''''^''^'^'rvfmiffrf*?^^ 
 
 Its 
 
 k^^^M 
 
 m k:-.i'L 
 
 y-*^'- 
 
 
 '/I 
 
 mm 
 

 
 MAm. 
 
 •-■^aAa' 
 
 ■''■AA^A^ 
 
 il2lr' 
 
 4^AaA^' 
 
 lim 
 
 
 
Aflkt;: 
 
 *> 
 
 U^\fr 
 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 ^fmMiKi^. 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
 
 ^^ftftio i. 
 
 Mii 
 
 I'm' 
 
 ai<M^! 
 
 .¥f¥T. 
 
 
 
 ^??FT7ri 
 
 »* ■,^- 
 
 -■/ 
 
■ 1^.11 PlWJOiJUlH)PHJ!J,ffl 
 
 
 J»' 
 
 f 
 
• ■ # • 4 
 
 .*, 
 
 
 
 rk{ist>i^.\^ 
 
. ,.$ 
 
 "^■ 
 
 •^:<^' 
 
 J 
 
J 
 
 t- 
 
 X 
 
. .^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 

 • ♦ '' 
 
 THE AMERICAN FARMER'S 
 
 HORSE BOOK; 
 
 Embracing, in addition to the subjects usually treated of in 
 similar works ; A Full Description of the Causes and 
 Nature of Several Diseases Peculiar to tne Ameri- 
 can Horse; together with Original, Simple and 
 Effective Modes of Treatment, Including 
 those of some Diseases heretofore considered incurable; 
 and also. An Extended Treatise on Stock Raising and 
 Stock Management. The whole Especially 
 Adapjfed to the Use of the Farmer. 
 
 By ROBERT STEWART, M. D., V. S. 
 
 embodying 
 The Results of Twenty Years Original investigation 
 ^ and Veterinary Practice. 
 
 RICHMOND, ATLANTA, AND NEW ORLEANS: 
 * National PuBLisriiNG Company. 
 
 J 
 
 1867. 
 
'■■■* ' 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by 
 
 C. F. VENT & CO., 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
 
 District of Ohio. 
 
 6TXBK0TTPED AT THB 
 
 rSANKLIN TYPE FOUNPST, 
 
 CINCIKHATI. 
 
 i 
 
V-SF4:5-/ 
 
 
 
 PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. 
 
 As this work goes to press, the author is confined to his 
 bed with a painful and protracted sickness, rendering him 
 unable to write a preface. Were he able to do so, however, 
 he would not be called upon to make an apology for the 
 issue of such a work. It needs no apology. It meets our 
 most sanguine expectations, and we feel sure it will receive 
 the warm approbation and cordial support of those interested 
 in the horse and mule. 
 
 The work had a natural origin, and a slow, healthy growth 
 and development, arriving at full maturity before being sent 
 forth to the world. The author commenced the study of the 
 subject some twenty years ago, for the purpose of discover- 
 ing rational modes of treatment for Fistula and Big Head, 
 which were making fearful ravages among his own stock, 
 the only modes of treatment known being the barbarous and, 
 to a great extent, ineffectual ones, still in general practice in 
 many localities in the Valley of the Mississippi. At the 
 time, he had no idea of pursuing the subject further, but the 
 complete success that crowned his efforts in the treatment 
 of his own stock and that of his neighbors, who pressed him 
 into the service, created a thirst for a general and minute 
 knowledge of all the diseases the horse is heir to, and led 
 him to abandon all other pursuits, and give himself up to 
 study and original investigation, which led to a very wide 
 and highly successful veterinary practice, completely demol- 
 ishing many old theories, and superseding the harsh, cruel, 
 and inhuman modes of treatment generally practiced, by 
 those more effectual, cheaper, simpler, and in every way 
 
 (iii) 
 
 ^SSiS^l 
 
IV ^N^ PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. 
 
 better. His practice was chiefly in ,tlie great stock-raising 
 regions of Tennessee and Mississippi, but extended all the 
 way from the Ohio to the Kio Grande. 
 
 This book is the result, apd we put it forth in the full 
 confidence that it will more fi^lly meet the wants of American 
 horse-owners and managers than any other, or all other, 
 works extant. It is distinctively American, treating more 
 fully and explicitly of the diseases peculiar to the American 
 horse — more especially those peculiar ^ to the Valley of the 
 Mississippi — than any other work hitherto published. It is 
 written in plain, simple language, that any one can under- 
 stand with the aid of the Glossary of Technical and Scien- 
 tific Terms, and will be found peculiarly adapted to the use 
 of the farmer. We send it forth on its rmrits, and have no 
 fears but what it will stand there. 
 
 Those who may use it will confer a favor by communi- 
 cating to us, by letter, the results of their experience. We 
 shall thereby be enabled to detect and correct any errors 
 that may have crept in, or that may occur on the part of 
 those using the book. 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
 CiirciKNATi, January 1, 1867. 
 
 f 
 
 i ' 
 
 / 
 
 ./ 
 
 r 
 
/ 
 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 ' CHAPTER I. 
 
 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HORSE.— General Principles kept in 
 viFW IN THIS Work — Kbmarks on Crossing, etc.-— iM^ORtANT Facts to 
 
 BB REMEMBBRBD IN T^ATING DISEASES OP THE llollSa....< 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OUTLINE OF TH^ STRUCTURE OF THE HORSt:.— Muscles, Ten- 
 dons, AND Membb:anes — The Skin — The HAift-^Tnii Feet- The Blood- 
 vessels — The H^art — The Pores — The Brai* ai^d Nervous System — 
 Respiratory Organs — The Stomach and IiIte^tinal ' Organs — The 
 Liver — The Pancreas — The Spleen — The X7 Binary Organs 23 
 
 / CHAPTER III. 
 
 DISEASES OF^THE BONES.— Big Head and Big Jaw, or Exostosis op 
 THE Bones — S>nNNY, or Inflammation ot t4e Shoulder — Big Shoul- 
 der — Inflammation or Swinny of the IIiJ»— Slipped or Broken Hip — 
 Bone Spavin — Illustrative Cases — CAUtioNS — Enlarged Hock — 
 Broken Hook — Ring-bone — Stifle — Si^LiNt — Broken Knees — Stum- 
 bling SWAY-BAC^ » 69 
 
 CHAPTElt IV. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE FEET.— Ulceration op the Foot, or Navicular 
 Disease — Cracked Hoofs — Hoof-rot— -Corns — Contraction of the Hoop, 
 or Narrow Heel — Injuries to the Frog — Inflammation of the Feet, 
 or Founder. 100 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 DISEASES OP Tnfe GLANDS AND NASAL MEMBRANES.— Blind 
 Staggers — Glanders — Farcy — Distemper — Nasal Gleet 118 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE EYE.— Naturally Weak Eyes— Sore Eyelids- 
 Moon Eyes — Cataract — Glass Eyes — Inflammation of the Haw, or 
 
 Hooks — Dimness op Vision— ^How to detect a bad Eyb 164 
 
 (▼) 
 
Vl TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS— Fistula— Poll 
 Evil — Blood and Bog Spavin — Wind Galls — Curb — Thorough-pin — 
 Tetanus, or Lockjaw — Cramps — Rheumatism — Spasms — String Halt, 
 OR Spring Halt 184 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 DISEASES OP-THE SKIN AND EARS— Scratches— Thrush— Cracked 
 Heels, or Greese — Swelled Legs — Swelled Ankles — Surfeit — 
 Mange — Hidebound — Stiff Complaint — Warts — Sorb Nose — Saddle 
 Galls— Injuries op the Ear — Sorb Ears — Vermin 216 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM.— Water on 
 the Bra < — Apoplexy — Rabies (Hydrophobia, or Madness) — Fits, or 
 Epilepsy — Palsy — Insanity » 246 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH— Teething, or Denti- 
 tion — Shedding — Blind Teeth — Decay op the Teeth — Scurvy of the 
 Teeth— Stump-sucking, Crib-biting, and Wind-sucking — Lampas... 260 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 DISEASES OF THE THROAT.— Colds— Enlarged Glands— Swelled 
 Throat — Cough — Malignant Epidemic — Difficulty of Breathing — 
 Broken Wind, Bellows, and Heaves — Thick Wind, Wheezing, etc. — 
 Roaring '277 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 DISEASES OF THE CHEST AND LUNGS— Chest Founder- Bron- 
 chitis — Pneumonia, or Inflammation of the Lungs — Consumption — 
 Pleurisy. 295 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS— Sour Stomach- 
 Colic in the Stomach — The Bot — Inflammation op the Bowels — En- 
 teritis — Flatulent Colic — Inflammation and Rupture of the Colon — 
 Inflammation and Bleeding of the Rectum — Soreness and Itching op 
 the Anus. « 307 
 
X 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC.— Jaundicb, 
 OR Yellows — Enlargement of the Spleen — Inflammation of the 
 Kidneys, or Nephritis — Profuse Stalling, or Diabetes — Bloody 
 Urine, or Hematuria — Thick and Albuminous Urine — White or 
 Limy Urine — Gravel, or Stone in the Bladder — Suppression op 
 Urine — Inflammation of the Bladder — Foul Sheath — Colt Founder — 
 Diseases of Young Colts 328 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC.— Thumps— Scrofula- 
 Fever, OR Inflammation of t^ Blood — Thick Blood — Thin Blood — 
 Bleeding — The Pulse — ^The Modes of giving Medicine — Drenching — 
 The Pill — In the Feed — The Clyster. 353 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC.— Internal 
 Poisons — Poisons op the Skin — Animal Poisons 383 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT.— Pasturing— Grasses — Hay 
 and Fodder — Grain — Green Feed for Winter — General Stable 
 Management — Light — Ventilation and Temperature — Flooring — 
 Bedding — Cleansing and Currying— Changes op Weather and Tem- 
 perature — Blanketing — Disinfectants — Exercise 401 
 
 CHAPITER XVIII. 
 
 BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC.— The Horse and his Qualities— 
 The Mare; her Qualities and Treatment — The Colt and his Treat- 
 ment — Crossing — Castrating — The Mule — Stock Farms 435 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 MARKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES.— The Teeth— The Lips— The Hair— 
 The Chin — The Eyes — The Abuses op the Horse — Over-working— 
 Whipping and Beating — Cutting and Slitting the Ears — Nicking and 
 Docking — Racing , 468 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 GENTLING, BREAKING, AND TRAINING.— The Young Colt— The 
 One Year old Colt — The Colt at Two Years old — Breaking — The 
 Rarey Method — Saddle Horses — Horses for the Buggy and Carriage 
 — Draught Horses — Roadsters — Mule Breaking, Trainikg, Bra... 496 
 
VlU TABLE OF CONTENTa 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 FRACTURES. — Fractures op the Skull — Fractures op the Nasal 
 Bones — Fracture of the Rib* — Simple Fracture of the Limbs — Frame — 
 Pex — Setting the Bones — Treatment op the Wounds — The time to 
 
 HEAL 525 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 SnOEINGr. — The putting on the Shoe — Calking — Clips — The Hinder 
 Shoe — Different kinds of Shoes — Paring the Hoofs — Changing thb 
 Shoes — The time op wearin6 534 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 VICES AND UNSOUNDNESS OF THE HORSE.— I. Vices: Kicking— 
 Biting — Rearing — Scaring... Running away — Balking and Backing — 
 Chewing the reins — Pulling at the halter and breaking away — 
 Overreaching AND Interfering — Stumbling — II. Unsoundness: Defects 
 OP THE Eye — Defects of the Feet — Defects op the Skin — Defects op 
 the Respiratory Organs — Defects op the Stomach and Bowels — Thb 
 Urinary Organs — Conclusion 551 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 MEDICAL PREPARATIONS RECOMMENDED IN THIS WORK.. 662 
 
 GLOSSARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN 
 THIS WORK 573 
 
 GENERAL INDEX 581 
 
 TABLE OF SYMPTOMS TO FACILITATE THE DETECTION OF 
 DISEASE : 591 
 
AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 
 
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES KEPT IN VIEW IN THIS WORK — REMARKS ON 
 
 CROSSING, ETC. 
 
 The horse is a native of several districts of Asia and 
 Africa ; and in the Southern parts of Siberia large herds of 
 these animals are occasionally seen. In Ukraine, where wild 
 horses are often found, they are rendered no otherwise serv- 
 iceable to man than as food. The wild horses on each side of 
 the Bon are the oft'spring of the Russian horses that were 
 employed in the siege of Asoph, in the year 1697, when, for 
 want of forage, they were turned loose. They have relapsed 
 into a state of nature, and have become as shy and timid as 
 the original savage breed. The Cossacks chase them, but 
 always in the winter, by driving them into the valleys filled 
 with snow, into which they plunge, and are caught. Their 
 excessive swiftness is such as to entirely exclude every other 
 mode of capture. 
 
 The horses of South America are of Spanish origin, and 
 entirely of the Andalusian breed. They are now become so 
 numerous as to live in herds, some of which are said to con- 
 sist of ten thousand. 
 
 The horse, in a domesticated state, is found in almost every 
 part of the globe, except, perhaps, w^ithin the Arctic Circle ; 
 and his reduction and conquest is generally considered as the 
 greatest acquisition from the animal world that the art and 
 
 11 
 
^%., 
 
 ■V 
 
 12 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 industry of man have ever made. In our opinion, however, 
 the sheep should be ranked first in usefulness, the kine sec- 
 ond, and the horse third. 
 
 Of the six ascertained species of horses, only one has yet 
 been discovered on the !N'ew Continent in a perfectly wild 
 state, and this animal has cloven hoofs. It is an inhabitant 
 of the mountains of South America. 
 
 The horse is a type of man — of man's pride, vices, and in- 
 firmities, no less than of his independence and strength. His 
 martial traits, especially, have been the theme of glowing de- 
 scription and eulogy in all ages. The unthinking horse that 
 rushes to battle is but the truthful representation of his 
 great prototype — man. The description of the Eastern horse 
 in the book of Job is exceedingly poetical and expressive : 
 
 " Hast thou given the horse his strength ? Hast thou clothed 
 his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a 
 grasshopper? The glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paw- 
 eth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength ; he goeth on 
 to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not 
 affrighted ; neither turneth he back from the sword. The 
 quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the 
 shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage; 
 neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He 
 
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 
 
 13 
 
 Baith among the trumpets, Ha ! lia ! and he smelleth the bat- 
 tle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting." 
 
 The exultant song of Miriam, after the passage of the 
 children of Israel through the Red Sea, is the second place 
 in the Bible where reference is made to the horse. In her 
 impassioned recital of the glorious triumphs whereby the 
 Lord had wrought such deliverance for his people, not the 
 least was that " the horse and his rider hath He thrown into 
 the sea." 
 
 DAELEY ARABIAN. 
 
 The horse is nearly always associated in Holy Writ wita 
 man, as possessed with the spirit of war, and of great fond- 
 ness for its conflict and carnage. He, like man, requires, and 
 is capable of, great cultivation and discipline for the murder- 
 ous and guilty pursuit. Associated with man in his sins, he 
 has been cursed, like him, with his diseases — the sure and 
 certain consequences of sin. It may be said of both his phys- 
 
X 
 
 14 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 ical structure and his disorders that they place him nearer 
 man than do those of any of the other heasts of the field. 
 
 The history of the. horse affords us no evidence that there 
 has heen any improvement in the race since Pharaoh and his 
 hosts of horsemen and chariots were overthrown in the Red 
 Sea. The Arabs have always had the finest horses in the 
 world, and their great afiection for them has been most re- 
 markable. Among no people has the art of breeding and 
 training the horse been carried to such perfection as among 
 the wandering tribes of the desert ; and nowhere else has 
 there been such freedom from disease, unless it bo among the 
 ponies of the Western Indians. It does not, then, require in- 
 telligence nor cultivation to have good horses, or even the 
 best. And whether the horse has advanced in improvement 
 since the earlier ages, he certainly has become much more 
 subject to disease, and much more so in those countries 
 where the greatest efforts have been made for the improve- 
 ment of fine breeds. Among the horses of England and 
 France there is three times as much disease as in America, 
 and ten times more in the older States than among the wild 
 horses of the plains of Texas, or the Indian ponies. Both 
 disease and degeneracy have kept pace with the efforts of < 
 stable breeding and management. ^ 
 
 But few persons are aware that 
 on these plains are to be found 
 some of the finest horses in the 
 world — in size and form and mo- 
 tion — some of them of the most 
 perfect symmetry and models of 
 beauty, and possessing all the va- 
 ried movements of gracefulness and 
 agility characterizing the horse 
 trained under the most careful 
 supervision, and often in a much 
 more perfect degree. 
 Said an old Texan ranger to the author, as they were 
 riding together across the great prairies, " Have y^u heard 
 
# 
 
 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 
 
 ^, 
 
 the story of that wild pacing mare ? " And he proceeded to 
 relate that, on the plains south of San Antonio, there had 
 often been seen, in one of the droves of wild horses so com- 
 mon there, a beautiful cream-colored mare, that never broke, 
 her pace, however hard pressed ; and that no horse had ever 
 been found of sufficient bottom to overtake her, although she 
 had been often seen, and the trial made. I afterward heard 
 others speak of her, and that such was her rapid pacing that 
 she could not be caught. 
 
 One striking peculiarity of the wild horse of the plains, 
 and one that interests us more in this work than any other, 
 is that hinted at above, his almost entire freedom from dis- 
 ease. Could we learn the cause of this exemption, we might 
 do well to imitate the example of these dumb instructors ; and 
 nothing in the history of the horse could be of more interest 
 or benefit than to learn this fact. We discover two causes 
 of disease among the horses of civilized life — ^the diet, the food 
 of the stables, and the abuse he receives from his master^ 
 man. The wild horses are free from both, and, with the ex- 
 ception of death from the borer-fly, or from accident, they 
 nearly all die with old age; and some of them live to a great 
 age. They take exercise as N'ature requires, and are gov- 
 erned by its instincts. Their food is the wild grass of the 
 prairies, and their drink is from the clear water brook. 
 They visit often the salt licks, with which the country every- 
 where abounds ; and their simple life is one of almost entire 
 freedom from disease, and in which their natural capacities 
 are developed in their greatest perfection and strength. We 
 could recommend no better veterinary course of study than 
 a trip to the plains, and an acquaintance with the manners 
 and habits of the wild horse, and their beautiful symmetry of 
 form and movements, the last of which has been compared by 
 one,* who has given a description of them, to excel the best- 
 trained cavalry in the world. The student would come back 
 with his mind thoroughly disgusted with the vile practices 
 
 ♦Washington Irving. 
 
'A 
 
 16 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 of the stables and the farms — the homes of the horse among 
 civilized man. 
 
 In England, for the last two or three centuries, the rich 
 .and noble have been engaged in improving the breeds of 
 horses, and bringing out all their fine qualities ; and during 
 all this time he has improved backward — has actually de- 
 generated — ^gone back a hundred years; and, with the ex- 
 ception of a few, gathered from all parts of the land in the 
 stables of rich and noble gentlemen, he is not to day what 
 he was in the days of Charles I. and Oliver Cromwell. And 
 if we are to take the statements of the most learned and re- 
 liable English authors upon the horse, there has been a very 
 great falling off in the last fifty years, more than at any 
 former period. We refer to the statements of Mr. Castley, 
 and of Youatt in his work on the horse, pp. 248-9. This is 
 the condition of the farmer's horse : A very few fine horses 
 are to be found among the rich, who gather them up from 
 all parts of the land ; and the number of these have become 
 80 few, and are held at such enormous prices, that the farmers 
 can not procure them at all. And many a rich gentleman in 
 England may be seen riding a horse now not so good as the 
 common farmer rode to his fair fifty or a hundred years ago. 
 It used to be common for the old English farmer to ride his 
 fine blooded horse to the fair, but that day has passed. All 
 such have been appropriated by the rich and great, and so 
 poorly has the supply kept pace with the demand, that there 
 is not near enough to meet it, and the disparity is becoming 
 greater every year. 
 
 This is the case, also, in Spain. In the days of Spanish 
 chivalry, the Andalusian horse was the finest and noblest the 
 world has ever seen, and the crusader was mounted upon the 
 noblest steed that ever trod the soil. But what are the An- 
 dalusians now ? Mere ponies. Their former greatness is gone. 
 They possess no points of resemblance of former days. They 
 were collected from their native hills and valleys to the 
 haunts and service of civilized man, and they have sunk into 
 obscurity and almost extinction from the earth. 
 
BEIEF HISTOEY OF THE HORSE. . 17 
 
 Sucji ever has been, and such ever will be, the history of 
 the domesticated horse. 'New races are produced by breed- 
 ing and mixing the different races, yet not more than one 
 out of %e will be an improvement of a medium of the two, 
 and the others will fall far below it, and, in combination of 
 bloods, the days will be shortened and the infirmities in- 
 creased. 
 
 In our own country the same law governs, and may be 
 seen to a large extent. But his treatment is so much better, 
 and on our farms he is so much nearer his natural condition, 
 that the same evil results are not seen. Yet the horse of the* 
 present will not compare with those of the days of the Revo- 
 lution. The history of the late terrible war proves this but 
 too plainly. The qualities of the cavalry horse of the present, 
 and his powers of endurance, in comparison with those of 
 McDonald and Marion, are largely in favor of the revolu- 
 tionary times. We have many fine horses in our country, 
 and many of these are among the farmers, but is the general 
 character of the horse what it was in former times? It cer- 
 tainly is not. Many of the horses are larger now, but they 
 are generally coarser, more flabby and loosely made, and do 
 not possess the compactness of form or the powers of endur- 
 ance of the horse of the last century, and, from some 
 source, a fountain of disease has sprung that is deluging our 
 land with its dreadful virus, and disease and degeneracy are 
 terribly on the increase. From whence does this all come, 
 and what has caused it? are questions that interest the his- 
 torian of the horse, and should be made a part of his record, 
 as it properly belongs" to his department. 
 
 We introduce a short account of a very remarkable race 
 of horses, as given by Mr. J. S. Skinner, formerly Assistant 
 Postmaster at Washington City. They are "very small, 
 compact, hardy horses, called beach horses, on the islands 
 along the seaboard of Maryland and Virginia. They run 
 wild throughout the year, and are never fed. When the 
 ' snow sometimes covers the ground for a few days in winter, 
 they dig through it in search of food. They are very dimin- 
 2 • 
 
AMERJCAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 \ 
 utive, but many of them are of perfect symmetry and extra- 
 ordinary powers of action and endurance." One served as a 
 pony for the boys of a family of Accomac for several genera- 
 tions; another could trot his fifteen miles in the hour; still 
 another that it was believed could trot his thirty miles in two 
 hours." 
 
 This account has been introduced to prove still more clearly 
 what has been already stated in connection with the wild 
 horse of the plains, that man has ne^er accomplished, with 
 all his plans and schemes of improvei^nt of Nature's work, 
 what IlTature is constantly doing in th^ same department, 
 unassisted by him. 
 
 Man has been trying, in all ages of the wArld, to do I^ature's 
 work; has interfered with her laws, and tried to control her 
 action. And Nature has been, when obstructed, silentl}^ at 
 work, far outstripping him,*, and showing a perfection of 
 beauty, of symmetry, and power that puts to shame and re- 
 bukes the madness of the prophet, and exhibits so clearly 
 the weakness of man and his folly. 
 
 Whenever man undertakes to do the work*|Of the Creator, 
 he mars its beauty and excellency, and introdilces discord and 
 death as the result of his patch-work. \ 
 
 The beach horse is the Canadian pony breed, originally 
 from the south of France, and is of the same race. as the In- 
 dian pony. The wild horse of the plains is of the old Spanish 
 stock and the pure Andalusian, propagated and improved by 
 Nature's in-and-in during hundreds of years. The fine bloods 
 of England and America are crosses of the Arabian with 
 several others, and none of them come near equaling the 
 original. Many an Arab of the desert can sell his mare or 
 horse for two and three thousand dollars, ^nd a stallion from 
 the cavalcade of one of the more power^l Sheiks will bring 
 almost fabulous prices. / 
 
 A fine Andalusian may be met with occasionally in this 
 beautiful valley in Spain, but Spanish in-and-in crossing of 
 a former age has nearly destroyed the race. The pure races 
 far exceed in longevity any of the mixed breeds. The pony 
 
BRIEF HISTOEY OF THE HORSE. 19 
 
 will last three times the life of the ^American horse. The 
 wild rover of the plains lives to twice his age. The Arabian 
 often lives to thirty and even fifty years, with his vigor but 
 little impaired. The Indian pony has been known to live 
 fifty and sixty years. The American or English horse will 
 not average fifteen. 
 
 The history of in-and-in breeding, and the crossing of dif- 
 ferent races, is the history of disease and deterioration. The 
 evils arising from these practices are untold and unimaginable. 
 It was never designed to be so. While there is no law of in- 
 cest in the brute creation, it is unquestionable that great evils 
 result both from mingling the blood of members of the same 
 family, and, also, that of the separate and distinct races, the 
 same as in the human family. The pure races have ever been 
 superior to the mixed. There is an awful curse resting upon* 
 the amalgamation of the races in the human family, and it ap- 
 plies to man in his mismanagement of the brute creation. It is 
 assigned in the Bible, by Ezra, the prophet, as the' cause of the 
 banishment and captivity of the Jews, " and as a great tres- 
 pass in the sight of the Lord," and one that must be put 
 away to bring again the favor of the Lord. And he says, 
 "When I heard this thing, (the mixing of the holy race 
 with other races,) I rent my garments and my mantle, and 
 plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat 
 down astonished." And so will every intelligent physiologist 
 sit down astonished at the folly and ignorance, and, more so, 
 of the gr^at wickedness of those who would 'thus subvert 
 ITature's laws and destroy the great ground-plan of creation 
 and Providence by an intermingling of the different races in 
 either man or beast. God, in his wisdom and goodness, after 
 an experiment and a failure of one race upon the earth, sent 
 them out again, different races of all animate creation, to 
 fill the earth, and yet to be kept entirely separate from each 
 other, and giving to each a law of instinct or reason to govern 
 them in their habits and propensities ; and when these laws 
 are obeyed, blessing and prosperity attends ; but when dis- 
 regarded, the consequence is a blighting curse. Our object 
 
 \ 
 
\ ^ 
 
 20 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 should be to study this great law of our physical being, and 
 also in the brute creation, and to labor for the improvement 
 of the different races, not the formation of new ones. Such 
 will be our purpose in the future pages of this work. 
 
 It is not our design to enlarge upon these topics in this 
 very brief outline of history, but in their appropriate chap- 
 ters they will be more fully presented. It is with the horse 
 as we find him in America that we have to do in this work. 
 !N"ot the general history of his races, pedigrees, and perform- 
 ances, but the history of his diseases, their causes and cures, 
 and rational and generous rules for his treatment and gen- 
 eral improvement. 
 
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES KEPT IN VIEW IN THIS WORK. 
 
 Certain leading principles, already indicated in this chap- 
 ter, have been constantly kept in view in the preparation of 
 this work. An epitome of these will probably prove of ma- 
 terial assistance to many readers, and, as it will occupy but 
 little space, is here introduced : 
 
 1. The horse is naturally a wild animal, his condition of 
 domestication being really one of slavery. 
 
 2. His wild or native state is that in which he is the most 
 free and happy, and that in which he lives the longest and 
 attains the most perfect development of his natural powers. 
 
 3. Like the human family, the species was originally di- ' 
 vided into distinct races, which races Providence designed 
 should be kept separate forever. 
 
 4. In their wild state, the different races, dispersing in 
 droves, do not mingle together, and if they were left to follow 
 the instincts of nature, intermixture would never occur. 
 
 5. The horse is not naturally a diseased animal. He is 
 subject to extremely few hereditary disorders, or, perhaps, to 
 none ; but indiscriminate commingling of blood has fearfully 
 multiplied the diseases to which he is subject, and occasioned 
 deplorable degeneracy. 
 
 6. Improper treatment and abuse at the hands of man 
 
 / 
 
 f 
 
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 21 
 
 have been the causes of nearly all his diseases, and of his 
 great decay as regards longevity and natural capabilities. 
 
 7. The horse is improved and becomes more efficient as 
 his circumstances are brought nearer his condition by nature, 
 and as his wants are better understood and supplied. 
 
 IMPORTANT FACTS TO BE REMEMBERED IN TREATING DISEASES OF 
 
 THE HORSE. 
 
 1. The horse is more like man, as regards general structure 
 and the pathology of his diseases, than any other animal. 
 
 2. As a rule, though not without some exceptions, the 
 causes of disease in man operate similarly upon the horse, 
 and the same remedies are equally efficacious for both. 
 
 3. Disease is either general or local in its character : local 
 when only some particular organ or part is afiected ; general 
 when the whole system is involved. 
 
 4. l^early all disorders of both man and beast, whatever 
 may have been the primary or external causes, proceed from 
 obstruction and derangement of the circulation and secretive 
 functions. Therefore, to keep in health, prevent these ob- 
 structions; to restore to health, remove them. 
 
 6. Although disease does not originate in the blood, this 
 is the medium by which it is transmitted throughout the 
 general system. 
 
 6. One of the functions of the nervous system is to assist 
 in propelling the blood through the veins and arteries. Hence, 
 any derangement of the nerves affects the circulation, and. 
 vice versa. 
 
 7. The size of the horse is ten times that of man. His or- 
 ganism is coarser, and the vessels of his system are larger in 
 proportion. When medicines are administered, they must be 
 of corresponding strength. 
 
 8. Compared with man, the horse breathes only half as fast. 
 The same is true in respect to the rate at which his pulse 
 beats and his blood flows. 
 
 9. Disease usually develops itself, and likewise abates, much 
 more slowly in the horse than in man. 
 
 \ 
 
 #■ -^ 
 
 k 
 
22 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 10. All medicines are not uniform in their action upon dif- 
 ferent animals. Some substances which are poisonous to man 
 are quite harmless to the horse. The reverse is also true. 
 
 11. The fewer the medicines given the horse, provided the 
 cure is effected, the better. Thousands of valuable animals 
 are killed yearly by excessive drenching. 
 
 12. !N*ature can not* be forced, but may be assisted and re- 
 lieved ; and to accomplish this there must be an adaptation 
 of the treatment to the nature of the disease. 
 
 13. As no effect can exist without adequate cause, when- 
 ever disease is detected, we may be sure that its sources are 
 not far remote. AYhatever these may be, lio time should be 
 lost in tracing them out, and in removing them, if it is possi- 
 ble to do so. 
 
 14. Great as is the disadvantage under which the veteri- 
 nary practitioner labors, from the fact that the sufferer can 
 not speak, it is compensated in great degree by the expressive 
 actions of the animal ; and treatment of the horse may always 
 be undertaken with greater hope and confidence than that 
 of the human- patient, because it may be made, with perfect 
 safety, much more vigorous and decided. 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 23' 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 
 
 , In discussing this subject, we propose to depart from the 
 method usually followed by anatomists in their divisions, 
 classes, and descriptions, and to present the whole subject 
 briefly in one distinct, connected chapter, and in its natural, 
 consecutive order. The classification of the horse among 
 other animals in natural history, and his relations to them, 
 are matters of no practical moment to the farmer and stock 
 dealer. To them the subjects of chief importance are the 
 horse's own peculiar history; his adaptation to the service of 
 man, and the best modes of training him and fitting him for 
 that purpose ; the general laws of health, and the means of 
 its preservation ; and the diseases to which he is subject, with 
 their proper treatment, and means for their prevention as 
 well as cure. It will be sufiicient, in a work like this, to 
 communicate a general knowledge of his structure, so that, 
 in the treatment of disease, the part affected may be readily 
 known, and the remedy intelligently applied. 
 
 Our plan of discussion will be similar to that of the car- 
 penter in building a house, which concerns, first, the frame- 
 work ; next, the braces and pins that hold it together ; then 
 the covering, and, lastly, the inside finish. In the same man- 
 ner, we- will consider, first, the bones, which constitute the 
 frame- work of the horse ; next, the muscles and tendons — 
 the braces which fasten the former together; then the skin 
 and hair, the horse's covering; and, lastly, the internal finish — 
 the entire vascular arrangement of lungs, heart, intestines, 
 urinary organs, blood-vessels, capillaries, and pores, with the 
 whole glandular and nervous structure. 
 
 Our limits allow, and our purpose requires, but a short 
 
24 
 
 AMERICAN FAEMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 III! 
 
 
 .2 
 
 » 2"=f2 s ;s s s si s s §f ^ g5 ^ s's i s s' ?f S5 ss s s 5 ^' 58 !; 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STEUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 25 
 
 space for the discussion of each of these divisions. We begin 
 with the general frame-work. In this division, although a 
 minute description of each part is foreign to our purpose, we 
 present the engraving of a very perfect skeleton, accurately 
 indexed for reference or investigation. 
 
 The skeleton is composed of two hundred and forty-seven 
 separate bones, which are united by joints to form the spine, 
 thorax, pelvis, tail, and fore and hind extremities. The spine 
 is finished anteriorly by the head, which is divided into the 
 cranium, or skull, and face, and contains the teeth. Sus- 
 pended from the head is the os hyoides (bone of the tongue), 
 which completes the number of bones ; thus : 
 
 The Spine consists of 7 cervical, 18 dorsal, and 6 lumbar vertebrae. 
 
 Total 31 
 
 The Thorax is made up of the dorsal vertebrae, with 18 ribs on each 
 
 side, and the sternum in the middle. Total 37 
 
 The Pelvis comprises 2 ossa innominata (or illium, ischium, and 
 
 pubes), and 1 sacrum. Total 3 
 
 The Tail contains, on the average, 17 bones. Total 17 
 
 The Fore Extremity is made up on each side of the scapula, humerus, 
 OS brachii, and 8 carpal bones; 3 metacarpal, os suffraginis, os cor- 
 onas, OS pedis, 08 naviculare, 2 ossa sessamoidea. Total on both sides 40 
 The Hind Extremity has the femur, patella, tibia, fibula, 6 tarsal 
 bones, 3 metatarsals, os suffraginis, os coronas, os pedis, os navicu- 
 lare, 2 ossa sessamoidea. Total 38 
 
 Bones of the Cranium 10 
 
 Bones of the Face and Lower Jaws 18 
 
 Teeth 40 
 
 Bones of the internal Ear, four in each organ 8 
 
 Os Hyoides, or Bone of the Tongue, made up of five sections 5 
 
 Grand total 247 
 
 The hoofs are the mud-sills of the frame-work, each hold- 
 ing — coffin-like — within its cavity the coffin-bone (os pedis), 
 which is the first bone in the leg. Next above this is the 
 lower pastern-bone, in front resting upon the coffin-bone 
 firmly and closely, but with an opening at the" back, which 
 admits a small bone, of a peculiar shape, called the navic:i- 
 lar — literally, ship-shaped — or shuttle-bone (os naviculare). 
 
26 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 This extends backward, and forms the projection of the heel. 
 l^ext in order is the upper pastern- bone, upon which rests 
 the shank-bone, with the sessamoid bone, which articulates 
 with the ankle-joint, and laps over the point of junction of 
 the shank and upper pastern-bone. The knee-joint is com- 
 posed of seven bones. Sometimes a small, floating bone is 
 found at the back of the joint, making eight in all. Back 
 of the knee, and just below it, is a small, thin bone, extend- 
 ing down the front shank nearly its entire length, and de- 
 nominated the splin,t-bone of the fore-leg. Above the knee 
 is the main bone of the leg (the radius), known among horse- 
 men as the arm. It is the longest and largest bone of the 
 fore-leg. Above the arm is a bone of peculiar shape, named 
 the ulna (elbow). Still higher up is the hurinerus, the upper 
 bone of the arm, sometimes rather vaguely termed the shoul- 
 der-bone. This completes the bones of the fore-leg. 
 
 a The upper pastern. 
 b The lower pastern. 
 c The navicular bone. 
 d The coffin-bone. 
 
 riff. 2. 
 
 a The sessamoid bone. 
 
 b The upper pastern. 
 
 c The lower pastern. 
 
 d The navicular bone. 
 
 c The coffin-bone, with the horny laminae. 
 
 In the hind leg, the bones are precisely similar, until we 
 reach the hock-joint, which is composed of s/x bones. The 
 shank of the hind leg has two splint-bones, while the fore- 
 leg has but one. The point or projection of the hock is 
 called the os calcis, or heel-bone. Above this is the tibia, 
 (flute, or pipe-bone,) the largest bone of the whole structure. 
 Behind this, and fitting closely to it, is a small bone called 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 27 
 
 fibula (signifying a clasp, or buckle). The stifle-joint is formed 
 by the tibia and the femur, or thigh-bone, which is next 
 above. It is covered in front by the patella, or knee-pan. 
 The six bones of the haunches, or hips — three on each side^ — 
 complete the bones of the hind limbs. Upon the four legs, 
 which serve as posts, rests the superstructure. 
 
 I^ext may be mentioned the bones of the head. The most 
 noteworthy of these are the superior and inferior maxillaries, 
 the upper and lower jaw-bones. In these are set the teeth : 
 24 molars, or grinders — 6 on each side, both above and below ; 
 12 incisors, or front teeth — six above and six below ; and 4 
 canine teeth, or tushes — one on each side, above and below. 
 
 The bones of the skull are thin plates, curved so as to give 
 the head its shape, and locked together by saw-like or dove- 
 tailed edges, to prevent displacement. The principal ones, 
 from their several positions, are respectively called the frontal, 
 nasal, and occipital (eye) bone. Underneath the two former 
 are innumerable little scales of bone, some of them entirely 
 unconnected with the others, but most of them united to the 
 several bones of the head. These are so arranged as to form 
 many irregular cavities, technically designated siymses. 
 
 On the top of the head, and at the beginning of the neck, 
 is a double and yet united bone on each side — the temporal 
 bone — to w^iich the first bone of the neck (the atlas) is at- 
 tached by that peculiar ligament, commonly known as the 
 whit-leather, which is found nowhere in the whole body ex- 
 cept here and at the top of the shoulder. It is in this liga- 
 ment that poll-evil and fistula have their origin. 
 
 Here begins the line of the vertebrae forming the spine. 
 This consists of thirty-one bonQS, linked together by lock- 
 joints. The seven joints of the neck are called the cervical 
 vertebrae, and those of the back proper, the dorsal vertebrae. 
 The latter are eighteen in number, each having an upward 
 projection, varying in length at different parts of the back. 
 At the shoulder this projection is never less than three 
 inches, and in some horses is as much as four or five. It 
 becomes less toward the middle of the back, at which point 
 
28 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 it is not more than from an inch and a half to two inches in 
 length. The six lumbar vertebrae, or bones oi the loins, comes 
 next, and complete the spine proper. The spinal column, 
 however, is continued by the sacrum, (literally, the sacred 
 bone,) and the bones of the tail, whose number is not unir 
 form in different animals, but averages about seventeen. The 
 main bones of the hip unite with the spine and sacrum at 
 the termination of the lumbar vertebrae. 
 
 Many anatomists, among whom is Youatt, adopt a slightly 
 different classification in regard to the bones of the spinal 
 column. They consider the sacrum to b.e made up of five 
 bones, which are denominated the sacral vertebrae. Some 
 writers, also, specify fifteen as the average number of bones 
 in the tail. 
 
 Upon each side, at the shoulder, is a bone called the scap- 
 ula, the shoulder-blade. This unites, at its lower extremity, 
 with the humerus, from its articulation with which it spreads 
 out and becomes very thin, with a ridge like the letter "T" 
 running through its middle. It extends upward to the back- 
 bone, to which it is united by muscle alone. It is this bone 
 which is the seat of that dreadful disease swinney, or inflam- 
 mation of the shoulder. 
 
 The ribs — eighteen upon each side — are so arranged as to 
 give form and strength to the body, and protect the vital 
 organs from injury. The sternum, or breast-bone, is com- 
 posed of six or seven pieces, and constitutes the floor of the 
 chest. It is a long, spongy bone, fixed between the ribs on 
 either side, serving as a support for the seven true ribs — the 
 forward ones — which closely articulate with it. 
 
 We have thus given a sketch of the horse's entire frame- 
 work, with all the bones that compose it, and the principal 
 offices they perform. The diseases of the bones will be con- 
 sidered elsewhere. 
 
 The bones are classified as the solid, the hollow, and the 
 spongy. The solid are the thin plate-bones, such as are 
 found in the head and the back portions of the jaw, and in 
 some parts of the body. The hollow bones are those of the 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STKUCTUEE OF THE HORSE. 29 
 
 legs, the hips, and parts of the jaws. These are the largest 
 and strongest in the body, as they need to be, in order to 
 resist the great strain and pressure to which they are con- 
 stantly subject. The spongy bones include the ends or heads 
 of all the bones that articulate to form the joints ; the entire 
 number of small bones that form the joints; the shoulder- 
 blades, the ribs, and the upper and back portions of the 
 maxillaries, or jaw-bones. The spongy portions are those in 
 which disease and exostosis, or enlargement, nearly always 
 make their appearance. 
 
