’576
FARRIERY.
rloathing; but the horse may be worked moderately throughoutthe whole course. This medicine has been found equally eflica-cioa* (bv many trials made in one of our hospitals) in correcting-the acrimony of the juices, and disposing (lie most obstinate andinveterate sores to heal up; and hence probably it came recom-mended as an alterative to our horses. The quantity of nitre,when given as an alterative, should not exceed two ounces in theday; one ounce morning and evening, being sufficient for a dose.Unsolved in a pail of water it wiil be very httle perceptible to thetaste; anti being thus largely diluted will occasion no uneasiness inthe stomach': but if he refuse it in his water, it may lie given in aball. Antimony is another capital article in this class of medi-cines. An ounce may be given every morning to a horse, alongwith his feeil of or.ts. Crude antimony finely levigated, the cro-cus, precipitated sulphur, and the wine, for internal use; and thebutter of antirfiony fur external use, are the only preparations ofthis mineral necessary to be retained for the purposes of farriery.
Of the Methods used to Preserve the Feet .
The custom of keeping horses constantly standing upon drylitter and hoi dung in the stable, is exceedingly hurtful to thefeet and legs, particularly the former, which are always found toagree best with coolness and moisture, lienee the hoofs of thehorses-that run in the fields are always in better condition thanthose that are kept hot and dry in the stable ; which, besides beingliable to many diseases, are bard, brittle, shattered, and oftenbroken. W ith respect to greasy and oily applications, so oftenprescribed for the hoofs of horses to preserve them sound, tough,&c. Mr. Clark, in his Ob-ervations on the Shoeing of Horses,and on the Diseases of their Feet, very justly condemns them as ra-ther pernicious than salutary. When young horses, lie observes,are first taken from the fields, their hoofs are cool, sound, andtough. These are found from experience to be good qualities.But horses are no sooner introduced into ,lhe stable than theirhoofs are greased cr oiled two or three times a-week ; and if theyare kept much in the house standing upon hot dry litter, withoutbeing frequently led abroad, and without having an opportunity ofgetting their hoofs cooled and moistened in wet ground, theirhoofs grow so brittle, dry, and hard, that pieces frequently breakoff, like chips from a hard stone ; and, when driving the nails inshoeing, pieces will split off', even although the nails are madevery line and thin. But if these same horses with brittle shatteredhoofs are turned out to graze in tiie fields, their hoofs in time willbecome as'soinid, tough, and good, as they were at first. Thischange must undoubtedly be ascribed to the wet and moisturewhich the hoofs are exposed to in the fields, of which water is theprincipal ingredient; and it is a certain fact, of which wc havedaily proofs, that when all other means fail, horses turned out tograss will recover their decayed brittle hoofs. The dealers inhorses about London , when they get a bad-footed horse, moistenhis hoofs frequently in water; for which purpose, they keep apuddle of water and dung at the watering place, that, when thehorse comes to water, his fore-feet may sink in the puddle, bywhich means they are cooled and moistened twice or thrice a day ;so that, whilst they are making up his carcase for the market, hishoofs are likewise repaired, and sufficient to stand the test of atrial upon sale. But no sooner do horses with hoofs of this kindcome into other hands, their hoofs at the same time being kept dryand greased, fee. than they degenerate into their former state.Hence the cause of so many complaints that horses turn soonlame after they come from dealers, when, in fact, it proceedsfrom greasy applications, and neglecting to cool or moisten thehoofs in water; for the careful groom, when airing his master’shorses, rather than lead them into a puddle, will go about in or-der to keep their legs clean and dry. To preserve the feet ofhorses, the method which nature suggests is, to cool and moistenthe hoofs with water morning and evening: and to those who arefond of stuffing, we would prescribe bran and water, or clay, &c.made into the consistency of a poultice; and in particulai cases,where horses stand much in the stable, and the hoofs are disposedto be very hard, dry, and brittle, a poultice of this kind, or anyother emollient composition in which water is a principal ingre-diuit, may be applied all round the hoof; or, in imitation of somedealers, to keep a puddle of water at the watering place, whichyvilt answer equally well, if not better. From this manner oftrcutineut, the hoofs will be preserved in their natural state, and a
free and equal perspiration kept up, by which the nourishmentnatural to the hoof will have free access to its surface ; as it is (hisonly which causes that cohesion of the parts, which constitutes 3firm, sound, and tough hoof.
