.104

FARRIERY.

shoe be put oh ; so as to avoid pressing the part. Corns or bruisesin the feet of horses might, by taking proper care of them, beeasily avoided: for in those countries where the horses go mostlybarefooted, this malady is not known ; neither are horses that goconstantly at cart and plough subject to it. Hence it is oftenest tobe met with in great towns, where horses go much upon hardrauseway, having their shoes turned up with high cankers on theheels, and frequently’ renewed ; their hoofs at the same time beingkept too dry and hard, from standing too much upon hot drylitter. Hence there is an evident necessity of coolness and mois-ture, together with using such a form of shoe as w ill press equallyupon the circumference of the crust, without giving it any unna-tural shape.

Of the Ruxx’ix'o Thrush and Canker.

I. A “Running Thrush, or Erush, is a discharge of ichorousmatter, from the cleft in the middle of the frog, affecting one,often two, and in some cases all the four feet. But, generally, thefore-feet arc most subject to this disease. In most cases, it seldomadmits of a radical cure ; but is subject to frequent relapses, occa-sioning lameness, from the rawness and tenderness of the parts af-fected on being exposed to sand, gravel, ikc. or in rough ground,from the heels treading on sharp stones, &c. and when the horsehappens to he in a bad habit of body, they degenerate into what iscommonly called a canker. As to the cure, m most cases w herethe disease has been of long standing, affecting all the frogs moreor less, it is impracticable to eradicate it by any assistance fromart. But in those hoofs which are wide and open at the heels,where the complaint is recent, one or both of the fore feet onlybeing affected, and where there is reason to suspect that it pro-ceeds from the use of hollow shoes, or keeping the hoofs too hot,drv, and hard, the cure may be completed with ease and safety,by laying aside the use of concave shoes, washing the frogs cleanafter exercise, and dressing them with mel /Egvptiacum, or a so-lution of blue vitriol, in the proportion of one ounce to a quart ofwater, keeping the hoofs cool and moist. At the same time, re-course must be had to internal remedies by way of revulsion, ordiuretic medicines, bleeding being first premised : if the former ismade choice of, tw ice or thrice will be sufficient, repeated at pro-per intervals ; but if the latter, which seems preferable, they may-be continued for some time with great safety, without losing oneday’s work of the iiorse.

II. In horses of a bad habit of body, especially the heavydraught kind, running thrushes sometimes degenerate into what iscalled a canker. In this case the hornv substance of the frog is•soon thrown off; the fleshy parts grow to an immoderate size, theluxuriant substance or spongy flesh having a great number of pa-pilla’ or tubercles, which Mr. Gibson compare’s, not improperly,to cauliflower, the colour only excepted, which is of a pale red,sometimes variegated with blood; attended with a copious dis-charge of a thin ichorous fetid humour, having a most offensivesmell. If its progress he not speedily stopped, the fleshy sole,from its vicinity becomes likewise affected; the horny sole rots,decays, and falls off; the whole foot turns into a kind of bog, inwarm weather full of maggots, which it is dlmost impossible to pre-vent, even with the most corrosive dressings ; the tendons becomelikewise affected, the bones carious, the hoof falls cif, and thehorse is rendered useless. To prevent these consequences, as soonas a running thrush begins to shew the least malignant disposition,proper means must he used to correct the habit of body, and todivert tills discharge to some other outlet, either by purging ordiuretic remedies, continued for some time, bleeding being firstused. As to external applications, the first thing necessary to bedone, is to pare down the crust till it K lower than the fungus, orgrow th of the canker, and to remove any hard pieces of the hoofor sole wherever it presses upon the tender parts; the circularpart of the crust should be kept soft with an emollient poultice.For dressings the mildest escharotic pow ders may be first tried ;as a mixture of blue vitriol and burnt alnm, one part of tiie for-mer to two of the latter. But when it degenerates into a canker,the strongest corrosive applications will be necessary, and some-times hardlv sufficient to keep down the luxunancy of the fmiguk.The concentrated mineral acids are preferable, of butter of anti-mony : either of these may he applied once every day; otherwise, ifneglected dressing too long, or to every other day, which is thecommon practice, the great lnimidity and moisture issuing from

the fungus so weakens the force of the strongest oils, that theyhave little or no effect. When these sharp dressings seem to gainupon the canker, it may be dressed with equal parts of red preci-pitate and burnt alum pounded and mixed together, till the newsole begins to grow ; the purging or diuretic medicines beinggiven at proper intervals till the cure is completed.