 The entire movements of the body and limbs, with a few 
 trifling exceptions, are effected by the agency of that pe- 
 culiar substance known in our butchers' shops as flesh, and 
 which is recognized by anatomists as muscular tissue. This 
 constitutes the chief bulk of the soft parts outside the three 
 great cavities of the body (the cranial, thoracic, and abdom- 
 inal). They possess great power of motion, being composed 
 of numberless little strings, or fibers, each of which has a 
 contractile and elastic power of itself, the whole being so ar- 
 ranged as best to serve the purpose intended. "While each 
 fiber has an independent elasticity, it acts, at the same time, 
 in conjunction with all the others in the muscle of which it 
 forms a part, so that their united power becomes very great. 
 This may be realized when we consider that it is they which 
 give to the horse his immense strength. One very noticeable 
 feature in the anatomy of the muscles is the albuminous 
 coating which surrounds each fiber, and thus prevents fric- 
 tion. It fills the interstices throughout the muscle, all whose 
 parts are united and bound together by means of its sticky, 
 waxy qualities, with the strength of " a three-fold cord which 
 can not be broken." 
 
 Each muscle terminates in a more solid, compact, whitish 
 substance, commonly called a cord. Such it really is, acting 
 with reference to the joint in the same manner as the cord 
 to a pulley. (See description under heading, The Tendons.) 
 
 9 
 
30 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 The muscles possess but a limited degree of sensibility. 
 When the flesh is cut by any sharp instrument, comparatively 
 little pain is experienced after the skin and membranes are 
 passed through. They are but seldom the seat of disease, 
 except such as proceeds from external injuries. Sometimes, 
 however, dreadful ulcers establish themselves within the 
 muscular tissues, which occasion great swelling, and dis- 
 charge immense quantities of matter. 
 
 Among horse dealers it is a common remark, iu discussing 
 the qualities of a particular horse, that "he has muscle.'' 
 This, of course, refers not to the number of the muscles, but 
 to their size and power. One horse has as many muscles as 
 another. It is only in their quality — in their flexibility and 
 elasticity — that any difference can occur. Here, however, it 
 is very great; and hence one important reason for the ex- 
 tremes which are found in the market value of different ani- 
 mals. A horse's power depends much less upon the amount 
 of his muscle than upon its quality. The superior strength 
 and quickness of some horses are principally owing to their 
 muscular fibers being stronger, more elastic, and possessing 
 greater power of contraction than those of others.. 
 
 Fattening an animal does not increase bis muscles or his 
 strength; nothing but the adipose, or fatty, matter is in- 
 creased. This gives to the parts a full and rounded appear- 
 ance, so much admired in the horse, and also covers up many 
 serious defects. The accumulation of fat, when excessive, 
 becomes a positive obstruction to muscular action. A full, 
 rounded form is not an evidence of fine qualities, nor lean- 
 * ness of a lack of them. The horse which is thin in flesh, but 
 
 in good health and well fed, possesses more muscular power 
 and action, and especially greater endurance, than one very 
 fat. Besides this, the latter is much more liable to disease. 
 While these are facts known to every horseman, it is equally 
 ■^., true, however, that a certain amount of adipose matter, with 
 
 regular and proper exercise, is essential to the possession of 
 the highest degree of vital energy and strength. 
 
 The fat of the horse's system has less to do with the mus- 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 31 
 
 cles than with the skin and hair, whose condition it affects 
 materially. Oozing out at the pores, it oils the entire surface 
 of the skin — which is thus kept soft and pliant — makes the 
 hair smooth and glossy, and thus imparts to the horse one 
 of his chief beauties. This is Nature's own mode of adorn- 
 ment. 
 
 There is another agent which has a more important influ- 
 ence upon both the action and the power of the muscles. 
 This is the albumen already referred to. Upon its quality 
 and consistence depends, in great degree, the horse's strength. 
 In it lies imbedded the fibrine of the muscles, which it sur- 
 rounds on every side, and holds in one compact mass. It is 
 the waxy substance found in green meat, making it stick to 
 the hands, sometimes with considerable force. Its quantity 
 and quality are dependent upon the vital energies, and will 
 be increased or diminished, in both these respects, as the 
 vital forces become impaired, or are improved. On the other 
 hand, its condition has an important reflex influence upon 
 the vital forces. 
 
 When the horse is thin in flesh from bad health, or an in- 
 sufficiency of food, the character of the albumen is materially 
 changed. Il^ot o^ly does it become much less in quantity, 
 but also more sticky and thick. The fibers sink down, one 
 upon another, and adhere to ieach other to such an extent as 
 greatly to obstruct their action. The difference between 
 their freedom of movement when in a healthy condition, and 
 their retarded action when the animal's vital energies have 
 been seriously impaired, is about the same as one would 
 experience in drawing a thousand separate strings, yet all 
 together, first through oil and next through tar. It requires 
 a labored effort for the feeble or half-starved horse to move 
 the tens of thousands of muscular fibers in his body through 
 the thick, wax-like consistence which characterizes this al- 
 buminous matter when he is in such a condition. 
 
 The color of the albumen is another important item in this 
 description. The fibrine is white, and the red tint of the flesh 
 is due entirely to the presence of the coloring matter con- 
 
32 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 tained in the albumen. "When the horse or the beef is in 
 sound health and fine plight generally, the color of the flesh 
 is a light red, bordering on yellow. This appearance is in 
 consequence of the albumen being largely diluted with water, 
 80 largely, indeed, that it is now of about the consistency of 
 cream. But let the same animal be much reduced by disease 
 or hunger, and his flesh will become dark red in color, verg- 
 ing on brown, and the albumen thick and sticky, like tar. 
 A very fat horse has ten times as much albumen as a very 
 poor one. 
 
 K any one wishes to test the difference which these two 
 conditions present, let him hold in one hand a piece of lean 
 meat from a very fat beef, and in the other a piece from a 
 very poor one. He will readily perceive all that we wish to 
 illustrate. The soldiers often speak of blue beef and sticky 
 beef, declaring tbat if a piece of their poor, army meat be 
 thrown against the side of a house it will stick there. This 
 shows the eft'ects of extreme poverty upon the albumen of 
 the flesh. Disease produces similar results. The flesh of 
 cattle, it may be interesting to know, does not possess so 
 much of this element as that of horses, but generally much 
 more of the adipose, or fatty matter. 
 
 It is the accumulation of albumen that gives the full, 
 rounded muscle, and its thin, mucous consistency is the index 
 of health and good condition. It loosens and lubricates the 
 fibers of the muscles, renders them elastic and flexible, and 
 gives power and tone to their action. It also affords nutri- 
 tion to the fibrine, and supports its growth. The fact that 
 muscle is composed of these two elements — fibrine and albu- 
 men — ^is an important hint to the farmer in regard to the 
 diet best adapted to keep up or increase the strength of his 
 team. Such articles as contain these substances in greatest 
 proportion, and in such condition as to be most readily as- 
 similated in the formation of muscle, are those with which he 
 should feed his horses. The subject of diet will be discussed 
 in a future chapter. 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE 33 
 
 THE TENDONS. 
 
 Of these there are a great many, but the limits of our work 
 will not permit us, any more than in the case of the muscles, 
 even to classify them, nor to make any further mention of 
 them than simply as they come within the scope of our pur- 
 pose — the history and treatment of the diseases of the horse. 
 All of the muscles end in tendons, and by these are attached, 
 by means of cartilages, to the bones at the joints. To bor- 
 row a figure from mechanics, the bones may be considered 
 the pulleys, the tendons the ropes, and the muscles the power 
 pulling at the end of the ropes. Though, in general, non- 
 elastic, the tendons possess great hardness and toughness, 
 and serve an important purpose in the animal economy. 
 Every joint, of course, is provided with them, since it is only 
 by their assistance that motion is obtained at all.' They are 
 liable to diseases of various kinds, and are the seat of that 
 dreadful complaint, rheumatism. 
 
 It is in two important tendons of the horse's system that 
 fistula and poll evil, those terrible enemies of the equine 
 race, always intrench themselves. The description of one 
 of these tendons will be that of both, since they difier only 
 as regards location. The large one is situated at the top 
 of the shoulder. It is composed of fibers of a remarkable 
 texture and peculiar whiteness, possessing, in addition to the 
 great strength belonging to the tend6ns in general, a sur- 
 prising degree of elasticity. It is the serratus major of anat- 
 omists, (literally, great saw-shaped,) but is popularly known 
 as the white-leather or whit-leather. Extending underneath 
 the top of the shoulder-blade for a considerable distance, it 
 appears to serve the purpose of a pad for the blade to press 
 against, by which means the ribs are protected from injury. 
 It is attached to the chest in front, and to the smooth, in- 
 ternal surface of the blade, and, being strengthened by the 
 muscles, it is of the utmost service in supporting the weight 
 of the body and sustaining the severe shocks of the most 
 daring leap and the most rapid motion. From the upper 
 3 
 
84 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 extremity of the blade it extends across the top of the back, 
 where it rests upon the point of the vertebrae, and unites 
 with the corresponding tendon upon the opposite side. Thus 
 it hangs across the back like the pads of a saddle. 
 
 Fistula, which will be described at length in Chapter YII, 
 is a swelling and ulceration of the serratus major, consequent 
 upon some external injury. Poll evil is a similar affection 
 of the smaller of these two singular tendons — or muscles, as 
 they are sometimes called — the seiraius minor, situated at 
 the top of the head, with which it connects the bones of the 
 neck. 
 
 THE MEMBRANES. 
 
 These form the thin, smooth coating that extends over all 
 the bones, separating them from the muscles, and that in- 
 closes the brain, lines all the cavities of the body, and covers 
 the bowels, kidneys, hearts, lungs, and the other organs of 
 similar location. They also line the mouth, the nostrils, the 
 throat, and trachea, and are found in all places throughout 
 the body where openings occur. 
 
 They have received different names, according to their 
 locations and the parts which they invest. The prefix jperi, 
 signifying over or covering, is used in connection with 
 nearly all the more important of them, and, when thus em- 
 ployed, it designates the membrane which is over, or which 
 incloses, the particular organ or part. Thus the periosteum 
 invests the bones ; the pericranium lines the skull ; the peri- 
 cardium is the sack in which the heart is placed ; the peri- 
 toneum is the strong investing membrane of the external 
 surface of the bowels, and covers the walls of the entire 
 abdominal cavity. A notable exception to the usual nomen- 
 clature of the membranes is afforded by the pleura, which 
 envelops the lungs, and lines the cavity of the thorax, or 
 chest. Every farmer and butcher's boy is familiar with the 
 smooth, glossy appearance of the serous membrane through- 
 out the regions of the lungs and bowels, and elsewhere, in 
 the anatomy of the various domestic animals. 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 35 
 
 The use of the membranes is to protect the organs which 
 they inclose. The serous membrane is very thin, yet hard 
 and tough. It is cut or penetrated with more difficulty than 
 any other part of the body, except the bones. From its 
 smooth surface, hurtful foreign substances readily glide oft*, 
 if the force with which they strike it be not very considerable. 
 One striking peculiarity of this membrane is its almost en- 
 tire insensibility. It is too thin itself to contain nerves or 
 blood-vessels of much size. A large number of these, how- 
 ever, lie immediately beneath it. It has no diseases, as yet 
 discovered, but may be torn or ruptured, of course. 
 
 THE SKtN. 
 
 The skin is the roof and covering of the horse's entire 
 structure. The hair forms an essential appendage of the 
 skin, and is most appropriately considered in connection 
 with it. This is the clothing of the horse's body, renewed 
 by ligature once a year. We extract from Youatt's excellent 
 work upon the English horse the following interesting de- 
 scription of the skin, and its functions : 
 
 " The skin of the horse resembles in construction that of 
 other animals. It consists of three layers, materially differ- 
 ing in their structure and office. Externally is the cuticle — 
 the epidermis, or scarf-skin — composed of innumerable thin, 
 transparent scales, and extending over the whole animal. If 
 the scarf-skin is examined by means of a microscope, the 
 existence of scales, like those of a fish, is readily detected. 
 In the action of a blister, they are raised from the skin be- 
 neath in the form of pellucid bladders, and, in some dis- 
 eases, as in mange, they are thrown ofi^ in hard, dry, white 
 scales, numerous layers of which are placed one above 
 another. In every part of the body the scarf-skin is perme- 
 ated by innumerable pores, some of which permit the pas- 
 sage of the hair ; through others the perspirable matter finds 
 a passage ; others are perforated by tubes, through which va- 
 rious unctuous secretions make their escape; while through 
 a fourth variety numerous fluids and gases are inhaled. 
 
S6 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 " There is, at all times, a singular change taking place in 
 the outer covering of the animal. There is a constant alter- 
 ation and renewal of every part of it, but it adheres to the 
 true skin, through the medium of the pores, and also nu- 
 merous little eminences or projections, which seem to be 
 prolongations of the nerves of the skin. The cuticle is it- 
 self insensible, but one of its most important functions is to 
 protect and defend the parts beneath, which are so often ex- 
 posed to a morbid sensibility. 
 
 "Beneath the cuticle is a thin, soft substance, through 
 which the pores and eminences of the true skin pass. It is 
 termed the rete mucosum, from its web-like structure, and its 
 soft, mucous consistence. Its office is to cover the minute 
 vessels and nerves in their way from the cutis to the cuticle. 
 It is also connected with the color of the skin. In horses 
 with white hair, the rete mucosum is white; it is brown in 
 those of a brown color; black in the black, and in patches of 
 different colors with those the hue of whose integument varies. 
 Like the cuticle, it is reproduced after abrasion or other injury. 
 
 "The cutis, or true skin, lies beneath the rete mucosum. 
 It is decidedly of a fibrous texture, elastic, but with difficulty 
 lacerated, exceedingly vascular, and highly sensitive. It is 
 the substance which is converted into leather w^hen removed 
 from the body, and binds together the different parts of the 
 frame. In some places it does this literally, arid clings so 
 closely to the substance beneath that it scarcely admits of 
 any motion. This is the case about the forehead and the 
 back, while upon the face, the sides, and flanks, it hangs in 
 loosened folds. In the parts connected with progression it 
 is folded into various duplicatures, that the action of the 
 animal may admit of the least possible obstruction. The 
 cutis is thinnest and most elastic on those parts that are 
 least covered with hair, or where the hair is altogether de- 
 ficient, as the lips, the muzzle, and the inside of the flanks. 
 Whatever is the color of the rete mucosum, the true skin is 
 of a pale white. In fact the cutis has no connection with 
 the color of the hair. * * * 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 37 
 
 " Over a great part of the frame lies a muscle peculiar to 
 quadrupeds, and more extensive and powerful in the thin- 
 skinned and thin-haired animals than those with thicker 
 hides. It reaches from the poll over the whole of the car- 
 cass, and down to the arm before, and the stifle behind. By 
 its contraction the skin is puckered in every direction, and 
 if it acts strongly and rapidly, the horse is not only enabled 
 to shake off any insect that may annoy him, but sometimes 
 to displace a great part of his harness, and to render it diffi- 
 cult for the most expert rider to keep his seat. This muscle 
 also assists the skin in bracing that part of the frame which 
 it covers, and, perhaps, gives additional strength to the 
 muscles beneath. It is called the panniculous camosus, or 
 fleshy panuicle or covering. 
 
 " The skin answers the double purpose of protection ai4d 
 strength. Where it is necessary that the parts should be 
 bound and knit together, it adheres so tightly that we can 
 scarcely raise it. Thus the bones of the knees and the pas- 
 terns, and the tendons of the legs, on which so much stress 
 is frequently thrown, are securely tied down and kept in 
 their places. * * * Of its strength we have abundant 
 proof, both in the living and dead animal. Its fibers are 
 interlaced in a most curious and intricate manner, so as, 
 when living, to be scarcely lacerable, and converted into 
 leather after death. 
 
 "It is, while the animal is alive, one of the most elastic 
 bodies with which we are acquainted. It not only perfectly 
 adapts itself to the slow growth or decrease of the body, and 
 appears equally to fit, whether the horse is in the plumpest 
 condition or reduced to a skeleton ; but when a portion of it 
 is distended to an extraordinary degree, in the most power- 
 ful action of the muscles, it, in a moment, again contracts to 
 its usual dimensions. 
 
 "It is principally indebted for this elasticity to almost 
 innumerable minute glands, which pour out an oily fluid that 
 softens and supples it. When the horse is in health, and 
 every organ discharges its proper functions, a certain quan- 
 
*38 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 titj of this unctuous matter is spread over the surface of the 
 skin, and is contained in all the pores that penetrate its sub- 
 stance; and the skin becomes pliable, easily raised from the 
 texture beneath, and presenting that peculiar yielding soft- 
 ness and elasticity which experience has proved to be the 
 best proofs of the condition, or, in other words, the general 
 health of the animal. Then, too, from the oil in ess and soft- 
 ness of the skin, the hair lies in its natural and proper direc- 
 tion, and is smooth and glossy. When the system is deranged, 
 and especially the digestive system, and the vessels concerned 
 in the nourishment of the animal feebly act, those of the 
 skin evidently sympathize. This oil is no more thrown out; 
 the skin loses its pliancy; it seems to cling to the animal, 
 and we have that peculiar appearance which we call hide- 
 bound. * * * 
 
 "Besides the avenues already mentioned, through which 
 proceeds the unctuous fluid that supples and softens the skin, 
 there are others more numerous, by means of which a vast 
 quantity of aqueous fluid escapes, and perspiration is carried 
 on. As in the human being, this actually exists in a state 
 of health and quietness, although imperceptible; but when 
 the animal is excited by exercise, or labors under some stages 
 of disease, it becomes visible, and appears in the. form of 
 drops. 
 
 " This process of perspiration is not, however, so far under 
 the control of medicine as in the human being. We are not 
 aware of any drugs that will certainly produce it. Warm 
 clothing seems occasionally to effect it, but this is more in 
 appearance than in reality. The insensible perspiration can- 
 not escape through the mass of clothing, and assumes a vis- 
 ible form. * * * Of the existence of absorbent vessels 
 on the skin, or those which take up some fluid or sub- 
 stance, and convey it into the circulation, we have satisfac- 
 tory proof. A horse is even more easily salivated than the 
 human being." * 
 
 *The correctness of this opinion we do not regard as fully established. 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 39 
 
 THE HAIR. 
 
 In some parts of the horse's body — especially at the ueck, 
 where the mane appears, and from the dock, whence depends 
 the tail — grows a peculiarly coarse, strong, stiff hair. This is 
 the horse-hair of upholsters and house-keepers, and is never 
 shed. If it is plucked out or rubbed off, it grows out again, 
 although slowly. 
 
 But what chiefly interests us in this connection is the 
 general coat of hair, which Nature has not only bestowed 
 upon the horse as clothing, but has so arranged that it adapts 
 itself to the extremes of heat and cold of the varying sea- 
 sons. In the spring the old coat of thick, coarse hair comes 
 off, and discovers a new one, about half an inch in length, 
 readj^to supply its place. This coat is finer and much thinner 
 than that which has just been shed, and is admirably adapted 
 to the change in temperature. When the horse is in health, 
 it has a smooth, glossy appearance, and is soft and downy to 
 the touch. As the season again changes and the cold in-^- 
 creases, a new suit of hair begins to show itself, much thicker 
 and coarser. This is in addition to the finer summer coat, 
 and together they form a dense covering of hair, capable of 
 shielding the animal from great degrees of cold. 
 
 "We are satisfied that the horse does not shed his spring 
 coat upon the approach of winter, as many have stated. If 
 any one will take the trouble to examine closely, he will find 
 two kinds of hair in the winter coat. There are good reasons 
 for believing that the summer hair takes a second growth as 
 cold weather draws near. In fact the horse always has two 
 kinds of hair. Even in summer there is intermingled with 
 the longer, coarser kind, a shorter hair of almost silken soft- 
 ness. Of the former the horse is relieved in the fall. The 
 latter, which remains until the next spring, takes another 
 growth, and forms the coarse hair of winter, while the fine 
 hair of that season is of a new and much thicker growth. 
 In the spring the whole of the old growth is shed, and with 
 it a portion of the new, since otherwise there would be much 
 
40 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 more than the needs of the summer require. The old coat, 
 as the weather continues growing warmer, is gradually re- 
 placed by the new. Thus the suit which the horse will need 
 in the fall begins to grow in the spring, and that for the 
 spring in the fall. By these wise provisions N'ature keeps 
 the horse constantly in clothing. 
 
 The oft-repeated assertion that the horse becomes much 
 weakened and unhealthy during the process of shedding do 
 not seem borne out by the facts. If any animal exhibits any 
 such unfavorable symptoms at this period, the causes may 
 be much more reasonably set down to the change in the sea- 
 sons and from the stable, with its confinement and dry, 
 unnatural diet to out-door life and grass. 
 
 There are oily secretions in the skin, as already described 
 in the extract we have given from Youatt, which ir^ health 
 pour out, and, spreading over the hair, give it the beautiful 
 glossy appearance all so much admire ; but when disease is 
 at work, these fountains are often closed, the coat assumes 
 a rough, ragged look, and the hair stands out stift", dry, and 
 bristling. 
 
 THB FEET. 
 
 Volumes might be written in regard to the feet, so pecu- 
 liar is their construction, so important their uses, so severe 
 . their services, and so numerous the diseases with which they 
 are afflicted. Many of the latter are among the most obstin- 
 ate and serious of all the ailments to which horse-flesh is 
 heir. In the veterinarian's descriptions, as in his practice, a 
 large proportion of his time must be devoted to the feet. 
 
 Their diseases will be treated of, in detail, in Chapter lY. 
 We can here only stop to give a general outline of their 
 complicated structure, which the reader will be greatly as- 
 sisted in understanding by referring to the appropriate cuts 
 already introduced. 
 
 The hoof is the horny crust or wall that incloses the sen- 
 sible or living portion of them, and extends from the hair 
 downward to the edge that 'Vests upon the ground. It is 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STEUCTUEE OF THE HOESE. 41 
 
 longest in front, where its extreme point is called the toe. 
 Behind it is open, and the crust terminates in a thick," por- 
 ous skin, divided by a seam at the back part of the foot, 
 and presenting two convex, lateral extensions, which together 
 are called the heel. At the top of the crust, where it unites 
 with the hair, is the coronary ring. This is a thick, spongy 
 substance — soft hoof, in fact, in process of formation. It is 
 to the horse's feet what the roots of the nails are to the 
 human fingers and toes. Another crust, less brittle, and 
 more elastic, extends under the foot, forming the sole, and 
 presenting a somewhat concave surface to the ground. At 
 the back part of the foot is a horny projection in the shape of 
 a letter Y, with its opening toward the heel. The two sides 
 of this projection, which should unite at an angle of about 
 forty-five degrees, are called the bars. What horsemen call 
 the inside quarter of the foot, is that part without the bars, 
 next to the opposite foot. The outside quarter lies upon the 
 other side of the foot. Within the bars is the frog. This 
 is of the color of dark India-rubber, which substance it re- 
 sembles in its degree of toughness and hardness, but possesses 
 less elasticity. The entire crust of the frog is insensible, but 
 at the depth of about half an inch is found the sensible or 
 living portion, exceedingly tender, and filled with innumer- 
 able little nerves and blood-vessels. 
 
 Inside of the hoof are two spongy bones — the coffin and 
 shuttle-bones {os pedis and os naviculare) — which are, at times, 
 the seat of most obstinate disease. These occupy little more 
 than one-half the space within the hoof; the remainder is 
 filled by cartilages, tendons, and muscles, through which 
 ramify a greater proportionate distribution of little nerves 
 and blood-vessels than can be found in any other part of 
 the body. 
 
 There is a very important tendon (the flexor tendon), ex- 
 tending from the back part of the lower pastern bone {ps 
 coronce) and coffin-joint over the extremity of the shuttle- 
 bone, where it divides into two parts, which pass down 
 upon each side of Jhe indentation of the heel and frog, and 
 
42 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 unite with the lower extremities of the coffin-bone. This 
 tendon, together with the shuttle-bone, forms the extension 
 of the heel, and lies immediately upon the inner or sensible 
 frog. Hence, any injuries which the latter may sustain will 
 be likely to involve both this tendon and the soft shuttle- 
 bone. 
 
 THE BLOOD-VESSELS. 
 
 Blood is defined by Dunglison, in his Medical Dictionary, 
 to be "an animal fluid formed chiefly from the chyle, ac- 
 quiring important properties during respiration, entering 
 every organ through the circulation, distributing the nutri- 
 tive principle to every texture, and the source of every se- 
 cretion. The blood is white in many of the inferior animals, 
 and they have been called white-blooded to distinguish them 
 from red-blooded, which class includes animals, birds, reptiles, 
 and fishes. Human blood is composed of water, albumen, 
 fibrine, an animal coloring substance, a little fatty matter, 
 and the difierent salts, as chloride of potassium, phosphate 
 of lime, subcarbonate of soda, lime, magnesia, oxide of iron, 
 and lactate of soda, united with an animal coloring matter. 
 Arterial blood is of a florid red color ; venous blood of a 
 brownish red." 
 
 The blood of the horse difiers but slightly from that of 
 the human being. The important functions which the vital 
 fluid discharges in the animal economy is sufficiently indi- 
 cated by the character and variety of its constituent ele- 
 ments, all of which are needed to repair the waste and 
 decay of the system, and which the blood is constantly car- 
 rying to every part. In studying the blood of the horse at 
 any particular season, we are studying his general condition ; 
 and to keep it pure is the secret of maintaining the animal 
 in health. 
 
 Two principal components unite to form the blood. These 
 are the serum, which is the watery fluid, and the coagulum, 
 or clot. It is the latter which contains the little red corpus- 
 cles which give color to the blood. In quantity, it much 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 43 
 
 exceeds the serum. Every one can readily find opportuni- 
 ties of marking the difference between these constituents 
 of the blood. It is only necessary to let rest for a few 
 minutes a quantity of the latter, fresh drawn, when a coag- 
 ulation will take place, by which the clot and serum will be 
 separated. 
 
 The circulatory process in animal life suggests the com- 
 parison of a pond or lake, first fed by a few considerable 
 streams, which have been formed by other and smaller ones, 
 and these, in turn, by a multitude of little rills, originating 
 in drops of water oozing almost imperceptibly from the 
 earth; then drained by other channels, which divide and 
 subdivide into innumerable rivulets and trickling streams, 
 until, at last, all become absorbed and lost beneath the sur- 
 face. Yet from the reservoir, hidden in the bowels of the 
 earth, the water finds its way to the surface, where it again 
 oozes out in drops, which accumulate in streamlets and 
 rivers, to feed the lake as before. Again the outlets spread 
 out upon the other side, and ramify, until they are swallowed 
 up beneath the surface. Thus the round continues indefi- 
 nitely. 
 
 In a similar manner the functions of circulation are car- 
 ried forward. The heart is the reservoir; the veins, the 
 feeding streams; the arteries, the streams that flow away 
 upon the other side. 
 
 The circulatory system of the horse, like that in the hu- 
 man body, consists of the arteries, veins, and capillaries. 
 The arteries are the vessels which convey the red, oxygen- 
 ized blood from the heart to every part of the body. The 
 capillaries are the net- work of minute vessels which ramify 
 through every organ and part, and, though generally spoken 
 of as constituting a distinct system of blood-vessels, should 
 properly be regarded as simply the termination of the arte- 
 ries and the commencement of the veins— the connecting 
 links between the arterial and ven9us systems. The veins 
 are the ducts, through which the blood, now become of a 
 dark color, returns to the heart. 
 
44 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Each artery has three distinct coats. The outer one is ot 
 a cellular structure, and is capable of great distension; that 
 upon the inside is a serous membrane, presenting internally 
 a smooth surface, which serves to diminish the friction of 
 the blood as it rushes on. The middle coat, largely com- 
 posed of muscular fibers, is highly elastic. In it resides the 
 power — without which circulation would be all but impossi- 
 ble — of equalizing the flow of blood, retarding its impetuous 
 velocity when near the heart, and accelerating it when con- 
 siderably removed from that great central force-pump of the 
 system. 
 
 Although made up of the same number of coats, the walls 
 of the veins are much thinner and weaker. These vessels 
 are much more numerous than the arteries, notwithstanding 
 which their ramifications may be described, in general terms, 
 as corresponding with the latter. Their iuternal area is 
 nearly double that of the arteries. They are, of course, much 
 less directly afiected by the action of the heart. Hence, their 
 pulsations are scarcely perceptible, and the blood flows 
 through them more slowly. A feature peculiar to the veins 
 is the existence of valves, of various construction, which 
 prevent the blood from returning upon its course, and as- 
 sist in impelling it toward the heart. These are sometimes 
 single, at others double, and occasionally arranged in threes 
 and fours, around the interior of most, though not all, of the 
 large veins. 
 
 Thus far we have considered only the general circulation. 
 When we come to the beautiful process known as the pul- 
 monary circulation, a portion of our description must be ex- 
 actly reversed — the pulmonary artery conveying the impure, 
 dark blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs, 
 where it is oxygenized, or purified, and thence returns to the 
 left auricle of the heart, through the pulmonary vein, pos- 
 sessed of a scarlet brightness. Interesting phenomena occur 
 in connection with what physiologists term the portal circu- 
 lation (pertaining to the liver), but they are exceptional and 
 local. We must pass on to a description of the general plan 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 45 
 
 of the circulation, which has been already anticipated in 
 some measure. 
 
 After the purified blood has been returned to the left 
 auricle of the heart, by the means just indicated, it passes 
 into the left ventricle, whose thick, muscular walls contract 
 with immense power, and force it out, through the proper 
 valves, into the aorta, the great artery of the whole body. 
 This divides into two large branches, after proceeding about 
 two inches. The smaller branch is extended, by a multitude 
 of subdivisions, to every part of the head and fore extremi- 
 ties ; the larger one, in a similar manner, throughout the body 
 and hind extremities. 
 
 The blood is now freighted with the varied elements neces- 
 sary for repairing the losses by natural decay and wear and 
 tear, which every tissue in the whole body is constantly un- 
 dergoing. This reparative process is what physiologists call 
 nutrition. It is conducted in the capillaries, the minute and 
 hair-like vessels in which the arteries every-whfere terminate. 
 Although the capillaries vary greatly in their modes of rami- 
 fication, according as they minister to gland, membrane, or 
 muscular fiber, their ofiices are the same in all locations. 
 These offices include, besides nutrition, the gathering up of 
 the worn-out, worthless particles of matter which the organs 
 of excretion are continually throwing off, through the circu- 
 lation, in all parts of the system. In the performance of these 
 duties, capillary action changes the color of the blood from 
 a scarlet to a brownish red. It also develops animal heat. 
 
 The veins now receive this dark blood at their origin amid 
 the net- work of the capillaries, and convey it back to the 
 heart. As they approach that organ, they continue to unite, 
 and"grow larger, of , course. At length, they pour their entire 
 contents through the two vena cavce, the veins which cor- 
 respond to the great arterial branches of the. aorta, into the 
 right auricle. Only a thin wall of muscle now separates the 
 blood from its starting-point, at the outlet of the left ventricle, 
 upon the other side of the heart. But through this partition 
 there is no passage; nor is the blood ready to pass to the 
 
46 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 other side, if there was one. Before it can be sent forth 
 again to minister to the needs of the body, it must be puri- 
 fied. Not only must the particles of efiete, cast-off matter, 
 which it has accumulated from every part of the system, be 
 eliminated and thrown off; but the chyle also — the substance 
 into which the nutritive elements of the food have been pre- 
 viously converted by digestion — must be submitted to yet 
 another process before it becomes fully prepared to afford the 
 means of nutrition to the constantly disorganizing tissues of 
 all kinds. (The chyle, it must be understood, empties into 
 one of the vena cavce through the thoracic duct, and mingles 
 with the venous blood which is returned to the right auricle.) 
 
 These objects are accomplished through the pulmonary 
 circulation already mentioned. The lungs, composed of two 
 lobes, are of a I^Dongy texture, and filled with innumerable 
 little air-cells. They ^re furnished with an exceedingly fine 
 net-work of capillary vessels, distributed on their walls, and 
 throughout the surface of all the air-cells also. The impure 
 venous blood, as it circulates through the capillaries, is sub- 
 mitted to the agency of atmospheric air under extremely 
 favorable circumstances. It absorbs the oxygen of the air, 
 and, at the same time, gives oft* large volumes of carbonic acid 
 gas, this being the form in which the accumulated impurities 
 of the blood now exist. The wonderful rapidity with which 
 this process is carried on may be understood, when it is con- 
 sidered that the extent of surface upon which the minute 
 capillaries ramify in the lungs is supposed to be ten or 
 twelve times that of the skin. 
 
 Having been thus purified, the blood regains its bright red, 
 or scarlet, appearance, and is again propelled forward, through 
 the heart and arteries, upon the same excursion as before. 
 It reaches every part of the body, perfectly ramifies through- 
 out every organ, and permeates every muscle, tendon, liga- 
 ment, bone, and even to the skin itself, ^nd every hair upon 
 its surface. There is no part, however minute, remote, or 
 unimportant, to which it does not find its way, by means of 
 the divisions and innumerable subdivisions of the vessels 
 
 ^"■■^ 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 47 
 
 which convey it. There is no tissue an3nvhere in the entire 
 system which does not receive from the blood the elements 
 essential for its development and health — ^the materials, in 
 fact, of which it is composed. After its work is done here, 
 the blood becomes the scavenger of the body, collecting the 
 impure and deleterious excretions, and returning with them 
 to the heart and thence to the lungs, there to be exhaled in 
 the breath, as already described. 
 
 The importance of the arterial flow can hardly be estimated. 
 Without it no function could be discharged, and, in fact, life 
 itself would be extinct. Yet it may be made the sure means 
 of disease, by forcing it into harmful and poisonous sub- 
 stances. Great and constant attention should be exercised 
 in regard to the materials introduced into the stomach, either 
 as food or medicine, since they so surely and speedily fin^ 
 their way into the stomach. 
 
 THE HEART. 
 
 Of the heart, much has necessarily been said in the pre- 
 ceding section. All that now remains to be added is a de- 
 scription of its difterent parts, and their oflices. It occupies 
 the space between the lungs denominated the mediastinum, 
 and is invested by a double membrane of its own, called the 
 pericardium. This forms a little sac, whose of&ce it is to sup- 
 port the heart in its natural position, and prevent friction 
 between the heart and the surrounding parts. 
 
 Four cavities occupy the spaces within the walls of the 
 heart — two above, called auricles, from their fancied resem- 
 blance in form to the ear, and two below, called ventricles. 
 The walls of each ventricle are much thicker than those of 
 the auricle upon the same side, and also in the left ventricle 
 than in the right. Why this difference is quite plain, from 
 the uses of each of these parts, as explained in the last sec- 
 tion. The ventricles are in that part of the heart toward its 
 apex, or point. 
 
 Into the right auricle open the two vena cavse and the cor- 
 onary veins, — ^those which supply the heart itself with blood. 
 
 
48 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 The right ventricle coraraiinicates with the right auricle bj 
 an orifice provided with a valve. From it arises the pul- 
 monary artery, through which the venous blood is forced to 
 the lungs by the contraction of this ventricle. After being 
 purified in the lungs, the blood is carried back to the left 
 auricle of the heart by the four pulmonary veins, (eight in 
 number when they leave the lungs,) which thus carry arterial 
 blood. From the left auricle the blood passes through the 
 mitral valve into the left ventricle, whose powerful walls 
 contract and force it out into the aorta, the great arterial 
 trunk, from which diverge, by successive subdivisions, all 
 the other arteries in the body. 
 
 We have seen that there is no communication through the 
 muscular partition separating the right and left sides of the 
 heart. This mode of structure gives much increased power 
 to the contraction of the heart, which is simultaneous upon 
 both sides. 
 
 The blood, then, is forced through the arteries by successive 
 impulsions, which are caused by contractions of the heart. 
 When an artery of considerable size comes near the surface, 
 these successive impulsions may be distinctly seen through 
 the skin and coats of the artery,- or they may be felt by lay- 
 ing the finger upon them. This is the simple explanation of 
 the pulse in one's wrist. Similar pulses are found in other 
 parts of the body, but none so plain and distinct. We say 
 the pulse is slow when the heart acts sluggishly; or fast 
 when, from disease or excitement, its action is heightened. 
 The beats of the pulse simply indicate so many impulsions 
 of the blood from the heart. 
 
 THE PORES. 
 
 These have been partially described, in the extract from 
 Youatt introduced in the section treating of the skin. They 
 are the extremities of the capillaries. Physiologists classify 
 them as of two kinds — absorbents and exhalants. The former 
 take up and carry into the circulation portions of the differ- 
 ent fluids and gases with which they come in contact on the 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE 01 THE HORSE. 
 
 49 
 
 surface of the skin. The exhalants throw out fluids to the 
 surface : an oily matter, to lubricate the skin and keep it 
 soft and pliant; and moisture — a not inconsiderable quan- 
 tity of water — whose purpose, although not clearly demon- 
 strated, is probably to dilute and accelerate the flow of the 
 unctuous secretions. 
 
 THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE HEAD. 
 
 The cut represents a section of the head, and shows not 
 only the location of the difi^erent parts of the brain, with the 
 cranial bones, which inclose it, but also gives the anatomy 
 of that entire member, and of the neck. It will be found 
 exceedingly useful for reference, in connection with several 
 other sections of this work. 
 
 a The nasal bone, or bone of the nose. 
 
 b The frontal bone. The cavities or cells beneath are called the frontal sin- 
 uses. 
 c The crest or ridge of the parietal bones. 
 
 d The tentorium, or bony separation between the cerebrum and cerebellum. 
 e The occipital bone. 
 
 ^^ 
 
50 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 / The ligament of the neck — the whit-leather, or pack-wax — by which the head 
 is chiefly supported. 
 
 ff The atlas, sustaining or carrying : the first bone of the neck. 
 
 A The dentata {tooth-like) or second bone of the neck. 
 
 i The- cuneiform, or wedge-shaped process, or base of the occipital bone. Be- 
 tween it and the other portion of the occipital bone «, lies the great for- 
 amen, or aperture, through which the prolongation of the brain — the 
 spinal marrow — issues from the skull. 
 
 k The sphenoid {wedge-like) bone, with its cavities. 
 
 1 The ethmoid {sieve-Uke) bone, with its cells. 
 
 m The cerebrum, or brain, with the appearance of its cortical and medullary 
 
 substance. 
 n The cerebellum, or little brain, with its beautiful arborescent appearance. 
 
 A portion of the central medullary {marrow-like) substance of the brain, 
 
 and the prolongation of it under the name of the crus cerebri {leg of the 
 brain), and from which many of the nerves take their origin. 
 
 •p The medulla oblongata — the prolongation of the brain after the medullary 
 substance of the cerebrum and cerebellum have united, and forming the 
 commencement of the spinal marrow. The columnar appearance of this 
 portion of the brain is represented, and the origins of the respiratory 
 nerves. 
 
 q The spinal marrow extending through a canal in the center of the bones of 
 the neck, back, and loins, to the extremities of the tail, and from which 
 the nerves of feeling and of motion, that supply every part of the frame, 
 except the head, arise. 
 
 r The septum narium, or cartilaginous division between the nostrils. 
 
 » The same cut off at the lower part, to show the spongy turbinated {turban- 
 shaped) bones filling the cavity of the nostril. 
 
 t The palate. 
 
 u The molar teeth, or grinders. 
 
 • The inferior maxillary bone, containing the incisor teeth, or nippers. The 
 canine tooth, or tush, is concealed by the tongue. 
 
 v The posterior maxillary, or lower jaw, writh its incisors. 
 
 z The lips. 
 
 y The tongue. 
 
 2 A portion of the os hyoides, or bone of the tongue, Uke a Greek u, v. 
 
 1 The thyroid {helmetr-shaped) cartilage of the larynx, inclosing and shielding 
 
 the neighboring parta. 
 
 2 The epiglottis, or covering of the glottis, or aperture of the wind-pipe. 
 
 3 The arytenoid {funnel-shaped) cartilage of the larynx, having between 
 
 them the aperture leading into the trachea or windpipe. 
 
 4 One of the chordae vocales, cords or ligaments concerned in the formation 
 
 of the voice. 
 ' 6 The sacculus laryngis, sac or ventricle of the larynx, or ihroatj to modulate 
 the voice. 
 
 6 The trachea, or windpipe, with its different rings. 
 
 7 The soft palate at the back of the mouth, so constructed as almost to pre- 
 
 vent the possibility of vomiting. 
 
 8 The opening from the back part of the mouth into the nostril 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 51 
 
 9 The cartilage covering the entrance into the eustachian tube, or communi- 
 cation between the mouth and internal part of the ear. 
 
 10 The oesophagus, or gullet. 
 
 11 The cricoid {ring-like) cartilage of the larynx, below and behind the thyroid. 
 
 12 Muscle of the neck, covered by the membrane of the back part of the mouth. 
 
 All the agents concerned in the existence and movements 
 of animal life would be utterly inert and powerless, had they 
 not been combined with some motive power to excite and 
 regulate their action. Such a motive powder the Creator has 
 provided in that wonderful organization the nervous system, 
 consisting of the brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves. 
 
