throwing up his tail, without ability to evacuate, (wherein great 272 APPENDIX: danger to his life is indicated,) and mortification is to be apprehended. In this case, the straight ^t is to be emptied with the hand (back-raked) ; clysters of water- g-ruel, with linseed-oil or olive-oil, are to be thrown up; and the patient be induced to drink of the White Water , No. 2 or 4, or simple warm water, if those be not ready, as much as he will take. Whoever proposes to g-ive the sufferer a cordial drench or ball, under those circum- stances — knock him down, and cast over him, with suitable epithets, his own " warm ale with gin in," and his balsams of Peru and capivi, and oil of amber, and as much more of this genus of stimulants as he may have prescribed ; for the fellow, be assured, has been the death of many a horse. 4. Over-physicking , however, exhibits another and quite different result generally, by excessive purging, and the protrusion of the a?ius, of which we were talking in another place (pages 118, 149). After purging, and before the bowels are well settled, — or, as they abridge it in Berkshire, before the horse is set, grooms universally put the horse on full feed, that is, within a few hours of the bowels being in the utmost state of combustion, they are refilled with dry hard meat, that descends and occupies at once the empty canal. The consequences are obvious : if the horse's inside has been emptied by reason of 7nuch dung having previously distended them to their utmost, and I will suppose somewhat injuriously, then must this new visit afford no sanitary feeling ; digestion having to be per- formed by an exhausted set of organs, is then imperfectly performed ; at any rate, not in accordance with nature, and a foundation for indigestion and flatulency is thus laid. If a young and healthy horse has been purged to keep down the increase of flesh, what can we expect after this— but that, with his digestion strong, he will make blood fast, and this Avill determine towards the head. If, in addition, the hay maybe bad, or containing an undue portion of those grasses which may be deemed medicinal or poisonous, a further train of evils will arise, POTATO — POULTICE— PULSE. 273 Potato. As provender, this root is given to working horses in its raw state, chopped ; and so best, provided the potato be well ridded of the earth ; but in this volume it has been chiefly recommended as a restorative after disease, and, therefore, I advise it should be boiled, whereby its nutritive quality is increased in a tenfold mtio. By the action of fire, we carry off the bitter principle, which resides principally in the rinds of our cultivated potato ; whilst the ordinary (and the wild potato in particular) is wholly bitter. The knowledge of this fact would, of course, induce those who desire to give tonics to serve out their potatos raw, for much the same reason as I advise the addition of the bitter extractive, or hops, in the liiiseed decoction. Poultice, for grease. Fresh-burnt charcoal, unexposed to the atmosphere 4 oz. pounded, in water, and kept covered. Linseed meal • 12 oz. ; mix, and attach to the heels affected. Absorbent of the acrid matter, alterative. Pulse. In all disorders of long standing, as chronic cough, debility after disease, and in some acute attacks also, the variableness in the state of the pulse at one side of the horse compared to the other, will teach us not to make up our minds too hastily, least of all to apply remedies until we have balanced accounts (as 'twere) between them. The superiorly agitated state of the pulsation on one side, as compared to the quiescent or regular state of it on the other side, will point out where the pain is most acute, and, consequently, at which side the patient chiefly suffers derangement; and is, also, goodly indicative of the proper scite for rowel, seton, or blister, when this species of application may be deemed serviceable. Whilst, on the other hand, any sinking in the pulsation below the natural and usual state of the individual in health (upon turning to your Register) of one side below the other, shows that a lang-uid disorder of some viscus, perhaps of a limb, on N 3 2T4 appendix: that side, affects it through contiguity merely, or the companionship and sympathy always existing between certain parts with each other, pro and con, in the horse — as much as in any other animal, man not excepted. An observation or two on blood and bleeding, though not exactly in place here, cannot be unacceptable to the juniors of the stable. If an-artery has been divided, as hath happened to clumsy operators cutting through the neck -vein, and the artery that passes underneath it, the blood issuing from the wound may be known by its not coagulating, and separating as venous blood does. It then also flows with a jerk, in unison with the pulsation, and not flowing in a regular stream, like that issuing from a vein. When this accident happens, or any other that divides an ar- tery, pinch up the orifice above and below, and tie up each with silk thread ; taking up that wViich flows most first, being that which is nearest the heart, or above. Remember these rules : — 1 . The fleams should be kept always in good order and clean, and nothing left to accident. 2. Always give purging physic after blood- letting, and the mild purge is best, in general. 3. Af- ter a run, do not pretend to pass judgement on the state of the ruLSE, nor bleed immediately after, unless in case of a complete knock-up. 4. You may bleed after a bad fall, or a contused wound ; though the pulse be not much quickened by the accident, it will then be ir- regular ; in cases of incised wounds, do not bleed, since enough usually escapes at the wound, of sword-cuts in particular. 5. If the blood in the graduated 7neasure be very hard, with buff at top, the animal ??iay be bled again, provided the pulse does not subside: it indi- cates high fever; but the necessity for again physicking is not now so apparent as at first: it now" debilitates. 6. Do not bleed four or five times following for any dis- order whatever, as they did at the College lately ; the propriety of even three such operations is very questionable. 7. If the blood scarcely coagulates, the poor creature ought not to have been bled at all. 8. If REGIMEN — ROLLER BANDAGE — SALT. 275 costiveness prevail with the fever, in any degree, give castor oil previously, if you cannot wait for a bran-mash or two ; and if very costive with induration of the dung, a pint, or more, of the oil ought to precede the bleeding an hour or two, and, perhaps, the sphincter, or lower gut, be relieved by the manual operation: these some- times supersede the necessity of bleeding at all —and 80 best. Upon bleeding in cases of inflammation of the lungs, if the subsequent purgation be very strong, it occasions a change in the seat of the disorder from the lungs to the intestines, the progress whereof to mortification it is very difficult, and sometimes impossible to stop. Regimen has been frequently spoken of, and means the rule or manner of living, generally, but is particu- larly serviceable in restoration to health after sickness. Change of food according* to circumstances, and adapting these to the medicaments employed, to the degree of ailment, and to his work, is always beneficial to the convalescent horse. The usual regimen is strength- ening and nourishing ; a cheering regimen consists of better oats and more in quantity, or these given in the form of stout oatmeal-gruel (the White Water, No. 4 ;) also, beans broken, and malt-mashes: next the cordials, as ale, the White Water, No. 5, &c. Lastly, comes the codling regimen, not less serviceable in its way than the former, and equally indispensable for horses recovering from inflammatory disoi'ders. This consists of green food, succulent grasses, herbs, and plants, with bran-mashes ; clover, vetches, sainfoin, potatos, lucerne, lettuce, carrots, and mangel-wurzel. Turn to each of these latter heads of information above, and see Index for Regimen; consult, also, Tonics for t|ie bracing regimen. Roller Bandage, for legs. [See Lotion, page 267.] Salt. 1 . We do not yet appreciate sufficiently the value of salt as a restorative after those internal inflam- mations to which the horse is (more than any other animal) subject. When the tone of the stomach is lost, 276 appendix: or so much impaired that the animal eats his food listless of the usual relish, salt, 2 oz. per day, in the corn, will improve the appetite, and of course put on flesh, with a sleek coat: though to the amount of 6oz. per day were given by Mr. Curwen, M.P. for Carlisle, to his working- horses, with the most beneficial results. A drench is required to be substituted for the dry salt, occasionally, as descending more immediately to the intestines, unless the horse will drink salted water freely. Hay^ w^hen salted, horses eat with avidity: see Hay, mow-burnt. 