OF False Quarters and Sandcracks.

I. A false quarter in the foot of a horse is a cleft or chink in theside or quarter of the hoof, cunning in a slanting direction withthe horny fibres of the hoof, from the coronet to its basis, bywhich the horn v substance of the crust is divided ; one part of thehoof being in a manner detached from the other, and renderedunable to sustain its share of the weight of tint limb, &c. andhence the name of false quarter : for, w hen the horse sets his footon the ground, the chink widens: hut, when it is lifted up, thehardened edges of the divided hoof take in between them the softparts, and squeeze them so as to occasion frequent bleeding at the.chink. This is often attended with inflammation, a discharge ofmatter, and of course lameness. Hor.-es with this defect shouldbe carefully observed ; and when the thick hardened edges of thechink grow too high, by which it is so much the deeper, and, ofcourse, lodges the greater quantity of sand, kc. these edges shouldhe rasped, or pared with a crooked knife, till the seam disappears.But wherever there remains a blackness, or appearance of gravel,that must be (raced farther; always observing, if possible, to avoiddrawing blood.

II. A Sand-crack a perpendicular (isssure extending more orless from above downwards, or from below upwards, but in aliinstances penetrating to the sensible parts, and thus causing lame-ness when the animal puts liimselt in motion. VV here this happeas there is a preternatural brittleness and dryncs: of the hootiwhich should he couuteracjed, either by turning the horse outupon wet ground, or by applying moist poultices to bis feet whenin the stable. To cure this disease, the sides of the crack must hopared through its whole length, and the transverse incision alsomade ; after which the reproduction of the hoof from the coronetmust he watched, and when favourable, it must be secured fromsplitting in consequence of motion communicated from the oldcrack, by another transverse cut or incision in the crust.

A COLLECTION OF MEDICINES.

The following prescriptions are accommodated to the diseasesof the horse, and the cases in which they may he applied areeasily known by the references to the numbers prefixed.

Balls.

Balls and pastes are the most convenient form for the exhibi-tion of such medicines as require the dose to be ascertained withexactness; as opiates, cathartics, mercurials, &c. And likewisefor disguising the taste of those that are nauseous, as the fetidgums, &e. As balls dissolve more slowly in the stomach, theyare capable of producing more gradual and lasting effects, thanany of the other forms ; which, in most cases, is a considerable ail-1 vantage, where the medicine is not required to exert its influenceimmediately ; otherwise a drink is preferable. Balls should he ofan oval shape, and not exceeding the size of a pullet’s egg. Whenthe dose is larger, it should he divided into two; and they shouldbe dipped in oil to make them slip down the more easily. Thefollowing is tiie most accurate formula: for making them up, ac-cording to the most improved modern practice, in the differentdiseases for which tlmy are prescribed.

No. 1. 1’uRGiNG Balls.

L Take socotorine aloes six ounces, Castile soap and vitriolaledtartar, three ounces each ; jalap and ginger, two ounces each; oil ofaniseeds, one ounce; syrup ot buckthorn, enough to make a mass.The socotorine aloes should always be preferable to the Barbadoes or plantation aloes, though the latter may be given to robuststrong horses; but even then should always he well divided bysome neutral purging salt, as vitriolated tartar, or the cream of tar-tar ; hut with this ingredient soap should not be admitted into thecompound, as all acids decompose it. Any of these addition*, bydestroying the tenacity of the aloes, prevents its adhesion to (liecoats of the stomach and bowels, from whence horrid gripings,and even death itself, have often ensued. This caution is wellworthy of being attended lo, as many horses have fallen sacrificesto the neglect of it. See Aloss. The above mass mav be di-1 ‘ * vided