 There are many things difficult to be understood in regard 
 to the nervous system and its operations. Some of these are 
 too deep for the wisest and most learned to fathom, much 
 less to satisfactorily explain. But the careful reader can get 
 a good general idea of the structure and offices of* its differ- 
 ent parts by means of the descriptions which we shall give, 
 aided by the foregoing cut. Perhaps we can do no better 
 than to quote from Youatt : 
 
 "The brain of the horse corresponds with the cavity in 
 which it is placed. It is* a flattened oval. It is divided into 
 two parts, one much larger than the other — the cerebrum^ or 
 hrain^ (see m, in cut,) and the cerebellum, or little brain,, (see 
 n,) In the human being, the cerebrum is above the cere- 
 bellum ; in the quadruped, it is below ; and yet in both they 
 retain the same relative situation. [This arises from the fact 
 that in man the head surmounts the body perpendicularly, 
 while in quadrupeds its position is relatively slanting.] 
 
 "He who for the first time examines the brain of the 
 horse will be struck with its comparatively diminutive size. 
 The human being is not, generally speaking, more than one- 
 half or one-third of the size and weight of the horse,* yet 
 the brain of the biped is twice as large and as heavy as that 
 of the quadruped. If it had been the brain of the ox that 
 had been here exposed, instead of that of the horse, it would 
 
 * This is a singularly weak statement for so careful a writer. The weight of 
 the horse's body is at least eight times that of a man's. 
 
52 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 not have been of half the bulk of that of the horse. If the 
 dog had been the subject, it would have been very consider- 
 ably larger, comparing the general bulk of each animal. 
 This is singular. The human brain is largest in comparative 
 bulk; then the brain of the dog, the horse, the ox. Thus 
 would they be classed in the order of intelligence. 
 
 " When the brain is cut, it is found to be composed of two 
 substances very unlike in appearance, (see m, in cut;) one, 
 principally on the outside, gray or ash-colored, and therefore 
 called the cortical (bark like), from its situation, and cineritious, 
 (ashen), from its color; and the other, lying deeper in the 
 brain, and from its pulpy nature, called the medullary sub- 
 stance. Although placed in opposition with each other, and 
 seemingly mingling, they never run into the same mass, or 
 change by degrees into one another, but are essentially dis- 
 tinct in construction as well as in function. 
 
 " The medullary portion is connected with the nervous sys- 
 tem. The nerves are prolongations of it, and are concerned 
 in the discharge of all the offices of life. They give motion 
 and energy to the limbs, the heart, the lungs, the stomach, 
 and every part connected with life. They are the medium 
 through which sensation is conveyed ; and they supply the 
 mind with materials to think and work upon. 
 
 " The cineritious part has a different appearance, and is dif- 
 ferently constituted. Some have supposed, and with much 
 appearance of truth, that it is the residence of the mind, 
 receiving tbe impressions that are conveyed to the brain by 
 the sensitive nerves, and directing the operation and action 
 of those which give motion to the limbs. In accordance with 
 this, it happens that, where superior intelligence is found, the 
 cineritious portion prevails, and where little beside brute 
 strength and animal appetite exist, the medullary portion is 
 enlarged. There is, comparing bulk with bulk, less of the 
 medullary substance in the horse than in the ox, and in the 
 dog than in the horse. The additional bulk of brain is com- 
 posed of cineritious matter. 
 
 " From the medullary substance, as already stated, proceed 
 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STKUCTURE OF IHE HORSE. 53 
 
 certain cords or prolongations, termed nerves, by which the 
 animal is enabled to receive impressions from surrounding 
 objects, and to connect himself with them, and also to pos- 
 sess many pleasurable or painful sensations. One of them 
 is spread over the membrane of the nose, and gives the sense 
 of smell; another expands on the back of the eye, and the 
 faculty of sight is gained; and a third goes to the internal ' 
 
 structure of the ear, and the animal is conscious of sound. 
 Other nerves, proceeding to different parts, give the faculty 
 of motion, while an equally important one bestows the power 
 of feeling. 
 
 " One division of nerves, (see A, in cut,) springing from 
 a prolongation of the brain, and yet within the skull, wan- 
 ders to different parts of the frame for important purposes 
 connected with respiration or breathing. The act of breath- 
 ing is essential to life, and were it to cease, the animal would 
 die. These are nerves of involuntary motion ; so that, whether 
 he is awake or asleep, conscious of it or not, the lungs heave, 
 and life is supported. 
 
 "Lastly, from the spinal cord, (see q, in cut,) a further 
 prolongation of the brain, and running through a cavity iii 
 the bone of the neck, back, and loins, and extending to the '^ 
 
 very tip of the tail, other nerves are given off at certain in- 
 tervals. The spinal cord is combined of six distinct columns 
 or rods, running through its whole length, three on either 
 side. The two upper columns proceed from those tracks of 
 the brain devoted to sensation. Numerous distinct fibers 
 spring abruptly from the column, which collect together, 
 and, passing through a little ganglion or enlargement, (an 
 enlargement of a nervous cord is called a ganglion,) become 
 a nerve of sensation. From the lower or inner side — a pro- 
 longation of the track devoted to motion — ^proceed other 
 fibers, which also collect gradually together, and form a 
 nervous cord, giving the power of motion. Beyond the 
 ganglion the two unite and form a perfect spinal nerve, 
 possessing the power of both sensation and motion ; and the 
 fibers of the two columns proceed to their destinations, en- 
 
54 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 veloped in the same sheath, and, apparently, one nerve. 
 Each portion, however, continues to be wrapped in its own 
 membrane. They are united, yet distinct ; they constitute 
 one nerve, yet neither their substance nor their office is 
 confounded. 
 
 "All these nerves are organs of sensation and motion 
 alone ; but there are others whose origin seems to be outside 
 of and below the brain. These are the sympathetic, so called 
 from their union and sympathy with all the others, and 
 identified with life itself. They proceed from a small gang- 
 lion, or enlargement, in the upper part of the neck, or from 
 a collection of little ganglia in the abdomen. They go to 
 the heart, and it beats; and to the stomach, and it digests. 
 They form a net-work around each blood-vessel, and the 
 current flows on; they surround the very minutest vessels, 
 and the frame is nourished and built up ; they are destitute 
 of sensation, and they are perfectly beyond the control of 
 the will." 
 
 A later English writer * gives the following clear and com- 
 prehensive summary of the divisions of the nervous system : 
 
 " In the horse, as in all the vertebrata, [those animals sup- 
 plied with a vertebra, or back-bone,] the nervous system is 
 made up of the following parts : 1. The ganglia, which are 
 intended to subserve what are called the reflex actions of 
 the organs of locomotion, etc., and which occupy the whole 
 length of the spinal cord, one on each side. 2. The respiratory 
 ganglia, situated higher up, toward the brain, constituting the 
 part called medulla oblongata, (see p, in cut,) and placed in su- 
 perintendence over the functions of respiration, mastication, 
 and deglutition. 3. A series of ganglia, controlling the organs 
 of special sense, [the sense of sight, of hearing, of taste, etc.,] 
 situated at the base of the brain. 4. The cerebellum, which 
 seems especially intended to combine and balance the several 
 muscular actions of the body. 5. The cerebrum, which is 
 the seat of intelligence and will. 6. The sympathetic sys- 
 
 * J. H. Walsh (Stonehenge). 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 55 
 
 tern of ganglia, which specially controls the vital organs of 
 circulation, digestion, and excretion. The first five divisions 
 are generally included under the head of the nervous system 
 of animal life, the last being considered to be peculiar to 
 organic life." 
 
 Before passing to the next section, we must not forget to 
 mention the membranes of the brain. These are three in 
 number, each completely investing it. The outer or upper 
 one is called the dura mater, and is fibrous in texture, and quite 
 strong. The middle one, called arachnoid, is a serous mem- 
 ber of the ordinary character. The inner one, denominated 
 the pia mater, is full of vessels, and is by far the most tender. 
 Being next the brain, however, it is less exposed to injury 
 than the others. The pia mater penetrates into every depres- 
 sion, lines every ventricle, and clothes every portion of the 
 brain. 
 
 RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 
 
 The important function of respiration is carried on through 
 the lungs and the nasal cavities, and the tubes by which these 
 are brought into communication, with the assistance of the 
 inspiratory muscles and the system of respiratory nerves. 
 
 The lungs are invested by the pleura, a serous membrane,, 
 which is reflected or doubled back upon the walls of the 
 thorax, or chest. They consist of two conical, spongy bodies, 
 called the right and left lobes of the lungs. They are di- 
 vided from each other by a doubling of the pleura and a 
 space, called the mediastinum., which is occupied by the heart, 
 great blood-vessels, nerves, and glands. The right lobe is 
 noticeably the larger, by which arrangement the lungs are 
 better adapted to the form of the chest, and enabled more 
 perfectly to fill it. In consequence of their extremely cellu* 
 lar or porous structure, they are capable of great expansion 
 and contraction during the operation of breathing. 
 
 The substance of which the lungs are mainly composed is 
 the pulmonary tissue, termed the parenchyma. This, in the 
 healthful subject, has a beautiful pale-rose color. It is very 
 
56 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 delicate, yet resists external violence with sufficient strength 
 as not to be easily broken. When minutely examined, it is 
 found to be composed of a countless number of very small, 
 irregularly-shaped compartments, called lobules, each en- 
 tirely distinct, and all without any communication one with 
 another. What is known as broken wind is occasioned bj 
 the rupture of the walls of some of these little compart- 
 ments. Each lobule receives one of the terminating branches 
 of a bronchial tube, and is again broken up into a cluster 
 of air-cells, on the walls of which the capillary branches of 
 the pulmonary arteries and veins are spread out. The in- 
 numerable air-cells are lined with a thin, attenuated mem- 
 brane, through which the blood, in passing through the 
 lungs, appropriates the oxygen, the life-giving principle of 
 the air, and gives off the poisonous carbonic acid gas which 
 the venous circulation has brought back from all parts of 
 the system. Carbonic acid gas is highly destructive to ani- 
 mal life, and is that element which chiefly makes the ex- 
 haled breath so peculiarly offensive. 
 
 The nasal cavities subserve the purposes of respiration, by 
 modifying the condition of the impure air, so as that it may 
 be taken into the delicate air-cells of the lungs without in- 
 jury. They warm the air, if it is too cold ; they moisten it, 
 if it is too dry. In the horse, the nostrils are remarkable as 
 furnishing the sole means of admitting air to the lungs, such 
 being the formation of his soft palate that breathing through 
 the mouth is impossible ; yet he is enabled, by considerable 
 effort, to expel the air through the mouth in the operation 
 of coughing. The nostrils are lined with what anatomists 
 designate the Schneiderian membrane, whose appearance, and 
 especially its color, is an invaluable test for detecting the 
 presence, and tracing the course, of fever in the system. 
 
 From the nostrils the air passes first into the larynx, or 
 throat; thence into the trachea, or windpipe; and, finally, 
 through the bronchial tubes into the lungs. 
 
 Besides its services in respiration, the larynx (see 4 and 5 
 in last cut) forms the vocal sounds uttered by different ani- 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 57 
 
 mals, as well as those produced by the human voice. In the 
 horse, however, these vocal sounds are few, so that this func- 
 tion is not an important one. The larynx is situated imme- 
 diately behind and below the nasal cavities. It consists of 
 five strong cartilages, united together by ligaments. One of 
 these cartilages is that remarkable little valve-like appendage 
 called the epiglottis (see 2 in cut). This somewhat resembles 
 a heart in shape, and is so attached that, when the animal 
 swallows, it shuts downward and backward, so as to entirely 
 close the opening to the larynx. Thus the food and water, 
 in their passage to the stomach, are prevented from entering 
 the lungs, but go onward into the oesophagus, or gullet (see 
 10 in cut), after which the elastic muscles of the epiglottis in 
 an instant throw it back to its original position, and the 
 windpipe is open again. 
 
 Next below the larynx comes the trachea, or windpipe, 
 (see 6 in cut,) which is a flexible tube, made up of about fifty 
 incomplete, cartilaginous rings, connected together by a strong, 
 elastic membrane. It terminates in the bronchi, or two 
 bronchial tubes, of which the right is the more capacious, 
 corresponding with the difterence in size of this lobe of the 
 lungs. These tubes again divide and subdivide, like the 
 branches of a tree, into lesser tubes, still called bronchial, 
 which finally open into the air-cells of the lungs. As they 
 thus continue to divide, they diminish in size, of course, until 
 at last their diameter is only the one twenty -fifth part of an 
 inch. 
 
 The philosophy of respiration we have already explained, 
 in connection with the circulation. The lungs operate on 
 the same principle as a pair of bellows. By the action of 
 the inspiratory muscles — situated in the thorax and abdo- 
 men — the cavity of the chest is expanded, when the air 
 rushes in to fill the vacuum. The muscles then contract, and 
 the air, laden with its foul gases, is forcibly expelled. They 
 are under the control of the will only to a limited degree. 
 
68 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 THE SALIVARY GLANDS — SECRETION AND EXCRETION DEFINED. 
 
 "A gland may be defined to be an organ whose office it is 
 to separate from the blood some peculiar substance, which is 
 poured out through an excretory duct, whose internal surface 
 is continuous with the mucous membrane or skin. 
 
 "By secretion is understood the process of separation of 
 various matters from the blood, the term being also applied 
 to the products of the process, such as saliva, bile, etc., which 
 are commonly known as secretions. These are all removed 
 from the blood for one of two purposes ; first, in order to be 
 employed for some ulterior object in the various processes 
 going on in the body, either for its own preservation or that 
 of others ; or, secondly, as being injurious to its welfare, and, 
 therefore, to be discarded." 
 
 It has been customary to distinguish this function accord- 
 ing as it has for its object one or the other of the purposes 
 above indicated. By this distinction, the term secretion is 
 limited to the former action, while the latter receives the 
 name of excretion. These are the senses in which the terms 
 are used in this work. 
 
 The throat is a part of the horse's frame that is plentifully 
 supplied with glands. It has three sets of these, throwing 
 out their secretions of saliva to form the spittle of the mouth. 
 In the horse, although there is somewhat less of this dis- 
 charge than in the human being, its quantity is surprisingly 
 great, not less than four or five gallons in every twenty-four 
 hours. The principal use of the saliva is to moisten the food 
 during the proQCSs of mastication. 
 
 The most important of the salivary glands is the parotid. 
 This is placed in the hollow that extends from the root of 
 the ear to the angle of the lower jaw-bone. It is composed 
 of numerous small glands, uniting in one common duct, that 
 discharges its contents into the mouth opposite the second 
 jaw tooth. The quantity of fluid secreted by the parotid 
 gland alone is estimated to be not less than one pint per 
 hour, and, during mastication, nearly twice as much. It is 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 59 
 
 generally affected in all throat diseases, and in colds is nearly 
 always found swollen, hot, and tender. 
 
 Occupying the space between the two bones of the under- 
 jaw, is found the set of submaxillary glands, which also 
 empty through one common channel into the mouth, at the 
 roots of the tongue, and a short distance from the front teeth. 
 In severe colds, the submaxillary gland often enlarges, the 
 little kernels of which it is made up swelling so as to be dis- 
 tinctly felt when pressed upon by the hand. 
 
 The sublingual gland is the smallest of the three. It is 
 situated between the middle of the tongue and the lower 
 jaw, and opens into the same part of the mouth as the sub- 
 maxillary, by a number of minute orifices under the tongue, 
 whose terminations resemble little folds of skin, or tiny blad- 
 ders. These sometimes become inflamed, and then have the 
 appearance of little sores, or ulcers. This is soon corrected 
 by the efforts of Nature alone, in nearly all cases ; but, if it 
 should be thought best to attempt any treatment, the horse's 
 mouth may be washed with the solution of golden seal, or 
 chlorate of potash. 
 
 Besides these glands, there are smaller ones in every part 
 of the mouth, the cheeks, the tongue, the lips, and several 
 other portions of the throat. They all pour out secretions, 
 which enter into the composition of the saliva. 
 
 THE STOMACH AND INTESTINAL ORGANS. 
 
 Although not really included within this division of the 
 horse's anatomy, the oesophagus, or gullet, will be most ap- 
 propriately considered in connection with the digestive appa- 
 ratus. It is a funnel-shaped tube, or bag, of muscular struc- 
 ture, and is lined with mucous membrane — the same in 
 general character as that which is spread over the inside of 
 the mouth and nose. It extends from the pharynx — which 
 is simply a continuation of the extreme back part of the 
 mouth — to the stomach, in its course traversing the whole 
 length of the chest, and passing through an opening in the 
 diaphragm, or midriff. It is, at first, placed behind the 
 
60 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 larynx, and, with reference to the trachea, is situated to the 
 left. 
 
 The digestive organs of the horse are so important, as re- 
 gards both their aggregate size and their functions, and are 
 so extremely liable to sudden and severe attacks of disease, 
 that every farmer and horseman should be at especial pains 
 to get a correct notion of their structure, and the offices which 
 they severally perform. The reader of this section will de- 
 rive material assistance in fixing its descriptions in his mind 
 by turning to Chapter XIII, and carefully studying, in con- 
 nection with our descriptions, the representations of the 
 stomach and the bowels, which are there introduced. To 
 aid him in this we shall frequently refer him to those cuts. 
 
 The stomach of the horse is very small, when compared 
 with the great bulk of his entire body, or with the relative 
 size of the same organ in man. Its average capacity is about 
 three gallons ; while the stomach of man, whose weight is 
 hardly one-eighth of that of the horse, contains frd^uently 
 three quarts. As the vegetable diet, however, upon which 
 the horse subsists, yields a smaller proportion of nutritive 
 matter than animal food, and that proportion with greater 
 difficulty, it is necessary that the animal should be provided 
 with a digestive apparatus of greater extent and perfect 
 efficiency. What seems to be wanting in the stomach of the 
 horse, we accordingly find made up in the formation of the 
 intestines, which are long, large, and complicated. We will 
 consider them presently. 
 
 Two openings and two sacs form the features which one 
 would be most likely to notice first, in examining the stom- 
 ach. The upper opening is the connection with the oesopha- 
 gus. It is called the cardiac orifice, and in the cut of the 
 stomach is shown at b. Youatt describes this entrance of 
 the oesophagus into the stomach as follows : "The oesopha- 
 gus enters in a somewhat curved direction. It runs obliquely 
 through the muscular and cuticular coats for some distance, 
 and then its fibers arrange themselves around the opening 
 into the stomach. Close observation has shown that they 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 61 
 
 arrange themselves into segments of circles, interlacing each 
 other, and, by their contraction, plainly and forcibly closing 
 the opening, so that regurgitation of the food (vomiting) is 
 almost impossible." 
 
 The other opening is that which communicates with the 
 intestines. It is called the pylorus, (literally, door-keepers,) 
 or pyloric orifice. In the cut it is imperfectly represented at /. 
 We quote again from Youatt : "At the lower, or pyloric 
 orifice, the muscles are also increased in number and in size. 
 These are arranged in the same manner (as around the car- 
 diac orifice), with sufficient power to resist the pressure of 
 the diaphragm, and retain the contents of the stomach until 
 they have undergone the digestive process." 
 
 Similar names have been given the two sacs — the cardiac 
 and pyloric. The division of the stomach into these two 
 parts is not uniformly marked in difterent horses, biit is gen- 
 erally indicated, more or less plainly, by a constriction. It 
 is shown in the cut by d d, the jagged and heavily shaded 
 line between c c and e e. The cardiac sac is simply a reser- 
 voir of the food, while the pyloric is the real digestive 
 stomach. 
 
 The stomach is composed of three coatings. The outer 
 coat is a serous membrane, and simply a continuation of the 
 peritoneum, which lines the entire abdominal cavity. Next 
 to this is the muscular, or middle coating, consistiig of two 
 sets of fibers crossing each other transversely, which give to 
 it a considerable power of contraction and expansion. By 
 this means a gentle vibratory motion is imparted to the stom- 
 ach, and all its contents are properly mingled together and 
 carried forward. The internal coating is not the same in the 
 two sacs of the stomach. In the cardiac sac it is commonly 
 called the ciiticular (skin-like), or insensible coating (see c c in 
 cut); in the pyloric, tbe mucous or villous (velvet) coating 
 (see ee in cut). 
 
 The cuticular lining is a continuation of that of the oeso- 
 phagus. It is whitish brown in color, tough, and compara- 
 tively dry. It covers only about one-third of the internal 
 
 v\t 
 
62 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 area of the stomach — in the upper part, of course, next the 
 gullet. In structure it is web-like, with a somewhat loose 
 attachment to the muscular membrane, from which it maj 
 be easily separated after death. When washed and cleaned, 
 it has the appearance of gauze, or fine net-work. The vil- 
 lous coating of the stomach is of a brownish red, marbled 
 with lighter tints of the same color, and possesses a delicate 
 texture, so as to be easily torn; yet it has an exceedingly 
 limited degree of sensibility, since, were it otherwise, many 
 common articles of the horse's fogd could not be digested 
 without great pain. Numerous little capillary tubes have 
 their outlet upon this membrane, and pour out a peculiar 
 secretion, which continues the softening process already be- 
 gun in the mouth by the saliva. This is the gastric fluid. It 
 acts not only as a solvent, but also contributes other mate- 
 rials—especially what is called pepsine — that greatly facilitate 
 digestion. 
 
 By these agencies the food is converted into the substance 
 called chyme, which passes out through the pylorus into the 
 intestines, there to be still further digested, its nutritive par- 
 ticles taken up and transferred to the general circulation, 
 and its waste matter duly avoided. 
 
 The intestines, to which we have now come, in the natural 
 progress of our descriptions, constitute a hollow tube, with 
 many windings and convolutions, nearly ninety feet long in 
 an average-sized horse. In diameter the tube varies exceed- 
 ingly at different parts. The intestines have three coat- 
 ings — the same, indeed, as the stomach, with only this difter- 
 ence, that they nowhere exhibit the cuticular lining. These 
 membranes, however, are not precisely identical in their sev- 
 eral arrangements and uses throughout their entire length. 
 
 The muscular coating of the intesjbines is composed of two 
 sets of fibers, crossing each other at right angles, and each 
 running transversely with the line of the bowels. In certain 
 intestinal diseases of the horse, it is subject to fearful co^itrac- 
 tions, producing what are called strictures. In the mucous 
 or internal membrane are seated myriads of little capillary 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STKUCTURE OF THE HORSE. 63 
 
 vessels, which have their mouths upon its surface, and are 
 constantly taking up the nutritive extracts of the digested 
 food and conveying them into the blood. The point of the 
 finest needle could not be put down anywhere upon the 
 mucous surface on which these vessels are distributed with- 
 out resting upon one or more of these little mouths. From 
 the effects of severe ill-usage, as well as of certain diseases, 
 these absorbents sometimes cease to act. Should they remain 
 inactive, the horse, with his supply of nutrition thus cut off, 
 J 8 soon reduced to a famishing condition. 
 
 Only two natural divisions are found in the alimentary 
 canal. These are the large and small intestines. Anatomists, 
 however, have divided each of these parts into three sections. 
 This subdivision is particularly arbitrary in regard to the 
 small intestines, between whose three sections it is impossible 
 to discover any defined boundary lines. Hence in "the cut 
 of these organs, which appears in Chapter XTTI, we have 
 not attempted to index the different portions of the small 
 bowels. Their continuous series of convolutions, however, 
 are represented very naturally and plainly at b b. 
 
 The small intestines occupy rather more than two-thirds 
 of the whole length of the alimentary duct, being between 
 sixty and seventy feet in length. From their comparatively 
 small diameter, however, they will contain only a little more 
 than one-half as much as the large bowels. When fully ex- 
 panded, they will hold about eleven gallons ; the others about 
 nineteen. Adding to these amounts the three gallons which 
 represent the measure of the stomach, and we find that the 
 entire capacity of the digestive tube is the enormous aggre- 
 gate of thirty-three gallons. 
 
 The three sections into which anatomists divide the small 
 intestines have received the names of the duodenum, jeju- 
 num, and ileum. 
 
 Duodenum is a Latin word, signifying twelve. It is thus 
 applied because this part of the bowels in man is about 
 twelve inches long. In the horse, however, its length is 
 about twenty-two inches. It extends from the pyloric orifice 
 
64 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 of the stomach to the entrance of the biliary and pancreatic 
 ducts. (See a, in cut of intestines.) 
 
 The jejunum — from the word jejune, meaning empty — is 
 so called because it is nearly always found quite empty after 
 the animal's death. This is in consequence of the great 
 rapidity with which the food passes through it. It is of 
 smaller diameter than the duodenum, and floats more loosely 
 in the abdomen. 
 
 Last of the small intestines comes the ileum, whose walls 
 are more muscular and thicker than those of the jejunum. 
 
 The ileum terminates in the ccecum, or blind gut, the first 
 of the large intestines. Its entrance is not into the end of 
 this, as would naturally be expected, but near the head, or 
 outlet, as shown in the cut, where the ccecum appears prom- 
 inently at e. It follows, from this arrangement, that the food 
 which passes into this blind pouch must twice traverse its 
 whole length, on its return from the closed end of the pouch 
 passing directly by the mouth of the ileum, where it is pre- 
 vented from re-entering by a peculiar valve. In the ccecum, 
 as is supposed, the larger proportion of the process of absorb- 
 ing the nutritive elements of chyle is conducted. Nearly all 
 the water which the horse swallows passes at once into this 
 gut, without any delay in the stomach and small intestines. 
 
 The ccecum is connected with the next intestine, the colon, 
 (see fg g, in cut,) by a considerably larger neck than with the 
 small intestine. The colon is very large, and occupies two- 
 fifths of the abdominal cavity. It is generally found filled 
 with the alimentary substances. Its contents are made up 
 of the coarser parts of the food, and become hard and solid. 
 Being deprived of nearly all its moisture and nutrition, the 
 food reaches the tapering portion of the colon, which is di- 
 vided into sections, or compartments, by a number of circular 
 bands surrounding and puckering it. By these, the foeces is 
 separated into balls, upon which they contract, their absorb- 
 ents extracting the last remaining nutrition, when, by a fur- 
 ther contraction, each ball is forced onward to the rectum, 
 from whence it is discharged. 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STKUGTURE OF THE HORSE. 65 
 
 Terminating in the anu^, (see i, in cut,) is the next and last 
 intestine, the rectum (see A, in cut). Its name signifies straight, 
 which it much more nearly is than the other bowels. It is 
 much shorter than the colon, with less than one-fourth the 
 capacity. As no portion of digestion remains to be carried 
 on here, its mucous lining is not exactly the same as in the 
 other parts of the intestines, and is entirely destitute of ca- 
 pillary absorbents. The rectum forms a capacious reservoir 
 for the excrement Until evacuated. This is retained in its 
 place by the curious circular muscle at the anus, called the 
 sphincter muscle, until the horse, by a voluntary effort, expels 
 it. By these means, IlTature prevents a constant and disagree- 
 able dropping of the foeces. 
 
 A doubling of the peritoneum, called the mesentery, (see c, 
 in cut,) forms the means by which the intestines are chiefly 
 retained in their relative positions. It includes within its 
 folds all the intestines, extending along their entire length. 
 It is furnished with a large artery and a large vein — each 
 called the mesenteric — and is every- where filled with innum- 
 erable small vessels, that supply the bowels with blood, and 
 others which convey the extracted nutriment from the in- 
 testines to the general circulation. 
 
 The omentum, or cawl, (not shown in cut,) is a twice doubled 
 fold of the peritoneum, thus consisting of four layers of it, 
 which are placed between the intestines and the sides of the 
 belly. By some it has been supposed to answer the purpose 
 of a soft padding, to relieve the violent concussions and pre- 
 vent the injuries which rapid motion would be likely to pro- 
 duce. It is unusually short in the horse. 
 
 THE LIVER. 
 
 In the horse the liver undoubtedly performs the same of- 
 fices as in the human being ; but these are involved in much 
 obscurity. It secretes the bile from the venous blood, (sup- 
 plied to it by the portal circulation,) which, if retained 
 therein, would poison the whole system; but which, when 
 mingled with the chyme, is of the highest service in the 
 5 
 
QQ AMEEICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 operations of digestion. It is by far the largest gland in the 
 whole body. 
 
 The liver is situated in close contact with the right side 
 of the diaphragm, and is divided into three lobes, with a 
 color peculiar to itself. Its structure is also most peculiar. 
 The bile is said to be secreted in small granules in this or- 
 gan, called acine, from their resemblance to the stone of cer- 
 tain small berries. But when the liver is cut open, we find 
 every part of it filled with little tubes, from which exudes 
 a thin, yellow fluid. This is evidently the bile, but, as yet, 
 without the bitter qualities, which it probably acquires after- 
 ward from the aeine. In most animals the bile is stored 
 away in a reservoir, called the gall-bladder, to be used as oc- 
 casion may require; but the horse has no gall-bladder, so 
 that the bile, as fast as it is formed, flows directly into the 
 small intestines. These it enters through the hepatic or bil- 
 iary duct, a few inches below the pyloric orifice. (See a, in 
 cut of intestines.) It is of the greatest importance in the 
 work of digestion. The whole system sufters, if its secretion 
 and flow are interrupted or retarded. Should they cease 
 altogether, not only would the blood be poisoned by its re- 
 tention, but the animal would presently starve for want of 
 nourishment. 
 
 This organ is much less subject to disease in the horse 
 than in the other domestic animals, or in man. It is occa- 
 sionally the seat of inflanamation and some other affections, 
 whose symptoms, however, are always obscure. Sometimes, 
 where its functions are deranged, a condition is produced 
 much resembling that of jaundice in the human being. This 
 may be detected, without difficulty, by the yellow, pale color 
 of the membrane lining the nose, and of the lips, the mouth, 
 the tongue, and especially by the jaundiced appearance of 
 the eyes. 
 
 THE PANCREAS. 
 
 This is a gland placed between the stomach and the left 
 kidney, being what is commonly called the sweet-bread. It 
 
OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTUEE OF THE HORSE. 67 
 
 secretes the pancreatic fluid, which flows through its own duct 
 into the small intestines through a valvular opening common 
 to the hepatic and pancreatic ducts. (See g, in cut of the 
 stomach.) In its uses, the pancreatic fluid is apparently sim- 
 ilar to the saliva. It contains a large proportion of albumen 
 ^nd some free acid. 
 
 THE SPLEEN. 
 
 < This organ, often called the melt, has no excretory duct, 
 and, hence, can hardly be called a gland. It lies along the 
 left side of the stomach, to which it adheres very closely. 
 It is long; at one end broad and thick, and at the other 
 tapering almost to a point. In color, it is of a bluish brown. 
 It has a spongy consistency, being composed of numerous 
 cells, over which are spread thousands of minute vessels. 
 Physiologists have not been able to positively demonstrate 
 the uses of this organ. It is believed, however, " to perform 
 the office of a reservoir for the blood required by the stom- 
 ach, with which it is closely connected by a set of vessels, 
 and also to efiect some change in the blood itself." 
 
 THE URINARY ORGANS. 
 
 These embrace the kidneys and the bladder, with the dif- 
 ferent ducts and passages tl:^t are connected with them. 
 
 The kidneys secrete the urine. They are two glandular 
 organs, whose function it is to rid the system of the element 
 called urea, which is that principal constituent of the urine 
 that, if not excreted, would act as a deadly poison in the 
 blood. In the horse they are of immense size, and are sit- 
 uated under the loins, the right kidney lying under the liver, 
 and somewhat forward of the left, which is placed back of 
 the stomach. Each of them is supplied with a large artery, 
 which furnishes blood not only to the kidneys themselves, 
 but likewise to all the urinary organs. Like all other glands, 
 the kidneys abound in minute capillary vessels, where the 
 functions of excretion are carried on. The amount as well 
 as the quality of the urine which they secrete varies greatly, 
 
68 ' AMEBICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 at different times, in all animals, but in the horse more, per- 
 haps, than in any other. As fast as it is collected in the 
 kidneys, the urine passes down to the bladder through the 
 long excretory ducts, called the ureters, of which there is one 
 for each kidney. 
 
 The bladder is the oval membranous bag, which serves 
 as a reservoir for the urine. Here it accumulates unjil its 
 quantity begins to occasion inconvenience, when the animal, 
 by a voluntary effort,i expels it. Thus the great annoyance 
 of a constant dribbling is prevented. The bladder has three 
 coatings. The outer one is an extension of the peritoneum, 
 but covering only a part of the bladder. Kext to this, and 
 upon the outside of the bladder for a great part of the lat- 
 ter's surface, is the muscular coating, composed of two sets 
 of muscles, crossing each other transversely, as in the intes- 
 tines. The internal coating is the mucous membrane, which 
 lines all the hollow viscera. The urethra has its origin at 
 the neck of the bladder. It is the canal which carries off 
 the urine. Its orifice can be entirely closed, at the horse's 
 pleasure, by the contraction of the powerful muscle which 
 surrounds the neck of the bladder. 
 
 The urinary organs have a number of diseases. These 
 will be fully described in the proper place. 
 
 This completes all that our limits will permit us to pre- 
 sent of the anatomy of the horse — all, indeed, that the purpose 
 of our work requires. The reader who wishes to pursue this 
 subject further, is referred to those highly scientific and valu- 
 able works, Percival's " Anatomy of the Horse," and " The 
 Horse in the Stable and the Field," by J. H. Walsh, (Stone- 
 henge.) 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 
 
 69 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE BONES. 
 
 BIG HEAD AND BIG JAW — EXOSTOSIS OF THE BONES. 
 
 This disease has a very pe- 
 culiar histor}^. It is exclusively 
 American. In Europe it ap- 
 pears to be entirely unknown/ 
 The English and French writ- 
 ers upon the horse have* made 
 no mention of it whatever, a 
 circumstance which could 
 hardly have occurred had the 
 disease been known to them, 
 or even to the ancients; and 
 of American authorities, 
 though all must have been 
 well aware of its existence, but 
 few have given it any atten- 
 tion, probably from a want 
 of knowledge of either its 
 history or treatment, or, per- 
 haps, of both. 
 
 It prevails most extensively 
 in the great Valley of the 
 Mississippi — in the States of Tennessee, Arkansas, Missis- 
 sippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. As we recede from the 
 great river and its influences, it gradually diminishes; yet 
 isolated cases may be found throughout the country from 
 the Eastern sea-board to the plains of the far West, and 
 from the vicinity of the Ohio and the Potomac to the Gulf 
 of Mexico. Its ravages appear to have been most of all 
 destructive in Western Tennessee, iN'orthern Mississippi, and 
 
 BIG HEAD. 
 
70 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. \ /. 
 
 Eastern Arkansas, where, at one time, it assumed the features 
 of an epidemic. During the years from 1849 to 1858 the 
 author traveled extensively through those sections, and also 
 through Northern Alabama, for the purpose of gaining a 
 more perfect knowledge of this disease, and, if possible, to 
 discover. its cause and cure. It was not uncommon to find, 
 upon the smaller estates, from one to ^ve horses and mules 
 afflicted with big head in its worst forms, while the larger 
 cotton plantations frequently presented the sad spectacle of 
 twelve or fifteen utterly hopeless cases. 
 
 At that period the most lamentable ignorance reigned 
 every-where in regard to this disease — its nature, causes, 
 and treatment. Its pathology was not understood by any 
 one. A few modern horse doctors had published their views 
 upon it in pamphlets, and two, perhaps, in book form. Carver 
 and Mason had noticed it only to pronounce it incurable ; yet 
 each gave what he called a remedy, which, however, was found 
 to be conceived in ignorance and born in cruelty. In no soli- 
 tary instance was there any rational connection between the 
 nature of the disease and the treatment applied to it. 
 
 These works threw no light upon the subject, and furnished 
 no clue to its intelligent study ; they only " darkened counsel," 
 and made investigation more difficult and uncertain. To dis- 
 cover the true nature and proper treatment of big head was, 
 indeed, a 'herculean task. There were no books and no 
 teachers, only the dreadful scourge and its operations; for 
 the school, only the stable lots of the planters; no encour- 
 agement pecuniarily, and little in any other way. The 
 pathology of the disease was to be written, its diagnosis 
 formed, and its materia medica collected and applied under 
 the most unfavorable circumstances. Every-where the horse 
 doctor was looked upon with the utmost odium, and his name 
 regarded as only a synonym for imposition and low-bred 
 ignorance. It would be impossible, at this period of time, to 
 convey to the mind of the reader any adequate idea of the 
 utter contempt and detestation in which the horse doctor's 
 profession was then commonly held. Every thing had to be 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. * 71 
 
 done, too, at the expense and trouble of the poor practitioner 
 himself, on the terms of " no cure, no pay ;" and very often, 
 indeed, it was no cure and no pay. Such were some of the 
 difficulties which, at the outset, met the author of this work. 
 At the very threshold of research,' this terrible malady, big 
 head, presented its most formidable front, and the curt lan- 
 guage of the people of the country was commonly such as 
 this : " Take that old horse with the big head, and try your 
 hand on him. If you can cure him, you can cure any of them." 
 But the work was entered upon with the determination to 
 succeed in clearing up the mysteries enshrouding the subject, 
 and, if possible, to discover some rational means of cure. 
 That this was accomplished may now be seen, and thousands 
 at the South will attest. 
 
 Old horses are much more likely to be attacked by the 
 disease than the young and vigorous, though no age or 
 condition is wholly exempt. The sucking colt, the yearling, 
 the two-year old — in fact, all ages of both horses and males — 
 may show the enlargement or protrusion of the frontal bone, 
 which is the unmistakable feature of big head. Within the 
 author's observation, though the bones of the head and upper 
 jaw were frequently enlarged, there were no cases of bona fide 
 big jaw among colts. The disease does not appear to affect 
 the colt to the same extent as the old horse; the general 
 system is but little involved, and nature sometimes effects a 
 cure without other assistance. The mule, though less subject 
 to it than the horse, often has the big head, but is always 
 much more easily treated. The author recollects no case 
 of the mule colt having it. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that the region of country best 
 adapted to the culture of cotton is also that most favorable 
 to the development of big head. The disease is the most de- 
 structive in malarious districts, and, indeed, may be said to be 
 almost 'entirely confined to them. The cotton plant attains 
 its most perfect growth in precisely the same localities. 
 
 In limestone regions it is much less frequent, even where all 
 other predisposing agencies are the same. 
 
72 • AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 THE CAUSES OF BIG HEAD. 
 
 The fact just stated points strongly to the conclusion that 
 among the many causes which combine to produce big head, 
 is the water found in the sections where it prevails, which is 
 generally strongly impregnated with sulphur, iron, and other 
 minerals. It is soft, such as is found in freestone formations, 
 and entirely destitute of lime, a substance entering largely 
 into the composition of the bones. The bones are composed 
 mainly of phosphate of lime, a combination of lime and 
 phosphorus. For the former, the horse is chiefly dependent 
 upon the water which he drinks., his food supplying the latter. 
 Fresh water does not furnish phosphorus, nor vegetation 
 lime, except in very limited quantities. The lime contained 
 in some water is not free, but exists in combination with 
 other substances, and in such cases there will be an excess 
 of phosphorus in the secretions above what is needed to 
 supply materials for the growth and repair of the bones. 
 
 Water performs the office of a solvent in the digestive 
 functions of the stomach. It softens the food into chyme, 
 which, passing into the small intestines, there receives the 
 gastric secretions of the hepatic and biliary ducts, and by 
 their aid is still further digested. The nutritive particles 
 are next extracted, and, in the form of chyle, are conveyed 
 to the blood. Lime is mechanically combined with water, 
 and, when it is free, unites readily in this process with the 
 chyle, and with it is carried by the blood to the bones. 
 Phosphorus is secreted from the food, and supplied to the 
 bones in the same manner. 
 
 The water in Western • Tennessee, Northern Mississippi, 
 and Eastern Arkansas is not only singularly devoid of lime, 
 but is remarkable for containing so many other minerals. 
 This condition of the water, however, can not be regarded 
 as the sole cause of big head. In some parts of our coun- 
 try, where there is still less lime in the water, the disease 
 is well-ni^h unknown, and, even in the sections named, 
 many horses escape. But that it is, at least, a predisposing 
 agency can not reasonably be doubted. 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONE. 78 
 
 Another important consideration, in tracing out the causes 
 which unite to produce big head, is the food which the horse 
 eats. In grass-growing countries the disease is rare, and 
 even in the infected districts horses seldom have it, if thej 
 have access to good pastures. It is the same privilege which 
 so largely protects the young colt, in most instances. The 
 soil in those sections of the South which appear to be its 
 principal theater of operations is very dry and sandy, bearing 
 only a species of wire-grass in the early spring. Even this 
 lasts but a few months, becoming so hard by July or August 
 that stock refuse to eat it. At the South, unless there has 
 been a great improvement iii this department of plantation 
 management within a very few years past, the horse is sel- 
 dom allowed the benefit of even this poor grazing, but, when 
 not in service, is usually kept in the stable, or a dry stable- 
 lot. 
 