2. Somewhat less than the proportion of a pound of domestic salt to a ^llon of water, given daily, operates as a purgative and purifier ; but when used upon pro- vender, about one half this strength is sufficient to sweeten and preserve it. From the end of February to May, the horses were fed on cut hay, thoroughly wetted with this salt water. On taking them up from grass, it was the practice of the same gentleman to give his horses a mixture of cut wheaten straw and potatos, wetted with the strongest salt water ; and with this treatment, with- out corn or hay, they looked well and were quite efficient for all kinds of farm work. 3. The process for preparing the fodder is, to fill a moderate sized tub with water salted as above directed. Then fill a wicker basket with the provender, and pour the salted water from the tub with a wooden bowl, over the basket of provender repeatedly, until the whole mass is thoroughly wetted. After it has done dripping, let it be given to the horses, and they will eat it with avidity. Besides the foregoing, change from those substances to mangel-wurzel and straw for a time ; and, for hunters and riding-horses, hay served in this manner is much relished, as well as giving greater appetite to their corn of these better sort of horses, which may have been off their feed. But, if not so, the corn that is taken with a good appetite shall do more good, all to nothing, than when eaten without it. Stables, infected. Those wherein fever patients have been confined, as well as those with the much-dreaded SWEATING POWDERS AND BALLS. ^>ll epidemic, the g-Ianders, and other diseases deemed in- fectious, may be cleared of the noxious effluvia by em- ploying- the following- recipe : Take of saltpetre, powdered • • • • 2 oz. Oil of vitriol 2 oz. Place the saltpetre in a basin, on a hot earth, or hot iron, and mix, by pouring- on a sixth part of the vitriol at a time, stirring the mixture with a tobacco-pipe. Then a like portion at another part of the stable, and then another, until the vitriol is expended ; taking the precaution to secure the windows and doors, that the evaporation which rises may be detained until the stable is filled with it. All steel furniture must be removed, to prevent its getting rusty. Sweating-Powders. The preparations of antimony affect the insensible perspiration, one of which will be found under Fever-Powder ; others, in the form of balls, are prescribed below ; and both must be given on several successive days. [See Alteratives.^ If tlie horse be then clothed up and put to strong exercise, with the sweaters on, he will perspire freely; but great care is required, on returning to stables, that he be wisped and rubbed completely dry, or the remedy will become worse than the disease. After this, the medicine is to be laid aside, until a new course of the alterative be deemed necessary. Sweating-Balls ; proper for disorders of the skin, and such as will procure a fine looking coat at any time, though not to be had recourse to upon every trivial occasion. No. 1 . Opium 3 drachms, Tartarised antimony 2 oz. Ginger, powdered 1 oz. Syrup, enough to make into six balls. No. 2. Emetic tartar 6 drachms. Ginger, powdered ... ^ ....... . 1 oz. Opium 1 oz. Oil of carraway 1 drachm ; mix with treacle enough to form a mass for four balls, to be given daily in succession. 278 APPENDIX : Thermometer. This instrument, for measuring- the degree of heat that may prevail in the stable, has been already spoken of, and recommended to be kept in con- stant use. Its place is as near the centre of the stable as possible, five or six feet from the ground, at the end of a stall, perhaps, where it may be consulted with ease. On each side of the instrument may be nailed a rib of wood of its own thickness, to defend it from accidents. The mean temperature may be taken at sixty, or less for working cattle ; half breds require sixty-five degrees in winter, though much will depend upon their having been at grass, or otherwise exposed, when the glass should be still lower, bare seclusion from the tvind, oc- casioning a glow of heat from the bodies of such horses, that soon warms the stable even beyond a desirable degree. Thorough breds can bear seventy degrees in winter, and I have observed an Arab, reared in India, (Sir John Malcolm's present to His Majesty) exceeding chilly, even when the stable felt but little below this degree of temperature. Generally speaking, old horses and foals stand in need of warmer stabling than young and middle-aged horses of their respective breeds ; if they are removed from such to less comfortable habita- tions, they fall off in condition, whatever their comforts in other respects : even full clothing does not seem to remedy the atmospheric defect, whence I infer that we must attribute their chilliness to the tender (or coddled) state of the organs of respiration. Keep an account of the state of your glass at certain hours each day ; this will enable you to adapt your business to seasons that may come round earlier or later than usual. And, as some clue to the seasons we may expect, below is given the state of the thermometer each month of the year, which will teach us to meet the greater extremes with precautions: — Highest. Lowest. Medium. Jan. 52° 11° 36.1 Feb. 53° 21° 38.0 March 66° 24^ 43.9 THERAIOMETKR — TONICS. 279 Highest. Lowest. Medium. A pril 74° 29" 49.9 May 70° 33^ 54.0 June 90° 37° -58.7 July 76° 42° .61.0 August 82° 41° 6 1 .6 Sept. 76° 36° 57.8 Oct. 68° 27° 48.9 Nov. 62° 23° 42.9 Dec. 55'' 17° 39.3 Tonics. Medicines that are supposed to restore the lost tone, or right healthy feeling of any particular organ (principally of the stomach) as well as the whole system, as happens after fever or inflammation, receive this name. But their efficacy has been denied, without any reason assigned, by B. Clark, and one or two more ; an opinion they must have formed from improperly giving them too soon, before the patient has been recovered sufficiently, 1 apprehend, and not discriminating between the medicinal tonics and those which we term the na- tural, as air, gentle exercise, green food, and the cooling regimen. Consult Index under all those heads of information, and read over the arguments on tonics. These medicines are always given as alteratives, i. e. in small and continued doses, are all of a bracing- nature, and heighten or increase the tone, when deemed in too low or relaxed a state : in this view, cordials may be considered as tonic. On the contrary, the natural tonics yist enumerated, contribute their aid to lower, cool, or assuage the already excited animal system, and are thus found serviceable when the tone or tension of the intestines and stomach eminently exceed the healthy state. Of the manner in which this latter course operates on diseases of the kidneys, the sources of so many other ills, a few hints fell out in Conversation xi. and else- where ; so, young and vigorous horses, which suffer through excessive heat, would be benefited by those which lower the tone, whilst the medicinal tonics I now give the form of making- would inevitably do harm. 280 APPENDIX : Tonic Medicines. No. 1 . Jesuit's bark • • • • 6 oz. Ginger 1 f oz. Salt of tartar 3 drachms ; mix with symp, and divide into six balls ; one to be given daily. No. 2. Salt of steel 6 drachms, Columbo root 4 drachms, Cascarilla 3 drachms. Oil of carraway ♦ . 