FARRIERY.

373

raised from the fleshy soleece, round which is the enchannellediiesh/) placed in the tulcus of die inner surface of the hoof g, thehorny part of which is soft and white. Fig. 5, shews the underpart of the fleshy sole It, raised from the foot bone, called the cof-fin bone iff: k, the covering of the tendo achiliis: n, the carti-lage: in, the edge of the fleshy sole confined in tne furrow of thechanneled horny substance. Fig 6 and 7, represent the bottom orbase of the foot: a a a, the horny sole: b, the frog: c, the roof to-wards its lower edge, called the crust, or wall, of the foot.

Of the Teeth and Age of the Horse.

The horse has forty teeth: twenty-four double teeth, or grind-ers; four tushes, or single teeth; and twelve front teeth, or ga-therers. Mares in general have no tushes. The black marks, orcavities, which denote the age, are to be found in the corner frontteeth, adjoining the tushes. Horned cattle have similar marks inthe teeth. At four years and a half old, the mark-teeth are justvisible above the gum, anil the cavity is very conspicuous. Atfive, the horse sheds his remaining colt’s teeth, and his tushes ap-pear. At six, his tushes are up, and appear white, small, andsharp ; near which is observable a small circle of young, growing,flesh: the horse's mouth is then complete, and the corner teethfilled up. At seven years old, the two middle teeth till up. Ateight, the black marks vanish, and the horse’s mouth is said to befull, and himself aged. The French farriers aver that the marksremain in the teetli of the upper jaw until the horse is twelve yearsof age; but we believe this to be fortuitous.

Of the MANAGEMENT or HORSES, with Regard toFOOD and MEDICINE.

General Directions relative to Food, Diet, Exer-cise, Ac.

1. It ought to be laid down as a general rule, to give horses asfew medicines as possible; and by no means to comply with theridiculous practice, of those who frequently bleed, purge, and giveballs, though their horses be in perfect health, and have no indi-cation that requires such treatment. 2. Proper management intheir feeding, exercise, and dressing, will alone cure many dis-orders, and prevent most; for the simplicity of a horse’s diet, whichehieflv consists of grain and herbage, when good in kind, and dis-pensed with judgement, secures him from those complicated dis-orders, which are the general effects of intemperance in the humanbody. 3. In France, Germany, and Denmark , horses are seldompurged; there they depend much on alteratives; the use of theliver of antimony we have from the French , which is in general agood medicine for that purpose, anil max, in many cases, be substituted for purging. 4. As hay is a material article in a horse’sdiet, great care should be taken to procure the best: when it isnot extraordinary, the dust should be well shaken out before it isput in the rack ; for such hay is apt to breed vermin. 5. Beansafford the strongest nourishment of all grain ; but are fittest forlaborious horses, except on particular occasions. In some seasonsthey breed a kind of vermin called the red bugs, which is thoughtto be dangerous; (he best method in such cases is to procure themW'ell dried and split. 0. Bran scalded is a kind of panada to a sickhorse;. but a too frequent use of it, either dry or scalded, is hurtful,as it relaxes and weakens the bowls. The botts in young horsesmay be owing to loo much musty bran and chaff, given with otherfoul food to make them up for sale; particular care should there-fore be taken that the bran be always sweet and new. 7. Oats,Well ripened, make a more hearty and durable diet than barley,and are much better suited to the constitutions of British horses.A proper quantity of cut straw and hay mixed with them, is some-times very useful to horses troubled with botts, indigestion, Ac.8- Horses, that eat their litter, should particularly have cut strawand powdered chalk given them with their feed ; as it is a sign of adepraved stomach, 9 . The salt marshes are good pasture for horseswho have been surfeited, as well as for those under many other dis-orders: they purge more by dung and urine than any other pas-ture, and make afterwards a firmer flesh ; their water is for themosc part brackish, and of course, as well as the grass, saturatedwith salts from the sea-water. 10. A summer’s grass is oftennecessary; more particularly to horses glutted with food, and whichose little exercise: but running for a month or two is proper formost; those especially who have been worked bard, and have stiff

vol. a,—No.SiO.