 If a proper system of plantation management — of grooming 
 and feeding — were adopted, the evil would be overcome to 
 a great extent. But corn, and corn-blades stripped from the 
 stalk in the month of August and dried, constitute the prin- 
 cipal food in the stables of the South. It is,— -or at least was, 
 during the author's residence in that region, — a common 
 practice to feed nothing but these for months together, the 
 horse, meanwhile, being kept at continuous hard labor. Corn 
 is very heating in its tendency, and, as an exclusive diet, al- 
 ways occasions more or less fever. It is to the horse what 
 meat is to his driver ; a portion may be eaten beneficially, 
 but if the diet fails to combine other articles, derangement 
 of the system and consequent illness must follow. A horse 
 which lives exclusively upon corn feed is seldom entirely 
 ■free from fever. 
 
 1^0 common aliment is probably less favorable to the ani- 
 mal health than corn fodder, at least as it is harvested at the 
 South. It is very dry, always dusty, and, while possessing 
 little substance, has a strong tendency to thicken and dry up 
 the blood. The corn is often very much injured by rains, 
 while standing in the field ; in many cases the crop is not 
 
k 
 
 T4 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 gathered until midwinter, and sometimes not even until spring. 
 It is no uncommon scene, in Tennessee and Mississippi, to 
 find one set of hands gathering the corn in one-half of the 
 field, while in the other a second set are putting in the new 
 crop. Corn that stands out a whole winter in this way must, 
 of course, be greatly injured, becoming water-soaked, and 
 some of it actually rotten. ^N'ot only that which falls down 
 upon the wet ground is damaged ; but, of what remains stand- 
 ing, the large or stump-end of the ears are generally much 
 softened, if not decayed. The same is true of the fodder; 
 most of it, by standing out in shocks, becomes damp and 
 moldy. 
 
 On such food two-thirds of the horses at the South are 
 compelled to live, and, as a consequence, more than one-half 
 of them suffer continually from fever. No wonder they 
 have big head, and every other disease that horse-flesh is 
 heir to ; the only marvel is that they are ever well, or, indeed, 
 that they live at all. To feed them corn exclusively is bad 
 enough, but when that corn is rotten, and is eked out by 
 moldy fodder, the condition of the poor animals is deplorable. 
 
 In connection with water and food, climate has, undoubt- 
 edly, a powerful influence in developing big head. The fact 
 that the scourge is almost entirely confined to malarious dis- 
 tricts has been already stated. Cases may occur elsewhere, 
 but they are of rare occurrence, while, on the other hand, 
 the stronger the malarious influence the more frequent is the 
 disease. In Western Tennessee* and Eastern Arkansas, por- 
 tions of country well known for their unhealthfulness, it is 
 most cpmmon and fatal, increasing as we approach the Mis- 
 sissippi. The whole valley of that great river, from the mouth 
 of the Ohio to the Gulf, is low, damp, and malarious. 
 
 Nor must bad treatment be overlooked in enumerating the 
 causes of big head. No one who has given the subject any 
 attention can have failed to notice that the horse well cared 
 for and kindly treated is much less likely to contract the 
 disease than one ill-used. On many Southern plantations 
 there are no stables ; and on many others it was not uncom- 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 75 i 
 
 mon, a few years ago, to find the horse in the pens which 
 were called such, half-leg deep in mud and water, at mid- 
 winter, and in summer standing upon great steaming piles 
 of manure. He was generally left in the sole charge of care- 
 less negroes, who neither knew, nor cared to know, much 
 ahout his wants or his health; and who, after working the 
 faithful creature hard all day, and abusing him recklessly, 
 thought their duty fully discharged, if at night they shut him 
 up in these pens, to gorge himself from a trough-full of corn 
 and fodder. And the practice was the same, without any re- 
 ference to his condition or his health, whether he was sick 
 or well, or whether overheated by violent exercise or not. 
 E'or did the poor animal's ill-usage always end even with 
 this. Often he was pressed into the service of some pilfering 
 or trading expedition, conducted under cover of night ; rid- 
 den at the top of his speed to the rendezvous ; tied to a tree 
 in the woods, without any protection from the weather, no 
 matter how cold ; and then, in the morning, galloped back, 
 until he was steaming with perspiration, just in time to eat 
 his corn and be driven out to work again. Such was the 
 treatment of thousands of horses at the South fifteen or 
 twenty years ago. Of course, disease did a fearful work 
 among them. 
 
 Succinctly presented, then, the agencies principally con- 
 cerned in producing big head are bad water, improper feed- 
 ing, malarious influences, and general ill-usage. IN'ot all of 
 these, it must be understood, are necessarily in active opera- 
 tion at the same time. Horses have had the disease that 
 were as well cared for as possible, and cases have occurred in 
 sections where the water was good and abounded with lime. 
 But neither horses nor mules, it is believed, ever suflered 
 from big head whose food was not largely made up of corn, 
 and but few in localities entirely free from malaria. 
 
 NATURE AND LOCATION OF THE DISEASE. 
 
 Big head is a disease of the bones, beginning with an en- 
 largement of the bones of the head and jaw, and ending with 
 
76 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 general necrosis— that is, "death of the bones." During its 
 progress, the bones of the entire system, from a lack of ma- 
 terial in the blood, gradually waste away, so that, after the 
 death of its victims, they are frequently found to be no more 
 than one-half, or even one-fourth, their usual thickness while 
 in a healthy condition. They become mere shells, entirely 
 destitute of marrow, and so brittle as to be easily broken by 
 the pressure of the foot, or by a blow from the blade of a 
 large pocket-knife. Before a fatal termination has been 
 reached, it sometimes occurs that the bones of the fore-legs, 
 unable longer to bear the weight of the body, actually break 
 between the knee and ankle-joint. 
 
 As stated above, the disease first makes its appearance m 
 the head and jaws; its immediate seat is in the marrow of 
 the up{>er and lower jaw-bones, which become carious, or ul- 
 cerated. When fever is present in the animal system, it al- 
 ways has a strong tendency to locate in some member which 
 discharges one of the vital, or at least important, functions, 
 and which is, therefore, much in use. It follows from this 
 that the part in most severe exercise is the one most of all 
 likely to be ajfected, and hence the development of this dis- 
 ease at first in the head and jaws. The constant and severe 
 exercise of grinding the hard, flinty corn irritates and inflames 
 the te'eth and gums, and it is in them and in the jaws that 
 the fever in the system makes haste to establish itself. The 
 marrow of the bones in the head is next attacked, changing 
 to a thick and putrid yellow matter. The swelling of the 
 head and jaws is an ulcerated enlargement of the bones,— 
 simply an effort of nature to discharge this matter, and so 
 to throw off the disease. As an evidence of this, a minute 
 examination will show that the bones are filled with a tissue 
 of little irregular cells, or cavities, and that the entire space 
 occupied by the marrow is becoming of a scaly or spongy 
 growth of bone. It is plain that a general destruction of the 
 bony tissue is rapidly going forward. If its progress is not 
 now arrested, this will spread through the whole body. In 
 several cases examined after death by the author, the bones 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 77 
 
 were all found in this condition. When the marrow is de- 
 stroyed, necrosis takes place ; the bones die, and so does the 
 horse. As might be expected, while the disease is running 
 its fearful course, the poor suflerer becomes dreadfully emaci- 
 ated. 
 
 SYMPTOMS, ETC. 
 
 It is extremely desirable so to describe the disease, and to 
 point out its earliest peculiarities, as that all may be en- 
 abled to discover it readily, and to protect themselves from 
 imposition. This will not prove difficult. In its very first 
 stages, big head may be easily detected by running the 
 thumb up under the lip, beside the under jaw-bone, between 
 the lip and the teeth. The side of the jaw should be 
 nearly perpendicular with the teeth above. Should there 
 be any enlargement, even as much as the eighth of an 
 inch, let the farmer beware of that horse. Any* swelling of 
 the head or upper jaw he can see at the first careful glance. 
 The nasal bone, which lies in a direct line from the eye to 
 the nose, is the one that becomes misshapen and betrays 
 the presence of the disease. 
 
 The skin and muscles of the head become fixed, and will 
 not move by pulling the lips. One of the surest indications 
 of big head is a constant sleepiness while standing. 
 
 As the disease progresses, the appearance of the poor vic- 
 tim becomes pitiable in the extreme. He is gaunt and 
 drawn up, his hind and forefeet almost together ; his head 
 droops and water runs from his eyes; the hair is erect; the 
 joints are stift', and the skin is dry and hard, and seems very . 
 tight. His excrement, which is hard, black, and almost 
 entirely destitute of moisture, is voided with great diffi- 
 culty. 
 
 As has been intimated, the disease in its first stages is 
 not perceptible to the unpracticed eye. It then presents no 
 external evidences by which it may be known, and hence 
 many an amateur trader in horses and mules has been de- 
 ceived. The unsuspecting owner soon finds that something 
 is wrong; the horse is stiff, and does not move with his 
 
78 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 accustomed vivacity and spirit. But his appetite is good. 
 Yery likely, indeed, he eiats voraciously, and this only 
 serves to allay suspicion. A horse with the big head con- 
 tinues to eat until the last moment. When no longer able 
 to raise his head from the earth, the poor creature, lying 
 upon his side, as well as he can, begs for corn; and strange 
 as. it may appear, corn— one of the principal causes of the 
 disease — is the only food he wants, and nothing else will 
 he eat. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The object of this must be twofold : first, to dry up the 
 humor in the jaws and head ; and, second, to free the system 
 from the general effects of the disease. This, of course, can 
 be most easily done in the early stages, yet the disease may 
 often be overcome when it has made considerable progress. 
 It is worth a trial whenever a horse can raise himself to 
 his feet. 
 
 Bleeding is the first and indispensable thing to be done. 
 The blood is very thick, almost black, and moves very 
 sluggishly. The veins are congested — often dreadfully con- 
 tracted. JS'o medicines can be made to operate upon the 
 system while the blood remains in this condition. The 
 mucous absorbents of the intestines are nearly closed, and 
 food passes onward through them undigested. While com- 
 munication between the digestive organs and the blood 
 is so nearly cut off, it is folly to give medicines. Bleed- 
 ing thins the blood, as well as decreases its quantity ; relaxes 
 the system, and enables the absorbents concerned in the 
 functions of nutrition to perform their proper ofiices. Medi- 
 cines can now again reach the circulation and be carried 
 to the extremities by the capillaries. The quantity of blood 
 taken should be from two to four quarts, according to the 
 character of the symptoms. In a bad case the bleeding 
 should be repeated every sixth day, though ordinarily 
 from two to four times, at intervals of ten days, will be 
 enough. 
 
 The bleeding having been performed, the practitioner 
 
 9 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 79 
 
 should prepare about half a pint of corrosive liniment, 
 first taking care to procure an earthen-ware cup into which 
 to pour it. He should apply the liniment to the parts af- 
 fected with a small mop, made by tying a piece of old 
 cloth on the end of a stick. One table-spoonful on each 
 side of the head and jaw will be a sufficient application, the 
 liquid being always well shaken previously. The parts must 
 be well wet with the liniment, which should then be thor- 
 oughly dried in with a hot iron, held near the skin, but not 
 touching it, as actual contact would not only needlessly 
 torture the poor brute, but would destroy the effects of the 
 remedy. The liniment should be applied in this way, every 
 other day, six or eight times; or in a bad case, the treat- 
 ment may be continued as long as is necessary, varied by- 
 omitting the application four or five days at a time in 
 every fortnight. It is important to remember that the di- 
 gestion of the horse, and not the condition of his head and 
 jaws, is to be the guide in determining what degree of suc- 
 cess attends these efforts. 
 
 The effects of the disease will be likely to linger in the 
 system long after it has been checked in the parts where it 
 chiefly manifests itself. To remove these effects will be 
 slow work; but it must be done, or the disease will return 
 again, in which case it will almost certainl}^ prove fatal. To 
 remove his stiffness, loosen his hide, and regulate his diges- 
 tion the following simple prescription should be given: One 
 table-spoonful of stramonia seed — that is, the seed of the 
 " jimson weed," as it is commonly called; or of the thorn-ap- 
 ple, as it is otherwise known — in some meal or bran, every 
 other day, until three or four doses have been administered. 
 It may then be omitted for two or three days. This medi- 
 cation should be repeated so long as may be found neces- 
 sary. 
 
 Many persons, supposing the "jimson" seed to be poison- 
 ous, are at first afraid to give it. There is not the least 
 danger, however, in using it as above directed. It has a 
 very happy effect upon the horse's system, and especially 
 
 % 
 
80 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 upon his digestion. His excrement, which before was black, 
 hard, and dry, becomes soft, and of a healthy yellow ap- 
 pearance. When this is accomplished, the patient is- safe, 
 and not until then, as this will not be the case until the 
 disease is fairly broken. The use of the "jimson" seed 
 will do more to free him from the general effects of big 
 head than all the other medicine which can be given him. 
 Hundreds have been cured by it where no other means 
 were employed. 
 
 The author recollects one remarkable case of this sort. 
 Mr. Eichard Cross, of Hardeman County, Tennessee, had 
 two valuable horses nearly ruined with big head. He 
 turned them into a cotton-gin lot, of two or three acres, 
 where was growing a flourishing crop of "jimson" weeds, 
 determined that they should eat this or starve. Pressed by 
 the gnawings of hunger, the horses first nibbled away at the 
 leaves, then fed upon the buds, and at last devoured stalks 
 and all. Compassion finally drew his attention to these 
 poor creatures, and to his astonishment he found them 
 nearly well. When turned into the lot they could scarcely 
 drag their feet over a rail, lying on the ground; but now 
 the little negro who first informed him of their improve* 
 ment, put the case emphatically in these words: "Massa, 
 I tink ole Gray 'most well ; he kick up his heels." Years 
 afterward the writer saw the same old gray horse, as well 
 and fat as could be desired. 
 
 In case the "jimson" seed can not be procured, a quarter 
 of a pound of sulphur may be given daily, to the amount 
 of three or four pounds. In connection with the sulphur, the 
 horse should have an aloes pill every other day for a week ; 
 but the "jimson" seed should be obtained, if possible. !N"o 
 other remedy can be absolutely depended upon, and it is prin- 
 cipally to his reliance upon it that the author attributes his 
 great success in curing big head at the South. 
 
 The swelling of the head and jaws will disappear very 
 gradually, and if it has been unusually great, the "bunches" 
 will always show to some extent ; but it will become less and 
 
 9 i 
 
I 
 
 '- DISEASES OF THE BONES. 81 
 
 less observable each successive year, and, ordinarily, the 
 muscles and tendons will so accommod^tte themselves to the 
 new condition of things that, after a time, the enlargement 
 can scarcely be detected. 
 
 !N'ot less than ten thousand horses and mules, of which the 
 author had knowledge, were cured by this treatment during 
 the years from 1850 to 1858. The cure is radical. When it 
 has once been effected, the horse is no more liable to the dis- 
 ease than if he had never had it; nor will any ugly scars 
 remain to proclaim that he was ever unsound. 
 
 For the sake of convenience, a recapitulation of the treat- 
 ment before laid down is here subjoined : 
 
 1st Bleed from two to six times, at intervals of from six 
 to ten days, iaccording to the aggravation of the symptoms. 
 
 2d. Apply the corrosive liniment every other day, as di- 
 rected. 
 
 3d. Give a table-spoonful of stramonia, or "jimson" seed, 
 daily, with intervals of omission as specified, as long as may 
 be necessary. 
 
 4th. In the absence of the "jimson " seed, give proper doses 
 of sulphur, with the aloes pill. 
 
 AFTER TREATMENT. 
 
 This must be judicious and careful. Unless the object is to 
 kill him, the horse should never be worked while convales- 
 cing. When the weather is bad, he should be kept in a 
 warm, clean stable. If pasture is in season, he should be 
 turned upon it .during the day, but during cold rains, and 
 on chilly nights, he must be brought into the stable. Should 
 the weather be unusually damp or cold, he should be covered 
 with a blanket. The little blood which a horse in this con- 
 dition has is very thick, and he is much more sensitive to the 
 cold than when in health. 
 
 MODES OF TREATMENT FORMERLY PRACTICED. 
 
 A brief sketch of the practices in use at the South for the 
 cure of big head twenty years ago, can scarcely fail to inter- 
 6 
 
82 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 est the reader. Some of these were barbarous in the extreme, 
 and none had any aim beyond simply checking the swelling 
 of the head and jaws. Of the condition of the general system, 
 or of any remedy for ridding it of the dreadful effects of the 
 disease, absolutely nothing was known with certainty. One 
 of the common, cruel modes of treatment occasionally proved 
 partially successful, but generally they all alike failed. The 
 process was called "putting back the big head;" that is, 
 when any thing was accomplished, which was possible only 
 in the first stages of the disease. Few cases would remain 
 " put back," and, most frequently, the animals fell victims to 
 a subsequent attack. ^ 
 
 First in the horrible list of savageries may be mentioned 
 the practice of burning or scalding with a horn filled with a 
 hot mush, made of ashes and boiling water. A common cow's 
 horn, filled with this mush, scalding hot, was applied to the 
 parts immediately over the seat of the disease. The horse's 
 head first being fastened so that he could not move it, the horn 
 was held against it, until the skin and flesh were literally 
 cooked, or sufficiently so to cause them to slough oft' quite 
 to the bone in a few days. This treatment was sometimes 
 efficacious in the incipient stages of the disorder, but always 
 very much disfigured the poor animals subjected to it; often 
 it killed them. 
 
 An equally inhuman practice was to run a sharp, red-hot 
 iron into the jaw, and entirely through the b'^ne. This would 
 likewise check the disease in certain cases, but it produced 
 a dreadfully offensive, running sore, which never healed. The 
 writer has seen many examples of this treatment, and once 
 had two of its victims placed in his charge to experiment 
 with, and, if possible, to cure, but nothing could be done 
 for them. One was shot, as an act of mercy, and the other 
 was given away. 
 
 Another singular practice much in vogue was the extrac- 
 tion of one or two of the large molars, or double-teeth, by 
 means of a large pair of tongs, called " tooth-pullers," about 
 three feet long, and in shape like a pair of blacksmith's 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 83 
 
 tongs. Near the end was a shoulder, so arranged as to take 
 hold of the teeth, which were thus wrenched out. This prac- 
 tice appeared to " put hack " the disease more frequently 
 than any of the others, but the horse always suffered irrepar- 
 able injury from the loss of his teeth, so necessary in grind- 
 ing his food. The writer has seen at least five hundred horses 
 with their teeth thus extracted, and while some of them were 
 much improved, none were entirely well. They remained 
 stiff and hide-bound, and with much impaired digestion. 
 
 But the greatest enormity was the use of arsenic. The 
 plan was to cut through the skin to the jaw-bone, insert a 
 quantity of arsenic with a quill, and then close the wound. A 
 dreadful inflammation and swelling was the inevitable result, 
 the head sometimes becoming as large as a half-busheh An 
 abst^ess soon formed, terminating invariably in a running 
 sore, offensive almost beyond endurance. It was no uncom- 
 mon thing for the flesh and skin to slough oft', leaving the 
 bone exposed, when only the utmost care could save the 
 wretched animal from the maggot, the fly, and, at last, the 
 merciful interposition of death. This remedy was, indeed, 
 worse than the disease in its most aggravated form. 
 
 Other equally revolting and barbarous systems of treatment 
 were current, but, as these are fair examples of them all, it is 
 not necessary to occupy further space in enlarging upon them. 
 
 That these practices can be described mainly as things of 
 the past, must be a source of deep thankfulness to every hu- 
 mane person. They shocked and disgusted intelligent men, 
 even when at their height ; and, as the lesser choice of two 
 evils, many horses were given over to die, without the exer- 
 tion of any effort to prevent it. Still, no attempt was made 
 to introduce a rational substitute, and hence the ignorant horse 
 doctors of that period — or "butchers" as they were often 
 called — had every thing their own way. The people every- 
 where hailed with gladness the improved modes of treatment, 
 and presented the author with many valuable ^;okens of their 
 appreciation and gratitude. 
 
 ^- 
 
84 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 SWINNEY, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE SHOULDER. 
 
 It would puzzle the very wisest in- horse lore to determine 
 where the popular name of this disease originated, or why it 
 was first used. It is utterly unknown to European writers, 
 and has received scarcely any attention from American au- 
 thors. A more proper designation would be inflammation 
 of* the shoulder, as will become apparent from a fuller de- 
 scription. Swinney, or sweeny — commonly so called — is of 
 frequent occurrence in all parts of the United States, but 
 prevails more especially in the South-west, and perhaps most 
 of all in the Valley of the Mississippi. 
 
 Its cause may undoubtedly be traced to a very severe 
 strain upon the top of the shoulder, sometimes even tearing 
 loose the strong tendons which connect the scapula, or shoul- 
 der-blade, with the back. In this case, the whole frame- 
 work of the shoulder gives way, the scapula slips down some 
 inches, and the top of the shoulder assumes a sharp and hol- 
 low appearance. This is known as slip-shoulder. When in 
 health, the horse readily recovers from the effects of an or- 
 dinary strain, with no further care than a little rest ; but if 
 there is much tendency to fever in his system, such an acci- 
 dent is very likely to produce swinney. 
 
 The immediate seat of the disease appears to be the peri- 
 osteum, or membranous sheath investing the scapula. If the 
 skin was affected, it would be visible to the eye. Minute ex- 
 amination, or at least dissection, would detect disease in the 
 bones, if any existed, and an abscess or tumor would speed- 
 ily reveal where the trouble lay, if it were in the muscular 
 portion of the shoulder. There is no doubt, however, that 
 the cartilages and tendons passing over and beneath the 
 scapula are involved, in greater or less degree, as they often 
 suffer great decay. 
 
 There are two distinct stages of this disease, a fact which 
 the horseman should fix in his mind by carefully studying 
 each of them. The first stage is characterized by inflamma- 
 tion and lameness, and is sometimes very difiicult to distin- 
 
 ^^. 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 85 
 
 guish from certain diseases of the feet whicli usually accom- 
 pany it. Quite frequently the lameness is apparent in the 
 legs and feet alone. The horse seldom stands equally upon 
 both feet, but throws forward the limb upon the affected side 
 to rest it, and his step is short and limping. There is great 
 fever in the shoulder; the flesh becomes hard; the skin ad- 
 heres to the bone so closely that it can with difficulty be 
 moved at all; the parts shrivel away, and the entire shoul- 
 der has a hollow, shrunken appearance. The animal's, un- 
 willingness to lie down is a most characteristic symptom, the 
 pain occasioned by the strain upon the muscles and tendons 
 of the shoulder being greater than he is willing to undergo ; 
 and when, at length, compelled to do so by sheer exhaustion, 
 there is no mistaking his sufferings and complainings. This 
 circumstance alone infallibly discriminates between ^winney 
 and founder, as the foundered horse lies down with ease, and 
 passes more than half his time in a recumbent position. 
 
 The second stage is really the beginning of what farmers 
 call big shoulder, a sad affliction, which will presently be 
 spoken of under its own name. It is the sequel of long-con- 
 tinued inflammation, or of unusually severe injuries. In this, 
 the tendons that connect the scapula with the back — having 
 been violently torn loose, or becoming relaxed from the 
 weakening effects of disease — no longer keep the blade in its 
 place, but permit it to drop downward. Disease extends not 
 only to the scapula, but also to the humerus — properly the 
 upper bone of the arm, but often called the lower one of the 
 shoulder. The head of this bt>ne begins to grow, and hyper- 
 trophy adds a new complication to the case. The joint be- 
 comes greatly enlarged, and from sheer weakness pitches for- 
 ward, the muscles surrounding it waste away, and this part 
 of the shoulder appears terribly misshapen. The most casual 
 glance at the animal's disfigured condition now reveals but too 
 plainly what has taken place. 
 
 One feature of swinney deserves particular attention : that 
 it is almost invariably accompanied by diseased feet. Of all 
 the disorders which indirectly affect the horse's foot, none do 
 
86 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 so in greater degree than this. There is an intimate sympa- 
 thy between the shoulders and the feet, and the diseased con- 
 dition of the latter has unquestionably much to do with 
 aggravating the symptoms in the former. The hoof rot, es- 
 pecially, is a most frequent adjunct of swinney, and requires 
 direct treatment, as prescribed elsewhere. It will be exceed- 
 ingly difficult to reduce the inflammation in the shoulder 
 while the feet are diseased, and a permanent cure, under these 
 conditions, may be pronounced impossible. 
 
 In the first stages, energetic treatment will be likely to re- 
 store a young and vigorous horse to perfect soundness; but 
 the old or feeble can hardly be expected to entirely outgrow 
 the effects of the disease. In the second stage, not much 
 can be done in any case. The patient may be patched up, 
 so as to serve for moderate labor a short time longer; but he 
 will always be weak, sadly disfigured, and in an emergency 
 utterly unreliable. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Whatever treatment is adopted, it is obvious that it should 
 have for its object active and powerful counter-irritation. 
 The prevailing inflammation must be brought to the surface. 
 This the corrosive liniment will eflectually do. It should be 
 used daily for two or three days, being apphed to the af- 
 fected parts and thoroughly dried in with a hot iron, 
 in the 'same manner as directed for big head and spavin 
 Let it be omitted for two or. three days, and then employed 
 again. This treatment must be kept up as long as may be 
 necessary to eflect a cure, which will generally be from two 
 to four* weeks. In order to loosen the skin, it should be 
 rubbed and pulled with the hand every mormng. This 
 ought still to be practiced occasionally, and the parts kept 
 well greased, after the liniment has been dispensed with. 
 
 In most cases, it will be found beneficial to bleed once 
 taking from the neck-vein from two quarts to a gallon of 
 blood, according to the symptoms. This will tend to pre 
 vent the local fever from extending to the general system. 
 
 L 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 87 
 
 If there is pasture to be had, let the horse be turned upon 
 it. During cold weather or chilly rains he should be stabled, 
 and fed on moist, relaxing diet. On no account let there be 
 any thought of working him until he is quite well. 
 
 FORMER MODES OP TREATMENT. 
 
 These were all barbarous expedients to produce counter- 
 irritation, the great desideratum in the treatment of swinney. 
 One method was to stab the diseased parts a number of times 
 with a large pegging-awl until they were full of little holes 
 half an inch deep. Another was known as puffing. A quill 
 was inserted into a small incision through the skin, and air 
 blown in. This was pressed along through the cellular tisr 
 sues with the hand, the skin being torn loose in the process, 
 until the entire surface of the shoulder was puffed out like 
 a full-blown bladder. A third practice consisted' in burning 
 the parts in a multitude of ways — with a hot iron, with 
 scalding steam, with a hot mush of ashes, and the like. By 
 these means the flesh was often literally cooked, and in 
 time sloughed off ih a mass. 
 
 BIG SHOULJDER. 
 
 As already stated, this is nothing more than an aggravated 
 case of swinney. The flesh and tendons of the breast are 
 affected, as well as those of the shoulder, and shrink away. 
 The diseased growth of bone at the shoulder-joint continues 
 to grow larger, and causes correspondingly-increased disfig- 
 urement and helplessness. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 This, of course, must be the same as for swinney. But a 
 perfect cure is out of the question. True, the anim^'s suf- 
 ferings may be relieved, and the disease, in a great measure, 
 subdued; yet, in the majority of instances, it will be found 
 that his usefulness has been entirely destroyed. %.^v. ^* 
 
 When the horse is in health, and in posses^n of his 
 natural power, the position of the feet is about fear inches 
 
 ■J 
 
88 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 in front of a perpendicular dropped from the shoulder. The 
 sufferer from this disease, however, in consequence of thb 
 pitching forward of the shoulder, has his feet thrown back- 
 ward nearly twice that distance, greatly to his detriment in 
 moving, and with the loss of at Ifeast one-half his power. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OR SWINNEY OP THE HIP. 
 
 This is much more rarely encountered than the correspond- 
 ing disease in the shoulders, which it closely resembles in its 
 general symptoms, particularly as regards the withering of 
 the muscles, the attendant fever, and its accompaniment of 
 diseased feet. From its comparative unfrequency, however, 
 it is not as well understood. It has never been described, 
 except recently, by a few American writers. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment must be the same as for swinney in the 
 shoulders, and seems much more efficacious. The corrosive 
 liniment seldom fails to effect a perfect cure. 
 
 # 
 
 SLIPPED OR BROKEN HIP. 
 
 It would appear as if nature had made ample provision for 
 the protection of the hip-joint. The connection of the three 
 bones of the haunch by powerful cartilages, which encase 
 them on every side ; the locking of the head of the femur, 
 or thigh-bone, into a deep socket, or cup, formed in the hip- 
 bone to receive it, and the binding together of this entire 
 arrangement by the strongest ligaments — these, it would 
 seem, should prove sufficient to defy almost every injury. 
 Yet it is quite possible to subject the joint to concussions so 
 violent as to produce dislocation. The head of the femur is 
 wrenched from its socket, and the bone drops downward, 
 giving to the hip a peculiarly slipped or broken appearance. 
 Occasionally, tlie head of the femur is even fractured. This 
 IS treated of elsewhere, under its proper head. 
 
 ^1 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Besides allowing absolute exemption from labor, not much 
 can be done. One or two applications of corrosive liniment 
 will assist in keeping down inflammation, and preventing 
 lameness. The shape of the hips can never be restored. 
 
 BONE SPAVIN. 
 
 There are two kinds of spavin known to the farmer — bog 
 and bone spavin. Of these, only thfi latter can properly be 
 considered in this connection. The former is described in 
 Chapter YIIT. 
 
 Bone spavin is an enlargement which appears upon the in- 
 side of the hock, just below the joint. It is really a very 
 formidable disease, usually ruining the horse entirely, if not 
 promptly treated. In some instances it seems to do no ma- 
 terial harm, although it is always a great deformity; while 
 in others the swelling assumes such enormous proportions 
 that the joint becomes as large as a child's head, and so stiff 
 and lame that the horse can barely step at all. 
 
 The joint, at the hock, has a middle bone — from its shape 
 called the cube-bone — resting upon two others below it,, of 
 quite different shapes and sizes. Of these, the larger — de- 
 nominated the shank-bone — is situated upon the outside of 
 the leg. The smaller one, that upon the inside, is known as 
 the splint-bone, on account of its thinness, and because, in - 
 its union with the shank-bone, it resembles a splint bound 
 to a fractured limb. The head of the splint-bone is quite 
 porous, and much thicker, as well as softer, than the other 
 portions of it, the bone increasing in solidity and strength 
 toward the lower end. All the various parts of this compli- 
 cated joint, in common with others throughout the entire 
 frame-work of the body, are supplied with an oily fluid — or 
 synovia, as anatomists term it — which serves as a lubricator 
 to prevent friction and soreness from the movements of the 
 tendons. It also performs an important ofllice in nutrition, as 
 the medium for transmitting the materials necessary to make 
 
90 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 good the wear and tear which the joint, from its severe labor, 
 is continually undergoing. 
 
 . The primary cause of spavin is generally a blow, a strain, 
 or some similar injury. From this results a feverish and un- 
 healthy condition of the synovial membrane, so that its se- 
 cretion changes into a thick, purulent matter, which !N"ature, 
 true to herself, makes a determined efibrt to discharge. But 
 the membrane is so tough and powerful that no outlet can 
 be forced through it. The fluid settles down into the spongy 
 bone below, and a diseased growth of the bone follows, form- 
 ing a lump, or bunch, on the head of the inner splint bone. 
 Subsequently, the weight and concussion thrown upon the 
 parts, while in active motion, assist in extending the inflam- 
 mation to all the cartilages incasing the joint. 
 
 When only the splint-bone is affected, as is fortunately the 
 case in most instances, the knob, or bunch, is seldom very 
 large, and often admits of a cure. Sometimes, however, the 
 cube-bone, just above, becomes affected also, and bony adhe- 
 sions are formed between it and the splint-bone, just below. 
 The joint then grows out of all shape, and the animal's lame- 
 ness is pitiable to behold. For such a case there is no cure. 
 Medicines can not even effect any permanent improvement. 
 The horse is ruined. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 As for all affections of this class, the corrosive liniment is 
 the best remedy. It should be applied to the parts in the 
 manner directed for big head. After using it daily for four 
 or five days, let it be omitted for the same length of time, 
 and then applied again. This treatment must be continued 
 as long as may be necessary — a circumstance which will de- 
 pend greatly upon such conditions as how long the swelling 
 has been coming on, how large the bunch has become, and 
 the degree of lameness. If the cube-bone is involved, it will 
 be time thrown away to attempt any treatment. The best 
 thing which can be done, will be to philosophically " accept 
 the situation," and give up the case as hopeless. 
 
 1 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 91 
 
 V 
 
 Another remedy for bone spavin, and one possessing con- 
 siderable merit, is the mercurial salve. (See Chapter XXIY.) 
 The parts over the spavin bunches should be anointed with 
 this salve each morning, using either the finger or a small 
 mop. It will be found best to dry it in with a hot iron. If 
 the finger is used, it should be washed as soon as done, as the 
 ointment may injure the nails. This remedy will require 
 several weeks for its perfect action, and must be continued, 
 with the same intervals of omission, as when the corrosive 
 liniment is employed. 
 
 Ko after-treatment will be needed, except good care gen- 
 erally, and rest. 
 
 The whole treatment of spavin is simple and plain, yet far 
 from being always efibctual. Upon no account let the owner, 
 suffer the chisel or mallet to be used for the removal of the 
 knobs, or bunches ; nor, if he lays any claim to human feel- 
 ing, should he think of permitting such barbarous practices 
 as burning with a red-hot iron, or with the horn and hot 
 mush of ashes, nor of consenting to that most cruel savagery 
 of all, the employment of arsenic. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE CASES. 
 
 Two examples, taken from a large number which occurred 
 within the author's practice, will serve to illustrate the differ- 
 ent stages of bone spavin. The first happened in 1852, and 
 was that of a fine young mule belonging to Mr. Joseph 
 Holiman, of Gibson County, Tennessee. The swelling was 
 on the left hind leg, the lump being about half the size of a 
 hen's egg. There was considerable soreness of the joint, 
 attended with fever; otherwise, the animal was in excellent 
 condition. Four ounces of the corrosive liniment were used. 
 Treatment was continued about a month, the patient, mean- 
 while, having perfect rest, after which he was turned out to 
 pasture. At the end of another month he was put to light 
 work, which was gradually increased in severity until he re- 
 turned to all his old duties again. He never showed any 
 signs of lameness afterward. 
 
92 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 The other case was one in which the cube-bone was in- 
 volved. The victim was a small, compact, sorrel mare — a 
 most beautiful creature — for whom a friend had lately traded, 
 in his over-confidence in the spavin remedy. The joint was 
 at least three times its natural size. Although the corrosive 
 liniment was applied thoroughly, and for a long time, it was 
 without avail. The animal got no better, and, at last, the 
 deceived and disappointed owner was glad to give her away. 
 
 CAUTIONS. 
 
 A horse is sometimes affected with spavin while no bunch, 
 or, at most, only a very small one, is visible. He steps lame 
 when started after standing for some time; but, as he be- 
 comes heated, the ligaments expand and accommodate them- 
 selves perfectly to the swollen parts, his lameness passes 
 away, and he moves as freely as ever. Traders, and espe- 
 cially professional jockeys, improve this favorable time for 
 disposing of such animals, and practicing upon the ignor- 
 ance of customers. The new horse is taken home. After 
 standing in the stable over night, he comes forth the next 
 morning very lame and stiff, and great is the chagrin and 
 consternation of the credulous purchaser to find that a spav- 
 ined horse has been imposed upon him. 
 
 To guard against such deception, the customer should feel 
 the legs with particular care; and if the least unnatural en- 
 largement, or any other suspicious indication, is apparent, let 
 him insist upon seeing the horse in the morning, or at some 
 other time, when he knows the animal has been standing for 
 some hours. Another method is to ride the horse into water, 
 letting him remain there long enough to cool off thoroughly. 
 If he is spavined, he will show it upon coming out, by the 
 stiffness of the joints and a crippling gait. But the best and 
 surest course, when there is any reason to suspect fraud, is 
 to have nothing to do with the beast. Should the bargain 
 seem too good to be lost upon mere suspicion, a trustworthy 
 friend may be consulted, or a guarantee required. 
 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 
 
 ENLARGED HOCK. 
 
 Notwithstanding the extraordinary provision which nature 
 has made for the support and defense of the hock, this joint 
 is very susceptible of injury, through the thoughtlessness or 
 cruelty of man. A bruise or strain is very likely to be fol- 
 lowed by inflammation and lameness. These may not prove 
 permanent, a little rest sufficing to set matters all right 
 again. On the other hand, the enlargement may continue 
 to increase, until.it overspreads the entire joint. . 
 
 The horsenran must be prepared to encounter two distinct 
 forms of this disease. The first of these is when only the 
 tendons and cartilages are aftected, in which stage the symp- 
 toms will readily yield to a few applications of the corrosive 
 liniment. The other form is that in which, from a severe 
 blow or concussion, the bone is bruised, its investing mem- 
 brane — the periosteum — is torn loose or terribly strained, and 
 bony formations take place on the surface of the bone. This 
 is a much graver condition of affairs than the other, and the 
 owner may consider himself fortunate if he can succeed in 
 removing it and restoring the horse to perfect soundness. 
 Sometimes the parts enlarge to three times their natural size, 
 with such stiffness of the joint that locomotion is painful 
 and difficult in the extreme. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment must be precisely the same as for spavin. 
 The hot iron need not be used for drying in the liniment, 
 except in cases of bony enlargement. 
 
 The practitioner must bear in mind what has been inti- 
 mated above; namely, that, while the horse may entirely re- 
 cover from the cartilaginous inflammation, he can not reason- 
 ably hope for great or lasting improvement, if there has 
 been much bony growth. True, he can render essential serv- 
 ice in checking the disease, and may even qualify the animal 
 for nearly .all the labors of the farm ; but for the road the 
 horse is utterly valueless. A hard day's work, a severe strain, 
 
94 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 or a bruise, may bring back the old 
 trouble at any time. 
 
 BROKEN HOCK. 
 
 The cap of the hock forming the 
 outer part of the joint is much 
 exposed to injury. It is occasionally 
 broken through some extraordinary vi- 
 olence. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 For this there is no treatment but to 
 let the horse rest until the bone knits 
 again. Use the corrosive liniment to 
 remove soreness 
 
 EXPLANATION OF THE CUT. 
 
 The cut represents some of the prin- 
 cipal causes of lameness in the fore-legs. 
 
 a Enlargement of the joint of the elbow. 
 
 b " Tying-in " of the leg below the knee. 
 
 c The most frequent situation of splint. 
 
 d An aggravated case of the enlargement ac- 
 companying sprain of the back sinews. 
 
 e The situation of wind-galls. 
 
 / The first appearance of ring-bone. 
 
 g The situation of sand-crack in the fore-leg. 
 (See Chap. IV.) 
 
 h The situation of what veterinarians call mal- 
 lenders. 
 
 RING-BONE. 
 
 The coffin-bone, so-called, is properly 
 the bone of the foot, occupying the space 
 within the hoof (whence its name, the 
 hoof being its coffin). With the suspen- 
 sory ligament that surrounds it, and the 
 horny substance of the hoof, it composes 
 the foot. At its upper end, which is on a 
 level with the top of the hoof, is the lower joint of the leg. 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. 95 
 
 called the coffin-joint. This bone is very soft, and filled 
 with a multitude of little interstices, through which pass 
 the blood-vessels of the feet. It is very subject to both dis- 
 ease and external injury. 
 
 When it receives the latter, the lubricating fluid, or syn- 
 ovia, of the coffin-joint becomes diseased, and, settling down 
 into the spongy bone below, a bony enlargement is the con- 
 sequence. At once the foot begins to show a gradually-in- 
 creasing lump, or bunch, at the point where the hair and 
 hoof join. Its development is chiefly laterally, and thus it 
 finally encircles the entire joint ; hence the term ring-bone. 
 
 What is known as club-foot is simply ring-bone at its 
 worst stage. In this condition, the horse is nearly useless 
 for general purposes, while the hope of a cure is so remote 
 that he is hardly worth any pains at the practitioner's hands. 
 
 . TREATMENT. 
 
 Bing-bone admits of a cure only in its earlier stages. Even 
 then it is effected with difficulty, and can seldom be relied 
 upon as permanent, as a strain or a contusion may bring 
 back the affiiction at any time. Still, there is always a fair 
 prospect, at this period of the disease, that the horse may be 
 made fit for some years of moderate service. 
 
 The treatment must be the same as for spavin in every 
 particular. Above all, the horse must have a long continu- 
 ance of unbroken rest. 
 