20 drops ; mix for two balls ; to be g-iven as before. No. 3. Arsenic (white) 20 grains, Ginger 2 drachms, Aniseeds, powdered 1 oz. Compound powder of tragacanth 5 oz. ; mix with syrup enough to form the ball for two doses. This is a very bracing preparation, and need not be continued long ; for arsenic (although g-iven to the horse in much larger doses) is a very dangerous material in unskilful hands. All bitters are tonic, if given in the alterative manner, as aloes in very small quantities. So are bitter herbs, plants, and grasses, as tansy and wood betony, and many others, which might be given to the horse in substance or in a decoction, as tea, when this class of medicines are required. In most cases, these vegetable tonics do more good to the stomach than medicinal tonics, particularly if these are made up very hard. Vinegar has been recommended as an expectorant, or oxymel ; as also for making the cold lotion (page 267) for bruises, &c. ; but the quality of this article varies greatly, not only at various parts of the countiy but in this single Town (London). The finest sort, called '' distilled vinegar," is to be rejected, as must the weak diluted stuff of the shops ; and that only which will bear an egg floating at its surface is of strength sufficient for veterinary purposes — at least to external applications, on account of the stoutness and texture of the skin. " Pickling vinegar" is the name commonlv bestowed VINEGAR — WATER. 281 upon the most desirable kind, and is in value about three shillings per gallon, by the small barrel. But, instead of procuring vinegar in its liquid form, the pyrolignous acid may be obtained dry ; and then five times its own weight of water will produce vinegar of the proper strength to be applied alone, or in combination, M'ith Goulard's extract and spirits, or sal ammoniacum (see Lotions p. 267). The dry acid possesses other advan- tages, one of which is owing to the very reverse quality of vinegar that has been distilled or cleansed of its im- purities ; seeing that this very foulness, or empyreumatic smell, so offensive to the horse in the solution of pyrolignum, possesses a powerful antiseptic quality and cleanser of sores, as grease, malanders, &c. In fact, it is the smoke of wood, identified with the acid, that has been found essential to the preservation of animal food in all climates and for long periods — by simple immersion. When ac- cidents happen to the legs of horses on the training- ground, the immediate application of cold vinegar to the part will effect a cure at once ; and to this end the Trainer would do well to take an ounce or two of the dry acid out with him constantly, and enough of the strongest and best vinegar embrocation might thus be prepared in a minute, to effect instant removal of the accident. A general error prevails in the stable that this excellent discutient should be applied hot, but this is one of the vulgar errors, that is the besetting evil of the stable. Always apply it cold, as warmth (heat) occasions its strength to evaporate, and lessens its discutient tendency. When, however, they use alegar, or the grounds of strong beer, in default of vinegar, then a slight heating- may add to its qualities — but in such cases, it should be allowed to cool. Pyrolignous acid, or Vinegar of Wood, may be purchased, in its dry state, of the wholesale druggists and dry-salters, and, when dissolved in water, is much stronger than the best of pickling-vinegar, of which it forms the main ingredient, malt extract being the basis. Its disagreeable odour (empyreuma) is a great recom- 1^2 appendix: mendation to its use in the application of poultices to greasy heels, to old ulcers, &c. when diluted. Urine- Balls, vulgarly, g-enerally, but very ungen- teelly, called " pissing-balls." Those which are com- monly prescribed and kept, are all of the stimulant kind — resin, and soap, and turpentine, forming the bases of most of those sold in the shops. We have already spoken concerning these matters, under the head of kidneys and urinary diseases, and prescribed several formulae of the cooling kind, under the head of diuretics, and only mention these here under their vulgar appellation, to guard the unwary against stimulating the tenderest organ of vitality in the horse, persuaded, as we are, of the absolute de struct! veness of such medicines when in- considerately given. Have they not enough of resin and alkali in the usual preparations of purgatives — of aloes, for example? Water. Much has been said of water, and its varie- ties in Cojiversation v. ; yet we do not deem that a work of supererogation which subjoins the following testimony of an evidently practical man, whose name we are pre- cluded from affixing to his communication. Cold water given to horses when they are very hot is decidedly injurious to them ; but where it happens one of these noble animals is hurt by this means, hundreds are brought to premature weakness, and subjected to the most troublesome diseases, by not having more than half the water given them which they require. Many igno- rant grooms have got a notion (as beneficial to the horse- doctors as injurious to the horses) that it is wondrous wise to allow their steeds but little water, and, moreover, generally give each horse under their care precisely the same quantity. Masters would do well sometimes to condescend to look into these matters, or appoint a servant of superior judgement to do so for them ; because it is an undeniable fact, that hardly any two horses in twenty require the same quantity of water to keep them in health and beauty ; and it has seldom been known that any horse when cool can by any means be induced WHITE WATER. 283 to drink one drop more than is good for him. Water scarcely milk warm may at any needful time be given with safety, however heated the horse may be. Water may be filtered of its offensive particles and dangerous qualities, upon a large scale, by means of vessels constructed for that purpose, when the value of the horse warrants so much additional care. Charcoal, also, will prevent its corruption, and cleanse that which is already corrupted. To this end, take Charcoal, powdered • • • 1 1 oz. Oil of vitriol 24 drops, mix Half the vitriol in water • • • • 3^ pints, and the charcoal, also, with Water 34 pints ; when this latter subsides, mix both liquids together, and fine water results. Wood vessels, intended to contain water, should first be singed with blazing wood-shavings. This process prevents the vegetation of fungous substances, that are deleterious to the taker, like slow poison. Agitation, merely, does good to hard water, as the atmospheric air is thereby brought to act upon a larger surface, as it revolves or undulates. And an old French farrier recommended his servants to bathe their naked arms in each pail of water, before presenting it to the horse. With this view, as well as to ascertain that no tricks have been played with water intended for horses of value, many people keep a few fish in their tanks ; the introduction of obnoxious substances would kill the fish, and they would then be found on the surface with bellies upward. Alum, in the proportion of one grain to each pint, amends considerably the state of river-water, and that Avhich comes from grass-land into rivers, &c. White Water, No. 1. Water is sometimes sought to be corrected of any objectionable quality by the ad- mixture of other substances with it, as fine pollard, oatmeal, and wheat-meal or flour, or any farinaceous substance. These may also be increased in their pro- 284 APPENDIX portions to render the water still more nutritious, palata- ble, and welcome to the ailing* animal, for whom they are principally designed ; and then the white waters are commonly dressed by boiling, in which form they are found extremely useful, not only in restoring health, but in preserving it to animals of value. I have classed them together under the colour, though other distinctive names are applied to each ; because they cast some light upon each other, and 'tis not uncommon to mix the materials together and with other substances, the intention being to coax the horse to drink, when he will not otherwise do this sufficiently, nor voluntarily, as it is most desirable that he should ; to which end he may be served in the dark, or shady