limbs, swelled legs, or wind galls. Horses whose feet have beenimpaired by quittors, bad shoeing, or many ocqer accidents, arealso best repaiied at grass. Those lamenesses paVlicularlv requireturning out to grass, where the muscles or tendons are contractedor shrunk ; for by the continual gentle exercise in the field, withthe assistance of a patten shoe on the opposite foot, the shortenedlimb is kept on the stretch, the wasted parts are restored to theirordinary dimensions, and the limb again recovers its usual tone andstrength. 11. The fields which lie near great towns, and are muchdunged, are not proper pasture for horses; but are found to bevery injurious to them, when fed thereon all the summer. 12.Horses may be kept abroad all the year, where they have a properstable or shed to shelter them from the weather, and hay at all times.Thus treated, they are seldom sick ; their limbs are always cleanand dry ; and, with the allowance of corn, they will hunt, and domore business than horses kept constantly within doors. 13. Ifhorses, when taken from grass, should grow hot and costive, mixbran and chop! hay with their corn ; and give them sometimes afeed of scalded bran for a fortnight, or longer: let their exerciseand diet be moderate foT some time, and increase both by degrees.14. When horses are soiled in the stable, care should be taken thatthe herbage be young, tender, and full of sap; whether it be greenbaricv, tares, clover, or any thing else the season produces; andthat it be cut fresh once every day at least, if not oftener. 15.When horses lose their flesh much in soilings, they should in timebe taken to a more solid diet: for it is not in soiling as in grazing;where, though a horse loses bis flesh at first, yet after the grass haspurged him, lie soon grows fat. 16. Y oung horses, not fully grown,should be indulged more in their feeding than those come" to theirmaturity ; but if their exercise is so little as to make it necessary toabridge their allowance of hay, a little fresh straw should con-stantly be put in their racks to prevent their nibbling the manger,and turning crib-biters; they should also be sometimes strappedback in order to cure them of this habit. 17. It is obvious thatgreat care should be taken of a horse after violent exercise, thatlie cool not too fast, and drink no cold water. 18. Most horses-fed for sale have the interstices of their muscles so filled with fat,that their true shapes are hardly known. For which reason a horsejust come out of the dealer’s hands should at first be gently used.He ought to lose blood, and have his diet lowered, though not toomuch: walking exercise is most proper at first, two hours in theday ; in a week or fortnight two hours at a rime, twice a-day; afterthis usage fora month, bleed him again, ami give him two or threetimes a-week scalded bran, which will prepare him for purgingphysic, that may now be given safely, and repeated at the usualintervals. 19. When a burse comes out of a dealer’s hands, hisdoalhing must be abated by degrees, and care taken to put him ina moderately warm stable ; otherwise tiie sudden transition would,be attended with the worst consequences.

Of Blood-letting.

Horses, that stand much in the stable, and are full fed, requirebleeding now and then: especially-when their eyes look heavy,dull, red, and inflamed ; as also, when they feel hotter titan usual,and mangle their hay. Young horses should he bled wlien theyare shedding their teetli, as it takes off those feverish beats theyare then subject to. But the cases that chiefly require bleeding,are colds, fevers of most kinds, falls, bruises, hurts of the eyes,,strains, and all inflammatory disorders, &c. A horse should bebled when he begins to grow fleshy at grass; anil it is generallyproper to bleed before purging. Horses should always be bledby measure, that the quantity taken away may be known exactly :two or three quarts are always enough at one time. The disorderand tiie horse’s constitution should be considered before repeatingit. The ileum and blood-stick have been long in use for bleedinghorses, but many practitioners prefer the spring fleam as being muchsafer, others use the lancet. The frequent accidents consequenton striking with the blood-stick, and perhaps dividing the vein, andcausing a dangerous tumour in the neck, arc notorious. But inopposition to the use of the lancet, it is said to require more skill;.and that the horse, on first feeling the point, unless the desired efl'ect‘be instantaneous, shifts the position of his neck, and prevents suc-cess in the operation. Thus adroitness in the use of the lancet andinstant execution, seem the only desiderata, by which to obtain a-most beneficial improvement in practice. By some this advantage-5 C has.