379
FARRIERY.
ft-ver after this treatment increase, the horse feed little, stale often,his urine being thin anri pale, and his dung sometimes loose, andat other times hard ; should the moisture in his mouth continue,his skin being sometimes dry and at others moist, with his coatlooking staring and surfeited : upon these irregular symptoms,which denote great clanger, the balls, No. 6, or the drink, No. 17,should be given, without delay, tor in these cases (there is no time,to be lost. When the horse has so far recovered his strength, thathe is fit to be taken out of the stable, lead him into the open air,which will contribute much to Ii'h speedy recovery. Costiveness is bad in all diseases, but particularly in those of the head and infevers. When therefore tlie horse is in this condition, recoursemust be had to emollient clysters or saline purges. If, on thecontrary, the looseness should happen, it is often critical, andtherefore should not be immediately stopped, if moderate; butif, by continuance the horse grow feehle, mild astringents andtonics must be administered. Particular regard should be had tohis staling; which if in too great quantities, so as manifestly todepress his spirits, should be controlled by proper restringenuj orby preparing his drinks with lime-water. If, on the contrary, ithappen that he is too remiss this way, and stale so little as tooccasion a fulness and swelling of the body and legs, mild diure-tics such as No. 5, will be the most proper remedies. The signsof a horse’s recovery are known by his hide keeping open, andhis skin feeling kindly; his ears and feet will be of a moderatewarmth, and his eyes brisk ajid lively ; his nose grows clean anddry ; his appetite mends, lie lies clown well, and both stales anddungs regularly. If he happen to have eruptions on his skin atthis time, it is no bad symptom, but on the contrary’, may provevery beneficial. Medicines will now be no longer necessary, asthe completion of the cure depends more on proper attention tosupply him with suitable diet and convenient exercise. As alltedious distempers weaken the digestive faculties, we may easilysuppose a horse is not able immediately upon his recovery, toconcoct the same quantity of food as before he was ill. It istherelore obviously improper to give him as large feeds in hisweak, though convalescent state, as formerly, when he was in per-fect health and strength. This, it is alleged, will bring him to his*lesh and strength the sooner; but it is a great mistake, and is indanger of causing a relapse ; for though the horse’s stomach behaving, and he appear greedy of food, yet as he will not be ableto digest it, so as to enlarge the quantity of good chyle, he mustnecessarily generate crudities, which may occasion a relapse, or at•east throw him into a surfeit, which may prove as bad. Hencethe necessity appears of feeding sparingly at first, and of givingmin provender by little and little, in proportion to his strength.He should also be aired every day ; for fresh air is as necessaryto restore all the functions as a proper diet; as is evident from thespeedy effect a charfge of air has on the health and recovery of■ he human species. And then gentle exercise, increased by de-grees, will bring him to his wind and flesh, by promoting a duemstributiou of the chyle, and a regular circulation of the
Hiss these disorders together, because the second is grne-j y the attendant on and consequence of the first. A cold in a>°rse is the same sort of disease as in a man. It is occasioned byw ' e i j a,ne exposure, and to be avoided by the same sort of cautions® mink necessary for ourselves. To enumerate the variousji uses °f colds would be endless : the most usual are, ridingtio rbeS /'^ t * le ' a . re .h°t> a nd suffering them to stand in that condi-hof t' m re a ‘ r ' S CO ' f * ant ' P' crc ' n Pt '• removing a horse from a\ stable to a cold one, and too suddenly changing his cloathing;
ence it is that horses often catch such severe colds after thevdov' C 0l i* °^ le balers hands, and by not being carefully rubbedstai\ n ." len U,e y com e in hot off journies. Where there is a con-cov att . er l tl011 aiK * care > the effects of cold ate not only soon dis-it JLIt an observation may be very early made to what pait
Vons re "'’mediately directs its attack. For instance, if the ner-r eivp S ?' r >e ^ lc irritable, the affection is quickly per-
der tli* le e - ves ’ l * ie glandular, upon the neck, throat, un-‘''reuln- <>arS i’ 01 ,' n l * ie l’ ea( * : or '' n ’ ore particularly the system of• l POn t llaS )len a h ec i e d» the consequences are soon apparentlungs; and will be exerted more or less in a cough, or