side of his stall, and if he refuse the medicated drinks, he may be kept without water until he takes that which is desig-ned to operate as a curative. One other reason, why these should be taken into consideration together, is, that the groom administers the one or the other, in their several cases, without condescending' to inform those around him which he has thought proper to adapt to this or that particular purpose. Their knowledge then extends no farther than the view of white water. No. 2. Bran is the lowest of these in the scale of nutritiveness ; a very small quantity (a handful) being sprinkled into nearly a pail of water and stirred up with a stick, takes ofl' the rawness of the water, but can bring about no sensible effect on the stomach as a medicated diet ; bran being little better than the outer skin of the wheat, though the finer and whiter sort, termed pollard, as- sumes to be a superior article. When made into a mash, in the proportion of a peck to a stable pail-full of water, however, it is found mildly laxative; and, being given previous to the administering of purgatives, sof- tens the hard dung preparatory to its complete elimi- nation -per force of the action of aloes and its admix- tures. If given in good quantity, the day previous to physicking with this drastic medicine, less by one-fourth the number of drachms usually prescribed will suffice, MALT-MASH — OATMEAL-GRUEL. 285 whilst producing the same effects — save that of racking- or *' excoriating- the guts;" as was set forth in Conver- sation viii, (page 116). Make the bran-mash by pouring on scalding water, mix it well up with the hands until all be saturated, then pour the pail full of boiling water, stirring with a stick until the whole is of a homogeneous mass. Cover down and permit it to cool, or nearly so, previous to using : but that is one among the many mistaken notions which induces many persons to give this or any other mash to the animal hot, under pretence of steaming the head; for this treatment of the strangles and sore throat, though rational enough and very proper, did not include swallowing the mash ! Instructions at large for applying this remedy, in the most efficacious manner, were given in " Veterinary Surgery," (with a cut) at page 349. Bran-mashes should be given thin, on the physic day, to work it off; they also form an eligible diet in all inflammatory complaints whatever, that produce general heat or fever. When the physic ceases working, as also when the fever is abated, the mash is to be rendered more nutritious and acceptable by the addition of sugar, of honey, of oats, or malt : or, the mash may be made of either of these latter, entirely, or both mixed together, when it is desirable to recruit the patients' strength. No. 3. Malt-mash is to be prepared in the same way as bra?i-mash ; taking greater care, however, that the first wetting be not too hot, as in this case the malt would clot and shut up. In truth, this malt-mashing is no other than the process of brewing in its first stage. No. 4. Water-gruel is the name bestowed upon the white water made from oat-meal, and is the best adap- ted to the horses' constitution, in a general way, of this whole class of restoratives. Of course, the manner of making it properly deserves attention, lest it fall short of its acknowledged effect, and thus disgrace the character of being the very finest dietetic ever prescribed for horse or man. We have placed it here along with the white 286 APPENDIX: waters and other mashes, in order to impress the reader with the necessity of making and serving it up white, and not tinged, as is too often the case with the dark hue of a smoky fire, nor the pinky blush of a fierce one. The horse of dehcate nose, as all well-bred ones are, would reject the former, or any other beastly commix- ture, which would compel having recourse to the now objectionable drenching-horn ; and, as to the gruel which bears the appearance of being burnt, its efifect on the stomach would be to increase "the disorder it is otherwise calculated to subdue ; the animal's superabundant heat, and the caloric that then resides in the gruel, bear near affinity to each other. If, after all this care, the gruel assume a dark tinge, we may conclude that the meal is of bad quality, and ought to be rejected. Gruel for the horse requires to be given thin ; at any rate, he will not drink it freely when made too thick ; though when made of the following proportions, and the lads of the stable desire to partake with their horses, and like their gruel a little stiffer, they may accomplish this by suffering it to simmer awhile over the fire un- covered, whereby the water partly evaporates. Gruel is composed of oats, water, and salt, only ; but if aught else be added, it ceases to be " gruel;" except- ing, perhaps sugar, honey, or treacle, when we should term it '' sweetened gruel." I mention this, because some fellows (and husseysj make this invaluable dietetic their apology for dram-drinking. To make a four-gallon pail-full, take a quart of oatmeal, which mix with an equal quantity of cold water ; pour on with one hand whilst mixing with the other : and if the gruel absorb the whole of the water, without being intimately mixed, take this as proof that the meal is unusually farinaceous, and therefore more nutritious than ordinary : the contrary, if not so. After two or three minutes' careful stirring, add another quart of water ; stir again, and add more water ; stir on, whilst adding to it the remainder of the water, and continue for five minutes at least? add salt, one table spoonful. Upon pouring the WHEAT-FLOUR GRUEL. 287 whole into the boiler a residue of hard substances will be found at the bottom of the pail ; these may be profitably thrown away, for reasons assigned in the course of Con- versation vs.., as regards urinary calculus. Let the fire be neither fierce nor smoky. The stirring about must not cease above a minute, from the moment the pot is put over, to that in which boiling is evident, when the gi-uel is done enough ; although it may remain par- tially over the fire any time longer, but with no ad- ditional benefit, most certainly without any hope of amending any neglect of the foregoing instructions. Compel the maker to take a feed of his handy work — for evident reasons : it insures care and cleanliness, at least ; he will then require sugar or a ground-ash, and ought to have his deserts. When gruel may not be prescribed for its own ines- timable virtues, it will be found an excellent vehicle for medicines of nauseous taste or obnoxious smell, as like- wise to defend the passage from others which may be acrimonious. All the tonics, disguise them as we may, are evidently in this predicament ; nor is it every one of the cordials that is agreeable to every horse-palate, which also becomes more delicate in sickness. No. 5. Scouring -water, so called of old, and liable to some objections, was nevertheless used with profitable results for hunters and roadsters, after a hard run ; being in effect a cordial. To make the mass — take Aniseeds • • • • 2 oz. '\ Grains of paradise •• 1 drachm, f all in powder, Cummin seeds • • • • -|- oz. t and sifted. Fenugreek seeds • • • • 1 oz. j Flowers of sulphur* • 2 oz. Mix intimately with the following : — Olive oil 1 pint. Honey • • ' 1 pound, Sherry, or any wine 2 ordinary bottles, with as much oatmeal as will make the whole into a stiff homogeneous mass, and preserve it for use in ox- bladder. Here is enough for five services ; therefore, 288 APPENDIX. when required, take one-fifth, and mix in half a pail of water, and present it to the horse out of the light. After the first taking, he will never after refuse, but drink it with avidity. No. 6. Wheat -flour makes an excellent nutritious white drink for animals given to scour, by being mixed with their water ; and better still in such an ailment, if made into gruel, in the same manner as directed above for oatmeal. But when given very stiff, and in large quantity, as is done in cases of violent purgation from an overdose of aloes, is liable to clot upon the stomach of the horse ; a very dangerous event that goes to the life of the animal, by stopping up the