 STIFLE. 
 
 lS[o joint in the horse's structure but is liable to strains, 
 bruises, and similar hurts, and, although one of the strongest 
 in his whole frame- work, the stifle-joint forms no exception 
 to the general rule. It is sometimes badly wrenched, gener- 
 ally from the leg becoming fastened or hung in a false posi- 
 tion. Swelling, inflammation, and the most painful lameness 
 succeed. In some parts of the country this is popularly called 
 stifle, by which it is meant that the patella — the small bone 
 of the joint, corresponding to the knee-pan in man — has been 
 dislocated. 
 
 t% 
 
96 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 This opinion is assuredly erroneous. Dislocation may be 
 regarded as an impossibility, unless the tendons which bind 
 the joint together have been first either cut or torn apart. 
 "Were such displacement of the patella to occur, it is little 
 likely that the animal would ever step upon that leg again. 
 The writer has examined and treated a large number of 
 horses said to be stifled, but in no single instance was he able 
 to discover satisfactory evidence of dislocation. Swelling, at 
 the stifle-joint is exceedingly conspicuous; and from this cir- 
 cumstance, together with the slow progress of the patient's 
 recovery, the uninformed are deceived into the belief that 
 there must have been some displacement. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Counter-irritation is the only treatment which can be of 
 the least benefit. To secure this, let the parts be well rubbed 
 with the corrosive liniment, until it has been applied three 
 or four times each alternate day. Rest and the reparative 
 energies of nature will do the remainder. It may be months^ 
 perhaps, before the horse can be worked again ; but on this 
 point, as in all similar cases, the owner must be patient. 
 
 Perhaps the joint never becomes as strong as it was before 
 sustaining the injury. There is an equal doubt whether the 
 animal is not more liable than formerly to the same disable- 
 ment. Good grounds for hope do certainly exist, however ; 
 for not a few so-called "stifled" horses have been restored 
 to unimpaired and permanent soundness. 
 
 , SPLINT. 
 
 This is a bony enlargement upon the inner splint-bone, 
 whence its name. In its origin, symptoms, and development 
 it is nearly identical with bone spavin, from which it difiTers 
 in no marked respect, except as regards location. This 
 comes upon the side of the bone ; the other, at its head. It 
 is, however, a much less formidable disorder than spavin. 
 The enlargement seldom attains any great dimensions, and, 
 in a large majority of cases, none of the important ligaments 
 
 m 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. - 97 
 
 are involved. It usually occurs upon the fore legs, but is 
 sometimes seen upon the hind ones also — in either case, upon 
 the inside, of course. 
 
 Splint is caused by a blow or contusion, most commonly 
 by the horse himself striking the leg with the opposite hoof, 
 by which means the periosteum is injured. The office of this 
 membrane is to separate the skin and underlying cellular 
 tissues from the rough surface of the bone, and, also, as 
 before stated, to act as a vehicle for the nutrition of the 
 latter's entire structure. These functions are necessarily de- 
 ranged when the periosteum is seriously bruised, or is torn 
 loose from its proper connection; and the bony secretions — 
 consisting principally of phosphate of lime, and which, in the 
 natural arrangement, are distributed throughout the cellular 
 tissue within the bones — are deposited upon the surface, form- 
 ing a lump beneath the skin. Soreness is occasioned, at first, 
 while the membrane is painfully stretched by the unnatural 
 enlargement of the bone ; but IN'ature usually accommodates 
 herself to the new condition of afiairs, so that, in time, this 
 entirely disappears. 
 
 Occasion all}^, splint shows itself upon some part of the leg 
 where it interferes with a large tendon, or it may appear 
 immediately on the joint, in either of which cases, of course, 
 it causes lameness; otherwise it does but little harm, further 
 than its unsightliness is concerned. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 After the horse reaches the age of nine or ten years, splint 
 almost invariably disappears so far as to be hardly noticeable, 
 and, in most instances, it may be as well to let it alone. If 
 treatment is decided upon, however, the corrosive liniment 
 may be applied two or three times, as directed for spavin, to 
 remove the soreness and lameness. 
 
 BROKEN KNEKS — STUMBLING. 
 
 Stumbling can not properly be reckoned among the vices 
 of the horse, notwithstanding most writers classify it as such. 
 
M ' AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 It is simply either the effect of some disease of the shoulder 
 or of the lower joint of the leg, or is a bad habit resulting 
 from defective structure. 
 
 In the latter case, the trouble arises from the feet being 
 too nearly in line with the direction of the leg. From the 
 hoof to the upper pastern joint, the ankle should incline at 
 an angle of about forty-five degrees. Sometimes, however, 
 one meets with a horse whose ankle is stuck straight down 
 into the top of the hoof, like a post in the ground, the hoof 
 being erect and round like a cup. Such an animal is almost 
 sure to be a noted stumbler. It would be folly, indeed, to 
 buy or trade for him without first critically examining his 
 knees, and making minute inquiries as to his habits. 
 
 The habitual stumbler is not only slow and uncertain in 
 his movements, but is really dangerous in nearly every ca 
 pacity in which he can be used. If he is under the saddle, 
 the rider runs a constant risk of being pitched over his head 
 and carried home with a fractured limb or a broken neck. In 
 the wagon, he is almost sure to fall while ascending the 
 steepest hill, and when, of course, his services are most 
 needed. Not content with simply breaking the shafts, when 
 hitched to a buggy or carriage, he has the most exasperating 
 fashion of going through with his peculiar evolutions in the 
 midst of the largest crowd to be found in the whole day's 
 travel, when one's feelings are most likely to be mortified by 
 such awkwardness. To drive him by the side of a young or 
 skittish horse would be almost sure to end in a runaway, from 
 his companion's fright when he falls down. 
 
 There is but one place for the stumbler. That is in the 
 plow. Here he can do no harm, if hitched up alone, or with 
 an old or gentle horse. Beware of a stumbler. His possesssor 
 is cheated, no matter how low the terms upon which he fs 
 purchased. 
 
 r 
 
 SWAY- BACK. 
 
 This is not a disease, but a deformity, produced by persons 
 jumping upon the back of the young colt before it is strong 
 
 I 
 
 ^ • 
 
DISEASES OF THE BONES. ^ 99 
 
 enough to bear such a weight, and thus bending downward 
 the soft, unformed bones of the vertebra, whose points are 
 pressed together above and strained apart below. The back 
 is not broken, but terribly bent, and by the animal's growth 
 is permanently fixed in this condition. Such a horse may 
 be quite serviceable, and the back-bone seem but little 
 weakened ; but he is never adapted for rapid motion of any 
 kind, and his disfigurement is so marked as to detract mate- 
 rially from his market value. 
 
 For such a case no treatment is possible. ^N'ature will do 
 all that can be done. The foolish practice which causes 
 sway-bafck should be discontinued altogether. It is early 
 enough to begin riding the colt when he is nearing the close 
 of his second year. At that age a small boy may be per- 
 mitted to get upon his back carefully, but a full-grown man 
 should not attempt to do this for several months later. 
 
 
^i 
 m 
 
 100 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 D18EASES OF THE FEET. 
 ULCERATION OP THE FOOT; OR, NAVICULAR DISEASE. 
 
 There is one species of lameness to which the horse is 
 subject that has puzzled the farmer and scientific practitioner 
 not a little. Very little is known in relation to it, beyond 
 its external developments. It is not very frequent, yet some- 
 times occurs. The only wonder concerning it is, that it is 
 not found in much more frequent operation. 
 
 The horse is discovered to be lame ; but what the part is 
 •that is afiected is the question with the owner. The trouble 
 sometimes seems to be in the foot, and then again in the 
 shoulder. At times the animal limps, as though pricked by 
 a nail. After a while the lameness passes away so nearly that 
 it is scarcely noticeable; but presently it returns worse than 
 ever. All this time a disease has been establishing itself in 
 the back part of the foot — the heel — which, if neglected, 
 will ruin the horse entirely. This has been called the dis- 
 ease of the navicular joint. 
 
 There is a bone lying between the coffin-bone and lower 
 pastern, which, extending some distance back of these, forms 
 the projection of the heel, and rests upon the frog. It is 
 denominated the shuttle or navicular bone, the latter name 
 being given to it on account of its supposed resemblance in 
 shape to the outline of a ship. Its use seems to be to im- 
 part increased solidity to the connection between the coffin- 
 bone and the joint above, and to enable the flexor tendon 
 which passes over it, and is inserted into the bottom of the 
 coffin-bone, to act with more power and pliancy in giving 
 strength and motion to the foot. It forms a sort of joint 
 with the tendon and other bone. 
 
DISEASES OF THE FEET. 
 
 101 
 
 The navicular bone and joint are liable to various injuries, 
 and especially to strains and bruises. They are also very 
 apt to become involved in all cases of injury to the frog, 
 which is much exposed to accident. It is cut or bruised in 
 traveling over stony roads. The careless smith frequently 
 neglects to pare it off, and permits it to grow until it presses 
 upon the ground ; or else knows no better than to pare the 
 hoof behind a great deal too much, by which species of mal- 
 practice the heel is made to drop too low, and the unpro- 
 tected frog thrust upon the ground. It is often wounded 
 by sharp stones, points of frozen earth, and the like. 
 
 A. Os BafTraginis. 
 
 B. Oscoronte. 
 
 C. Os podis. 
 
 D. Os naviculare. 
 
 E. Perforans and perforatas tendons. 
 G. Inferior sesamoidal ligament. 
 
 H. Cleft of frog. 
 
 I. Side of frog cleft. 
 
 J. Sole. 
 
 K. Crust. 
 
 L. Coronary substance. 
 
 From these causes a settled disease of the joint is apt to 
 be produced. Deep-seated ulcers occur, and the membrane 
 and tendon are eaten away. An abscess is sometimes formed, 
 which breaks, at length, and copious discharges of matter 
 continue for a long time. When this happens, the horse 
 may recover, as this is the ver}^ end always to be sought in 
 
102 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 any mode of treatment. Such cases, nevertheless, always 
 prove exceedingly obstinate. But in most instances the dis- 
 ease takes an entirely different turn. ]^o abscess is formed, 
 but the navicular bone becomes diseased, and commences to 
 decay; the hoof shrinks, the portions toward the back of 
 the foot being drawn together; and now the horse suffers 
 from what farmers call " narrow heel." 
 
 Still another fearful development of the disease may take 
 place. In this the bone begins enlarging, the disease then 
 assuming the same features as ring-bone and spavin. Adhe- 
 sions between the bone and the lower pastern, and also with 
 the coffin-bone, presently follow ; and eventually the foot is 
 ruined, when the horse, of course, is worthless. The final 
 history of such a case, which is well worth tracing out, is 
 about as follows: Enlargement of the bone goes on; the de- 
 posits of bony matter upon the surface increases, and the 
 three bones above named are consolidated, forming a soft 
 and spongy mass of bony matter, which presses the hoof out 
 in all directions. To such a size does this unnatural growth 
 attain, that it often looks more like the head of a maul than 
 any thing else. Hence the name club-foot, which applies to 
 the incurable stages of this disease and of ring-bone alike. 
 What horseman is there who is not familiar with this mon- 
 strosity and its deplorable effects? 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The whole philosophy of this is simply to produce an 
 external development of the disease, by the formation of an 
 abscess situated near enough to the surface to readily force 
 an outlet for the discharge of its purulent matter. If this 
 can be done, there is reason to be hopeful concerning the 
 final result; if otherwise, the horse is ruined forever. The 
 most powerful counter-irritation will be necessary in the 
 region of the heel and the entire back part of the foot. 
 Too much can not well be done in this direction. An in- 
 flammation must be occasioned upon the surface superior to 
 that of the deep-seated disease of the joint and bone. 
 
 i 
 
:^ISEASES OF THE FEET. 103 
 
 No remedy can be employed so efficient for this purpose 
 as the corrosive liniment. In addition to producing a quick 
 and active irritation, more powerful than any possible sub- 
 stitute, its superior properties as a volatile, penetrating lini- 
 ment make it just the remedy needed. If any thing can 
 reach the seat of the disease, this will do it. 
 
 Apply the liniment to the heel and back part of the foot, 
 and also to the bottom of the latter and to the frog. Ex- 
 amine carefully the bottom of the foot, to see whether it 
 has begun to decay. If so, cut out as much as possible with 
 a chisel or knife ; after which apply the liniment freely, dry- 
 ing it in well with a hot iron. The twitch must previously 
 have been put upon the animal's nose, to make him stand 
 still, and the medicine thoroughly heated. Make the appli- 
 cation of the liniment every other day, and continue this 
 course until the horse is well. When the ulcer breaks and 
 matter begins discharging, you may feel assured that the 
 disease is mastered. After this, a cure is only a question 
 of time. 
 
 Keep your horse in a cool, dry stable; or, if pasture is in 
 season, let him run on the grass. During cold rains, be cer- 
 tain to have him in the stable, and always keep him out 
 of the wet while the liniment is being used. If his condi- 
 tion is not good, bleed once, and give a pound of sulphur 
 in a bran-mash, or in some boiled oats, or in his cut feed. 
 Make four doses of the sulphur, and give one of them every 
 second day. If he refuses this food, let him have nothing 
 else until he does eat it. A little abstinence may be of ben- 
 efit to him 
 
 THIS DISEASE THE CAUSE OF MANY OTHERS. 
 
 This disease is quite commonly the cause of many of the 
 other affections of the feet. It has a great variety of de- 
 velopments. We will mention some of the difterent diseases 
 which may have their origin in this. One of these is ring- 
 bone,* in which the bone grows out in front. Foot evil is 
 another. In this there is a general oozing out of the dis- 
 
 ■^ 
 
104 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORS:^ BOOK. • 
 
 eased matter all around the top of the foot, through the 
 coronary ring. Contraction of the hoof, or narrow heel, is 
 usually the result of caries, or decay of the bones of this 
 joint, the back portions of the hoof dropping in together. 
 Thrush is but the beginning of foot evil, the purulent mat- 
 ter collected at the joint escaping through the heel and frog 
 of the foot. Greasy heel is a case of enlarged thrush, and 
 often from the same causes. Tloof rot, or pummiced feet, 
 often accompany navicular disease. Cracked hoof, or sand 
 cracks, proceed from brittle hoofs, which this ailment produces. 
 It must be understood that these diseases may have an 
 origin independent of that which we are now considering; 
 but in a majority of cases they are found in connection with 
 this joint disease, and in a large number of instances are 
 produced by it. 
 
 CRACKED HOOFS. 
 
 This is otherwise called sand cracks, from the prevalent 
 opinion that such cracks occur in sandy regions much oft- 
 en er than elsewhere. Such is not the case, however. This 
 belief has obtained from the fact that these cracks are lia- 
 ble to become filled with sand, when they are always very 
 troublesome. Of course, where there is no sand this cir- 
 cumstance does not happen. Cases of this kind are com- 
 paratively rare in this country, so much so, indeed, as 
 scarcely to call for any mention here. 
 
 Cracked hoof is consequent upon a long-standing diseased 
 and feverish condition of the feet, from which causes the 
 hoof becomes hard, dry, and brittle, until, at length, it splits 
 open. The elasticity and toughness of the healthy hoof are 
 gone. Harrow heel is another cause of cracking, when fever 
 has made the hoof hard and dry. The back of the heel drops 
 in, which naturally occasions cracking in front. Hoof-rot 
 produces the same efiect. The decay of the bottom of the 
 feet is sometimes very great, leaving but a mere shell of the 
 hoof, the sides of which have become very thin and brittle. 
 When the horse has been kept shod for a long time, and the 
 
DISEASES OF THE FEET. 4, ' .106 
 
 smith has neglected the necessary paring when removing the 
 shoes, the hoof, especially during rapid motion, is very apt 
 to split in the quarters. This generally takes place on the 
 inside of the hind part of the foot. In this it differs from 
 contraction, which, as we have seen, usually causes the crack 
 to come in front. 
 
 The fore-feet are more subject to cracks than the hind 
 ones. Founder does the mischief here. It is the general 
 cause of brittleness. Brittleness produces contraction, and 
 contraction splits the hoof. All these diseases often exist, 
 and no crack occur. But hoofs thus diseased are much more 
 liable to crack than others, and when cracks do take place 
 in them, we may be certain their true causes are those here 
 indicated. , #► 
 
 Cracks in the front part of the hoof often extend to the 
 top, or the coronary ring. They are not of uniform depth, 
 sometimes penetrating only part way through the hoof. In 
 this case, they do but little harm, and, with a good shoe, 
 the horse will do excellent service for years, if used moder- 
 ately. The only danger seems to be the liability of the crack 
 to deepen to the sensitive part of the foot, when it inevitabl}^ 
 causes lameness. When it is situated in the quarter, it seldom 
 extends more than half way up the hoof, yet it msij be deep 
 and sore. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 There is but little difficulty in effecting a cure, which is 
 only a question of time. Remove the disease which is its 
 cause, and the crack will readily heal over. The former, 
 then, is the first thing to be accomplished, and when this is. 
 effected the crack will generally get well of itself. If the 
 crack is in front, file off its edges nearly to the bottom. 
 Then lay a narrow strip of canvas cloth, about an inch in 
 width, lengthwise over it, and, outside of this, still another, 
 covered with a thick coating of adhesive salve, or of pitch. 
 Care should be taken that no sand or dirt is left in the crack, 
 under the cloth. 
 
 At the top of the crack, if it extends only part way up the 
 
106 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 foot, burn the hoof with a hot iron, from its top to the top 
 of the crack, and on each side of the latter for the space of 
 one-fourth of an. inch. Burn the hoof to a crisp down to 
 the live flesh; and should the crack seem inclined to split 
 open when the horse steps, let the smith drive a nail through 
 the bottom of the hoof, so as to rivet the divided parts to- 
 gether. The nail should be clinched in the same manner as 
 when driven through the shoe, and its head and point filed 
 off smooth. Sometimes it will be found best to use two nails — 
 one at the bottom, and the other part way up the hoof. A 
 small seam may be cut on each side of the crack to receive 
 the upper one, and the nail driven through and clinched. 
 Care should be taken that no dirt or sand be left in the crack, 
 and then a coat of pitch spread over the entire opening. 
 
 THE FOOT. 
 
 a The external crust seen at 
 the quarter. 
 
 b The coronary ring. 
 
 c The little horny plates 
 lining the crust. 
 
 d The same continued over 
 the bars. ^ 
 
 e e The two concave sur- 
 faces of the inside of the 
 horny frog. 
 
 / That which externally is 
 g the cleft of the frog. 
 
 ff The bars. 
 
 h The rounded part of the 
 heels, belonging to the frog. 
 
 / i 
 
 This smaller cut exhibits, in as satisfactory a manner, the mechanism and 
 structure of the base of the foot. 
 
 a a The frog. 
 
 b The sole. 
 c c The bars. 
 d d The crust. 
 
DISEASES OF THE FEET. 107 
 
 This will prevent the split from extending higher up. A 
 horse should never be used while suffering from cracked 
 hoof, except for light purposes ; and if the crack is through 
 to the sensitive part, he should have entire rest until quite 
 well. 
 
 The time necessary to heal the crack will depend, of course, 
 upon its extent and depth. The hoof will grow out a little 
 more than half an inch per month. By simply measuring 
 the length of the crack, any one can compute the length of \ I 
 
 time it will require to complete the cure. Meantime, if the 
 adhesive cloths come off, put on others. In some cases it ^ 
 
 may be well to put on the shoe. In quarter cracks they 
 should always be fastened together at the bottom with a nail 
 or rivet. 
 
 HOOF ROT. 
 
 «. 
 
 What is generally known as tender feet is one of the most 
 common afflictions to which the horse is subject. No animal 
 has tender feet unless they are diseased or worn off. When 
 in a healthy condition, the hoof is very hard and tough, 
 having a bluish or limestone color, and is admirably adapted 
 by ITature to resist the injurious effects of the severe con- 
 cussions which they necessarily undergo. Instead of the term 
 " tender feet," it would be more correct and explicit to use 
 that of " hoof rot." This is what the disease really is. By 
 the operation of a kind of dry rot, which produces a feverish ^ 
 
 state of all the parts, the hoof and bottom of the foot decays 
 or perishes away. The primary cause is a diseased condition 
 of the feet and legs. 
 
 * Hoof rot is found in connection with spavin, ring-bone, 
 swinney, foot evil, and often with the disease of the navicu- 
 lar joint. It seldom fails to accompany chronic founder. 
 While these diseases often occasion hoof rot, they, upon the 
 other hand, are as frequently excited and brought on by it;. . f- 
 
 and, in a majority of cases, spavin, ring-bone, and foot evil 
 would not occur were it not for this predisposing cause. 
 When the spavin or coffin -joint is injured, the horse would: 
 
 s 
 
108 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 generally recover, in all probability, if the feverish influences 
 arising from the diseased condition of the feet were not so 
 much against him, and which, constantly irritating and ex- 
 citing the joint, finally settles upon it a permanent local dis- 
 ease. I^ot unfrequently, however, the disorder has an exist- 
 ence independent of any other, being the consequences of 
 bruises or wounds which the foot sustains in traveling ovei 
 hard, rough roads, or from their becoming worn off. Among 
 other causes of the same nature, are such as permitting the 
 shoe to remain on too long, or keeping the horse constantly 
 shod, and compelling him to stand in a wet, unwholesome stable. 
 
 SYMPTOMS. 
 
 The disease may be recognized by the dry, chalky appear- 
 ance of the bottom of the feet, which may be easily dug out 
 with a knife or chisel. The frog of the foot is obviously di- 
 minished in size, and the joints, especially the ankle-joint, 
 become sw^ollen, when the horse remains standing for any 
 length of time. The steps are short and lame, indicating 
 plainly the soreness of the feet, the affected member being 
 put forward, and thus rested ; or, if both feet are diseased, 
 the horse will advance first one foot and then the other. In 
 most respects the symptoms resemble those of swinney, which 
 hoof rot very commonly accompanies, and for which the in- 
 experienced horseman is very apt to mistake it. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 When the disease exists alone, the corrosive liniment will 
 always effect a cure ; but in case it is only the result of an- 
 other disorder, that must first be cured before commencing 
 the direct treatment for this. 
 
 Clean off the bottom of the feet, dig out the pumiced, 
 chalky matter, and pare down the sides of the hoof and also 
 the frog. Wash the bottom of the foot with the liniment 
 each morning for three or four days in succession, always 
 drying it in well with a hot iron. Omit the application for 
 two days, and then continue as before. 
 
DISEASES OF THE FEET. "^ t . 109 
 
 This disease does not usually unfit the horse for moderate 
 service, but care must be taken to keep him out of the wet 
 while undergoing treatment. After a few weeks he may be 
 safely returned to full duty, and shod, if necessary. 
 
 CORNS. 
 
 These are the great bugbears of the stable. Lameness in 
 the feet forms such a common complaint among horses, that 
 the stable-keeper can not evade the demand upon his 
 fancied attainments in horse lore for the explanation of the 
 phenomena in some way. It is, therefore, customary with 
 many men, when any thing is the matter with the horse's 
 foot which they are unable distinctly to account for, to get 
 rid of the difficulty by pronouncing it to be corns. Some 
 practitioners, by no means backward in claiming scientific 
 proficiency, have made the same mistake, much to the detri- 
 ment of their professional reputation. 
 
 An instance of this was afibrded in the spring of 1866, in 
 the case of a beautiful trotting-mare, belonging to a gentle- 
 man in Cincinnati. For a long time she had been under 
 professional treatment for corns; and yet, when the writer 
 was called to examine her, it was the task of but a few 
 minutes to demonstrate the fact that she was suftering 
 from nothing less than the dreadful disease of the navicu- 
 lar joint. 
 
 We have never found any affection of the horse's foot 
 which could properly be termed corns, but have treated 
 scores of cases exhibiting the peculiar condition of heat and 
 soreness which is known as such. This is a redness and in- 
 flammation of the bottoms of the hoofs, generally having its 
 commencement in the quarters, on each side of the frog. It 
 occurs oftener in the inside than on the outside quarter, and 
 in the fore-feet than in the hinder ones. In all cases that we 
 have examined, it is an accompaniment of hoof rot. The 
 bottoms of the hoofs decay until the disease reaches the sen- 
 sible portions of the foot, and the blood settles down in 
 patches, ramifying in all directions in little lines, which give 
 
110 ' AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 to the parts a peculiar blood-shot appearance, and form what 
 have been mistaken for corns. The latter name has no 
 proper applicability, and seems to have been adopted simply 
 because none better was known. At any rate, it is the off- 
 spring of the prevalent ignorance concerning that condition 
 of the feet just described. 
 
 Corns, so called, are nothing more than the soreness caused 
 by hoof rot — one development, or another edition, of that 
 disease. They belong to the same family, and have the same 
 pedigree, so to speak, as thrush, grease, foot evil, and narrow 
 heel. 
 
 A more serious result of this diseased condition of the foot 
 sometimes occurs. The inflammation reaches within the 
 horny sole of the hoof, and ulceration takes place there. The 
 abscess thus formed forces a vent, sometimes through the 
 heel, but oftener through the coronary ring at the top of the 
 hoof. Here the disease assumes different phases. Sometimes 
 it runs into foot evil, and, extending entirely round the foot, 
 brings the hoof off altogether. When the abscess bursts 
 forth in the form of a running ulcer, it often rises and breaks 
 a number of times, and may continue discharging for months. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 As the state of the feet whence corns proceed originates 
 from hoof- rot, the remedy must be the same as for that com- 
 plaint. Cure hoof rot and the corn will disappear. If an 
 abscess has not yet been formed, the corrosive liniment will 
 right matters without difficulty. Remove the shoe, and pare 
 the hoof down as far as can well be done. Pare down the 
 frog, also, and dig out all the chalky, pumiced hoof; then 
 apply the liniment to the heels and the bottoms of the feet, 
 using a hot iron to dry it in thoroughly. Repeat the appli- 
 cation five or six times ; but it -will not be necessary to use 
 the hot iron more than once in drying it in at the heels, 
 though at the bottoms several times. 
 
 In the summer of 1866, the writer treated a case of corns 
 in a horse belonging to Mr. Early, of Petersburg, Boone 
 
DISEASES OF THE FEET. " HI 
 
 County, Kj., which was one of the worst he ever saw. The 
 rotten, pumiced hoof was, at least, half an inch in thick- 
 ness, and extending back over half the bottom were a number 
 of angry-looking patches, while the sole, at each point of the 
 quarters, was perfectly blood-shot. The case was fast hast- 
 ening to the still worse determination of cracked heels, or 
 grease. The leg was badly swollen as far up as the hock- 
 joint. For this swelling, the animal had been under profes- 
 sional treatment for some time previous, the real cause of 
 lameness, situated in the foot, remaining entirely unsuspected. 
 After only three weeks' use of the corrosive liniment, the 
 animal was nearly well, and the swelling hardly perceptible. 
 A continuance ol the treatment in due time effected a per- 
 fect cure. 
 
 CONTRACTION OF THE HOOP, OR NARROW HEEL. ' 
 
 In all parts of the country, there are numerous cases of con- 
 traction of the hoof, or narrow heel, as it is popularly called. 
 The shape of the hoof is nearly round when the foot is in its 
 natural or healthy condition ; but sometimes the hoof be- 
 comes elongated, the toe extending forward, and the parts 
 toward the heel dropping in together. 
 
 It is a prevalent opinion that contraction is the result of 
 shoeing; but this is certainly a mistake, because otherwise 
 the trouble must occur much oftener than it does. There is 
 no reason why the same causes, operating in the same man- 
 ner, should not more uniformly produce the same effects. I^ot 
 one in twenty that is kept constantly shod is ever troubled 
 with contraction. This is not itself a disease, but merely the 
 result of an unhealthy condition of the feet. 
 
 So long as all the parts included within the hoof are in 
 in their natural state, the hoof will remain natural and solid ; 
 but let decay commence, no matter from. what cause origi- 
 nating, and the parts shrink away, the sides of the hoof will 
 fall in, and the .whole foot seem misshapen. Narrow heel 
 has just this history, and no other. The hoof often assumes 
 great irregularity of outline. One side drops in more than the 
 
112 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 other; the lower parts of the heel turn in, or, it may be, 
 benxi outward, or the toes are elongated beyond all propor- 
 tion. In all these cases, the hoof is being burnt up with 
 fever, and, like a crisped horn, twists about in a variety of 
 shapes. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 ■ We know of nothing which can properly be called a 
 remedy; contraction will cease when the disease that caused 
 it has been cured. Paring may, perhaps, be of some advan- 
 tage. Of all the forms of shoeing recommended, none are of 
 any practical benefit. 
 
 The horse's usefulness is not always essentially impaired 
 by contraction of the hoof. Though incapacitated for rapid 
 motion, he may still do very good work, perhaps, in the 
 plow or wagon. 
 
 INJURIES TO THE FROG. 
 
 The frog is a part of the horse's foot peculiarly exposed to 
 injury. From its location, it is continually brought into con- 
 tact with many hard substances — sharp stones, or sticks, 
 roots, nails, points of frozen earth, and the like. 
 
 It is a soft, elastic substance, capable of considerable ex- 
 pansion and contraction, and acts as a protection to the 
 important bones and tendons of the heel — principally the 
 shuttle, or navicular bone, and the flexor tendon, that gives 
 motion to the foot. Upon the surface it is insensible, but, by 
 paring it away, the sensible part is soon reached. It is the 
 latter which receives the hurt from the sharp substances 
 above referred to. Fever and soreness spread through the 
 adjacent parts, terminating frequently in deep-seated and ob- 
 stinate ulcers. Lameness may exist for some time before its 
 location and cause are discovered. The frog should be kept 
 well pared. Its natural appearance is very much like that 
 of India-rubber — dark brown in color, and without cavities, 
 splits, or fissures of any kind. If any dark spots are de- 
 tected in the horny substance of it, it is an evidence of stonei 
 bruise. 
 
DISEASES OF THE FEET. 113 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The corrosive liniment will remove all traces of stone- 
 bruise and similar injuries, and heal the sore and wounded 
 parta. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE FEET, OR FOUNDER. 
 
 Certain attacks of inflammation, which frequently make 
 their appearance in the horse's feet, have received the name 
 of founder, but for what reason it would be extremely diffi- 
 cult to say, since there is not the least apparent connection 
 between the term and that to which it is applied. 
 
 The common theory among farmers is, that the horse be- 
 comes foundered from over-eating, or from drinking too much 
 water, tlie founder descending suddenly to the feet. The 
 disease is known by a variety of names in different sections 
 of the. country; for instance, water-founder, corn-founder, 
 grass-founder, and others. As to a cure, these persons im- 
 agine that the great object \is attained if the founder can be 
 restricted, and kept from settling down to the extremities of 
 the limbs. 
 
 In reality, however, the founder is not only in the feet al- 
 ready, but has probably been established there for days, or, 
 perhaps, even for weeks. The sensible portion of the foot 
 within the hoof, and the bones in the immediate vicinity — 
 the coffin, pastern, and shuttle bones — are filled with little 
 blood-vessels, which supply these parts with niaterials for 
 their nutrition. The inflammation to which this region is 
 subject is unusually acute in the case of founder, and is liable 
 to be developed very suddenly. 
 
 The real cause of founder, then, is the previously-diseased 
 condition of the feet, which the horse's excessive eating and 
 drinking does no more than to aggravate and bring into 
 powerful action. As in all inflammation, swelling attends 
 the fever and soreness, and the parts within the hoof become 
 so painful that the horse can hardly bear to step at all. In- 
 flammation is next communicated to the hoof itself. It is 
 8 
 
114 AMERICAN FARMER'S. HORSE BOOK. 
 
 forced outward by the swelling within, and grows out of all 
 symmetry, until the horse is completely ruined. Who has 
 not seen the dreadful results of founder in the wide-spreading 
 hoof, the toe turned up, or elongated, sometimes even six or 
 eight inches, and the bottom of the foot flat and smooth ? 
 
 There are other circumstances that give rise to founder of 
 more frequent operation, in many sections, than over-eating 
 and drinking. The horse first overheated, and then allowed 
 suddenly to cool ; or brought from the cold and wet into a 
 warm stable, where his feet are enveloped in straw and hot 
 dung ; or ridden or driven very hard in the cold, and, after 
 standing hitched to a post, fetlock-deep in mud, removed to 
 a warm, close stable, a horse thus treated is a fine subject 
 for founder. The feet are chilled in the cold, and heated in 
 the stable, and it would be surprising if they could continue 
 long to stand such usage. If fairly treated, and not other- 
 wise diseased, the horse will never have the founder. . 
 
 One disease of the feet, generally occurring in the fore- 
 feet, is so commonly found associated with founder, that it 
 is difficult not to believe that it is the principal cause of 
 the mischief. In hundreds of cases of founder examined by 
 the writer, there was not one entirely free from hoof rot. 
 In most cases this had been working for weeks, or even 
 months, before. The evil consequences of this condition of 
 the feet have been greatly overlooked. 
 
 To sum up the matter, we record it as our opinion that, 
 if the feet ♦of the horse are not previousl}^ diseased, and 
 have not been bruised or otherwise injured, there wull be no 
 founder ; that what is known as founder is^only a very high 
 and sudden rise of inflammation in the feet from a disease 
 already existing there ; that hoof rot is the cause of chronic 
 founder, or established inflammation of the feet, and nine- 
 tenths of all the cases of founder which occur; and that 
 many a lameness in the horse, which receives no attention 
 from the owner, is an evidence of the existence of disease, 
 which may develop into chronic founder under any one of 
 a variety of unfavorable circumstances to which the animal 
 
/ 
 
 DISEASES OF THE FEET. 115 
 
 is frequently exposed, not to mention the evils following 
 the unnatural shape and enlargement of the foot. 
 
 SYMPTOMS. .** 
 
 These are variable. Sometimes they are well marked, the 
 horse indicating the nature of his sufferings with unmistake- 
 able plainness ; but not unfrequently they are so obscure as 
 to be mistaken or entirely overlooked. The first noticeable 
 sign is the horse's restlessness and the frequent shiftings of 
 the fore-feet. The pulse is quick and hard, the nostrils have 
 a red and florid appearance, and the horse indicates his con- 
 dition of extreme suffering by an anxious, woe-begone look, 
 with repeated or heavy grunts. He does not stand long 
 upon his feet, and yet can not lie down in the natural man- 
 ner; but, after making several efforts to do so, he will rise 
 up, turn round, change his position, and then resume his 
 feints of lying down. Sometimes these efforts will be re- 
 peated three or four times before he accomplishes his object, 
 which he finally does by dropping to the ground like a log. 
 The stillness with which he lies upon his side is proof at once 
 that the attack is not one of colic; while his changed look 
 of relief and comparative ease declares, as plainly as words 
 could, what his disorder really is. After a time he rises 
 upon his haunches, to get up, but, overcome with the pain 
 in his fore-feet which the effort occasions, he suddenly 
 drops upon his side again. Putting his head around to the 
 feet, he rests his nose upon them, as if to point out the seat 
 of his acute pain, and to plead, as well as he can, for some 
 relief. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Bleed in the neck vein, without delay, as soon as the ani- 
 mal's condition is discovered. Let the blood run freely, 
 taking at least a gallon of it. The object of this is to draw 
 away the blood from the overloaded blood-vessels of the 
 feet. Many object to bleeding in the neck, as being too re- 
 mote from the seat of the disease. Experience, however, ia 
 
116 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 a safe teacher, and one not easily misunderstood. Hundreds 
 of cases, within the personal knowledge of the author alone, 
 have fully tested the great benefits of this practice. We 
 are satisfied that the desirable results of bleeding depends, 
 not 80 much on the quantity of blood taken, as upon its 
 determinatio;i in another direction. Hence it is quite in 
 the natural order of things that the feet should be relieved 
 by this bleeding. 
 
 The bleeding having been attended to, have prepared a 
 kettle of hot salt and water. Drench him with a quart of 
 this liquid, as hot as he can bear it, and next bathe his feet 
 and legs with it. Rub these well with a rough cloth or 
 brush. Make this application three or four times in the 
 course of an hour, and after this, as soon as the feet have 
 become dry, wet the parts just at the edge of the hair with 
 the corrosive liniment, or, in the absence of this, use tur- 
 pentine. Do not attempt to work the animal until he is 
 entirely well. Feed lightly on bran-mash, boiled oats, cut 
 feed, or a little scalded meal. If pasture is accessible, how- 
 ever, he need have no other food. 'Not only is this the best 
 diet for him, but it is Nature's own medicine; and in fine 
 weather, the cool, moist ground will act as an excellent poul- 
 tice to his feet. In stormy weather, the horse, with this or 
 any other disease, should be kept in a good, dry stable. 
 
 Having happily got the founder under control, you had 
 now better ' set to work to cure his feet entirely, or, in all 
 probability, the disease will return presently in a worse 
 form than before. Hoof rot is what you now have to com- 
 bat, and must be treated directly as prescribed for that 
 complaint. 
 
 For an old-standing or chronic case of founder give {he 
 following: One pound of the flour of sulphur, one-fourth 
 of a pound of cream of tartar, the same of saltpeter, and 
 half a pint of pulverized "jimson" seed. Make six doses 
 of this, and give one of them each day until they are all 
 gone. At the same time, there must be energetic treatment 
 of the feet, u^ing the corrosive liniment as elsewhere directed. 
 
 i 
 
DISEASES OF THE FEET. — • . 117 
 
 Another remedy for founder, which comes to us from high 
 authority, is to split open with a sharp knife the little point, 
 or knot, in the long hair at the back of the fetlock. This 
 is said to aiFord almost instantaneous relief. 
 
 There is probably but one other disease (colic) with which 
 the horse is so commonly affected as with founder. More 
 poor, thriftless, shadowy horses may be found lingering 
 along, in constant suffering from chronic founder, than from 
 all other causes combined. The disease may be cured, if 
 taken in season, and old standing cases may be greatly re- 
 lieved; but there always remains neiore or less predisposi- 
 tion to the old trouble. A young and vigorous animal is 
 likely to pretty neaVly outgrow the disease, but there is 
 much less hopes for this when an old horse is taken with it. 
 
118 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE GLANDS AND NASAL MEMBRANES. 
 BLIND STAGGERS. 
 
 Blind staggers 'projper is peculiar to the Southern States. 
 In the form in which it there exists, it is not found north of 
 the latitude of thirty-six. What is known by that name in 
 the ITorthern States and in Europe is not properly blind 
 staggers, and is attended wi€h but few of the dreadful symp- 
 toms of the disease as it manifests itself in the South. In 
 the North, and in Europe, numerous aftections of the horse 
 thaf produce sleepiness or giddiness — most forms of vertigo 
 and slight attacks of apoplexy — are all vaguely termed stag- 
 gers. It is true that these often cause a staggering gait ; but 
 they are accompanied by none of the other characteristic 
 symptoms of bUnd staggers. 
 
 We are satisfied that neither the people of the JSTorthern 
 States, nor even the best informed writers on the horse, have 
 any knowledge of this dreadful scourge of the cotton States, 
 where, in former years, it prevailed to a terrible extent. At 
 one period — from 1848 to 1854 — its ravages were especially 
 destructive, and became really fearful to contemplate. Cer- 
 tain sections of the country were nearly depopulated of the 
 working stock, and, what was worse, they were sections where 
 the people were the least able to bear the loss. It broke out 
 much more frequently on new plantations, where the ground 
 had been under cultivation but a short time, than in the older 
 and more cultivated districts. 
 
 During the long residence of the author at the South, mjich 
 time was spent in the careful study of this disease, and nearly 
 all parts of the cotton States were visited, for the purpose of 
 gathering fact^ in relation to its manifestations in diflTerent 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 119 
 
 sections. These investigations were necessarily pursued with- 
 out much light or aid from others. The best descriptions 
 given of it by recognized authorities in veterinary science, 
 fell far below the dreadful developments of the malady as 
 they were presented to the author's observation almost daily. 
 The people in the regions where it prevailed had gained a 
 partial knowledge of its real cause and location ; but their 
 modes of treatment were barbarous in the extreme, and by 
 no means effective. Authors disagreed among themselves in 
 not a few points of the most essential character, and hardly 
 one of them even approximated to a true description of the 
 blind staggers of the South. The name staggers had a va- 
 riety of vague and perplexing applications in their accounts. 
 Some spoke of the disease as heart staggers ; others described 
 stomach staggers, brain staggers, sleepy staggers, and mad 
 staggers, each reasoning from effect rather than cause. 
 
 Several writers have advanced the opinion that the disease 
 is caused by the horse eating the spiders' webs on the grass, 
 in the morning, when wet with dew. Unfortunately for this 
 theory, however, horses that are kept in the stable are found 
 to be more subject to it than those which run in pasture. 
 Besides this, in some parts of Mississippi, where its ravages 
 have been as bad as in any part of the whole South, there 
 are no such spiders' webs. Still further, it frequently rages 
 in the winter, when there is neither grass in the pastures, 
 nor spiders to spread their webs upon it. 
 
 Equally absurd is the theory that a disease of so dreadful 
 a type — extending its ravages over almost one-half of our 
 country, well-nigh equaling in extent, as also in malignity, 
 that dreadful scourge cholera, attacking not only horses, 
 mules, jacks, and even hogs alike, but those of all ages and 
 conditions — is the result of over-eating, of a diseased stomach. 
 