difficulty of breathing, according to the severity of attack, fromthe repulsion of respirable matter, and its consequent-absorptioninto the circulation. As soon as the horse is in this state, a symp-tomatic fever attends ; which is to be understood as no more thana degree of febrile heat or irritability dependent on the originalcause, which gradually ceases as the primary disease is found todecline. From an aliection of the different part? above specified,various disorders ensue, which are treated of under their properheads. Here we have only to consider that kind of cold fixed onthe lungs, which produces cough ; and which, if taken in its firststage, generally yields to very simple remedies. With regard toprognostic 8 , when the cough is strong, and the horse does not re-fuse scalded bran or warm water, at the same time pricking up hisears and moving briskly in his stall, it is a good sign ; as alsowhen he dungs and stales freely without pain. It is likewise agood sign, when his skin feels as in health, and when his mouth ismoist without being clammy. But when his coat stares, it is abad omen : when his mouth is hot, dry, and parched, and hisbelly tucked up, there is danger of a fewer: when a horse feelsholler than ordinary, with a working at Ins flanks ; when he willnot eat Ids meat or drink his water; when his eyes are very moist,his mouth slimy, his ears and feet‘cold, there is danger of a ma-lignant fever. As soon as the attack has been observed, bleedingshould be instantly performed, according to symptoms, size, state,and condition ; and the blood preserved a few hours to ascertainits state: if livid or black, with a coat of size upon its surface,there is no doubt of its viscidity, and of the obstructed circulationof that fluid through the finer vessels of the lungs. In three orfour hours after bleeding, give a mash prepared as follows:—Onequal parts of bran and oats, pour a sufficient quantity of boilingwater, in which two ounces of Spanish juice, and four ounces ofhoney has been dissolved, and then stir in two ounces aniseedand liquorice powders ; honey four ounces. In two hours afterthe mash give a gallon or six quarts of soft water moderately 1warm, in which has been dissolved two ounces of nitre. Thesemashes Mr. Tnplin directs to be “ continued every night andmorning, giving a moderate feed of dry oats in the middle of theday, good sweet hay in small quantities, and the same proportionof nitre to be repeated in the water after each mash. To thesemust be added the necessary regulations of good dressing andgentle exercise, which in general soon efi'ect the cure of such coldsas are counteracted upon the first attack.” When the disorderhas been neglected, and made a rapid progress, should the coughbe violent and constant, the horse very dull and refusing his food,and the symptomatic fever run high, the blood will consequentlyprove as before described. In this case the symptoms will notperhaps yield to the above plan so soon as may be wished. Itwill therefore be necessary to repeat the bleeding in two or threedays at farthest, according to circumstances. Continue themashes and nitre as before directed ; and give about four ouncesof the cordial pectoral ball, No. 8, every morning. Malt may-be substituted for oats in the mash, if thought more agree-able.
Of Asthma, Broken W t ind, and Consumption.
The consequences of colds, neglected or injudiciously treated,are settled habitual coughs, asthmas, broken wind, and consump-tions. 'Die asthmatic cough, which is distinguished by beingshort and drv, preceded by a husky hollow kind of wheezing, as.if the respiration were obstructed by fragments of hay or corn re-tained in the passage, is not incurable, unless it have continuedlong, and the horse be old. Bleeding must be first performed,and occasionally repeated in small quantities, till the glandular in-flammation and irritability are allayed, and the blood so attenu-ated by the constant use of nilre, as to render the circulation freethrough the finer vessels of the lungs, from the obstructions inwhich all the difficulties proceed. Bleeding having taken placewith the necessary circumspection as to quantity, let two ouncesof nitre be given punctually everv night in the water, as particu-larized under the article Colds , continuing one of the balls,No. 9, everv morning for a fortnight or three weeks, that a fairand decisive trial may be obtained. This treatment, with the,as-sistance of open air and moderate exercise proportioned to thehorse’s strength and constitution will bid fair to effect a cure inevery case in which the disease is not too deeply rooted to re-
t- sisfc