lower orifice ; and which can be avoided if the flour be previously cooked, by boiling or otherwise. For this purpose, tie up, in a cloth, such a quantity of the dry flour of wheat as may be deemed requisite, after the manner of a pudding. Boil this three or four hours, when it will come forth a hard ball, that may be presented in this state fit for use many months, and either broken to pieces and mixed with water, when wanted, or grated with a grater. In this form, wheaten flour is more readily prepared as a gruel than from the meal or the flour, upon cases of emergency, as spoken of, in cases of inflammation of the intestines, of overdosing the patient with aloes, &c. when every minute of delay is replete with fresh danger. It is now to be prepared by simply mixing the grated flour with boiled water. ANALYTICAL INDEX TO TEiE FOREGOING CONVERSATIONS. ^^* The Appendix being alphabetical does not require Index. Abdominal inflammation, distinction to be mai-ked, 130, 161 ; progress rapid, 140; how transferred from the lungs, 211. See Colic, JJrinary passages. Adhesion, internal, how caused, 158-9, 218 ; of the lungs, 202, 205, 213 ; the pleura to the ribs, 202 ; of midriff, 206 ; to liver, 214 ; White's idea of, 219 ; of liver to the bowels, 161, 213 ; and to peritoneum, 160 ; self cured, 203 ; mistakes concerning, 159 ; how discriminated, 215 ; it impedes action, 202 ; treatment, 160, 203 ; ancient opinions concerning, 164, note ; prevented by lubrication, 208. Air, fresh, indispensable to health, 75, 100 ; a restorative, 97, 110, 211 ; a tonic. 111 ; changes in the, 199 ; foul, of stables, deleterious, 55, 93 ; experiment on, 94 ; current of air, 97, 101 ; refrigerant of the skin, 62, 67; its temperature, 98. Aloes, nothing like, for physic, 11, 120; in small doses, 176 ; wear out the intestines, 48, 131, 150 ; when a tonic, 111 ; ill effects of, counteracted, 116. Alterative physicking, how managed, 118. Appetite governs temper, 12, 64, 119, 124; and manner of going, 77 ; of too much, 78, 106 ; of bad appetite, 109, 129 ; how cured. 111. Appointments (hunting"), feed before late ones, 72. Arab horses, sensible of good usage, 77, wo^e ; milk-fed, 85; importation of, 74; mode of training foals, 191; chilly, require warmth, 103. Appendix, 278. Back-raking, 92 ; when necessary, 154 ; of blood horses, 155. Back sinews strained by sloping stalls, 97. Balls, mode of giving, 122 ; of making — See Appendix. Bandaging, good, a desirable service, 41 ; the legs, 20. Barbs and paps impede mastication, cure for, 136. Barley, sodden, for agricultural horses, 50, 142. Bathing : the legs, mode of, 22 ; warm i-emoves aridity, 23. Beans, properties of, 50 ; must be broken, 84; inspire vigour, 69, 78. Bile, how separated from the blood, 166, 218 ; obstructed, 168 ; how vitiated, 213, 214. Blank days, none in nature, 73. o 290 INDEX. Bladder, afTections of the, 166, 171 ; mistakes concerning, general, 170 ; concretions, how formed, 82 ; weakness of, 174. Bleeding, when proper, 21, 31, 38, 102, 155, 169, 189 ; abuse of, 47, 216 ; a job, 48 ; of repetition, 191, 208, 210 ; in in- flammation, 151, 208 ; at the foot, 40 ; at the bars, 38, 40 ; precautions, 40, 210 ; causes effusion, 192,208 ; is the signal to desist, ib. ; by lancet or fleam ? 39. Blind-gut, or caecum, earthy particles of water subside there, 82 ; a kick upon, 108 ; concretions in it, 171 ; its situation and uses, 50, 130 ; a second stomach, 145. Blood, circulation of, and its colour, 38 ; viscidity of, 7, 72, 132 ; how checked, 36, 38 ; how depraved, 214 ; determina- tion of, to the head, 35 ; to the feet, 36 ; how refined, 166, 168, 218 ; by the liver, 36, 214, of old and young compared, 8 ; poverty of the, 168, 174 ; a corrective of depraved, 120. Blood-horses. See High-bred, Thorough-bred. Boot (sponge), recommended, 34, 37 ; its continuance impro- per, 41 ; patent, its application, 41. Bowels, disordered, how, 35, 58, 130, 160; by bad hay, 141 ; by cough, 194. See Intestines. Bread for horses, the foreign, 85 ; for racers, 86. Breeding and rearing, mistakes in, 10, 108, 202. Broken wind, theory of, 171; of several kinds, 182. Brush, efi"ects of coarse one, 22 ; alone necessary, 201. Butchers' nags perform well, 108. Canker and thrush, the same, 32 ; how caused, ib. Catarrhal inflammation, 184, 198. See Cold, Cough. Carrots, good in winter, 66 ; general virtues of, 142. Chalk, a corrective of bad water, 81. Chill, how occasioned, 34, 36 ; eliects of, 35, 50 ; on the car- case, 37, 146 ; on the heels, 103 ; on the lungs, 129. Classification of horses, 8, 77, 79, 124. Clothing, kinds of, 61, 62; impedes perspiration, injuriously, 185, 211, 216 ; when proper, 60, 116, 216. Clysters, %vhen necessary, 154, 156. Coat, rough, indicates disease, 75, 129, 219; of worms? 140. Coftin-joint, strain of the, indescribable, 24 ; the bone, error concerning, 213. Cold caught on physicking, 119 ; on sweating, 129 ; at the lungs, 184, 201 ; water aff"ects the coat, 129 ; causes colic, 157. Cold (a), inflammatory, 201 ; neglect of, produces consumption, 202 ; in the head, 191, 192. Colic, how incurred, 33, 49, 75, 157 ; compared with inflam- mation, 156; reproduce each other, 162; pains, mistakes for, 158, 164, 167, 215. Commercial traveller, his mistakes, 143 ; how acquired, 144 ; his horse's lungs sufl'er, 206; duty of attending to lungs, 207. Concretions accounted for, 83, 84, 171. Concussion of the fore-feet occasions disease, 30, 40. Conditioning, obstacles to, how removed, 79, 104, 108, 124, INDEX. 291 132, 137 ; what it is ? 42, 51, 87, 105 ; depends on health, 1, 105 ; modern notions of, 2, 42 ; mystery attending, 55 ; is of several kinds, 61, 105, 206; proof of, 3, 166; constant, how preserved, 43 ; in doors, 53. See Training. Conformation, effects of bad, 4, 41, 46, 77, 87 ; of various, 79. Contraction of hoof, controversy settled, 25. See Foot. Cooling regimen, what ? 119 ; restores tone of the stomach, 118. Cordials, their proper uses, 43, 47, 48, 76, 113, 143, 157, 164 ; operate like drams, 49 ; wear out the horse, 49 ; bad effects of, 3, 76, 114 ; kill, 113, 159. See Stimulants. Costiveness, how brought on, 151, 168, 174, 185 ; and effects of, 126, 155 ; cure for, 154 ; by bleeding, 210. Cough (a) hoAv brought on, 180,183; by galloping, 70, 189 ; chronic, how induced, 71, 144,179,196; cure for, 196; a relapse, 200; constitutional, 195; treatment of, 187-192, 195 ; epidemic, how, 197; leaves bad relics, 198; produces inflammation of lungs, 199-202. Crib-biters eat litter, 90; disorders the stomach, 136; cure for, 138 ; disordered lungs occasion it, 137-139, 194. Cruelty to animals deprecated, 224. Cures, principle of all, 34 ; depend on nature, ib. Curry-comb, a barbarous instrument, 22, 201. Debility after inflammation, 109,202 ; after physicking, 115. Descriptions of horses, how characterised, 124. Digestive organs, require attention, 126, 130; wear out, 43, 133 ; how employed, 72, 132 ; important office, 145. Diseases, how engendered, 12, 106; of the rich man's stable, 108 ; and poor man's, ib. ; of symptoms that precede, 106. Disposition of horses, how ascertained, 8, 10, 127 ; how ma- naged, 64, 227. See Cruelty, Temper. Distemper, early imbibed, 10; in horses and hounds, described, 199. Dissection. — After-death examination, advantages of, 59 ; of healthy subjects, 213 ; pursued by the French, 198. Distress, how evinced, 71, 204 ; in training, to be avoided, 69. Diuretics destroy kidneys, 173 ; the natural and medical, 174 ; action of, 175. Drains (the) what? 128, note. Dray-horses incur running thrush, 32 ; require taking out, 74. Dressing, its benefits on health, 62 ; when not requisite ? 67 ; use the boots, 22. Drinking, regulation of, 69, 75-77. See Water. Dropsy, how superinduced, 210. Dunging, pale, 132 ; advantage of watching, 2, 4, 106, 140, 194, 201 ; to be set right previous to cordials, 113 ; and be- fore tonics, 109 ; softened by mercury, 120. Ears (the) evince disposition, 227; cold, indicates inflamma- tion, 164, 192 ; and goes off with it, 208 ; of singeing the, 134. EflTusion of ajquous particles, 146; at the chest, 191, 208; be- comes a disorder, 209. 