 The various theories advanced by different authors seem to 
 us to be but lame attempts to explain what they do not un- 
 derstand. The people of the affected localities, we found, 
 had gained some knowledge of the cause of the disease, and 
 the parts particularly affected; and this knowledge was of 
 
120 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 essential service to the author in determining its correct pa • 
 thology. As before intimated, however, the modes of treat- 
 ment then in practice were equally barbarous with those ap- 
 plied to big head and fistula, and scarcely more effective than 
 they. The term " blind staggers " was suggestive, and prop- 
 erly applied; for it indicates two effects of the disease, and 
 points to its true pathology. 
 
 We found that a very general opinion prevailed among the 
 people of the affected districts that staggers was, in some 
 way, connected with the horse's eating the corn grown upon 
 land that had just been cleared. Its ravages were the greatest 
 about the time of gathering such corn, and at those seasons 
 when it was fed in the greatest quantity. These* circum- 
 stances induced us to examine it, to ascertain, if possible, 
 whether any connection really existed between the eating of 
 such corn and the developments of the disease. We found 
 that corn grown upon new land is very apt to be badly eaten 
 by a species of greenish-yellow worm, which leaves upon it 
 a dust, or excrempnt, of a very poisonous nature. Corn 
 grown u*pon old ground is often very considerably injured 
 from the same cause, but to a much less extent. As an evi- 
 dence of the poisonous qualities of this worm-dust, if a plas- 
 ter, made by mixing it with vinegar, be placed upon the back 
 of the hand, it will raise a blister in a short time. 
 
 To us it seems perfectly clear that the stomach has nothing 
 to do with the disease, except sympathetically. We shall be 
 compelled to look to some other source for its origin. This 
 we believe to be the effects of the worm-dust upon the corn, 
 but operating in an entirely different way from that which 
 the people of the South were accustomed to imagine. 
 
 There is a little orifice in the nostril of the horse, situated 
 upon the back part of it, and about an inch from the outlet. 
 In size it varies somewhat in different horses, but is usually 
 about an eighth of an inch in diameter. This little opening — 
 with several smaller ones, which may be found higher up 
 the nose — is the outlet of the lacrymal duct (lacrymal mean- 
 ing tears), which is the tube, or passage, that drains the 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 121 
 
 water from the eyes. All the animals of the higher types of 
 organism have an organ answering this purpose. Nature 
 supplies to all these a watery secretion, to wash the eye and 
 keep it moist, and when this fluid has performed its office, it 
 passes off through this little duct into the nose. In the horse 
 and the mule, the lacrymal tube has its outlet into the nose 
 situated much lower down than in any other animal, and, in 
 the former especially, may be seen very plainly. 
 
 "When the horse eats the worm-eaten corn we have de- 
 scribed, he snuffs the excrementory dust upon it up his nose, 
 and it sometimes lodges in these little openings. Its poison- 
 ous qualities cause them to swell and fester, from which they 
 shortly become closed, so that the water from the eyes can 
 not be discharged. These ducts communicate with the nasal 
 cavities of the head, which, in like manner, become filled 
 with the poisonous retained water. They remain" not long 
 in this condition before disease and inflammation set in ; the 
 surrounding parts are next involved ; finally, the optic nerve — 
 the nerve of the eye — becomes affected, and at once blindness 
 and staggering begin. The brain and the whole head par- 
 take of the rapidly-spreading derangement, and presently 
 the stomach also, with the entire line of the intestinal canal. 
 The dreadful virus affects every vital organ, and nearly every 
 part of the body. It is a strange and peculiar poison, equally 
 so in its nature and effect. 
 
 That climate and a variety of unfavorable circumstances, 
 may greatly aggravate the disease, is undoubted. We are 
 fully satisfied, however, that blind staggers arises from an 
 inflamed condition of the optic nerve of the eye, the inflam- 
 mation being produced by the worm excrement, which finds 
 its way into the nose, as already stated, and which differs 
 materially from any commonly found upon the corn further 
 north. 
 
 Numerous examinations of the optic nerve, made imme- 
 diately after death from this disease, showed it to be in a 
 dreadfully inflamed condition, and already exhibiting signs 
 of decomposition. No traces of disease were discovered in 
 
122 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 the coatings or humors of the eye. These were all perfect 
 and natural, as in health ; but that portion of the brain nearest 
 to, and in immediate connection with, the nerve was much 
 inflamed, and patches or lines of red extended in all direc- 
 tions from the point whence the nerve proceeded, showing 
 that inflammation had reached this region also. Here, un- 
 doubtedly, was the final cause of death. Collections of slimy, 
 yellow water had gathered upon tkis portion of the brain. 
 Similar evidences of decomposition w^ere apparent here. The 
 inflammation developed by this malady is of a peculiar char- 
 acter. It is the effect of a poison carried directly to the 
 brain. 
 
 Sometimes there is stoppage of the lacrymal ducts upon 
 only one side of the head, and then the inflammation, for a 
 time, will be confined to that side. Such a horse becomes 
 entirely blind in the eye on the affected side, and partially 
 so, through sympathy, on the other. In this condition he 
 follows the imperfect sight of this eye, which is placed at a 
 considerable angle with the direction of the body, and he con- 
 tinues to turn round and round. As he moves forward, the 
 angle of direction is constantly changing inward, and he de- 
 scribes a circle whose diameter is about sixty feet. Around 
 this circle he pursues his unsteady march as long as he is able 
 to walk. It is an invariable peculiarity of this form of the 
 disease that the poor creature is always in motion. 'Not only 
 is he nearly always blind, but deaf also. There is no question 
 as to his blindness in one eye. You may go up to him on 
 that side, and put your hand on his head, before he appears 
 to know it; and then he jumps and springs away, with every 
 sign of alarm. If approached upon the other side, he con- 
 tinues to sheer off", just as a horse always does that is par- 
 tially blind. We have seen many a circular path, traced by 
 the sufferer from blind staggers, that was beaten almost as 
 hard as the foot-paths of a horse-mill. If interrupted in his 
 rounds, he changes his direction merely, strikes out a differ- 
 ent circle, and in it moves forward as before. 
 
 Occasionally a spasm or fit comes on, when he staggers, 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. " 123 
 
 pitches, and reels like a drunken man. The length of time 
 which these spasms continue varies from twenty minutes to 
 an hour, or sometimes even two hours. Occurring, at first, 
 no oftener perhaps than once a day, they rapidly increase 
 in frequency and severity. As his end draws near, the horse 
 18 only out of one fit into another. The terrible sufibrings 
 of the poor creature in these paroxysms of agony are beyond 
 description. He stamps and paws with his fore-feet, rears 
 upon his hind legs, and, falling backwards, sometimes kills 
 himself instantly by the dislocation of his neck. If he falls 
 upon his side, he throws his feet rapidly about, and beats 
 the ground with his head in th« most violent manner. 
 iNow, quick as he is able, he springs to his feet, only to go 
 through with the same wild actions again. He does not 
 always fall to the ground, but sometimes reels and staggers 
 about, strikes out with his feet, and thus makes it danger- 
 bus to be near him. All at once he starts off on a run, as 
 fast as he can go. Bringing up against a tree, a fence, or 
 the side of a house, he is knocked flat to the earth, and, if 
 his legs or neck are not broken, he is sadly cut and bruised 
 at least. 
 
 All this time his groanings and complainings continue 
 distressing in the extreme. Only at intervals does he seem 
 to be rational ; then he appears to recognize his keeper, and 
 it is really'painful to hear how piteously he begs for assist- 
 ance. During the subsidence of the spasm, his breathing 
 comes thick and fast. It is not only very rapid, but con- 
 strained, so that his sides puff in and out like a pair of bel- 
 lows. Finally the spasm spends its force, and passes off, 
 and, for a time, he rests in comparative ease. If on his 
 side, he remains lying there for a long time, as still as death. 
 Very commonly the spasm seems to pass off instantly, and, 
 if. on his feet, he remains standing, with his head drooping, 
 and eyes closed, as though he were asleep. After a time he 
 rouses again, and resumes his motions in a circle. 
 
 When both sides are affected alike, (which is often the 
 case,) the horse becomes entirely blind in both eyes, and 
 
124 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 stands, trembling and shaking, with his head down, and his 
 eyes closed, as if asleep. In this state he remains until a 
 spasm comes on. Then he runs and pitches about in a man- 
 ner more terrible, if possible, than that already described — 
 his nostrils distended, his breath so short and thick as nearly 
 to produce convulsions of the sides. Such is the dreadful 
 excitement now raging, that it almost appears as if his whole 
 body was about to be torn to pieces. When the spasm passes 
 off, he lapses into the sleepy, torpid, trembling condition, 
 which has been called sleepy staggers. 
 
 In this phase of the disease, the horse seems utterly indis- 
 posed to movement of any kind, except while frenzied from 
 his fearful spasms. It is a question whether he is in posses- 
 sion of his proper faculties at all. When the disease mani- 
 fests itself in this form, it soon runs its course, and death 
 speedily puts an end to the poor creature's suffering. 
 
 Sometimes the horse shows signs of this disease for several 
 days, and, in other cases, for only a few hours. But the 
 origin of the trouble always dates back some time, perhaps 
 ev^n weeks previous, although it may never have been sus- 
 pected until its violent symptoms were fully declared. 
 
 THE OLD MODES OP TREATMENT. 
 
 The methods of treatment formerly in vogue at the South, 
 although tainted by extreme cruelty and shocking violence, 
 furnish a strong argument in substantiation of the views we 
 have put forward in regard to the causes of blind staggers. 
 A sad, unwelcome experience had taught the people some 
 valuable lessons concerning the disease. One of these was 
 that its seat was in the head. 
 
 In order to make the treatment correspond with this hy- 
 pothesis, it was a common practice to cut a place in the skin, 
 about an inch long, over the region of the brain; then to 
 insert some poisonous substance, and close the wound over 
 again. By producing a rapidly-running sore, this course, 
 notwithstanding the torture it occasioned, sometimes gave 
 relief. ♦ • 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 125 
 
 Another method was to drive a chisel through tne frontal 
 hone, just below the region of the brain, and let the accumu- 
 lation of purulent fluid run out. This sometimes succeeded, 
 and from two to three pints of yellow and quite offensive 
 water were thus discharged. But, although sometimes suc- 
 cessful, this operation was attended with great danger. The 
 shock of bursting the skull-bone killed the horse oftener 
 than the treatment gaved him. 
 
 Boring with a gimlet was tried as a substitute for the 
 chisel, but this, likewise, proved extremely hazardous. The 
 wedge-like action of the gimlet commonly split the skull 
 'and killed the horse. 
 
 One great difficulty in treating the staggers was found to be 
 the horse's extreme restlessness, amounting frequently to per- 
 fect frenzy. This was much aggravated by the harshness of 
 these processes. It was generally impossible to operate upon 
 the animal without throwing him to the ground. The fall, 
 and his subsequent struggliugs, sometimes killed him. Even 
 in those stages of the disorder in which he was drooping, and 
 perfectly still when unmolested, as soon as touched he grew 
 perfectly excited, or even furious. 
 
 - The practice of these different methods proves clearly 
 enough that the people generally understood that the dis- 
 eased water from the eyes had somehow accumulated within 
 the head, and was the cause of the mischief, and that, if it 
 could be drawn off in time, the horse might be saved. With 
 this idea was connected the belief, as already stated, that the 
 worm-eaten corn was in some way — they hardly knew how — 
 instrumental in developing the disorder. 
 
 PREVENTIVES. 
 
 "An ounce of prevention," s-ays the old proverb, "is worth 
 a pound of cure." This is emphatically true in regard to 
 the staggers. 
 
 Horses and colts that run constantly in pasture are not 
 troubled with the disease. Let the stable-fed horse have a 
 diet from which corn is excluded, and he will be almost 
 
* « 
 
 > 
 
 126 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 equally exempt. Of two farmers, in the same neighborhood 
 where the disease prevails extensively, let one carefully brush 
 off the worm-dust from the corn before feeding it to his 
 horses, and the other neglect this precaution. The former 
 will be in little danger of any trouble with blind staggers 
 among his stock, while the latter stands a good chance of 
 having to sustain heavy losses from it. 
 
 These facts plainly indicate one highly-important means 
 of prevention. If the farmer must feed worm-eaten corn to 
 his horses, he should be at pains first to brush off the poison- 
 ous dust. It would be still better if he could get corn alto- 
 gether free from it. 
 
 Good, strong wood ashes, kept in the trough or manger, 
 have been used with excellent results, as a preventive remedy. 
 Still more certain and efficacious, when it is employed in the 
 same manner, are the effects of tobacco, especially if the finer 
 portions of it shell off in the manger. The tobacco, in fact, 
 had better be made fine before placing it in the feeding-place. 
 The fine dust of these substances increases the secretions, so 
 as to keep the lacrymal ducts open. 
 
 It Avill be well to watch for the premonitory symptoms of 
 the disease, such' as the horse drooping his head ; sudden 
 starts, as if struck with a whip; the pulse very rapid, and hot; 
 and great heat about the head, in the region of the brain, as 
 well as the frontal bone, just below the eyes. More marked 
 indications accompany the further development of the disease. 
 When the horse is in health, a rap upon the cranium gives 
 forth a hollow sound ; but now the sound is dull and heavy, 
 much as when a cup filled with water is struck. The little 
 openings into the nostrils, which we have described, should 
 show no signs of obstruction, nor of any discharge other than 
 the clear-looking water from the eyes. But now the openings 
 appear nearly or quite stopped up, and discharge more or less 
 matter ; the nostrils are covered with scabs, and much swol- 
 len, and the back parts of them appear very red and angry. 
 ^ When these symptoms are exhibited, the owner may be sure 
 
 that blind staggers, in its worst stages, is at no great distance. 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 127 
 
 The nose should be examined frequently, to detect the first 
 indications of any such evil omens. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment is as simple as its philosophy is obvious. 
 If the disease has its origin in a stoppage of the lacrymal 
 tubes and the nasal cavities of the head, and the collection 
 in them of that diseased, poisonous fluid which is secreted by 
 their inflamed surfaces, it is reasonable to suppose that, to 
 reopen those tubes, and to draw off that fluid, will give re- 
 lief. Such is really the case ; and if these important opera- 
 tions can be successfully accomplished, there need be little 
 fear in regard to the animal's ultimate recovery. The inflam- 
 matory and other general consequences of the disease may 
 be removed by proper treatment. 
 
 The chief difficulty is to do any thing at all. In many in- 
 stances, the disease makes such rapid headway before it is 
 discovered, that the case is hopeless from the outset. It is 
 very difficult, too, to keep the sufierer still for a sufficient 
 length of time to permit proper treatment. Even when this 
 can be done, the remedy often proves ineffectual, so dread- 
 fully inflamed and swollen have the ducts become, and so 
 great the accumulation of the mattery fluid within / ^m, 
 which the prevailing fever often changes into a thici. and ^ 
 almost solid substance. • /^v 
 
 But to describe the treatment. Bleed the feorse in the 
 neck vein as long as he can bear it. Then give a drench, as 
 follows: A half-pound of Epsom salts in a pint of warm 
 water, to which add a gill of moderately-strong tobacco juice. 
 This will make the animal very sick, and one who uses it for 
 the first time is likely to think the horse is about to die. But, 
 although his eyes become glassy, and he reels, and sometimes 
 falls to the ground, there is much less danger in giving such a 
 mixture to a horse than to a human being. It will not kill him, 
 but affords nearly the only chance for prosecuting the treat- 
 ment to a perfect cure ; for, as soon as it takes effect, he becomes 
 quiet, so that you may handle your patient as you please. 
 
128 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Before the effects of this medicine pass off, give him two 
 ounces of laudanum in a little warm water. Do not fail in 
 this, if it can possibly be done. The great object now is to 
 prevent the return of another spasm, by getting him com- 
 pletely under the influence of an anodyne. 
 
 Next, procure a stick, about two feet in length, and make 
 a soft swab on the end of it. Tie the swab on securely, and 
 let the cloth extend over the end of the stick. The string 
 should be long enough to hang down to the other end of the 
 stick, so that you can hold it in your hand, and then, if the 
 cloth should happen to come off while the swab is being 
 used, you will still have hold of it. Dip the swab into some 
 weak tobacco-juice, quite warm, and run it up the horse's 
 nose. Repeat this carefully a few times, and then wash out 
 the whole nostril thoroughly with the little mop. This will 
 open the ducts, and let the water collected in them run out. 
 Whenever a free discharge from the nose can be effected, the 
 horse is out of present danger, and, if the treatment is car- 
 ried out, will presently get well. The foul, watery secretibns 
 will sometimes drip from the nostrils in almost a stream, for 
 a day or more. In a few cases, the writer has known strings 
 of tough, nearly solid matter, two or three inches in length, 
 to be forced from the outlet of the ducts, after which the 
 water would commence running from them freely. 
 
 The final step is to induce a speedy and powerful counter- 
 action, to prevent inflammation from reaching the brain ; or, 
 if it already exists in that organ, to reduce it. What is done 
 for this. purpose must be done quickly. The symptoms of 
 the disease will not wait for the slow action of ordinary rem- 
 edies. A blister mu&t be raised, immediately over the region 
 of the brain. To do this most quickly, wet the skin with 
 the corrosive liniment, or, in the absence of this, with tur- 
 pentine. Over this lay an old piece of cloth, two or three 
 folds in thickness, and apply on the outside a hot smoothing- 
 iron. Hold it there until a blister is drawn. 
 
 One bleeding will nearly always be sufficient; but the rest 
 of the treatment it may be necessary to repeat a number of 
 

 DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 129 
 
 times, through several days. There may be no need, per- 
 haps, of giving the drench of tobacco-juice more than once 
 or twice. Of the laudanum, an ounce will often be enough 
 to produce the desired effects, after the first day. 
 
 If the horse will eat at all, feed light, and give no corn. 
 Green grass is the best food. For several weeks, keep him 
 perfectly quiet. 
 
 When the brain has become seriously involved, it is too 
 late. Death will soon relieve the practitioner of all his la- 
 bors, and the patient of his suffering. . There is but one sure 
 indication of the abatement of the disease, and that is, the 
 running at the nose. In this disease, no positive assurance 
 of saving life can be given. All efforts will often fail, and, 
 still oftener, no remedy can be used at all. Hence, the im- 
 portance of prevention by one of the methods we have de- 
 scribed. 
 
 RECAPITULATION OF TREATMENT. 
 
 1st. Bleed as long as the horse can bear it. 
 2d. Give the drench of tobacco-juice, with the salts. 
 3d. Swab out the nostrils to open the ducts. 
 4th. Raise a blister over the region of the brain. 
 
 GLANDERS. 
 
 Although not usually classed as such by veterinary au- 
 thors, this is really just what its name implies — a disease of 
 the glands. The lymphatic and nasal glands in the head 
 are the ones particularly affected; and here the disease, in 
 its early stages, may often exist for months, or possibly for 
 years, entirely unsuspected. From them first proceed the 
 glanderous discharges from the nose, which afterward ulcer- 
 ate, the lining membrane of the nostril. Hence the reason 
 of our departure from nearly all antecedents in respect to 
 the classification of this disease. 
 
 Glanders is indeed an awful malady, dreadfully contagious, 
 and when fully developed, nearly incurable. There are three 
 stages of it, as will be explained presently. Only in the first, 
 9 
 
 ♦/ 
 
130 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 and sometimes in the second of these, does the disease admit 
 of a cure at all; but, unfortunately, it is most frequently 
 overlooked, or else entirely misunderstood, until it is too 
 late. It is only when the scourge assumes its most malig- 
 nant type that the owner or keeper becomes aware of its 
 existence; and even then he is too often unwilling to ac- 
 knowledge its presence, until forced to do so by the spread 
 of the contagion, and other signs too plain to be disregarded. 
 
 Happily, this pest of European countries — this curse of 
 English stables — seldom occurs in our rural districts. In 
 this country it is almost exclusively confined to cities, with 
 their crowded stables, and large numbers of horses herded 
 together. 
 
 In tracing the history of any considerable number of cases, 
 infection will be found at the root of the trouble much more 
 frequently than any other circumstance. But there are sev- 
 eral causes which may generate the disease, where contagion 
 has never been possible. In such cases it is invariably the 
 offspring of filth and mismanagement. The hot-beds where 
 it usually develops itself, and best thrives, are our cavalry 
 corrals, and other places where large droves of horses are 
 crowded together, close and ill- ventilated stables, and those 
 in low and damp situations. Among the many causes of 
 glanders, however, none are so fruitful as impure air, and 
 unwholesome food and water — of all which the horse is 
 likely to get the most in the places we have named. Any 
 one of these may be sufficient, at times, to give existence to 
 this terrible disease ; yet, after all, the majority of cases are 
 undoubtedly the result of infection communicated from one 
 horse to another. 
 
 The opportunities for infection are always very great. In 
 large stables, where strange horses are constantly coming 
 and going, it is a wonder that it occurs no oftener than it 
 does. The degree of exemption which they enjoy can only 
 be attributed to their greatly improved construction and man- 
 agement. The ventilation, good order, and cleanliness which 
 characterize the large majority of them are truly commend- 
 
• DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. \^ ISl 
 
 less so the caution and care manifested by their 
 managers in regard to food and water. These, together with 
 the attention bestowed upon washing and cleaning the horse, 
 and removing filth from near the stall, have made this loath- 
 some disease comparatively rare in even our city stables. 
 During the last half century, there has been a more marked 
 improvement in the home of the horse than even in that of 
 man. 
 
 Yet infection may take place from circumstances against 
 which no caution or foresight can fully guard. The traveler 
 comes along with a fine-looking horse, entirely ignorant that 
 any thing is wVong with him, although, in reality, he is 
 glandered. He is put in the stable, eats from the manger, 
 drinks from the common bucket or water-tub, and departs, 
 leaving behind the dreadful infection, which may be im- 
 parted to every horse that eats or drinks at the same place. 
 Possibly all do not take it, however; for such is the power 
 of healthful Kature to resist disease, that many horses have 
 escaped, even when exposed to this contagion, which is more 
 readily communicated than any other known. 
 
 But why is such an animal admitted to the stable, or al- 
 lowed to associate with others in any manner? One reason 
 we have intimated; namely, ignorance on the part of his 
 keeper concerning his real condition. In the case above 
 supposed^ he is received by some attendant, led to a stall, 
 fed, and watered, without the most cursory examination, or 
 a single thought of his being diseased. Even if any exam- 
 ination is made, it is not a little difficult for any but the 
 most experienced to distinguish between glanders and some 
 other aifections which occasion running at the nose. Often, 
 too, the discharge is so inconsiderable, and so much like the 
 common water from the eye, that it runs on for months entirely 
 unsuspected, meantime scattering its mischief in all directions. 
 
 The most scientific practitioner is sometimes puzzled in dis- 
 criminating between glanders and some other affections of the 
 head. It is of the utmost importance, however, that this be 
 done correctly; and in this, the decision must usually be made 
 
132 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 by the farmer himself. We shall, therefore, not only de 
 scribe the disease, as it has come under our own observation, 
 as accurately as possible, but shall not hesitate to avail our- 
 selves of the experience of others, to the end that the reader, 
 b}' having all the light which the best writers have been able 
 to cast upon the subject, may be so full}'- informed as to be 
 enabled to detect the disease in every form, and to guard 
 against it in every possible manner. 
 
 There are three stages of glanders, as manifested in the 
 discharge from the nostrils. In the first of these, the dis- 
 charge 80 much resembles that which attends other nasal 
 aftections, and even the healthy secretions which moisten 
 the eyes, that the disease is not recognized, but passes on to 
 the second, and perhaps even the third stage, before the 
 owner awakens to a realization of the dreadful enemy which 
 confronts him. 
 
 Two peculiarities distinguish the first stage as glanders. 
 The first is, that the discharges are of a more sticky char- 
 acter than any others ; the second is, that the discharge, in 
 nearly all cases, is confined to one nostril, and that the left. 
 Why this is so has never been satisfactorily explained. We 
 only know the fact. Occasionally, however, the right nos- 
 tril is the one affected, but rarely both nostrils at the outset. 
 
 A thickening and increased flow characterizes the dis- 
 charge in the second stage. Its consistence becomes more 
 mucous and sticky, and its color changes from an almost 
 transparent clearness to a whitish tinge, bordering upon yel- 
 low. In many cases it drips from the nose in long, stringy 
 clots. The membrane of the nose shows a pallid or leaden 
 hue, and ulcers sometimes make their appearance high up 
 in the nostril. 
 
 The third and last stage is usually slow in its develop- 
 ment, and, from the concurrent testimony of all reputable 
 authorities, must be regarded as incurable. In this, the dis- 
 charges are greatly thickened, its mucous consistency and 
 stickiness proportionately increased, its color considerably 
 darker and yellower, and frequently it is flecked with blood. 
 
I V 
 
 DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. . 133 
 
 As has been already stated, glanders is a foreign rather 
 than an American disease. Where one case occurs in the 
 United States, there are, at least, two or three in England 
 and France. In fact, our continent has never been devas- 
 tated by contagious affections, among either man or beast, 
 to the same extent as the Old World. Opportunities for in- 
 vestigating this disease, and tracing out its history and vari- 
 ous developments, have been much more abundant in Europe 
 than in this country. 
 
 In this connection, we must acknowledge our indebted- 
 ness to Mr. Youatt's excellent treatise upon the English 
 horse. For the benefit of the reader, we introduce the fol- 
 lowing extract from that deservedly-esteemed work, and are 
 satisfied that, notwithstanding its great length, occasional 
 inaccuracies, and despairing conclusions, he will fully appre- 
 ciate the fidelity and research which it displays. Its descrip- 
 tions give it great value : 
 
 " The earliest symptom of glanders is an increased dis- 
 charge from the nostril, small in quantity, constantly flowing, 
 of an aqueous character, and a little mucus mingling with it. 
 
 " The discharge of glanders is not sticky when it may be 
 first recognized. It is an aqueous or mucous, but small and 
 constant discharge^ and is thus distinguished from catarrh, 
 or nasal gleet, or any other defluxion from the nostril. It 
 should be impressed on the mind of every horseman that 
 this small and constant defluxion, overlooked by the groom 
 and by the owner, and too often by the veterinary surgeon, 
 is a most suspicious circumstance. 
 
 " If a horse is in the highest condition, yet has this small 
 constant aqueous discharge, and especially from one nostril, 
 no time should be lost in separating him from his compan- 
 ions. IsTo harm will be done by this, although the defluxion 
 should not ultimately betray lurking mischief of a worse 
 character. 
 
 " The peculiar viscidity and gluiness, which is generally sup- 
 posed to distinguish the discharge of glanders from all other 
 mucous and prevalent secretions, belongs to the second stage 
 
134 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 of the disease, and, for many months before this, glanders 
 may have existed in an insidious and highly-contagious form. 
 It must be acknowledged, however, that, in the majority of 
 cases, some degree of stickiness does characterize the dis- 
 charge of glanders from a very early period. 
 
 " It is a singular circumstance, for which no satisfactory 
 account has yet been given, that when one nostril alone is 
 attacked, it is, in a great majority of cases, the near, or left. 
 M. Dupuy, the director of the veterinary school at Toulouse, 
 gives a very singular account of this. He says that out of 
 eighty cases of glanders, that came under his notice, only one 
 was affected in the right nostril. The difference in the af- 
 fected nostril does not exist to so great an extent in Great 
 Britain ; but, in two horses out of three, or three out of four, 
 the discharge is from the left nostril. 
 
 "This discharge, in cases of infection, may continue, and 
 in so slight a degree as to be scarcely perceptible for many 
 months, or even two or three years, unattended by any other 
 disease, even ulceration of the nostril, and yet the horse be- 
 ing decidedly glandered from the beginning, and capable of 
 propagating the malady. In process of time, however, pus 
 mingles with the discharge, and then another and a charac- 
 teristic symptom appears. Some of this is absorbed, and the 
 neighboring glands become affected. If there is discharge 
 from both nostrils, the glands within the under jaw will be 
 on both sides enlarged. If the discharge is from one nostril 
 only, the swelled gland will be found on that side alone. 
 Glanders, however, will frequently exist at an early stage 
 without these swelled glands, and some other diseases, as 
 catarrh, will produce them. Then we must look out for 
 some peculiarity about these glands, and we shall readily find 
 it. The swelling may be at first somewhat large and dif- 
 fused, but the surrounding enlargement soon goes off, and 
 one or two small distinct glands remain ; and they are not 
 in the center of the channel, but adhere closely to the jaw 
 on the affected side. 
 V "The membrane of the nose should now be examined, 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. ' 135 
 
 and will materially guide our opinion. It will either be of 
 a dark, purplish hue, or almost of a leaden color, or of any 
 shade between the two ; or if there is some of the redness 
 of inflammation, it will have a purple tinge ; but these will 
 never be the faint pink blush of health, or the intense and 
 vivid red of inflammation. Spots of ulceration will proba- 
 bly appear on the membrane covering the cartilage of the 
 nose — not mere sore places, or streaks of abrasion, and quite 
 superficial, but small ulcers, usually approaching to a circu- 
 lar form, deep, and with the edges abrupt and prominent. 
 When these appearances are observed, there can be no doubt 
 about the matter. Care should be taken, however, to ascer- 
 tain that those ulcers do actually exist, for spots of mucus, 
 adhering to the membrane, have been more than once taken 
 for them. The finger should, if possible, be passed over the 
 supposed ulcer, in order to determine whether it can be 
 w^iped away; and it should be recollected, as was hinted 
 when describing the duct that conveys the tears to the nose, 
 that the orifice of that duct, just within the nostril, and on 
 the inner side of it, has been mistaken for a cancerous ulcer. 
 This orifice is on the continuation of the common skin 
 of the muzzle, which runs a little way up the nostril, while 
 the ulcer of glanders is on the proper membrane of the nose 
 above. The line of separation* between the two is evident 
 on the slightest inspection. 
 
 '^ When ulcers begin to appear on the membrane of the 
 nose, the constitution of the horse is soon evidently afifected. 
 The patient loses flesh ; his belly is tucked up ; his coat is 
 unthrifty, and readily coming ofi"; the appetite is impaired ; 
 the strength fails ; cough, more or less urgent, may be heard ; 
 the discharge from the nose will increase in quantity; it will 
 be discolored, bloody, and offensive to the smell ; the ulcers 
 in the nose will become larger and more numerous, and, the 
 air-passages being obstructed, a grating, choking noise will 
 be heard at every act of breathing. There is now a peculiar 
 tenderness about the forehead. The membrane lining the 
 frontal sinuses is inflamed and ulcerated, and the integument 
 
136 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 of the forehead becomes thickened, and somewhat swelled. 
 Farcy is now superadded to glanders, or glanders has degen- 
 erated into farcy, and more of the absorbents are involved. 
 
 "At or before this time, little tumors appear about the 
 muscles, face, and neck, following the course of the veins and 
 the absorbents, for they run side by side, and these the tumors 
 soon ulcerate. Tumors, or buds, still pursuing the path of 
 the absorbents, soon appear on the inside of the thighs. They 
 are connected together by a corded substance. This is the 
 inflamed and enlarged lymphatic, and ulceration quickly 
 follows the appearance of these buds. The deeper-seated 
 absorbents are next affected; and one or both of the hind 
 legs swell to a great size, and become stiff, hot, and tender. 
 The loss of flesh and strength is more marked every day. 
 The membrane of the nose becomes of a dirty, livid color. 
 The membrane of the mouth is strangely pallid. The eye is 
 infiltrated with a yellow fluid, and the discharge from the 
 nose becomes more profuse, and insufferably oftensive. The 
 animal presents one mass of putrefaction, and, at last, dies 
 exhausted. 
 
 "The enlargement of the submaxillary glands, as connected 
 with this disease, may, perhaps, require a little further con- 
 sideration. A portion of the fluid secreted by the membrane 
 of the nose, and altered in character by the peculiar inflam- 
 mation there existing, is absorbed; and, as it is conveyed 
 along the lymphatics, in order to arrive at the place of its 
 destination, it inflames them, and causes them to enlarge and 
 suppurate. There is, however, a peculiarity accompanying 
 the inflammation, which they take from the absorbtion of the 
 virus of glanders. They are rarely large, except at first, or 
 hot or tender ; but they are characterized by a singular hard- 
 ness, a proximity to the jaw-bone, and frequently -actual 
 adhesion to it. The adhesion is produced by the inflamma- 
 tory action going forward in the glands, and the effusion of 
 coagulable lymph. This hardness and adhesion accompany- 
 ing discharge from the nostrils, and being on the same side 
 with the nostril whence the discharge proceeds, aflbrd proof 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 187 
 
 not to be controverted that the horse is glandered. ISTotwith- 
 standing this, however, there are cases in which the glands 
 are neither adherent nor much enlarged, and yet there is a 
 constant discharge from one or both nostrils. The veter- 
 inary surgeon would have little hesitation in pronouncing 
 them to be cases of glanders. He will trast to the adhesion', 
 of the gland, but he will not be misled by its looseness, nor 
 even by its absence altogether. 
 
 " Glanders have been confounded with strangles, and by 
 those who ought to have known better. Strangles are pe- 
 culiar to young horses. The early stage resembles cold, with 
 some degree of fever and sore throat — generally with dis- 
 tressing cough, or, at least, frequent wheezing; and when 
 the enlargement appears beneath the jaw, it is not a single 
 small gland, but a swelling of the whole of the substance be- 
 tween the jaws, growing harder toward the center, and, after 
 awhile, appearing to contain a fluid, and breaking. In stran- 
 gles the membrane of the nose will be intense!}^ red, and the 
 discharge from the nose profuse and purulent, or mixed with 
 matter almost from the first. When the tumor has burst, 
 the fever will abate, and the horse will speedily get well. 
 
 " Should the discharge from the nose continue, as it -some- 
 times does, for a considerable time after the horse has recov- 
 ered from strangles, there is no cause for fear. Simple 
 strangles need never degenerate into glanders. Good keep- 
 ing, and small doses of tonio medicines, will gradually perfect, 
 the cure. 
 
 "Glanders have been confounded with catarrh, or cold; bu^^ 
 the distinction between them is plain enough. Fever, loss ' 
 of appetite, and sore throat accompanying cold — the quidding 
 of the food and gulping of the water are sufficient indica- 
 tions of the latter of these; the discharge from the nose is 
 profuse, and, perhaps, purulent; the glands under the jaw, if 
 swelled, are movable ; there is a thickening around them, and A 
 they are tender and hot. With proper treatment, the fever 
 abates, the cough disappears, the swellings under the throat 
 subside, and the discharge from the nose gradually ceases; 
 
138 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 or, if it remains, it is usually very different from that which 
 characterizes glanders. 
 
 " In glanders there is seldom cough of any consequence, and, 
 generally, no cough at all. A running from the nose, small 
 in quantity, and, from the smallness of its quantity, drying 
 about the edges of the nostrils, and presenting some appear- 
 ance of stickiness, will, in a few cases, remain after catarrh, 
 and especially after the influenza of spring ; and these have 
 gradually assumed the character of glanders, and more par- 
 ticularly when they have been accompanied by enlarged 
 glanders and ulceration in the nose. Here the aid of a judi- 
 cious veterinary surgeon is indispensable, and he will some- 
 times experience considerable difficulty in deciding the case. 
 One circumstance will principally guide him. Xo disease 
 will run on to glanders which has not, to a considerable and 
 palpable degree, impaired and broken down the constitution, 
 and every disease that does this will run on to glanders.^ He 
 will look then to the general state and condition of the 
 horse, as well as to the situation of the glands, the nature of 
 the discharge, and the character of the ulceration. ' 
 
 "If, after all, he is in doubt, an experiment may be resorted 
 to, which wears, indeed, the appearance of cruelty, and which 
 only the safety of a valuable animal or of a whole team can 
 justify. He will inoculate an ass, or a horse already con- 
 demned to the hounds, with the matter discharged from the 
 nose. If the horse is glandered, the symptoms of glanders, 
 or farcy, will appear in the inoculated animal in the course 
 of a few days. 
 
 " The post-mortem examination of the horse will remove every 
 doubt as to the character of the disease. The nostril is gen- 
 erally more or less blanched with spots or lines of inflamma- 
 tion, of considerable intensity. Ulceration is almost invari- 
 ably found, and of a chancrous character, on the septum, and 
 also on the sethmoid and turbinated bones. The ulcers evi- 
 dently follow the course of the absorbents, sometimes almost 
 
 *We regard this as certainly an over-statement. 
 
I. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 139 
 
 confined to the track of the main vessel, or, if scattered over 
 the membrane, generally thickest over the path of the lym- 
 phatic. The sethmoid and turbinated bones are often filled 
 with pus, and sometimes eaten through and carious ; but, in 
 the majority of cases, the ulceration is confined to the ex- 
 ternal membrane, although there may be pus within. In 
 aggravated cases, the disease extends through all the cells of 
 the face and head. 
 
 " The path of the disease down the larynx and windpipe is 
 easily traced, and the ulcers follow one line, that of the ab- 
 sorbents. In aggravated cases, this can generally be traced 
 on to the lu?igs. It produces inflammation of these organs, 
 characterized, in some cases, by congestion; but in other 
 cases, congestion having gone on to hepatization, in which 
 the cellular texture of the lungs is obliterated. Most fre- 
 quently, when the lungs are afl:ected at all, tubercles are 
 found (miliary tubercles), minute granulated spots on the sur- 
 face or in the substance of the lungs, and not accompanied 
 by much inflammation. In a few cases, there are larger tu- 
 bercles, w^hich soften and burst, and terminate in cavities of 
 varying size. 
 
 "In some cases, and showing that glanders is not essentially 
 or necessarily a disease of the lungs, there is no morbid afiec- 
 tion whatever in those organs. 
 
 "The history thus given of the symptoms of glanders will 
 clearly point out its nature. It is an affection of the mem- 
 brane of the nose. Some say that it is the production of 
 tubercles, or minute tumors, in the upper cells of the nose, 
 w^hich may long exist undetected, except b}^ a scarcely per- 
 ceptible running from the nostril, caused by the irritation 
 which they occasion. These tubercles gradually become 
 more numerous ; they cluster together, suppurate and break, 
 and small ulcerations are formed. The ulcers discharge a 
 poisonous matter, which is absorbed and taken up by the 
 neighboring glands, and this, with greater or less rapidity, 
 vitiates the constitution of the animal, and is capable of 
 communicating the disease to others. Some content them- 
 
140 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 selves with saying that is an inflammation of the membrane 
 of the nose, which may assume an acute or chronic form, or, 
 in a very short time, or exceedingly slowly, run on to ulcer- 
 ation. 
 
 " It is inflammation, whether specific or common, of the 
 lining membrane of the nose, possibly for months, and even 
 years, confined to that membrane, and even to a portion of 
 it, the health and usefulness of the animal not being in the 
 slightest degree impaired. Then, from some unknown cause, 
 not a new but an intenser action is set up, the inflammation 
 more speedily runs its course, and the membrane becomes 
 ulcerated. The inflammation spreads on either side down 
 the septum, and the ulceration at length assumes that pe- 
 culiar chancrous form which characterizes inflammation of the 
 absorbents. Even then, when the discharge becomes gluey, 
 and sometimes after chancers have appeared, the horse is 
 apparently well. There are hundreds of glandered horses 
 about the country, with not a sick one among them. For 
 months or years this disease may do no injury to the general 
 health. The inflammation is purely local, and is only recog- 
 nized by the invariable accompaniment of inflammation and 
 increased secretion. Its neighbors fall around, but the dis- 
 ease affects not the animal whence it came. At length, a 
 constitutional inflammation appears, farcy is established in 
 its most horrible form, and death speedily closes the scene. 
 
 "What, then, is the cause of this insidious, dreadful disease? 
 Although we may be in a manner powerless as to the re- 
 moval of the remedy, yet, if we can trace its cause and man- 
 ner of action, we may, at least, be able to do something in 
 the way of prevention. Much has been accomplished in this 
 way. Glanders does not commit one-tenth part of the rav- 
 ages which it did thirty or forty years ago, and, generally 
 speaking, it is only found as a frequent and prevalent disease 
 where neglect, filth, and want of ventilation exist. 
 
 " Glanders may be either bred in the horse or communicated 
 by contagion. What we have further to remark on this 
 malady will be arranged under these two heads. 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 141- 
 
 "Improper stable management we believe to be a far more 
 frequent cause of glanders than contagion. The air which 
 ia necessary to respiration is changed and empoisoned in its 
 passage through the lungs, and a fresh supply is necessary 
 for the support of life. That supply may be sufficient barely 
 to support life, but not to prevent the vitiated air from again 
 and again passing into the lungs, and producing irritation 
 and disease The membrane of the nose, possessed of ex- 
 treme sensibility for the purposes of smell, is easily "irritated 
 by this poison, and close and ill-ventilated stables oftenest 
 witness the ravages of glanders. Professor Coleman relates 
 a case which proves to demonstration the rapid and fatal 
 agency of this cause. * In the expedition to Quiberen, the 
 horses had not been long on board the transports, before it 
 became necessary to shut down the hatchways for a few 
 hours ; the consequence of this was, that some of the horses 
 were suffocated, and that all the rest were disembarked 
 either glandered or farcied.' 
 
