391

FARRIERY.

(he cicatrix in its infancy, ami prevent the buckle of the girth fromcoming into direct contact with the injured part, not only till thesurface is sufficiently hardened to render a repetition unlikely,but upon all future occasions.

Of Wind-Galls; and of Blood and Bog Spavins.

I. A Wind-Gall isa flatulent swelling, which yields to the pres-sure of the finger, and recovers its shape on the removal thereof ; thetumor is visible to the eye, and often seated on both sides of the backsinew, above the fetlocks^ on the fore legs, but most frequently onthe hind legs ; though ihev are met with on various parts of thebody, wherever membranes can be so separated, that a quantityof air and serosities may lie included within their duplicatures.When wind-galls appear "near the joints and tendons, they are ge-nerally caused by strains or bruises on the sinews, or the sheaththat covers them"; which, by being over-stretched, have some oftheir fibres ruptured ; whence probably may ouze out that fluidwhich is commonly found with the included air: though, wherethese swellings shew- themselves in the interstices of large muscles,which appear blown up like bladders, air alone is the cbiet fluid ;and these may safely be opened, and treated as a common w ound.On the first appearance of w ind-galls, their cure should be at-tempted by restringents and bandages ; for w hich purpose, let theswelling be bathed twice a-dav with vinegar, or verjuice alone; orwith the repellent embrocation, No. .37 ; or let die part be fo-mented with the restringent fomentation, No. fib; binding over it,M ith a roller, a woollen doth soaked in the same. Some, for thispurpose, use red wine lees ; others curriers’ shavings wetted withthe same, or vinegar, bracing the part up w ith a firm bandage.If, after a proper trial, this method should not succeed, authorshave advised the swelling to be pierced with an awl, or openedwith a knife ; but mild blistering is in general preferred to thesemethods ; the included, tluids being thereby drawn off, the im-pacted air dispersed, and the tumour gradually diminished.v IL A Blood-Sfavis is a swelling and dilatation of the veinthat runs along the inside of the hock, forming a little soft swell-ing in the hollow part, and is often attended with a weakness andlameness of the hock. The treatment is the same as that aboverecommended.

1U. A Bog Spavin is an encysted tumour on the inside of thehough ; or, according to Dr. Bracken, a collection of brownishgelatinous matter, contained in a hag or cyst, which lie thinks tobe the lubricating matter of the joint altered, the common mem-brane that incloses it forming the cyst. This case he has takenpains to illustrate in a young colt of his own, where he says, Whenthe spavin was pressed hard on the inside of the hough, there was asmall tumour on the outside, which convinced him the fluid was onthe inside of the joint. lie accordingly cut into it; discharged alarge quantity of this gelatinous matter; dressed the sore with dos-sils dipped in oil of turpentine; putting into it, once in three orfour clays, a powder made of calcined vitriol, alum, and bole. Bvthis method of dressing, the bag sloughed oft, and came away, andthe cure was successfully completed without any visible scar. If,through the pain attending the operation or dressings, the jointshould swell and inflame, foment it twice a-day, and apply a poul-tice over the dressings till it is reduced.

Of Mallendf.rs and Sai.lenders.

1- Mailenders are cracks in the bend of the horse’s knee, that< ischarge a sharp indigested matter ; they are often the occasionlameness, stillness, and tin: horse’s tumbling.

I. Sai.lenders are the same distemper, situated on (he bend-H g of the hough, and occasion a lameness behind. Both these elis-or e . r f a '! e curet ' by washing the parts with a lather of soap warmed,.° c t'hamber ley ; and then applying over the cracks a strongticuual ointment spread on low, with which they should heressecl night and morning, till all the scabs fall off; if this shouldo succeed, anoint them night and morning with a little of the. 1 “f" 1 °‘ nitrated quick-silver; No 48; to one oz. of whichm aK ' c hins of the extract of lead is added; or else with an oint-™ ° corrosive sublimate, in the proportion of one drachm tobein° Z ’ ?! i ma y niixed with the lard by itself, afterin “ fl ' nto fi ,le powder ; or it may be previously dissolved

n a htt le marine acid,

Of Lam pas, Barbs, Wolves Tef.th, and other Diseases okthe Mouti-i.