292 INDEX. Eggs procure sleek coats, 52 ; though dangerous, ib. Epidemic cough, how incurred, 198 ; definition, 199. Evacuations (regular) necessary to health, 105. See Dunging. Excitement, its effects, 3, 39, 129 ; cordials improper, during, 47, 129; by medicine, 163. Exercise, necessity of, 2, 218; adapted to feed, 56, 61, 72, 108 ; conducive to health, 68, 161 ; walking, benefits of, 21, 23,37,73,205,211; on food, proper regulation of, 69, 71, 74 ; gradual, improves wind, ib. ; on physic, 114-118; over- marked, ill- effects of, 71. Eyes, affected by hot stable, 90 ; nerve strained, 10, note ; blear, 144, 193; of irritated horses at shoeing, 226; the groom's eyes awe the fractious horse, 227. Fatness deprecated, 87, 112 ; engenders humours, 88 ; and the cough, 189, 193 ; puffy fatness, 204 ; fat horses suffer most from inflammation, 206. Feeding, of various kinds, 50, 82; full feeding injudicious, 53, 67,87,105,144,188,196; of regular feeding, 50,75, 105; mode of, characteristic, 2, 12 ; dry, affects the wind, 63, 87 ; food and exercise, due adaptation of, 68, 71, 105, 116 ; the extremes of, undesirable, 107. Feet, determination of blood towards, 36 ; chill of, 34 ; fever of, 39, 41; /ore, sympathise with lungs, 29,45,197; and hind ones with kidneys, 45 ; how affected generally, 5, 28, 37 ; all-important, 16 ; treatment of, 37 ; of a leading foot, 29, 40, 45 ; benefits of soiling to sole, 44, 65 ; soft foot, 27 ; contraction, 25 ; large foot, 27 ; bleeding at, 40. See Hoof. Fire, never to be applied to horses, 134 ; firing the legs, 223. Fired stable, manner of extrication from, 101. Fever and inflammation, distinction, 114; how created, 128, note ; its remains difficult of cure, 58, 109, 149, 162 ; of low 130 ; and high, 151. Flemish horses characterised, and mode of feeding, 84. Foals, their early diseases inbred, 10. Foreign horses, imported, 84 ; kinds, and manner of keeping, 85, 87 ; change of diet, ib. ; improvement in pace sought after, 221 ; inferior to English, 85, 87. Foreigners' horse-knowledge, estimate of, 199, 220 ; short of breeding means, 221 ; a teacher introduced, 224. Food, kinds of, proper, 143 ; bad, how corrected, 138-144; re- jected in disease, 49, 150; antidotes to bad, 143 ; properties of, 50, 53. See Appendix, Hay, Oats, Sfc. Founder, new names for, 24, 25 ; same with chest founder, 31, 177. Fret (the) arises in the brain, 33, note ; from adhesion, 156. Frog, pressure proved beneficial, 32 ; wetness detrimental, 44. Frush, or Thrush and Canker, how engendered, 32. Gas of stables, properties of, 93 ; experiments on, ib. German horses, how fed, 84 ; imported, ib. ; manner of, 87-8. Glanders, how engendered and discriminated, 145, 192. INDEX. 293 Glut, what? 106; must be ridded, ib. Goat (a) not desirable in stables, 77, note. Grass, a run at, its benefits, 56 ; scouring, 59 ; a partial one good, 65. See Green Food. Grease, how incurred, 50 ; by shallow stalls, 98 ; by litter, 89 ; by currents of air, 101 ; derived from urinary organs, 102,168. Green Food, what? 65, 110 ; beneficial, 9, 56, 174; weakens, 65 ; scours, 59 ; in-doors, 60, 65 ; a substitute for, 143 ; pur- gative, 56, 117 ; diuretic, 173. See Carrots, Mangel-Wurzel, Hay, Potatoes, Cooling Regimen, in Appendix. Grooms' duty, 1, 91, 197, 201, 226; his qualifications, 12, 55, 105; and example, 92; capacity, 91, 105; of young ones, 105 ; library, 9 ; temper of, 76 ; mannerism of, 122, 179. Grooming, what? 90; its etlects — absorption, 91; a restora- tive, 211; healthful, 62. Gruel for ailing animals recommended, 84. Mode of making it, see Appendix. White Water, No. 4. Guts, excoriation of the, what? 58 — the colon is meant ; twist- ing of the, 76, 81, 157. Hand-rubbing beneficial to legs, 115 ; when not so, 18, 19. Hay-feeding improper, 115 ; tills the stomach, 126; affects the breathing, 87 ; rick-burnt injurious, 139; when not so, 141, note ; induces diabetes, ih. ; qualities of, 157' — Appendix. Health, duty of ascertaining, 1 ; how done, 5 ; what it is, 105 ; pi-oof of, 163, 166 ; preservation of, 64 ; by turning out, 65, 104 ; by rubbing down, 67 ; by physic, 88. Heat, the primary cause of disease, 4 ; tends to inflammation, 126, 151, 195 ; of the body affects the feet, 33 ; of stables, how regulated, 100. High-bred horses, sensitive, 2 ; irritability of, 82, 126 ; it de- stroys them, 214 ; sweat inordinately, 217 ; of shoeing, 222. Hoof, brittle, 33, 37, 89, 102 ; soft, 27 ; contracted— dispute solved, 25 ; strong, 26 ; hot applications injure, 35 ; horn, how supplied, 39. See Feet. Horses, importation and exportation of, 73, 84, 86 ; hearty and tender ones convalescent, compared, 109. Humanity, the cause of advocated, 10-13, 49, 55, 58, 66, 70, 224, 230. Humours (the) what? 56, 7wte ; the aequous and vitreous, 128 ; are but depraved secretions, 56. 128 ; thickened, cause dis- ease, 54, 72 ; how brought on, i9, 88, 133, 139, 166, 1,85. Hunter, the medium description of horse, 61, 124 ; half- breds, 15; costive, 112; always out, 74; the King's, 43; a knock-up, 37, 154 ; and bled, 39, 48 ; lungs affected, 188 ; training to their work, 63, 68 ; no blank days, 73 ; lamed, 22 ; too tenderly kept, 42; over-physicked, 40; work on full stomach, 71. Jaundice, how produced, 168; becomes inflammation, 169, 213. Inflammatory complaints, tendency to, 33, note, 35 ; how in- duced, 3, 36, 50, 88, 126; by bad water, 77 ; how arrested, 149; danger of cordials, 114; of particular organs- — the o2 294 INDEX. lungs, 198; bowels, 49, 160, 168; liver, 166, 212; kid- neys, 66 ; legs, 28 ; bleeding for, rule to be observed, 209 ; rapid effects of, 206 ; turn of symptoms, 208 ; subdued, but not cured, 211 ; mode of discriminating from colic, 157 ; dif- ficulty of recovery from, 161 ; of peritonaeal, 215 ; the incu- rable, 83. Intestines, disorders of, 58, 76, 89, 133, 151, 159, 162 ; adhe- sions of, self-cured, 190 ; aggravate to inflammation, 201. Kick on the leg, 22 ; under the belly, effects of, 108, 139. Kidneys, affected by hollow back, 4 ; by concretions, 82 ; whence over-excited, 167, 179 ; wear out, 103, 109 ; rotten, 108 ; a blow on, 33 ; sympathize with hind-feet, 37, note with the stomach, 58, 110 ; and with the bladder, 127. Knock-up, treatment for a, 33-35 ; objection answered, 43. Lameness, seat of, how ascertained, 16 ; general cause of, 18, 22, 102, 219 ; before, 16, 39 ; behind, 31, 37, 102 ; preventives, 46; cure of lame leg, 21, 38, note, 113 ; stopping for, 44. Lampas, obstructs conditioning, 133 ; best mode of cure, 135. Leg and foot, disorders of, 32 ; how induced, 34 ; of fore and hind leg, 29, 206 ; thick, 57 ; how reduced, 116, 211 ; turn cold, in inflammation, 164, 208; hand-rubbing, too much, injudicious, 18 ; good, 115 ; bandaging, 22. Lengths, how improved, 69, 78 ; causes internal disorder, 220. Litter, standing on, effects of, 88 ; economy of, 74 ; affects the eyes, 89 ; eating litter, 195. Liver, how affected, 58, 166, 169, 220; by chill, 130 ; adhesion to the diaphragm, 159, note, 214, 218 ; to the bowels, 213 ; enlargement of, 215 ; ulcered, 215 ; inflammation of, 166 169, 212. Lungs, inflammation of, 201 ; how transferred to boAvels, 210 ; depend on shape, 4 ; great extent of, 176 ; importance of, to pace, 30, 61 ; of tender horses suffer, 3, 37, 129 ; how injured, 35, 54, 71 ; by hot stables, 97 ; by fatness, 87 ; adhe- sion of, 158, 161, 202 ; action of, 70, 94, 177, 203 ; functions of, explained, 94, 139, 179, 183 ; obstructed by over-feeding, 71, 87, 189 ; affect the fore-feet, 29, 37, 177, 196 ; gradual expansion improves, 70; the contrary, 189; of crib-biters, 90, 139 ; inflammation, 200, 210 ; treatment variable, 191. Mastication, due, how promoted, 67. See Wind. Mares in heat, pulse affected, 7 ; in foal, mistreatment of, 11. Making up, what? 2; its consequences, 3. jMedicine, mode of operating, 114, 148, 150, 169, 174; when needless. 111 ; mistakes in practice, 209, 216 ; much, harm- ful, 109, 163 ; palliatives for, 105, 115, 119 ; alteratives pre- ferable, 117; form of, 148. See Physic, Appendix. Mercury recommended, 169. See Appf.ndix. Milk of mares, drank by man, 85; factitious, how made— see Appendix. Mill for grinding corn, recommended, 82; mill-stones, roughed, harmful, 81. Misusage, its evil effects, 10, 107, 109; charge of, repulsed, 222. INDEX. 