 '* In a close stable the air is not only poisoned, by being re- 
 peatedly breathed, but there are other and more powerful 
 sources of mischief. The dung and the urine are suffered to 
 remain, fermenting and giving out injurious gases. In many 
 dark and ill-managed stables, a portion of the dung may be 
 swept away, but the urine lies for days at the bottom of the 
 bed, the disgusting and putrifying nature of which is ill -con- 
 cealed by a little fresh straw, which the lazy housekeepei 
 scatters over the top. 
 
 "The stables of gentlemen are generally kept hot enough, 
 and far too hot, although in many of them a more rational 
 mode of treatment is beginning to be adopted ; but they are 
 lofty and roomy, and the horses are not too much crowded 
 together, and a most scrupulous regard is paid to cleanli- 
 ness. Glanders seldom prevail there. The stables of the 
 farmer are ill-managed and filthy enough, and the ordure and 
 urine sometimes remain from week to week, until the horse 
 lies on a perfect dung-hill. Glanders seldom prevail there; 
 for the same carelessness which permits the filth to accumu- 
 
142 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 late, leaves many a cranny for the wind to enter and sweep 
 away the deleterious fume from this badly roofed and un- 
 ceiled place. 
 
 " The stables of the horse-dealer are hot enough, but a prin- 
 ciple of strict cleanliness is enforced, for there must be noth- 
 ing to offend the eye or nose of the customer, and there 
 glanders are seldom found; but if the stables of many of 
 our post horses and those employed on our canals are ex- 
 amined — almost too low for a tall horse to stand upright in 
 them, too dark for the accumulation of filth to be per- 
 ceived, too far from the eye of the master, ill- drained and 
 ill-paved, and governed by a false principle of economy, 
 which begrudges the labor of the man and the cleanliness 
 and comfort of the animal — these will be the very hot-beds of 
 the disease, and in many establishments it is an almost con- 
 stant resident. 
 
 " Glanders may be produced by any thing that injures, or 
 for a length of time acts upon and weakens the vital energy 
 of this membrane. They have been known to follow a frac- 
 ture of the bones of the nose. They have been the conse- 
 quence of violent catarrh, and particularly the long-continued 
 discharge from the nostrils, of which we have spoken. They 
 have been produced by the injection of stimulating and acid 
 substances up the nostrils. Every thing that weakens the 
 constitution will generally lead to glanders. It is not only 
 from bad stable management, but from the hardships which 
 they endure, and the exhausted state of their constitution, 
 that the post and machine horses are subject to glanders, and 
 there is scarcely an inflammatory disease to which the horse 
 is subject that is not occasionally wound up and terminated 
 by the appearance of glanders. 
 
 "Among the causes of glanders is want of regular exercise. 
 The connection, although not evident at first glance, is too 
 certain. When a horse has been worked with peculiar se- 
 verity, and has become out of spirits and falls away in flesh 
 and refuses to eat, a little rest and a few mashes would make 
 all right again ; but the groom plies him with cordials, and 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 143 
 
 adds fuel to the fire, and aggravates the state of fever that 
 has commenced. What is the necessary consequence of this? 
 The weakest goes to the wall, and either the lungs, or the 
 feet, or this membrane — that of the nose — the weakest of all, 
 exposed day after day to the stimulating, debilitating in- 
 fluences that have been described, becomes the principal seat 
 of inflammation that terminates in glanders. 
 
 " It is in this way that glanders have so frequently been 
 known to follow a hard day's chase. The seeds of the. dis- 
 ease may have previously existed, but its progress will be 
 hastened by the general and febrile action excited, the ab- 
 surd measures which are adopted not being calculated to 
 subdue fever, but to increase the stimulus. 
 
 " Every exciting cause of disease exerts its chief and worst 
 influence on this membrane. At the close of a severe cam- 
 paign, the horses are more than decimated by this pest. At 
 the termination of the Peninsular War, the ravages of this 
 disease were dreadful. Every disease will predispose the 
 membrane of the nose to take on the inflammation 9f glan- 
 ders, and with many — as strangles, catarrh, bronchitis, and 
 pneumonia — there is a continuity of membrane, an associa- 
 tion of function, and a thousand sympathies. 
 
 " There is not a disease which may not lay the foundation 
 for glanders. Weeks, months, and years * may intervene be- 
 tween the predisposing cause and actual evil; but at length 
 the whole frame may become excited and debilitated in 
 many a way, and then this debilitated portion of it is the 
 first to yield to the attack. Atmospheric influence has some- 
 what to do with the prevalence of glanders. It is not so 
 frequent in summer as in winter, partly attributable, perhaps, 
 to the different state of the stable in the summer months — 
 neither the air so close or so foul, nor the alternations of 
 temperature so great. 
 
 " There are some remarkable cases of the connection of 
 moisture, or moist exhalations, that deserve record. When new 
 
 * We are convinced that in this Mr. Youatt is greatly in error. 
 
144 . AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 stabling was built for the troops at Hythe, and inhabited be 
 fore the walls were perfectly dry, many of the horses, that 
 had been removed from an open, dry and healthy situation, 
 became affected with glanders, but some time having passed 
 over, the horses in those stables were as healthy as the others, 
 and glanders ceased to appear. An innkeeper at Wakefield, 
 built some extensive stabling for his horses, and, inhabiting 
 them too soon, lost a great proportion of his cattle from 
 glanders. There are not now more healthy stables in the 
 place. The immense range of stables under the Adelphi, in 
 the Strand, where the light never enters, and the supply of 
 fresh air is not too abundant, were for a long time notori- 
 ously unhealthy, and many valuable horses were destroyed 
 by glanders ; but now they are filled with the finest wagon 
 and dray horaes that the metropolis or country contains, and 
 they are fully as healthy as in the majority of stables above 
 ground. 
 
 " There is one more cause to be slightly mentioned — heridi- 
 tary predisposition. This has not been sufiiciently estimated, 
 with regard to the question now under consideration, as well 
 as w^ith respect to every thing connected with the breeding 
 of the horse. There is scarcely a disease that does not run 
 in the stock. There is that in the structure of various parts, 
 or their dispositions to be affected by certain influences, 
 which perpetuates in the offspring the diseases of the sire; 
 and thus contraction, opthalmia, roaring, are decidedly he- 
 reditary, and so is glanders. M. Dupuy relates some decisive 
 cases. A mare, on dissection, exhibited every appearance 
 of glanders ; her filly, who resembled her in form and in 
 her vicious propensities, died glandered at six years old. A 
 second and a third mare, and their foals, presented the same 
 fatal proof that glanders are hereditary. 
 
 " Glanders are highly contagious. The farmer can not be 
 too deeply impressed with the certainty of this. Consider- 
 ing the degree to which this disease, even at the present 
 day, often prevails, the legislature would be justified in in- 
 
DISJ]ASES OF THE GLANDS. 145 
 
 terfering, by some severe enactments, as it has done in the 
 case of small-pox in the human subject. 
 
 ^' The early and marked symptoms of glanders is a discharge 
 from the nostrils of a peculiar character, and if that, even be- 
 fore it becomes prevalent, is rubbed on a wound, or on a mu- 
 cous surface, as the nostrils, it will produce a similar disease. 
 If the division between two horses were sufficiently high to 
 prevent all smelling and snorting at each other, and contact 
 of every kind, and they drank not out of the same pail, a 
 sound horse might live for years, uninfected, by the side of 
 a glandered one. The matter of glanders has been mixed 
 up into a ball, and given to a healthy horse, without effect. 
 Some horses have eaten the hay left by those that were 
 glandered, and no bad consequence has followed, while 
 others have been speedily infected. The glanderous matter 
 must come in contact with a wound, or fall on some mem- 
 brane thin and delicate, like that of the nose, and through 
 which it may be absorbed. It is easy, then, accustomed as 
 horses are to be crowded together, and to recognize each 
 other by the smell — eating out of the same manger, and 
 drinking from the same pail — to imagine that the disease 
 may be very readily communicated. One horse has passed 
 the other when he has been in the act of snorting, and has 
 become glandered. Some fillies have received the infection 
 from the matter blown by the wind across the lane, when 
 a glandered horse in the opposite field has claimed acquaint- 
 ance by neighing or snorting. It is almost impossible for an 
 infected horse to remain long in a stable with others with- 
 out irreparable mischief. 
 
 *' If some persons underrate the danger, it is because the dis- 
 ease may remain unrecognized in the infected horse for some 
 months, or even years, -and, therefore, when it appears, it ia 
 attributed to other causes, or to after inoculation. Ko glan- 
 dered horse should be employed on any farm, nor be per* 
 mitted to work on any road, or even to pasture on any field. 
 Mischief may be so easily and extensively effected, that the 
 public interest demands that every infected animal should 
 10 
 
146 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 be summarily destroyed, or given over for experiment to a 
 veterinary surgeon, or recognized veterinary establishment. 
 
 " There are a few instances of the spontaneous cure of 
 chronic glanders. The discharge has existed for a consider- 
 able time. At length, it has gradually diminished, and has 
 ceased; and this has occurred under every kind of treatment, 
 and without any medical treatment; but, ill the majority of 
 these supposed cases, the matter was only pent up for awhile, 
 and then, bursting from its confinement, it flowed again in 
 double quantity ; or, if glanders have not reappeared, the 
 horse, in eighteen or twenty-four months, has become far- 
 cied or consumptive, and died. These supposed cases are few 
 and far between, and are to be regarded with much suspicion. 
 
 " As for medicine, there is scarcely a drug to which a fair 
 trial has not been given, and many of them have had a 
 temporary reputation ; but* they have passed away, one after 
 another, and are no longer heard of. The blue vitriol and 
 the Spanish fly have held out longest ; and, in a few cases, 
 either Nattire or these medicines have done wonders, but, in 
 the majority of instances, they have palpably failed. The 
 diniodide of copper has lately acquired some reputation. 
 It has been of great service in cases of farcy, but is- not to 
 be depended on in glanders. 
 
 "Where the life of a valuable horse is at stake, auj. the 
 owner adopts every precaution to prevent infection, he may 
 subject the horse to medical treatment ; but every humane 
 man will indignantly object to the slitting of the nostrils, the 
 scraping of the cartilage, the searing of the gland, the firing 
 of the frontal and nasal bones, a;id to those injections of 
 mustard and capsicum, corrosive sublimate and vitriol, by 
 which the horse has been tortured and the practitioner dis- 
 graced. At the veterinary school, and by veterinary sur- 
 geons, it will be nu)8t desirable that every experiment should 
 be tried to discover a remedy for this pest ; but, in ordinary 
 instances, he is not faithful to his own interest, or that of 
 his neighbors, who does not remove the possibility of dan-^ 
 ger in the most summary way. 
 
BI^feit^ES OF THE GLANDS. llf 
 
 "If, however, remedial measures are resorted to, a pure 
 atmosphere is that which should first be tried. Glanders is 
 the peculiar disease of the stabled horse, and the preparation 
 for, or the foundatian of a cure, must consist in the perfect 
 removal of every existing cause of the malady. The horse 
 must breathe a cool and pure atmosphere, and he must be 
 turned out, or placed in a situation equivalent to it. 
 
 "A salt marsh is, above all others, the situation for this 
 experiment, but there is much caution required. No sound 
 horse must be in the same pasture, or a neighboring one: 
 the palings or the gates may receive a portion of the mat- 
 ter, which may harden upon them, and, many months after- 
 ward, be a source of mischief; nay, the virus may cling 
 about the herbage, and empoison it. Cattle ^nd sheep 
 should not be trusted with a glandered horse, for. the ex- 
 periments are not sufficiently numerous or decided as to the 
 exemption of these animals from the contagion of glanders. 
 
 " Supposing that glanders have made their appearance in 
 the stables of a farmer, is there any danger after he has re- 
 moved or destroyed the infected horse? Certainly there is; 
 bj^t not to the extent that is commonly supposed. There is 
 no necessity for pulling down the racks and mangers, or even 
 the stable itself, as some have done. The poison resides^ not 
 in the breath of the animal, but in the nasal discharge, and 
 that can only reach certain parts of the stable. If the man- 
 gers, and racks, and bales, and partitions are first well 
 scraped, and scoured with soap and water, and then thor- 
 oughl}'- washed with a solution of the chloride of lime, (one 
 pint of the chloride to a pailful of water,) and the walls are 
 lime-washed, and the headgear burned, and the clothing 
 baked or washed, and the pails newly painted, and the iron- 
 work exposed to a red heat, all danger will cease. 
 
 " Little that is satisfactory can be said of the prevention 
 of glanders. The first and most efiTectual mode of prevention 
 will be to keep the stables cool and well ventilated, for the 
 hot and poisoned air of low and confined stables is one of 
 the most prevalent causes of glanders. ' 
 
M8 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 "Next to ventilation stands cleanliness; for the foul air 
 from the fermenting litter, urine and dung, must not only 
 be highly injurious to health generally, but irritate and pre- 
 dispose to inflammation that delicate membrane which is the 
 primary seat of the disease. If to this be added regular ex- 
 ercise, and occasionally green meat during the summer, and 
 carrots in the winter, we shall have stated all that can be 
 done in the way of prevention. 
 
 ''^Glanders in the human being. — It can not be too often re- 
 peated that a glandered horse can rarely remain among 
 sound ones without serious mischief ensuing ; and, more than 
 all, the man who attends on that horse is in danger. The 
 cases are now becoming far too numerous ih which the 
 groom, or veterinary surgeon attending on a glandered 
 horse, becomes infected, and, in the majority of cases, dies. 
 It is, however, more manageable in the human being than 
 in the quadruped. Some cases of recovery from farcy and 
 glanders stand on record with regard to the human being, 
 but they are few and far between." 
 
 While we give to his descriptions high praise for their 
 general accuracy and clearness, we are not so despairing as 
 this distinguished author seems to be. We do not propose 
 to leave the unfortunate owner with the glandered horse 
 upon his hands, and with such poor comfort as the unquali- 
 fied statement that glanders is incurable. Nor can we sub- 
 scribe to the sentiment " that the entire list of drugs have 
 been tried, and have proved entirely ineffectual," or that 
 "little that is satisfactory can be said of a preventive of 
 glanders." The Englishman possesses the knowledge, but 
 the Yankee goes further, and applies it. The Englishman 
 has the science, the Yankee the invention. 
 
 In this case, as in regard to most other diseases described 
 in this work, our remedies and treatment are exclusively. 
 our own. We believe that we have discovered a sure anti- 
 dote to glanders, remarkably simple, and easily procured, 
 unknown to the practitioners of the Old World, highly 
 educated and scientific as they undoubtedly are. As a pre- 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 149 
 
 ventive, it is a specific. It is also a certain cure in the first 
 stage, and, in a majority of cases, equally eftective in the 
 second. Perhaps we might even affirm that it has been 
 known to save horses already passed into the third stage, 
 but, knowing how difficult it generally is to draw the line 
 of demarcation between this and the preceding stage, we 
 hesitate to claim more than assured facts will warrant. 
 
 This antidote and highly valuable remedial agent is simply 
 tobacco. At those periods of the disease which we have 
 named, this hitherto useless and noxious weed possesses the 
 wonderful power of neutralizing the virus in the blood, and 
 of counteracting its contagious influences; to dry up the 
 nasal discharges; and, finally, not only to abate the disease, 
 but to remove its evil effects from the system entirely. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Bleed in the neck vein, removing about three quarts of 
 blood. Have ready a strong decoction of tobacco, of which 
 put one-fourth of a pint in a pint of warm water, and turn 
 this down the horse. It will make him very sick, but it 
 will aflect him much less than when in health, and thus 
 used, is not really dangerous. Wash out his nostrils with 
 the tobacco decoction, weakened with water, as directed in 
 the last section for staggers. Be at pains to reach as high 
 up the nostril with the mop as you can. The mixture must 
 be as hot as the horse can bear it. 
 
 Continue this treatment from two to four weeks, or until 
 a favorable change is apparent. Use the mop in the nose 
 for eight or ten days; drench with the tobacco mixture 
 every third day for the time above mentioned; give the 
 horse as much sulphur and resin as you can get him to eat 
 for the space of t6n days. A full dose will be four ounces 
 of sulphur and two of resin, both pulverized. Let the food 
 be light and relaxing. Grass is the preferable diet, if it is 
 in season. If the horse is turned out to pasture, be sure that 
 no other stock is allowed access to it. Use every precaution 
 to prevent direct infection from the nasal- discharges. Stable 
 
160 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 the animal at night, and, in cold or wet weather, keep him 
 where it is dry and moderately warm. 
 
 Attend promptly to disinfecting your stable. Fumigate 
 it with tobacco-smoke while the horse is in it. Make 
 him and all his companions inhale as much of the smoke as 
 yon can. Fill the stable with the smoke until you can no 
 longer remain in it yourself. "Wash every part of it, and 
 especially the mangers, with a strong decoction of tobacco, 
 and keep pounded tobacco-leaves in every feeding-place used 
 by any horse that has been exposed to the disease. As soon 
 as you commence this course, there is little danger of the 
 contagion spreading further. 
 
 It may be necessary, in some cases, to continue this treat- 
 ment longer than the time specified above. But if these 
 directions are faithfully and perseveringly carried out, there 
 are few cases of glanders which may not be successfully 
 treated, up to the period in which the disease is passing into 
 the third stage. 
 
 It will be an excellent precautionary measure to fumigate 
 the stable occasionally, if there is any reason to suspect that 
 its inmates have been exposed to this or any other infectious 
 disease. The tobacco will prove a preventive for all alike. 
 Other respectable authorities, besides Youatt, in the extract 
 we have given, affirm that there is danger of infection being 
 communicated to the attendant upon a glandered horse. This 
 may be the case where there is no preventive. But the 
 attendant, in a stable frequently fumigated with tobacco- 
 smoke, and with a pipe or good cigar in his mouth, need 
 have no fears. 
 
 We can not dismiss this subject without a few plain words 
 tct every owner of a horse. 
 
 It is a stigma upon the .humanity and intelligence of any 
 man to keep his noble and faithful servant, the horse, in a 
 low, damp, or muddy stable, in the midst of foul air, with a 
 great pile of manure heating and steaming beneath him ; and 
 not only without ventilation, but oftentimes deprived of light 
 also, which is really almost as essential to the health and 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 151 
 
 comfort of either man or beast as are food and air. In the 
 close, fetid atmosphere of such a place, neither horse nor 
 human can long remain without succumbing to disease. 
 
 If any of these nuisances exist in your stable, in the name 
 of every consideration of mercy, gratitude, and self-interest, 
 give your faithful friend a better home. Let him have a 
 clean, dry house to live in, with plenty of air and light. K 
 the qld stable can not be remedied in all these respects, tear 
 it down, and build a new and better one. Depend upon it, 
 you will consult your own interests by so doing ; and thus, 
 too, you may prove that you are tit to own a horse. 
 
 Of course, these suggestions must be acted upon in treat- 
 ing all established cases of glanders, or it is mere presump- 
 tion to expect a cure. To use any remedies und^r the most 
 unfavorable circumstances possible, and then, because they 
 fail, to sweepingly condemn the whole treatment, is neither 
 Justice nor common sense. 
 
 A REMARKABLE CASE. 
 
 Having occasion to pass through Giles County, Tennessee, 
 some time during the year 1856, the author happened to stop 
 at the store, which was also the post-office, of the little vil- 
 lage of Bethel. Here he heard a gentleman present remark 
 to his neighbor that he was almost ruined ; it seemed as 
 though his horses and mules would all die, as he understood 
 that the disease which had got among them was absolutely 
 incurable. Inquiry elicited the following facts. The gentle- 
 man was a farmer and large stock-raiSer in the vicinity, 
 having at that time about forty head of horses and mules, 
 most of them young, which he had been getting ready for 
 market. He had had the great misfortune to become the 
 owner of a glandered horse. The infection had spread among 
 the young colts, and a number of them were already dis- 
 eased. 
 
 This was, indeed, a most alarming state of affairs, involving 
 a pecuniary interest of several thousands of dollars. It was 
 a case, if one ever occurred, in which to test the efficacy of 
 
152 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 our remedy for glanders. The opportunity was improved. 
 The writer gave the gentleman the whole plan of treatment, 
 and received from him the promise that it should be faith- 
 fully carried out. With this, he parted from Esquire Joseph 
 Edmonston, and went on his way. 
 
 About a year later, business called us into that neighbor- 
 hood again. Learning from the citizens the remarkable suc- 
 cess which had followed the prescribed treatment, the author 
 was drawn, by interest and sympathy, to the residence of 
 Esquire Edmonston, and there learned from his own lips the 
 truth of the statements already made. He informed us that, 
 when he had used the remedy twice, the infection ceased. 
 He had cured ten cases, and prevented the remainder of his 
 stock from taking the disease. His stables had not been 
 given over to the flames, not one of his horses had been 
 killed, and he believed that the treatment, if pursued with 
 energy, and accompanied with due attention to the surround- 
 ings and general condition of the patient, would effect a cure 
 in the large majority of cases. By an outlay of not more 
 than twenty-five dollars, he had saved stock valued at nearly 
 ^Ye thousand. 
 
 FARCY. 
 
 Like its accompaniment, glanders, this disease is much 
 more common on the old continent than it is on ours. Com- 
 paratively few American farmers have ever seen the farcy of 
 the English and French stables. Opportunities to observe it, 
 therefore, have not been very frequent in the United States, 
 and our veterinarians are less familiar with it than their co- 
 adjutors across the ocean. Yet it is not an entire stranger 
 in this country. Occasionally it makes its appearance in 
 certain localities, and is generally, if not always, the closing 
 chapter in the history of a case of glanders. 
 
 In our opinion, farcy is to be regarded as a general gland- 
 ered condition of the horse. The poisonous virus of glanders 
 is diffused by the blood through his entire system, and finally 
 breaks out upon the surface of the skin in putrid ulcers, 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 16& 
 
 \ 
 
 which presently burst, and discharge a yellow, watery fluid. 
 After this discharge has been going on for some time, it 
 undergoes a material change. The exudations become more 
 mattery, purulent, and offensive, and are mixed with blood. 
 These ulcerous pustules most frequently break out upon the 
 legs, neck, and shoulders, which are often almost entirely 
 covered with them. At first, they are sometimes confined to 
 the legs, and, occasionally, to but one of them. They swell, 
 and give forth ofiensive discharges ; the disease spreads, until 
 the whole body often becomes a putrid and loathsome mass ; 
 and, finally, the sufferer dies. 
 
 Farcy is extremely contagious in all its. stages, as its con- 
 nection with glanders would lead us to expect. It is usually 
 one of the fearful fruits of criminal neglect or mismanage- 
 ment, by which the horse is allowed to rot down in damp, 
 moldy stables, or amid accumulations of filth and dirt. The 
 generation of this disease, more, perhaps, than that of glanders, 
 speaks volumes in dispraise of some one. 
 
 We quote Youatt's account of farcy, which, although not 
 precisely in harmony with every detail of our own observa- 
 tions, seems to us to be correct, in the main : 
 
 " Farcy is intimately connected with glanders. They will 
 run into each other, or their symptoms will mingle together, 
 and before either arrives at its fatal termination, its associate 
 will almost invariably appear. An animal inoculated with 
 the matter of farcy will often be afflicted with glanders, while 
 the matter of glanders will frequently produce farcy. They 
 are difierent types, or stages, of the same disease. There is, 
 however, a very material difference in their symptoms and 
 progress, and this most important one of all, that while' 
 glanders are generally incurable, farcy, in its early stage and 
 mild form, may be successfully treated. 
 
 " While the capillary vessels of the arteries are every- where 
 employed in building up the frame, the absorbents are no less 
 diligently at work in selecting and carrying away every useless 
 or worn-out portion or part of it. There is no surface, there 
 is no assignable spot on which thousands of these little 
 
IM AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 mouths do not open. In tlie discharge of their duty, they 
 not only remove that which has become useless, and often 
 that which is healthy, but that which is poisonous and de- 
 structive. They open upon the surface of every glanderous 
 chancer. They absorb a portion of the virus, which is se- 
 creted by the ulcer, and, as it passes along these little tubes, 
 they suffer from its acrimonious quality; hence the corded 
 veins, as they are called by the farrier, or, more properly, 
 the thickened and inflamed absorbents following the course 
 of the veins. 
 
 "At certain distances in the course of the absorbents are 
 loose duplicatures of -the lining membrane, which are pressed 
 against the side of the vessel, and permit the fluid to pass in 
 a direction toward the chest, but belly out and impede, or 
 arrest, its progress from the chest. The veins at these places, 
 and the additional inflammation there excited, is, to a greater 
 or less degree, evident to the eye and to the feeling. They 
 are usually first observed about the lips, the nose, the neck, 
 and .the thighs. They are very hard, — even of scirrhous 
 hardness, more or less tender, and with perceptible heat about 
 them. 
 
 " The poisonous matter being thus confined and pressing on 
 the parts, suppuration and ulceration ensue. The ulcers 
 have the same character as the glanderous ones on the 
 membrane of the nose. They are rounded, with an elevated. 
 edge and a pale surface. They are true chancers, and dis- 
 charge a virus as infectious and dangerous as the matter of 
 glanders. While they remain in their hard prominent state, 
 they are called buttons or farcy-buds, and they are connected 
 'together by the inflamed and corded veins. 
 
 " In some cases the horse will droop for^many a day before 
 the appearance of the corded veins or buds. His appetite 
 will be impaired ; his coat will stare ; he will lose flesh. The 
 poison is evidently at work, but has not gained sufficient 
 power to cause the absorbents to enlarge. In a few cases 
 these buds do not ulcerate, but become hard and difficult to 
 disperse. The progress of the disease is then suspended, 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 155 
 
 and possibly, for some months, the horse will appear to be 
 restored to health ; but he bears the seed of the malady 
 about him, and in due time the farcy assumes its virulent 
 form, and hurries him off. These buds have sometimes been 
 confounded with the little tumors, or lumps, termed surfeit 
 They are generally higher than these tumors, and not so 
 broad. They have a more knotty character, and are prin- 
 cipally found on the inside of the limb, instead of the out- 
 side. 
 
 " Few things are more unlike or more perplexing than the 
 different forms which farcy assumes at times. One of the 
 legs, and particularly one of the hinder legs, will suddenly 
 swell to an enormous size. At night the horse will appear 
 to be perfectly well, and in the morning one leg will be 
 three times the size of the other, with considerable fever, 
 and scarcely the power of moving the limb. 
 
 "At other times the head will be subject to this enlarge- 
 ment; the muzzle, particularly, will swell, and an offensive 
 discharge will proceed from the nose. Sometimes the horse 
 will gradually lose flesh and strength ; he will be hide-bound ; 
 many eruptions will appear in different parts; the legs will 
 swell ; cracks will be seen at the heels, and an inexperienced 
 person may conceive it to be a mere want of condition, com- 
 bined with grease. 
 
 "By degrees the affection becomes general. The virus has 
 reached the termination of the absorbents, and mingles with 
 the general circulating fluid, and is conveyed with the blood 
 to every part of the frame. There are no longer any valves 
 to impede its progress, and, consequently, no knots or buds ; 
 but the myriads of capillary absorbents that penetrate every, 
 part become inflamed, thickened, and enlarged, and cease to 
 discharge their function. Hence arises enlargement of the 
 substance of various parts — swelling of the legs, chest, and 
 head — sudden, painful, enormous, and distinguished by a heat 
 and tenderness which do not accompany other enlargements. 
 
 "It is a question somewhat difficult to answer, whether 
 farcy can exist without previous glanders. Probably it can 
 
156 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 not. There is the long-continued, insidious progress of glan- 
 ders — the time which may elapse, and often does, before the 
 owner is aware, or the veterinary surgeon sure of it — the 
 possibility that minute ulceration may have, for a long 
 while, existed in some of the recesses of the nose, or that 
 the slight discharge, undreaded and unrecognized, yet vitia- 
 ted, poisoned, and capable of communicating the disease, 
 may have been long traveling through the frame, affecting 
 the absorbents, and preparing for the sudden display of 
 farcy. 
 
 "One thing, however, is undeniable, that farcy does not 
 long and extensively prevail without being accompanied by 
 glanders; that even in the mild stages of farcy, glanders 
 may be seen, if looked for, and that it never destroys the 
 animal without plainly associating itself with glanders. 
 They are, in fact, stages of the same disease. 
 
 " Glanders is inflammation of the membrane of the nose, 
 producing an altered and poisonous secretion, and when suflS.- 
 cient of this vitiated secretion has been taken up to produce 
 inflammation and ulceration of the absorbents, farcy is es- 
 tablished. Its progress is occasionally very capricious, con- 
 tinuing"/ in a few cases, for months and years, the vigor of 
 the horse remaining unimpaired; and, at other times, run- 
 ning on to its fatal termination, with a rapidity perfectly 
 astonishing. 
 
 " Farcy has been confounded with other diseases ; but he 
 must be careless or ignorant who mistook sprain for it. The 
 inflammation is too circumscribed and too plainly connected 
 with the joint or the tendon. 
 
 " It may be readily distinguished from grease or swelled 
 legs. In grease there is usually some crack or scurfiness, a 
 peculiar tenseness and redness and glossiness of the skin, 
 some ichorous discharge, and a singular spasmodic catching 
 up of the leg. In farcy the engorgement is even more sud- 
 den than that of grease. The horse is well to-day, and to- 
 morrow he is gorged from the fetlock to the haunch, and 
 although there is not the same redness or glossiness, there 
 
 I 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 157 
 
 is great tenderness, a burning heat in the limb and much 
 general fever. It is simultaneous inflammation of all the 
 absorbents of the limb. 
 
 " Surfeit can scarcely be confounded with farcy or glanders. 
 It is a pustular eruption — surfeit humps, as they are called — 
 and terminating in desquamation, not in ulceration, although 
 numerous, yet irregularly placed and never following the 
 course of the absorbents, but scattered over the skin. 
 
 " Local dropsy of the cellular membrane, and particularly 
 that enlargement beneath the thorax, which has the strange 
 appellation of water-farcy, have none of the characters of 
 real farcy. It is general debility, to a greater or less degree, 
 and not inflammation of the absorbents. If properly treated, 
 it soon disappears, except that occasionally, at the close of 
 some serious disease, it indicates a breaking up of the con- 
 stitution. 
 
 " Farcy, like glanders, springs from infection and from bad 
 stable management. It is produced by all the causes which 
 give rise to glanders, with this difference, that it is more fre- 
 quently generated, and sometimes strangely prevalent in par- 
 ticular districts. It will attack, at the same time, several 
 horses in the same ill-conducted stable, and others in the 
 neighborhood, who have been exposed to the same predis- 
 posing causes. Some have denied that it is a contagious dis- 
 ease. They must have had little experience. It is true that 
 the matter of farcy must come in contact with a wound or 
 sore, in order to communicate the disease ; but, accustomed 
 as horses are to nibble and play with each other, and sore 
 as the corners of the mouth are frequently rendered by the 
 bit, it is easy to imagine that this may be easily effected ; 
 and experience tells us that a horse having farcy ulcers 
 can not be 8uff*ered to remain with others without extreme 
 risk." 
 
 There is another eruptive disorder to which the horse is 
 subject, that, in this country, is often called farcy, but which, 
 in reality, is nothing more than the eflfect of over-heating, 
 at a time when the blood is out of order. After a day of 
 
158 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 severe exercise, little knots appear on the neck, shoulders, 
 and side, with a little scabby excresence on the top of each. 
 They last but a few days, and then go away of themselves. 
 "No danger whatever attends them, and they merely evidence 
 some degree of impurity of the blood, which proper physick- 
 ing will readily correct. This is really only a species of 
 quick surfeit ; yet the masses, in many parts of this country, 
 attach no other meaning to the term farcy than this feeble 
 and entirely erroneous application. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 As farcy is simply a constitutional development of glan- 
 ders, or, at least, a disease of precisely the same type, its 
 treatment must be the same as that prescribed -in the last 
 section for glanders. Perhaps the principal reason why its 
 treatment in England has been attended with better "suc- 
 cess than that of the other malady is, that remedial agents 
 have been more directly and extensively applied in the one 
 case than in the other. But the tobacco treatment, espe- 
 cially as concerns the swabbing out the nostrils, brings the 
 remedy in equally close contact with the parts affected, in 
 both eases. 
 
 Our experience does not confirm Youatt's statement, that 
 farcy is more readily cured than its precursor and companion, 
 glanders. 
 
 For the treatment of the little eruptions known as farcy 
 by many American farmers, see section on Surfeit, in Chap- 
 ter YIII. 
 
 DISTEMPER. 
 
 Many of the symptoms of this disease seem to identify it 
 with the " strangles " of the old farriers, a name which, un- 
 doubtedly, took its rise from the circumstance that the horse 
 is liable to be choked while eating, from his frequent attacks 
 of coughing. English writers describe " strangles " under its 
 old name to this day ; but in this coui^try the term is almost 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. ' 159 
 
 unknown, and farmers and horsemen generally speak of the 
 much too familiar "distemper," only. 
 
 Yet there are some features characteristic of distemper 
 which do not correspond with the description of strangles, 
 as we find it given by foreign writers. Youatt says that the^ 
 latter disease is "principally incident to young horses, usually 
 appearing between the fourth and* fifth year." Distemper, 
 however, is found to attack animals of all ages and condi- 
 tions, though it is quite true that the young are the ones 
 most subject to it. But the chief point of dissimilarity ap- 
 pears in this, that while no author makes any mention of 
 strangles being a contagious disease, distemper partakes of 
 that character in the highest degree. 
 
 There are three distinct stages of this disease. The first 
 is marked by a dry, hacking cough, attended by a running 
 at the nose. The discharge, at first thin and watery, soon 
 becomes thick and purulent, and is always of a whitish 
 color. This color, and also the cough, will be indications to 
 which the keeper will give the utmost heed, as showing that 
 the disease i^not glanders. But if these symptoms are not 
 sufiaciently clear, others will soon follow which can not be 
 mistaken. 
 
 The second stage comes on rapidly. The horse begins to 
 swell under the throat, and examination reveals that it is 
 the topsils and salivary glands which are affected. They 
 have been inflamed from the beginning ; the glands are now 
 closed, and matter is forming in them. [NTature is striving 
 diligently to throw off* the disease in this way. An abscess 
 next establishes itself in the throat, and in this are collected 
 all the mattery secretions of the glands. 
 
 The abscess continues to enlarge until presently it breaks, 
 and the matter is discharged. This constitutes the third 
 Btage. Matter may run for weeks, or perhaps months, but 
 from this time the horse generally begins to amend. 
 
 During the whole progress of the disease there is high 
 fever, and the pulse is excited and hard. The appetite fails, 
 and the horse gradually loses flesh, until, at last, he is re- 
 
# 
 
 \ 
 
 160 AMEKICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 duced to a mere skeleton. As the disease advances, all these 
 symptoms are aggravated. The fever increases, the pulse 
 grows harder and more rapid, the eyes look dull and glassy, 
 the hair stands out, and has a dry, dead appearance, and the 
 head droops nearly all the time. The horse either refuses to 
 eat, or does so with great difficulty; he becomes exceed- 
 ingly stupid, and seems utterly woe-begone ; his whole con- 
 dition is wretched indeed. If an abscess does not form, he 
 is almost sure to die; and even when one is developed, it is 
 often of so fearful a character as itself to be the cause of 
 death. Occasionally, dreadful abscesses have been known 
 to gather on the belly, near the sheath, from the effects of 
 distemper. 
 
 We have already said that this disease is very contagious. 
 Horses will take it from each other at considerable distances 
 apart. In glanders, infection proceeds from the nasal dis- 
 charges; but in distemper it is communicated by the fe- 
 verish breath, and much further than in the case of the 
 former. When distemper breaks out among a body of horses 
 or mules, all are likely to have it, except thoie who have 
 passed through it before ; for, like small-pox in the human 
 being, it never attacks a horse the second time. Colts 
 and young animals, who are especially subject to it, will 
 take it from older ones, but seldom communicate it to them. 
 Yet it will be folly to calculate upon any exemptions when 
 it breaks out in a stable none of whose inmates have ever 
 had it. • 
 
 Like glanders and farcy, distemper is most frequently gen- 
 erated by filth and bad keeping. It is undoubtedly epidemic 
 in character, however ; but, like cholera, it is always most at 
 home in those localities where filth and miasma are most 
 abundant. Cleanliness may be set down as essential to a 
 cure. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment, in its general features, resembles that for 
 glanders. Bleed in the neck vein, taking about three pints 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDa 161 
 
 of blood ; then take and thoroughly mix together one table- 
 spoonful of gunpowder, one of lard, one of soft-soap, two 
 of tar, and one of pulverized gum myrrh ; put a spoonful 
 of this down the horse's throat, as far as you can, with a 
 paddle or spoon. Do this twice a day. The object is not so 
 much to have him swallow it, as it is to have it lodge about 
 the glands of the throat. It will have the effect to stimu- 
 late their natural discharge into the mouth, and then will 
 keep them open. At the same time, make a strong decoc- 
 tion of tobacco, as hot as the horse can bear it, with which 
 wash his neck and throat. Repeat this two or three times a 
 a day. If an abscess is actually gathering, but is not too far 
 advanced, this treatment will be likely to drive it away. If 
 the disease is in its early stage, the patient will get well in 
 a few days. 
 
 In connection with the above, give the horse as miich sul- 
 phur and resin as he can be induced to eat — a quarter of a 
 pound, at least, each day. The proportions will be two parts 
 of sulphur to one part of resin. The food should beilight, such 
 as mashes, boiled oats, and cut feed ; or, if it is in season, 
 grass will be still better. Do not give any corn until after 
 complete recovery. On no account should the horse be 
 worked while in this suffering condition. 
 
 Fumigate your stable well, and use the tobacco in other 
 ways, as directed under the head of glanders. It is a disin- 
 fectant of distemper, and, if properly used, will prevent the 
 rest of your stock from taking the disease. 
 
 The author has treated hundreds of cases of distemper, 
 and with perfect success, almost without exception. In three 
 cases out of five, the disease was entirel}^ broken before the 
 formation of an abscess. One case may be given, by way 
 of illustration : 
 
 Dr. H. Hardison, of Marshall County, Tennessee, had lost 
 ten young mules and colts with distemper, and still had more 
 than thirty in a very bad way from the same cause. By the 
 use of the treatment here laid down, these were all cured. 
 He informed the writer that he considered himself indebted 
 11 
 
162 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 to tliis course for the value of, at least, thirty young 
 mules. 
 
 RECAPITULATION OF TREATMENT. . 
 
 let. Bleed freely in the neck vein. 
 
 2d. Give the distemper mixture according to prescription. 
 
 3d. Wash the neck and throat with the hot decoction of 
 tobacco. 
 
 4th. Fumigate, and use the other means for disinfecting 
 by tobacco. 
 
 NASAL GLEET. * 
 
 Accompanying distemper, there is always a thick and 
 more or less purulent discharge from the nose, continuing, 
 very often, after all the other symptoms have abated. It is 
 sometimes kept up for a long time, and becomes disagreea- 
 ble in the extreme. The thick mattery exudations from the 
 nose are blown out, in great flakes and plugs, many times a 
 day, to the great annoyance of all that go near. Such a 
 • horse is a 'downright nuisance. He is constantly snorting 
 to free his nose of the offensive matter, and, when least 
 suspecting it, one may suddenly find himself perfectl}- bespat- 
 ' tered with it. In his stall, every thing about him is be- 
 daubed — the bridle, the halter, the manger — none of which 
 can be touched without danger of having the hands covered 
 with the filth. 
 
 This disease has received the name of gleet. It is *really 
 a species of chronic distemper, without the fever character- 
 izing its acute forms. Sometimes it becomes a most formi- 
 dable disease. The discharge is often mixed with blood, 
 • and is apt to partake of the color of the food — green, if the 
 
 horse is feeding on grass ; yellow, if on corn ; white, if on cut 
 feed or oats. This is doubtless caused by the relaxing and 
 enlargement of the ducts which form the communication 
 between the month and nasal cavities from the eftects of 
 disease, so that the juices of the food, during mastication, 
 readily pass into the nostrils. Such a condition of these 
 ducts is by no means uncommon. Every one has seen it 
 
DISEASES OF THE GLANDS. 163 
 
 shown in some horses, by the water running through the nose 
 when he drinks with the head very low. 
 