The shoes cannot possibly be made too light, provided care betaken that they be of a thickness so as not to bend ; for bendingwould force out the nails and ruin the hoof. That part ot the shoewhich is next the horse’s heel, must be narrower than any other,that the stones may be thereby prevented from getting under it,and sticking there ; which otherwise would be the case ; becausedie iron, when it advances inwardly beyond the bearing of the foot,forms a cavity, wherein the stones being lodged would remain,and, by pressing against the foot, lame the horse. I he part of theshoe which the horse walks upon should be quite flat, ami like-wise the inside of it; only just space enough being leit next thefoot to put in a picker, (which ought to be used every time thehorse comes into the stable,) and also to prevent the shoe’s press-ing upon the sole. Four nails on each side hold better than agreater number, and keep the hoof in a far better state. Severalmodern authors, particularly Osmer, instead of attempting to im-prove the horse-shoe, propose to lay aside the use of it altogether, forwhich they are severely censured by Mr. Taplin. They “ seem,’'says he, “ extravagantly fond of an idea borrowed from antiquitv,upon the practicability of horses ttavelling the road, and doing theirconstant work, without any shoeing at all.” Osmer insists “ thathorses are adequate to their different services in a state of nature,without the officious obtrusions of art;” venturing to affirm “ thatthey will travel even upon the turnpike roads about London ,without injury to their feet.” Mr. Faplin, however, observes,that “ such (economical plan may be admirably calculated for thetheoretical journey of some literary speculatist, but affirms that nosuch excursion can take place of any duration, without materialinjury to the hoof, unless to the high-bred horses of authors, whoenjoy their jonrnies only in imagination.” Mr. Coleman, thepresent ingenious professor at the Veterinary College has made amaterial improvement on the horse-shoe. In his public lectureshe observes, that, for a good natural foot, all that is re-quired of a shoe, is to guard the crust by a small and narrow pieceof iron, which should lie attached principally towards the toe, andshould not be extended so far back as the heel. The sole itselfshould not be covered by the shoe ; for dirt and stones will get be-tween, and will form a permanent and partial pressure on the sole,which will produce disease. According to the present mode of shoe-ing, those diseases which affect the horse’s foot constantly takeplace on that portion of it which is covered by the extendedbreadth of the shoe, while the exposed parts remain uninjured.The reason is, that the covered parts, besides being exposed topermanent pressure from the cause already related, become ten-der by being covered. If these parts, therefore, are exposed,they get hardened and thick ; and if the horse happens to treadon a hard and rough body, the inconvenience is but momentary,and the pain will make him remove his foot, so as to prevent mis-chief. Common shoeing is very liable to produce corns by thehoofs spreading out, and leaving the shoe in close contact w ith thesole, where it acts as a fixed point, and will not allow the elasticityof the insensible sole to act. The nails of the shoe should not beplaced near the heels, for it disposes the heel to contract, espe-cially when the bars are cut away. Mr. Coleman lias the shoes madethree times as thick at the toe as at the heels, because they wearmore forward than behind. By this means the heels are less op-pressed with weight, and the frog is allowed to come down to theground : a matter of extreme importance. The nails are all placedforward, four on eacii side, but not approaching too near the heels,that they may not obstruct the elastic powers of those parts. Theold method of fullering, i. c. making a groove in the shoe, beingfound injurious, by oltcn breaking away flic heads of the nails,they are now counter-sunk in conical or wedge-shaped holes, sothat they may be driven up close to their thickest parts, and beout of the way of accident. By this means the nails and shoes ap-pear as one body, and always wear together. For horses whichgo in shafts, or are used in hunting, it is usual to make shoes withonly one heel, which should be outward. T he horse’s heel musthe rather lowered on that side, and the inner heel of the shoesomewhat thickened so as to balance and bear equally. By this6 easy