295 IMounting too early, effects of, 10, 46 ; in the stall, 20 ; manner of, 222. Mouth (sore), of several kinds, affects appetite, 132 ; symptoms, 133 ; dry, in fever, 151 ; and hot, in cases ot adhesion, 204. Navicular diseases, indescribable, 25, note. Neglect, in various instances, effects of, 22, 39, 202, 211 ; good, 216. Nervous system, affects the pulse, 7. Ninirod's reasoning, 43 ; mistakes the urinary organs, 171, 7iote. Obstructions, internal, hovi^ caused, 142 ; salt the proper re- medy for, 128. Operations: needless severity used, 221. See article Green Food, in Appendix. Oats, stimulant, 50; no feed like it, 85 ; effects of much, 57 ; corrective of bad hay, 142 ; musty, injurious, 140, 157. Oatmeal, of grinding, 82. See White TFafer, in Appendix. Pastern, low in the, how brought on, 65. Pace, how affecting the feet, 5, 26, 30 ; produces lameness, 19, 29; in time, 198; depends on the lungs, 61, 177, 204 ; how to improve, 63, 78 ; how lost, 154 ; affected by adhe- sions, 204, 219 ; and occasions it, 220 ; all horses worthless w ithout it, 221. Perspiration, how secreted, 129; ceases in fever, 151 ; immo- derate, 158 ; the test of adhesion, 159, 205, 215 ; a subtle evacuation, 186. See Clothing. Physic, when proper, 19, 61, 90, 104, 135, 208 ; indispensable, 3,57,111,126; frequency of, ruinous, 4, 54,59,106,149, 218; the question argued, 56, 58, 111, 114; mode of ope- rating, 114, 174 ; regular physic, a job, 48; not necessary, 108, 117 ; horses that need it, 8, 88; (See Medicine.) strong, to be avoided, 67, 116, 118, 129, 162; improves the stretch, 78 ; failure of, 119, 156 ; remedy for, 118. See Appendix. Potatoes good tor agricultural horses, 66 ; saving of time by adopting them, 142. Preserving health, the true art of, 64, 108. Professor (the), not surpassing in wisdom, 25, 30. Pulse, the index of health, 5, 9 ; and of disease, 47, 175 ; how available, 45, 164, 208; when it denotes distress, 71,215; slow, and low, 48, 130, 215, 220; sharpness, in acute dis- eases, 164, 205 ; under the tongue, 151 ; number of beats, 7, 208; denoting fever, 151. See Appendix ; and Bleeding. Pulmonary action, 200, 202. Purgation, violent, how stopped, 118; ruinous, 119; how commencing too high-up, 148 ; when necessary, 155, 168 ; natural, 56, 117, 166. See Physic; and Appendix. Racer, its peculiarities, 2; is of the first description of horse, 124 ; tender insides, 80 ; fall lame, how, 19 ; disposed to constipation, 68 ; of running quite empty, 70 ; bad water affects running, 81; how degraded, 109, 152, 189; studs, economy of, 15, 177. See Arab, High-bred, Thrrovgh-bred. 296 INDEX. Regimen, to be adapted to appetite, 127, 135 ; the cooling proper, 110, 162, 173, 183. Respiration, organs of. See Lungs. Rest, necessary in certain disorders, 21, 34, 205; discriminated, 43, 89 ; benefits of, 28 ; days of rest, not desirable, 72 ; in- compatible with training, 21, 106; stiff joints from much, 73. Ring-bone, how disclosing itself, 31, 93. Roaring, how engendered, 179, 195 ; alleviated, ib. ; the cause of law-suits, 180 ; pace does it, 201 ; hereditary, 202. Road-horse (the), address to his master, 72. Sacrifices of animals (ancient) proved the nature of breeding countries, 164. Saliva, its office, 146; cessation of, restored, 134, 136. Salt, a corrective of provender, 73, 80, 120; of bad hay, 141-2 ; of poor stomach, 80 ; a discutient, 121, 162 ; in clysters, 210 ; has been too much neglected, 24, 76, 120. Salts, the Epsom, as a purgative, 120, 128 ; in clysters, 162 ; excellent as a preventive, 121, 144. Sea-voyages, artificial exercise for slung horses, 74. Seats of diseases, necessaiy to be ascertained, 147-8. Secretions (the), important to health, 78, 127 ; depraved, cause the humours, 56, note ; in the stomach, 146 ; of horn, goes on harmfully, 33 ; of urine, 127. Shoeing, the knowledge of, necessary, 92 ; in the stable, im- proper, 21 ; forcible manner of, wrong, 10, 14, 220 ; causes lameness, 23 ; how, 24, 32, 134 ; refreshens soft hoof, 28 ; London smiths ingenious, 89 ; smiths, the English, 222 ; and the foreign, 224; mode of conducting, 226. Shoulder-strain, 16 ; how to ascertain, 17 ; treatment of, 18. Shotted coughers, how found out, 196. Skin (the), indicates internal diseases, 4, 74 ; how affected, 55 ; by turning out, 62 ; heal without perspiration, 114. Sleeping standing, instanced, 74. Soiling, considered, 43, 59 ; affects the lungs, 199 ; advantages of, to the feet, 42, 44, 65. See Grass — Turning-out. Sore throat, how incurred, and remedy, 180-1. Spavin, a cause of lameness, 32. Speed, how improved, 63 ; qualities for, 177 ; long kept up, occasions inflammation, 218, &c. See Pace. Stable (the), worthy every one's notice, 91 ; ill-constructed, 92, 95 ; economy of, 88-91 ; a remedy for, 96; ventilation, 93 ; cell-window, ib. ; flooring, 95 ; and drains, 98 ; warm, neces- sary to blood horse, 101; stench of, 55, 99 ; close, unhealthy, 54, 169 ; current of air, 101 ; faulty doorway, ib. Stable-management, over-much, 18; on coming in, 37, 74, 179, 185 ; on taking np from grass, 56, 58, 63, 68 ; violent, not proper, 64, 223. Stagers, of feeding, 142 ; resting of, 25, 89 ; are of the third de- scription of horse, 124. Staggers, how brought on, 88, 126, 154. INDEX. 297 staling, promoted by litter, 88 ; excessive, &c. See Urine. Stall, the loose, renovates health, 65, 103 ; deep, prevent grease, 103. Stimulants impair the vitals, S5, 49 ; when proper, 48. Stomach, its office, 125 ; depraved, 127, 131, 137, 145 ; sym- pathy with kidneys, 58, 127 ; with the liver, 130 ; with the skin, 127 ; with the lungs, 129, 195 ; connection with bow- els, 119, 128, 133, 145 ; large, 70, 124 ; and disproportioned, 126; how affected by excessive work, 5; distended, 144; affects temper, 11, 126, 137; and going, 71, 77; of small, stomach and tender, how enlarged, 78, 80, 125 ; inflamma- tion of, 151 ; torpor and excitability of, 130 ; by eating litter, 136 ; influenced by other organs, 150. Stone, how formed, 80 ; effects of, in the urinary passages^ 171 ; occasioned by chipped mill-stones, 83. Stopping, when requisite, 37, 40 ; its composition, 35, 44 ; method of, 41, 44 ; not desirable, 34. Strains, or sprains, how caused, 22, note, 46 ; seat of, ascer- tained, 17 ; of the stifle, 31, and cure, ib. Strangulation of the gut, incurable, 76 j how incurred, 81. Straw-yard, impolicy of, 143. Stretch, improved, 63, 71 ; how affected, 68, 154. See Pace. Sympathy of parts with each other, 28, 37, note^ 45, 125. See Stomach. Sweating powders, when necessary, 21, 62 ; sweating, see Humours, Perspiration, and Secretions. Taking up, precautions on, 62 ; economy of, 143. Tooth-ache, or not? 135 ; of two sorts, cure for, 136. Temper of several classes of horse, 77, 79 ; management of, 10, 63; affects the pulse, 7 ; governed by stomach, 2, 11, 64 ; by rest, 21 ; spoiled in shoeing, 223 ; by over feeding and constipation, 231. Temperature of stable, how regulated, 99. See Appendix. Tender insides, inherent to the blood horse, 141, 161 ; liable to costiveness, 60, 117 ; how rendered so, 3, 125 ; suffer from chill, 36, 199 ; difficult to restore to health, 109. Tests for ascertaining diseases, 3, 7, 157, 161, 168 ; of bad water, 80 ; of temper, 124 ; of enlarged liver, 169 ; of bad wind, 195 ; of adhesion, 204, 215. Thermometer, its uses in stable management, 100. Thorough-bred horses fall lame, 18; how incurred, 19; have tender insides, 80 ; back-raking for constipation, 155 ; do not cough through plethora, 188. See High-bred Racer. Tongue, case of laceration in balling, 123, note. Tonics, when proper, 110; of three several kinds, 110, 135, 143,211. Training, what so termed, CI [see Conditionl ; distinction not worth contention, 117 ; how commenced, 69 ; how obstruc- ted, 79, 105 ; of stretch and length, 69, 78 ; to going order, 114, 175 ; lasting qualities, 175 ; of too high, 149. 