I, The Lamvas is an excrescence in the roof of the horse’*mouth, which is sometimes so luxuriant, that it grows above theteeth, and hinders his feeding. The ordinary method of cure islightly cauterising the flesh with a hot iron, taking care that it doesnot penetrate too deep so as to scale oil the thin bone that liesunder the upper bars ; the part may be; anointed with burnt alumand lionev, which is proper for most sores m the mouth. '1 Insoperation is by some justly thought to be quite unnecessary ; itbeing a general observation, that all young horse- have theirmouths more or less full of what are called lampas; and that some-times they rise higher than the fore teeth. It is further observed,in proportion as a horse grows older, the; roof flattens of itself, auctthe teeth then appear to rise. We are obligc'd to the ingeniousM. La Fosse for this remark, which w e hope w ill produce an abo-lition of tliis barbarous and useless operation.

if. Barbs are small excrescences under the tongue, which maybe discovered by draw ing it aside, and are cured by cutting closeotf, and washing with brandy, or salt and water.

III. A horse is said to have Wolves Teeth, when the teethgrow m such a manner, that their points prick or wound either thetongue or gums in eating. Old horses are most liable to this in-firmity, and whose upper overshoot the under teeth in a great de-gree. " The remedy is to file down the superfluous parts of theteeth till they he sufficiently wasted.

IV. Besides these disorders of the. mouth, there are often ob-served on the inside of the lips and palate, little swellings or blad-ders, called giggs. Blitting them open with a knife or lancet, andwashing them afterwards with salt and vinegar, is in general theircure ; hut when they degenerate into what are called cankers,which are known by little white specks, that spread and occasionirregular ulcers, the best method then is to touch them daily witha small flat cautery, moderately heated till the spreading is stop-ped, and to rub the sores three or lour times a-day with mel/Egyptiucum, and tincture of myrrh ; or borax and honey of roses.W hen by this dressing the sloughs are separated, they may bewashed frequently with a sponge dipped in a strong solution ofblue vitriol and alum.

V. A Relaxation and Swelling of the Palate , some-limes happens to horses on catching cold. To remedy this disor-der anoint the part with honey of roses, acidulated with marineacid; or bathe it with the restringent fomentation, No. 56, cold,either applied with a sponge, or thrown into the mouth with asyringe.

Of the Grease.

The Grease is a disease, of the nature and causes of w hich au-thors have given a very imperfect account. The name is proba-bly derived from the discharge thrown out from the skin of thepart affected, which is of a greasy or unctuous nature. The partin which it always begins is the fetlock of one of the hind legs. Itscarcely ever is seen in the fore leg; and the reason why it affectsthe hind leg exclusively, is probably its greater distance from thecentre of the circulation, the vessels acting more and more weaklyin proportion to their greater distance from the heart. From thiscircumstance, it seems to be a disease primarily arising from localdebility, and from an inert state of the circulating vessels. W hena horse becomes affected with the grease, several transverse chapsor fissures take place at different distances above the heels. Whenthese exist, they are greatly aggravated by the motions of thehorse, which are continually varying; so that if (here existed inthese fissures a disposition to unite, it would still he counteractedby the parts being repeatedly put on the stretch, and the union, ifany had taken place, would be forcibly torn asunder. Veterina-rian authors have usually considered, this disease as arising fromtwm different causes: 1st, a fault or relaxation in the vessels; or2dly, a bad disposition in the blood and juices. They observe,that the blood is brought to the extreme parts by the arteries, andreturned by the veins; in which latter, the blood is.to rise in per-pendicular columns,, to return the circulating fluids from the ex-tremities: hence swellings in the legs of horses may easily he ac-counted for, from an inadequate motion of the venous blood inthe finer vessels, where the circulation is most languid ; and espe-fi daily