298 INDEX. Treatment of horses, should not be capricious, 77, 222. Tread, a twisted, its effects, 17 ; amended by shoeing, 89, 224. Trials, the first, occasion cough, 189. Tumours, how caused, 11, 88, 128 ; by humours, 72, 128, note, 168, 210 ; scirrhous, 169. Turning out, advantages of, 51, 104; to feet, 41 : and lung8, 42 ; and legs, 65 ; causes cough, 63, 197 ; how managed, 59, 60. See Grass, Soiling. Veins (the) absorb resinous and alkaline substances, 127, 148 ; and particles of food, 132. See Gas. Ventilation of stables, its advantages, 96. Veterinary surgeon, when to be called in, 9, 106, 152. Vice, how corrected, 13, 64, 224 ; a disposition to, 125, 222. Virulence of disease, its chief characteristic, 147. Urine, its secretion, 127 ; how affected, 101 ; turbid, 133, 154 ; by diabetes, 141 ; retention of, 172 ; and suppression, 166, 171 ; bloody urine, 141, 173 ; incontinence of, 174 ; of the stables, causes grease, 97 ; howprofitably employed, 98, note ; excessive staling, 173 ; of high coloured, 174, )iote. Urinary passages, their office, and diseases, 166, 169 ; occasion grease, 97, 101, 168 ; and abdominal inflammation, 172. Waggon-horse (and cart) pampered, 74 ; drop, 160 ; too fleshy, 2, 85 ; stand and sleep, 74 ; anecdote of one, ib. ; of the log, ib. ; is the fifth description of horse, 124 ; those imported, characterised, 85. Water, qualities of, 80, 157 ; bad, how corrected, 80 ; tests of, 81 ; of running streams preferable, 7 ; large drinks affect tlie stomach, 67, 77, 126 ; frequency of, desirable, 54, 78, 81 ; denial of, 140,150; begets disease, 71,159,218; not required with green food, 66 ; the desire for, characteristic of a large class, 79 ; watering-place, distance desirable, 75. Weights, put up, too much, 18. Whirl-bone, strain of, treatment, 31. Wind, how to improve, 69 ; efforts at expulsion, 193 ; toucht in the, 214; expansion of ribs, 70; bad, how brought on, 54 ; how ascertained, 196 ; good, necessary to speed and lastingness, 69 ; broken, 31, 71, 183 ; thick, hereditary, 202. Working-horses not readily affected, 8, 181 ; management of, 41. Work : strong work and high feeding, 184 ; hard, mischiefs of, 38, 107, 162, 205, 218, 205-6 ; extra, its effects, 159, 184. Worms, how engendered, 49, 90, 140 ; mistakes concerning, 219. Writers on Farriery, estimate of, 147 ; jealous, 196 ; on liver complaints, 213. See Preface. Young horses, how spoiled, 9, 11; mounting early, 10, 46; racers ruined, 46, 189. THE END. LATELY PUBLISHED, BY THE SAME AUTHOR, The Second Edition, enlarged, price 12s. in red, VETERINARY SURGERY PRACTICE OF MEDICINE; OR, TAUGHT ON A NEW PLAN, Being a FAMILIAR Treatise on all the Diseases and Accidents to which the Horse is liable ; the causes and S3?mptoms of each, and the most approved remedies employed for the cure in every case ; with Instructions to the Shoeing-Smith, Farrier, and Groom, how to acquire knowledge in the art of Farriery, and the Prevention of Diseases. Preceded by a popular Description of the organs of life, and animal functions in health, and showing the principles on which these are to be restored when disordered. Printed for the AUTHOR ; and for Whittaker, TREACHER, and Co. Ave-Maria-lane, 1829. The practice of quoting their eulogists, is not confined to the authors who write their opinions and give to the world the results of their practice of the curative Art ; though such suffrages are more necessary and proper to this science than to most others, because of the war- fare that has universally prevailed between the two parties or candi- dates for public favour. One of these sets being devoted to instructing all the world, the other party as devoutly keeping the whole art and mystery to themselves, they utterly despised each other ; and, whilst the latter walked constantly on the stilts of an obscure jargon, quarrelling about its meaning, to the astonishment of the weak and valetudinary, the first mentioned set of teachers bore themselves on a level with the generality of mankind, taking common sense as their guide, and right reason for their polar-star. That WE do not belong to those who walk upon stilts, these volumes sufficiently attest ; and that we should have been noticed by them in the manner set forth in the foregoing Preface, was really more than our most sanguine friends led us to expect. Even the quoted disingenuity of one of them, and the lamentations of another, we appreciate infinitely beyond the mauky praise which sometimes commends that it may more effectually condemn ; but they have attempted r.eithei- of these, except as regards the question of pounds, shillings, and pence. But there are other and more estimable authorities on whose testi- monials we look with complacency, and receive with respectful grati- fication. These are the Sportsman, the practical Farrier, the Agricul- turist, — the Nimrods, the Trainer; the Vulcan, the Tiller of the Soil, and their organs of the periodical press, as well Journal and Magazine, as hebdomadal critic (in country or town); — even the adoption of an idea, or citing a passage, or practically executing our suggestions, afford pleasurable sensations by the assurance that the labour of thirty years has not been bestowed in vain. Speaking of this volume, one of these says, " It is to the physio- logy and diseases of the horse, that Mr. Hinds pays most attention, and for this reason we are disposed to pay most attention to him. He leaves the beaten track, and in a much more familiar and inter- esting style, ( which, in similar works, we are happy to observe, is daily becoming more in fashion,) he brings his reader on from cause to effect, from sympton to cure, &c. Undoubtedly * doctors disagree ;' but' we have reason to believe from our wn knowledge in Farriery, that wherein they may differ, our author would be able to maintain his ground against all those who have published on the same subject before him." Vide Scots Agric. Magazine, Oct. 1827. Enough of this, however, on the present occasion. Let us postpone, until the Craven Meeting, a fuller publication of the opinions delivered in all quarters concerning the three volumes already published by Mr. Hinds: — 1st, This one, on Diseases ; 2d, Conversations on Con- ditioning; and, 3d, The Treatise on Breeding, on Lameness, &c. from Osmer. N.B. To be delivered GRATIS. Just Published, By Sherwood & Co. Patemoster-row •, Hdrst & Co. St. Paul's Church-yard ; and Whittaker & Co. Ave Maria Lane ; In one volume, illustrated by beautifully engraved portraits of the several breeds of horses, &c. price 8s. in red. A TREATISE ON THE HORSE, ITS DISEASES, LAMENESS, AND IMPROVEMENT; In which is laid down the proper Method of SHOEING the different kinds of Feet. Also some new Observations on the Art and Practice of Farriery ; and on the Nature and Difference in the several Breeds of speedy Horses. By WILLIAM OsMER, Veterinary Surgeon, and many Years Shoeing Smith in Blenheim-street, Bond-street. Fifth Edition, newly re-written, with considerable Additions, by J. HiNDS, V. S. Author of the Grooms' Oracle, Veterinary Surgery, &c, William Osmer was one of those estimable old writers on Farriery, who writes down only the results of his own practical knowledge and experience ; but without minding much the arrangement of his in- valuable materials. Hence, although he vvas much read during his lifetime, consulted and copied after his death, and purloined from without acknowledgement by they of the Pancras College, yet was he never likely to regain his former station with the public without pre- senting to the general reader tha.t lucid order in which he here appears for the first time. In addition, his Editor has incorporated the recent modern improvements on all those topics he has handled, and nothing more instructively than — 1st, On Breeding speedy Cattle, i.e. the points to be observed; 2d, On Lameness, and the Means of obviating -the same; 3d, On Shoeing; 4th, On the Origin of all constitutional Disorders in the Horse, namely, Heat; as well as those which are brought on by Pace ; 5th, On Epidemy. In fine, the Breeder, the Farmer, the Sportsman, the Coach Proprietor, if they study their own interest, should read Osmer's Treatise, in its present form ; indeed, it can scarcely be procured in any other. Shortly will be published, in a small Pocket Volume, illustrated, RULES FOR BAD HORSEMEN; And Hints to the Inexpert; with Something worth knowing by all Equestrians. By CHARLES THOMPSON, Esq. Fourth Edition, with golden Additions, by the Editor of Osmer's Treatise. .MARCHANT, PRINIEB, INGUAIU-COU RT, FENCIIU RCH-3TREET. <\