 The horse's chances for recovery, and his whole future 
 history, will now^ depend entirely upon the condition he is 
 in, and the care that is taken of him. Let him remain in 
 a low, damp stable, half lighted, and scarcely ventilated at 
 all, and his present condition will rapidly degenerate into 
 glanders. As it is, the case is sufficiently obstinate to re- 
 quire time and not a little patience to remove it. But with 
 fidelity and perseverance in the treatment, a cure may. be 
 effected in nearly every instance. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 This, of course, will be very similar to that for distemper. 
 Wash out the nose well with the little mop and the tobacco 
 mixture, every day, for two weeks, or until the discharge has 
 ceased. Bathe his throat with some of the mixture, as hot 
 as it can be made without scalding the skin. This is to be 
 applied every day with a large cloth. If his condition seems 
 to indicate the desirability of a second bleeding, take not to 
 exceed three pints more of blood. Give one pound of sul- 
 phur and half a pound of resin, in four doses — one dose 
 each day. Should there be any cough remaining, try the 
 distemper mixture, and continue using it as long as it seems 
 necessary. 
 
 There is still some danger of infection. In addition to keep- 
 ing dry tobacco-leaves in the manger of the diseased horse, 
 the stable should be fumigated once a week for a month. 
 
 The feed must be light and moist. Good pasture, open 
 air, and mild exercise will greatly accelerate recovery. Do 
 not keep the horse in-doors, if the weather will permit of 
 his being out. If in winter, let him have a liberal propor- 
 tion of green feed, such as carrots, potatoes, turnips, or cab- 
 bage. At the same time, exercise him moderately each day. 
 
 For all the diseases described in this chapter, the remedy 
 mentioned under Section VII, in Chapter XXIV, will be 
 found highly valuable as a purifier of the blood. 
 
164 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 #. 
 
 CHAPTER yi. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE EYE. 
 I 
 
 The above is a sectional view of the eye, exhibiting its 
 different parts. It also shows in what manner the sensation 
 of sight is produced. 
 
 A B a supposed object viewed by the animal, and an inverted image of which, 
 
 a, 6, is thrown on the retina at the back of the eye. 
 c c The points where the rays, having passed the cornea and lens, converge 
 
 by the refractive power of the lens. 
 d e The rays proceeding from the extremities of the object to the eye. 
 / The cornea, or horny and transparent part of the eye, covered by the con- 
 
 junctiva^ Uniting different parts together. 
 gr The crystalline (crystal or glassy) lens, behind the pupil, and in front of 
 
 the vitreous humor. 
 h h Muscles of the eye. 
 
 i The optic nerve, or nerve of sight. 
 
 k The sclerotiva (hard, firm coat) covering the whole of the eye, except the 
 
 portion occupied by the cornea, and being a seeming prolongation of 
 
 the covering of the optic nerve. 
 I The choToides (receptacle, or covering), or choroid coat, covered with a 
 
 black secretion, or paint. 
 m m The im, or rainbow-colored circular membrane under the cornea, in front 
 
 of the eye, and on which the color of the eye depends. The dupli- 
 
 cature behind is the uvea, so called from being colored like a grape. 
 
 The opening in the center is the pupil. 
 n n The ciliary (hair-like) processes, which are folds, or plaits, of the choroid coat, 
 
 reflected from the side of the eye to the edge of the crystalline lens. 
 
•#r 
 
 f' 
 
 DISEASES OF THE EYE. 165 
 
 o The relina^ or net-like expansion of the optic nerve, spread over the whole 
 
 of the choroides as far as the lens. 
 p The vitreous (glass-like) humor filling the whole of the cavity of the eye 
 
 behind the lens. 
 q The aqueous (water-like) humor filling the space between the cornea 
 
 and the lens. 
 
 "We shall be. better able to understand tbe various diseases 
 of the horse's eje, if we can firsf get a correct idea of its 
 structure and the functions of its different parts. With the 
 help of the foregoing cut, this will not be difficult. 
 
 The eye has three distinct membranes, or coats, and also 
 three humors. The sclerotic coat (see k) is that upon the 
 outside, covering about four-iifths of the globe of the eye. 
 It is strong, firm, and inelastic, by which qualities it is ad- 
 liiirably adapted to its office of protecting from external 
 injury the delicate organ which it incloses. It is of a white 
 color, and constitutes that membrane which is seen when 
 the " white of the eye " is exposed. In the human being, 
 this is very conspicuous ; but in the horse it is rarely visible, 
 unless the animal meditates mischief, when he turns his 
 glance outward or backward as far as he can, and thus shows 
 a little patch of the sclerotic coat. 
 
 In front — this being the part over which the sclerotica is 
 not extended — is the cornea (see /). This is a perfectly trans- 
 parent coat, set in like a watch-crystal in its case, under the 
 circular edges of the sclerotica. It is the outer membrane 
 upon the front of the eye. 
 
 The choroid coat, (see J) comes next, nearly similar in its ex- 
 tension to the sclerotic. It is an exceedingly fine membrane, 
 filled with a net-work of blood-vessels, and covered upon the 
 inside with a peculiar secretion, a black pigment, or paint, 
 which absorbs such wandering rays of light received within 
 the eye as might dazzle or confuse the vision. Opposite the 
 pupil (which will be described shortly), it has a beautiful, 
 greenish -white lining, whose reflection, although not visible 
 in the glare of day, may be seen quite plainly in the gray of 
 twilight. 
 
 iSiH 
 
166 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 The inner coat of all is the retina (see o), the beautiful ex- 
 pansion of the optic nerve spread over the internal surface 
 of the eye. This receives the impressions conveyed by tht 
 rays of light, which, when they fall upon it, trace on its deli- 
 cate and susceptible expansion a wonderfully minute yet 
 perfect image of the object in view from whence the rays 
 have proceeded. By the optic nerve the sensation thus ex- 
 perienced is instantly conimunicated to the brain, the seat 
 of intelligence, and in this way the animal is conscious of 
 seeing. 
 
 The three humors of the eye are the aqueous and vitreous, 
 and the crystalline lens, which comes between them. An- 
 atomists do not always call the lens a humor, but such it 
 really is. 
 
 The aqueous (watery) humor (see q) occupies the space be- 
 tween the cornea and crystalline lens. It is a perfectly trans- 
 parent and limpid fluid, secreted by the lining of the cham- 
 ber in which it lies. K the attenuated walls of this chamber 
 are punctured, so that the humor escapes, ISTature rapidly 
 renews it, and the sight is restored. 
 
 The crystalline lens (see g) consists of a number of concen- 
 tric layers, arranged like the coats of an onion. It has a 
 jelly-like consistence, and in shape is double-convex, as rep- 
 resented in the cut. It is the chief agent in so modifying 
 and refracting the rays of light, which are continually pro- 
 ceeding from every object within the range of vision, as to 
 cause those rays to clearly trace the miniature image of that 
 object upon the retina. Without this lens sight would be 
 impossible. 
 
 The vitreous (glass-like) humor (see p p) fills the great bulk 
 of the globe of the eye. It is a limpid fluid, but, being 
 bound up in a net-work of transparent cells, it has the ap- 
 pearance and consistency of a thin jelly. 
 
 In addition to these three membranes and three humors, 
 there are three other important things to be mentioned in 
 our description of the horse's eye. The first of these is the 
 conjunctiva, which is the very delicate membrane covering the 
 
DISEASES OF THE EYE. 167 
 
 whole front part of the eye and the inside of the eyelids. It 
 is perfectly transparent when in health, but becomes blood- 
 shot or filmy when diseased. We shall see, as we proceed 
 with this chapter, that it is extremely liable to become in- 
 flamed. 
 
 Another noticeable part which remains to be described is 
 the iris, (literally, the rainbow,) so called from the beautifully 
 intermingling hues which it displays. The cut, being a se.c- 
 tional view, does not show the iris any further than to im- 
 perfectly indicate its location at m m. It is a most elegant 
 and delicate curtain, outstretched in the space between the 
 cornea and crystalline lens. Its oflice is to moderate the light 
 entering the eye, according to the intensity of the rays. This 
 is the membrane that gives color to the eye, so variable in 
 different animals and in the human species. In the horse its 
 color is generally brown, or verging upon it. 
 
 But this curtain is not a continuous one : if it were, the 
 inner chamber of the eye would be in a state of almost entire 
 darkness. There is an aperture. in the center, forming the 
 'pu'pil, which is the last thing we now have to describe in 
 connection with the eye. The substance of the iris is com- 
 posed of contractile tissue. When the glare of a noon-day 
 sun, or other bright light, falls on the retina, the iris con- 
 tracts, and the pupil is made smaller; but when the light 
 which falls upon the retina is feeble — as it is at twilight, for 
 instance — the iris relaxes and the pupil is enlarged, in order 
 that all the rays possible may be admitted. The difference 
 in the size of the pupil may be plainly seen by examining 
 the eye of a sound horse, first in the stable, and then in the 
 bright sunlight. One's own eyes (if a looking-glass be used), 
 or those of a friend, will show similar changes, in this re- 
 spect, when exposed to different intensities of light. 
 
 CAUSES OF DISEASED EYES. 
 
 The eyes of the horse are very subject to disease; for their 
 affections, although few in number, are lamentably prevalent. 
 Large numbers of horses are ruined yearly, to the value of 
 
168 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. ' 
 
 hundreds of thousands of dollars, in our country alone, by 
 the loss of eye-sight. It is generally considered, when the 
 eyes become diseased, that all is over with that horse-rhe 
 must go blind. For most ordinary uses, such an animal is 
 regarded as but little better than worthless. It will be quite 
 worth our while, therefore, to examine into the causes which 
 make so many horses go blind. 
 
 Bad stable-management and ill-usage are at the bottom of 
 the trouble, in a large majority of instances. Of the former 
 cause, as it exists in many portions of the Union, we can not 
 forbear speaking with great severity ; the latter is still more 
 apparent. Both are. prolific in breeding disease and con- 
 tagion, and both work fearful consequences to the eye-sight. 
 
 How many stables have we visited where the volatile gas 
 of fgnmonia, or hartshorn, was so strong that it brought the. 
 water into our eyes when we remained there only a few 
 moments! What must be the effect upon the eyes of the 
 poor horse, compelled to live amid these fumes for weeks and 
 months together ! But perhaps a still more serious evil is 
 the deficiency of light, which characterizes so many stables. 
 Light is essential to the health of both body and mind of 
 man, and the physical needs of the animal, in this respect, 
 are equally as great as his. Even vegetation, when grown 
 in the dark, turns pale and sallow, and tastes utterly insipid. 
 Light imparts to it essential qualities which nothing else 
 can ; and so with the physical system of living beings. The 
 watery humors and secretions of the body are subject to 
 change in the dark. It is not strange, therefore, that the 
 eye suffers when deprived of the* light, which is its natural 
 element; or that, after a time, its watery humors begin to 
 look milky. 
 
 Chronic distemper and founder, with some other constitu- 
 tional diseases, which are also the offspring of bad manage- 
 ment, help to aggravate any unfavorable condition of the 
 eyes, and often directly predispose them to disease. Ex- 
 ternal injuries operate in a similar manner. Some brutal 
 teamster inflicts a blow on the head, which is received, in 
 
DISEASES OF THE EYE. 169 
 
 part, by the eye-ball, or the end of Iws lash accidentally 
 strikes the eye, and, in either case, soreness and inflammation 
 follow.. Few horses would ever have diseased eyes if kept 
 in the open air and kindly cared for; nor would they be 
 much more likely to, if they were housed in well-kept and 
 properly-lighted stables. 
 
 Any of the circumstances which we have thus enumerated, 
 especially when accompanied by a feverish condition of the 
 general system, are very apt to bring on more or less inflam- 
 mation about the eyes and head, frequently extending to the 
 lacrymal ducts, which have been described in the section on 
 blind staggers. These are closed up, so that no water can 
 pass through them. Thus they constantly increase the in- 
 flammation of the surrounding parts, and the eye becomes 
 worse and worse. 
 
 NATURALLY WEAK EYES. 
 
 Every farmer has heard, and probably talked, a great deal 
 about naturally weak eyes in different horses; and yet it may 
 be questioned whether the phrase is properly applicable once 
 in a hundred times when people use it. Natural weakness 
 or deficiency of the organ of sight, is extremely rare. It 
 must be confessed, however, that there does seem to be a 
 greater susceptibility of disease in some cases than in others. 
 When the water from the eyes runs down upon the outside, 
 it is an evidence that the lacrymal ducts, its natural channel, 
 are closed. It indicates an inflammatory condition of those 
 passages, which is very likely to be communicated to the 
 eyes. 
 
 So far as our observation has extended, weak or inflamed 
 eyes have no connection with any particular stock of horses, 
 nor with any particular size, color, or shape of the eye, nor 
 yet with any color of the hair. Nor do "blind teeth " trouble 
 the horse much. If they are in the way, it is easy to knock 
 them out with a mallet and a hard piece of wood. But this 
 is seldom, if ever, necessary. Let them alone, and they will 
 come away of themselves, at the proper time. There is no 
 
170 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 such connection between these teeth and the eyes as to war- 
 rant the assumption of some modern horse doctors, that the 
 former are the cause of serious irritation to the horse in re- 
 spect to his eye-sight. 
 
 Sometimes, however, a false tooth is found growing up be- 
 side the upper jaw teeth — in part between the first and second 
 teeth, but lapping over both of them — which it would be 
 difficult to convince most Kentucky and Tennessee horse- 
 breeders is not in some manner concerned in producing 
 weak or diseased eyes. While their opinion is entirely er- 
 roneous, it is true that this tooth is so much in the way 
 that it ought to be removed. This may be effected by the 
 means just named, or with a large pair of forceps, a pair of 
 pincers, or a pair of blacksmith's tongs. 
 
 There is a time in the life of the colt, during teething, 
 when the soreness of the gums, from cutting teeth, may act 
 as an exciting cause of fever in the head, and may thus have 
 something to do with the eyes; but many other complaints 
 to which the horse is subject are still more likely to pro- 
 duce the same effects. Big head, poll evil, glanders, dis- 
 temper, and other disorders, are all accompanied by fever 
 about the head; yet, fatal as they often prove, it is rarely 
 that any one charges upon them the horse's weak or dis- 
 eased eyes. 
 
 All these theories which assume to find the cause of blind- 
 ness or imperfect vision in certain conditions of the teeth, 
 must be regarded as thoroughly exploded. They do not 
 stand the test of close observation, while reason is most de- 
 cidedly opposed to them. The horse with the best eyes may 
 lose them by disease ; and many an animal with a suspicious 
 looking eye, we have known to fall asleep in death, at a good 
 old age, and both whose "naturally weak eyes" did their 
 duty perfectly to the very last. Our experience has taught us 
 this : Whenever you find a horse with what is called natu- 
 rally weak eyes, you may set it down as an almost positive 
 certainty that some unfeeling person has owned or used him, 
 At some period or other, and has maltreated or abused him 
 
DISEASES OF THE EYE. 171 
 
 in some way. Such is the history of the infirmity in nearly 
 all cases. 
 
 Nor do we believe one half of what is said and written in 
 regard to weak eyes being inherited. Our own observation 
 tends to the conclusion that the doctrine of hereditary weak- 
 ness, in this respect most noticeably, has been carried to an 
 unreasonable extreme by the majority of breeders and veteri- 
 nary authors. In this opinion a large number of the prin- 
 cipal horse-i-aisers, with whom our profession has brought 
 us in contact, fully conincide. Some of them have tested 
 the question by repeated* experiments. A friend in Wilson 
 County, Tennessee, did this in the case of four blind mares, 
 each of whom brought two or three colts in as many years, 
 and no fault could be found with the eyes of any of them. 
 We knew them long enough to test the matter. . Except in 
 respect to their eye-sight, they were fine mares, with good 
 parts, and in excellent condition. The colts were equally 
 good, and had perfect eyes besides. 
 
 If there be no other fault — if the form, size, and blood be 
 right, there is little reason to apprehend any serious defect 
 in the colt. Eyes and all, he will be sound hardly less surely 
 than if neither parent had had a blemish. This is not so un- 
 reasonable as, at first sight, it may seem to many; because, 
 as we have before said, " naturally weak eyes " and blindness 
 are nearly always the direct result of external injury or abuse 
 of some kind. !N'ot long since, we saw a very fine stable 
 horse, with an enlarged hock joint, which made him so lame 
 that he could only with difficulty walk off' at all. The owner 
 was warranting him that this should not affect the foal, and 
 he was perfectly safe in so doing. 
 
 Spavin, ring-bone, and some other deformities, are in the 
 same category. They are nearly always produced by some 
 violence or bad treatment, and are seldom transmitted from 
 one generation to the next. 
 
 Another prevalent opinion which claims our attention is 
 this, that young horses and colts have weak eyes oftener than 
 more mature animals. This is certainly an entire misappre- 
 
172 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 hension of the facts in the case. True, there is a large ma- 
 jority of young animals among the whole number thus 
 afflicted ; but this is only a natural consequence of the fact 
 that there are nearly twice as many colts and young horses, 
 in all farming regions, as there are older ones. Taking into 
 consideration this disparity in point of numbers, no dift'er- 
 ence can be found among these classes in respect to diseased 
 eyes. 
 
 One fact is important in this connection. Colts, like chil- 
 dren, are more apt to take disease than they will be when 
 they have grown older and stronger. Many a lingering and 
 ultimately fatal disorder, in both man and beast, might have 
 been averted by proper care and judicious management in 
 their youth. The seeds of weakness and decay are often 
 implanted at a very early age, growing with the growth and 
 strengthening with the strength. 
 
 The principles laid down in this section have a pointed 
 illustration in the history of a noble horse which the author 
 once owned. Under the saddle and in the buggy, Turk — 
 for that was his name — had no superior. He was a deep 
 chestnut sorrel, a perfect beauty. We owned him three 
 years, and at the end of that time his eyes went entirely 
 out. They were fearfully diseased when he came into our 
 hands, and had been for at least two years previous. Dur- 
 ing all this time, his eye-sight was gradually but surely fad- 
 ing away. The right eye failed first, and then the left. Such 
 was the power and endurance of his vital energies, that for 
 this long period of time they resisted the encroachments of 
 disease, and succumbed at last, only after a struggle of Hve 
 years. 
 
 Turk had every indication of good eyes. They were large 
 and well set in the sockets, with a wide space between them, 
 and the bone of the skull was dishing. In short, his head 
 was a perfect model for a strong eye. IlTow, what was the 
 cause of his going blind ? His case was called one of " natu- 
 rally weak eyes." We traded for him, in part, to experiment 
 upon, and to see whether his eyes could not be cured ; and 
 
DISEASES OF THE EYE. 173 
 
 although the J had gone too far for this, we are satisfied that 
 partial sight was prolonged at least two years by the treat- 
 ment applied to them. His history, when we succeeded in 
 learning it fully, proved to be as follows : He was very fast, 
 and had been trotted on time for a wager. He fell into the 
 hands of a wild, reckless young man, who often forced him 
 to his utmost speed, utterly regardless of consequences. Al- 
 most daily he was overheated, and when taken back to the 
 stable, with his blood at fever heat, was regularly fed on 
 corn. At other times, after these hard drives, he was left to 
 stand in the rain or cold, for hours together, without shelter 
 of any kind. After three years of such treatment, his eyes 
 betrayed signs of weakness, and at intervals he became en- 
 tirely blind. Was it any wonder ? 
 
 A nearly similar history might be traced in, well-nigh 
 every case of this kind. Different horses evidently possess 
 the ability to withstand the influence of such abuse, in very 
 different degrees. In the vast majority of cases, however, 
 the farmer may rest assured that bad eyes are the fruit of 
 previous bad management. 
 
 GENERAL TREATMENT OF DISEASED EYES. 
 
 Predisposition to disease seems often to exist in the eyes 
 of some horses. When not the result of injuries of the parts, 
 this generally arises from the presence of fever in the system, 
 or from some deep-rooted and chronic affection. To be of 
 any benefit in such cases, remedies must eilter the blood, and 
 radically change the animal's entire condition. Alteratives, 
 though very useful, do not seem to act so readily and power- 
 fully upon the system of the horse as on that of the human 
 being. More vigorous measures must be adopted, in order 
 to secure the same ends. 
 
 In the case under consideration, bleeding will be of most 
 essential service. Three pints of blood may be taken from 
 the neck vein, every ten days, for two months, or more than 
 this, if the progress of the case renders it advisable. As 
 to medicines, sulphur is the great alterative in treating the 
 
174 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 •^ • horse. It is slow in its action, but enters more readily into 
 the blood, and extends its efiects to the capillaries and skin 
 more thoroughly than any other remedy that we ever used. 
 The flour of sulphur, although not so strong as the roll 
 sulphur, is much more convenient for the farmer's purposes, 
 as it is already pulverized. Give three doses, every other 
 day, for a week — one-fourth of a pound at a dose — and then 
 omit for a week. Continue giving it in this way, each al- 
 ternate week, for two months. The preparation mentioned 
 in Section VII, of Chapter XXIV, will also be found an 
 excellent alterative. 
 
 If in winter, let the horse have plenty of green food, such 
 as carrots, beets, or cabbage, as long as it can be procured. 
 His diet should always be light and moist, with an entire 
 exclusion of corn. 
 
 If there is an inflammation in the eye or about the lids, 
 use the eye-wash freely. Should the lids be much inflamed 
 underneath, scarify them a little. Put a twitch on the horse's 
 nose to hold him still ; then turn the lids over, so as to ex- 
 pose their inner surface, and, with the point of a sharp knife, 
 make a number of slight incisions. Let them bleed freely. 
 This will allow the overloaded vessels to discharge them- 
 selves, and will thus aflford great relief. If necessary, the 
 operation may be repeated two or three times, at intervals 
 of four or five days. 
 
 f SORE EYELIDS. 
 
 Soreness of the eyelids is very commonly the beginning 
 of more serious disease. It is an invariable accompaniment 
 of inflammation of the eye. But there is one form of it, dif- 
 fering from its usual development from that cause, chara-c- 
 terized by redness and itching about the edges, which some- 
 times become raw and mattery. These cases usually prove 
 very obstinate and difficult of treatment, from the fact that 
 the horse is always rubbing "them, and so keeping up the 
 irritation and soreness. 
 
DISEASES OF THE EYE. 175 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 1^0 application will be of any benefit unless the horse's 
 head can be fastened, which will be the first thing to be 
 done. In a mild case, wet the lids with the eye-wash two 
 or threes times a day; in an aggravated or an unusually ob- 
 stinate case, use the mercurial salve, but very cautiously, the 
 edges of the lids being just touched with it. The utmotft 
 care must be taken to prevent it from running into the eye. 
 
 MOON EYES. 
 
 What farmers call " moon eyes " are the effects of a dis- 
 order known to scientific practitioners as specific or periodic 
 ophthalmia- — a disease more to be" dreaded than any other to 
 which the eye is subject. It is an inflammation of the scle- 
 rotic, or outer white coat of the eye ; of the conjunctiva, the 
 delicate membrane covering the front of the eye and the inside 
 of the lids ; and of the iris, the little curtain stretched across 
 the interior of the first chamber of the eye. From the ex- 
 tent to which the iris is involved, this aftection has also re- 
 ceived the name of iritis. 
 
 The conjunctiva is the part which first, and most notice- 
 ably, shows the terrible inflammation. The " white of the 
 eye " wears a deep red appearance ; the cornea looks cloudy, 
 and, perhaps, has a few specks ; deeper down, the iris has 
 lost its bright color; and the aqueous humor, filling the 
 outer chamber of the eye, looks thick and milky. In fact, 
 the eye is now undergoing complete disorganization. The 
 forces of Nature rally to resist the attack ; there is a great 
 and often sudden improvement; and for a time, it seems as 
 though the disease had been baffled. But the same causes 
 which brought on the first attack presently induce another. 
 Thus, for months, or it may be for years, the assaults of 
 disease come and go, each time returning sooner, remaining 
 longer, and evidently of a worse type than before. 
 
 The first alternation of improvement is very likely to mis- 
 lead the owner into the belief that the trouble is entirely 
 
176 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 over. He soon discovers his nristake. The attack comes on 
 again; and now the membrane is more inflamed, the eye 
 clouds thicker, and the aqueous humor becomes more milky 
 in appearance, than before. Once more these symptoms al- 
 most entirely disappear. A close inspection of the e^^e at 
 this time shows a slight depression in the general roundness 
 of its form ; and, after each successive attack, it seems more 
 llnd more flattened, and the aqueous humor whiter and 
 thicker. 
 
 These periodic recurrences increase in both frequency and 
 duration, until, at last, there is no intermission between them. 
 The eye-ball loses its convexity, the aqueous humor is per- 
 manently thickened, the power of the transmission of light 
 is entirely lost, and the hofse becomes blind forever. 
 
 This form of disease is popularly known as "moon blind- 
 ness," from the periodic nature of its returns, which a singu- 
 lar notion has associated with the changes of the moon. 
 But it is found that there is no regularity in the intermis- 
 sions between these returns. They come on much more 
 frequently in the later than in the early stages of the dis- 
 ease, at intervals varying from only six to as much as fifty 
 days. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 We know of no cure for specific ophthalmia. ' The disease 
 has progressed too far for the practitioner's skill to be of 
 much avail, and is too deeply seated to be reached by any 
 direct treatment. In most cases the owner stands by, a 
 helpless spectator of the ruin which is being wrought in the 
 eyes of his favorite. The aqueous humor is undergoing a 
 fearful deterioration, which it is not in the power of mortal 
 to permanently arrest. All that can be done is to retard its 
 progress, and to afford temporary relief. In this direction 
 much may sometimes be accomplished. The hints we have 
 given in a preceding section, in regard to the general treat- 
 ment of diseased eyes, should be acted upon as far as they 
 are applicable. Copious bleeding and a strong dose of salts 
 
DISEASES OF THE EYE. ITf 
 
 will cause the eye to clear up very suddenly. Jockeys have 
 a trick of doing this when they wish to dispose of a moon- 
 eyed horse not entirely blind. 
 
 There is another species of inflammation of the eye, called 
 simple ophthalmia, which it is not always easy to distinguish 
 from the earliest stages of the much more formidable dis- 
 ease just described. It is generally one of the effects of a^ 
 cold, or is caused by the presence of some foreign body in 
 the eye, and, for the. most part, the inflammation is confined 
 to the conjjmctiva. If it does not pass away of itself a« 
 soon as the horse begins to recover from the cold, or the irri- 
 tating substance is removed, it readily yields to treatment in 
 nearly every case. 
 
 CATARACT. 
 
 Cataract is an opacity of the crystalline lens, an affection 
 which renders this most important humor of the eye utterly 
 incapable of transmitting the rays of light to the retina be- 
 hind. It is quite commonly, though not always, the sequel 
 of a case of " moon eyes." When it is confirmed, the sight 
 is hopelessly destroyed. The pupil of the eye then becomes 
 so white that even the casual observer will notice it at a 
 considerable distance. A lesser degree of the same appear- 
 ance marks its progress from the beginning. In our country 
 this disease is happily of rare occurrence. 
 
 Our farmers, however, are better acquainted with another 
 affection of the eye which goes by the same name. It is 
 one form of what some veterinarians call spurious cataracts. 
 A small, whitish spot is seen on the eye,, generally near the 
 outer corner. It has a peculiarly thick, cloudy appearance, 
 and seems to be of a cartilaginous or gristly texture. Some- 
 times it increases to half the size of a wheat grain, but is 
 usually a great deal less. It gets no larger, and, in time, 
 Nature will get rid of it without any assistance. These 
 spots generally make their appearance between the ages of 
 three and six years, and disappear within the next three 
 12 
 
 '^ 
 
178 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 years afterward. Their duration is very variable, from one 
 day upward. They impair the vision but little, if at all. 
 
 GLASS BYES. 
 
 Nearly all writers on the horse speak of " glass eyes " as 
 the popular name of amaurosis, or gutta serena, which is palsy 
 of the retina, the expansion of the optic nerve. A disease 
 of this character must be exceedingly difficult of treatment, 
 and can seldom have any other termination than blindness. 
 Thus the English veterinarians all describe it. 
 ■^ But in this country the term "glass eye" has another and 
 very different meaning. It is applied to a peculiar forma- 
 tion of the organ, which seldom hinders the horse from seeing 
 as well as ever. Very young colts have had glass eyes, and 
 have grown old, without showing any change in the appear- 
 ance of the eye. During all this time they could, appar- 
 ently, see as well as other horses, and the same in this eye 
 as in the other. Only one eye seems to possess this pecul- 
 iarity at the same time, and, except its white, glassy look, 
 its appearance in no wise differs from that of the other. 
 Utterly unlike the symptoms of genuine amaurosis, the pupil 
 is perfect, and the iris is distinct and quite natural. It is 
 most probable that the white ring around the cornea is but 
 the reflection in the aqueous humor of a peculiar color of 
 some of the coatings of the eye, as a close inspection shows 
 the aqueous and vitreous humors in the glass eye to be of 
 the same color, and as clear and transparent as in the other. 
 No treatment is necessary. 
 
 The owner of a glass-eyed horse in this country, or, at 
 least, in the Western and South-western States, would be sur- 
 prised to be told that his animal was less valuable on account 
 of this peculiarity. If it injured his sale at all, it would be 
 solely on account of its singular look. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OP THE HAW, OR HOOKS. 
 
 One of the most common affections to which the eye of 
 the horse is subject is inflammation of the haw, constituting 
 
 .M^ 
 
DISEASES OF THE EYE. 179 
 
 what is known all over the country as " hooks." The dis- 
 ease is variously called " bone hooks " and " fatty hooks." 
 Yet there are many among the masses who doubt the exist- 
 ence of " hooks," and the question is often asked whether 
 horses do really have them. To this query only one reply 
 is possible. Ko hook, or hooks, or any thing else, grows in 
 the eye that does not belong there. If people were better 
 informed concerning the structure and uses of the haw, they 
 would not fall into such errors in regard to the " hooks." 
 
 The haw — or "washer," as it is sometimes called — is a 
 little, triangular-shaped cartilage, lying just within the inner 
 corner of the eye, where ]^ature has provided a cavity, in 
 which it rests when not in use. Being thus stored away, 
 only a small portion of it can be seen when the eye is in 
 health. Its shape is exactly adapted to the convexity of the 
 eye. Like other cartilages, its texture is tough and gristly. 
 It is also very elastic. 
 
 The haw serves as a sort of scoop, to pass quickly over the 
 eye and throw off any offending substances which may have 
 lodged upon the ball, such as dust, hay-seed, flies, and gnats. 
 Motion is given it, not directly by muscular action, and yet, 
 at the will of the horse, most perfectly. The arrangement 
 by which this is effected is curious and admirable indeed. 
 The orbit — the cavity in which the eye is placed — is plenti- 
 fully supplied with fatty deposits, which enable the organ to 
 turn in all directions without friction; and these deposits 
 are most abundant in the part back of the eye, especially 
 toward its inner corner. Powerful muscles surround the eye. 
 These the horse contracts when any disagreeable substance 
 alights upon the eye-ball ; by a mechanism almost peculiar 
 to the horse, the eye is drawn back in its socket ; the fatty 
 deposits near the inner corner are pressed down upon the 
 haw with such force that it is thrust out, and, darting with 
 lightning-like velocity over the surface of the eye-ball, gathei» 
 up the offending particles of dirt, or whatever foreign body 
 is to be removed. Then the muscles relax ; the eye and its 
 fatty deposits resume their original arrangement; and the 
 
 
180 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 elastic haw returns to its place, like a piece of well-stretched 
 India-rubber when one lets go of it. 
 
 Any one who will note the beautiful play of this tendon, 
 when any thing approaches too near the eye, can but admire 
 the wisdom and kindness of the Creator in providing this 
 important and delicate organ with a means of protection so 
 admirably adapted to its purpose. Its play may best be seen 
 by trying to pull open the lids, or to touch the end of the 
 finger to the eye-ball. 
 
 Inflammation of the haw usually proceeds from fever and 
 inflammation of the other parts of the eye, accompanied by 
 swelling. Continued inflammation gives the cartilaginous 
 haw a hard, bony consistency, which it did not before possess ; 
 and, in consequence of its own swelling and that of the parts 
 which press upon it, it protrudes from its place under the 
 lids into the corner of the eye, in the form of a large, whitish 
 lump, much to the annoyance of the horse, and presenting a 
 very unsightly appearance. It is often bent out of shape, 
 and is crooked more than is natural. The removal of the 
 haw, when it is in this hardened, enlarged condition, forms 
 what farmers call " cutting for bone hooks." The lump has 
 a fatty appearance, also, since the haw, like the adjacent 
 parts, is supplied with a share of adipose matter. Hence the 
 term "fatty hooks." 
 
 A foolish and barbarous practice, greatly in vogue in some 
 sections, removes these bony, fatty lumps with the knife. 
 One fact is patent in regard to this treatment: the little 
 appendage which the Creator has wisely given to the eye, 
 for its protection and comfort, is forever destroyed. In all 
 cases, the eye is greatly impaired, and sometimes nearly 
 ruined. The custom is ignorant and barbarous. It must be 
 so denounced by every person of common sense who knows 
 what the haw was given the horse for, and should not be 
 tolerated anywhere. If those who practice it were compelled 
 to travel all day through the heat and diist, without any 
 means of protecting the eye from the glare of the sun, or 
 the irritation of the gritty particles of dust, they would 
 
DISEASES OF THE EYE. 181 
 
 better understand the irreparable mischief they do the horse 
 in " cutting for the hooks." It is altogether unnecessary. 
 Time and a little generous treatment, such as tends to re- 
 move inflammation, will invariably set matters right again. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Occasionally it may be necessary to cauterize the haw, but 
 this will only occur in extreme cases, where the inflammation 
 and swelling are very great. The eye-wash, applied two or 
 three times a day, will generally prove sufficient. There 
 should be warm applications of this to the fatty lump, by 
 using a soft piece of cloth, or some cotton, tied on the end 
 of a stick. Pull the lids apart, and wash the swollen and 
 inflamed parts thoroughly. If the lacrymal ducts appear to 
 be closed, apply the eye-wash to the nose, with a swab of 
 the same kind as that described in connection with the 
 treatment of blind staggers. Slight scarification may do 
 good, in order to relieve the overloaded blood-vessels; but 
 do not think of using the knife for any other purpose. Bleed 
 from the neck vein once or twice, at intervals of ten days. 
 A gallon of blood may be taken the first time, and half that 
 amount the next. 
 
 By this treatment, the inflammation will be removed, and 
 the swelling will gradually subside. Some morning, when 
 the owner goes out to look at his diseased horse, the hooks 
 will be missing; bone hooks and fat hooks will have utterly 
 vanished, and the haw will have become so reduced in size 
 as to resume its proper place in the cosy little socket which 
 the God of iN'ature has provided for it at the corner of 
 the eye. 
 
 DIMNESS OF VISION. 
 
 Many horses can not see well, although their eyes have no 
 apparent disease. Some are almost blind at night; others 
 have their chief trouble in the daytime, the bright sunshine 
 seeming to put the eyes almost out. The cause of this may 
 generally be determined without much difficulty; the eyes 
 

 i 
 
 • /. 
 
 182 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 are either too flat or too convex. A great difference may be 
 noticed in the eyes of different horses, not so much as to size 
 as their shape. 
 
 The coastings of the eyes are not equally transparent in all 
 horses, and a similar difference exists in regard to the clear- 
 ness and refractive powers of the humors. Sometimes the 
 rays of light do not fall properly upon the retina; or, as oc- 
 casionally happens, the retina may be so small that some of^ 
 them fall outside of it. When the eye is too full or convex, 
 the rays will converge too soon, and form an image of the 
 object in front of the retina ; when it is too flat, they do not 
 converge soon enough, and their proper focus is behind the 
 retina. These conditions may all exist, while there is no 
 trace whatever of local or chronic disease of the eyes. 
 
 Old horses are the ones most subject to dimness of vision. 
 Their eyes become too flat, and this produces far-sighted- 
 ness. The trouble with young horses is generally the reverse ; 
 they are near-sighted from the too great convexity of the 
 cornea. Either of these infirmities are likely to make a horse 
 subject to sudden starts and other disagreeable eccentricities. 
 How often may one see a near-sighted horse paying no atten- 
 tion to the approach of an object, until it is quite near, and 
 then, when he discovers it, throwing up his head with a 
 quick start, and other signs of alarm. Such an animal is 
 pretty sure to be an inveterate stumbler, from the mistakes 
 which he is always making in estimating distances. 
 
 The eyes of some horses are never clear; the aqueous hu- 
 mor seems unnaturally thick and dark ; yet they remain in 
 the same condition, growing no worse, if they do not im- 
 prove, during a whole life-time. But a horse with such eyes 
 is not perfectly sound; for imperfect vision is always a great 
 defect. He is especially untrustworthy for the road. Great 
 care should be taken, in purchasing a horse, to look well^to 
 his eyes, and avoid being imposed upon. 
 
 We know of no remedy for dimness of vision. The diffi- 
 culty is beyond the reach and skill of men or medicine. 
 
^'t.n. '^f 
 
 DISEASES OF THE EYE. 183 
 
 HOW TO DETECT A BAD EYE. 
 
 When only one eye is affected, it will look smaller than 
 the other, the lids showing a less opening between them. But 
 this may not always be sufficiently conspicuous to be sure of. 
 The more certain method is to get the head between the - 
 shade and sunshine, looking out toward the light. If there . 
 is any cloudiness, the rays of light passing through the eye ' 
 will reveal it plainly. A horse with bad eyes is always more 
 stupid and dumpish than others. He will stand with his eyes 
 closed much of the time, and does not notice the approach of 
 any object near so readily as when in health. To a good 
 judge, the eye will not have the bright, healthy look that 
 naturally characterizes it, and the lids near the corner will 
 appear somewhat dry and wrinkled. The latter indication 
 must not be mistaken for the wrinkles of old age. 
 
 Inflammation, of whatever kind, shows itself, of course, and 
 needs no further description. It is only when it subsides, in 
 the periodic clearing up of moon eyes, that any one is in 
 any danger of being deceived and practiced upon. If you 
 purpose buying or trading, the best way is to learn the his- 
 tory of the horse, as fully as possible, for some years past, and 
 should there be any suspicious developments, better have 
 nothing to do with the beast. 
 
 This subject is* still further illustrated in the section upon 
 unsoundness, in Chapter XXIII. 
 
164 AMERICA!^ FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 
 FISTULA. 
 
 This terrible enemy of the horse makes its appearance 
 upon the withers, just at the top of the shoulder-blade — at 
 first usually upon only one side, from which, however, it 
 is very apt to pass to the other. There seems to be a great 
 lack of popular information in regard to it; for, while all 
 know the causes that ordinarily produce it, and also its gen- 
 eral location, few stop to inquire what the particular part is 
 which is chiefly affected, or in precisely what manner the 
 disease operates. A bruise of some kind^is nearly always its 
 cause. This the horse ma}^ receive in various ways; for 
 example, by striking the top of the shoulders in passing 
 through a low stable-door, by kicks or bites from another 
 animal, by the pressure of an illy-iitting saddle, or by roll- 
 ing upon stones or roots. 
 
 A large tendon or ligament is situated upon the top of the 
 shoulders, immediately under the upper portion of the shoul- 
 der-blade, where it acts as a sort of pad for the bone to rest 
 upon, and thus prevents the friction of pressure against the 
 ribs. Its scientific name is the serrates major — that is, the 
 great saw-shaped — but it is properly known as the " tough 
 leather," or whitleather." This ligament reaches over and 
 across the back, and by a cartilaginous connection is joined 
 to the point of the vertebra, or back-bone. When injured, 
 it is subject to acute inflammation, and from this simple fact 
 result the whole phenomenon and rationale of fistula. 
 
 In their healthy state, the fibers which compose the serrates 
 major look very much like little strings about the size of a 
 small knitting-needle, but when inflamed they become as 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 185 
 
 large as a pipe- stem. The tendon continues to swell until 
 there is no longer room to contain it under the shoulder- 
 blade, when it is forced out and forms a large, ugly tumor. 
 ISTeglect presently develops a deep and dangerous abscess, 
 which finally breaks, and, discharging immense quantities 
 of matter, becomes a most loathsome sore, which runs for 
 months, or it may be even for years. From the constant 
 infusion of poison from the tumor, the blood becomes thick 
 and black, the circulation sluggish, and the pulse very full. 
 The horse constantly grows thinner and weaker. Fever is 
 wearing his life away, and death, at last, mercifully ends his 
 sufterings. 
 
 Sometimes the inflammation extends to the other side of 
 the shoulder, and caries of the cartilages and points of the 
 shoulder takes place. The tissues are destroyed, from which 
 follows a sinking away and dreadful disfigurement. These 
 remain permanent, so that, even if the animal is cured, the 
 horse-dealer condemns him as crestfallen the moment he 
 appears in sight. Few ever arrive at this stage, however, 
 and fewer still ever recover. As the disease was formerly 
 treated, a cure was exceedingly difiicult, and the process was, 
 at best, a very tedious and troublesome one. The expression 
 was often heard that it was " worth more than the horse to 
 cure him." 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Two remedies are recommended, to be used at different 
 stages of the disease. When fistula is discovered, and up to 
 the time that matter begins to form, the corrosive liniment 
 will be found very effectual. It should be applied with a 
 little mop every morning, and if, in the course of ten or 
 twelve days, the swelling has not subsided, the May-apple 
 liniment should be used, as prescribed below. The former 
 will usually answer every purpose at this stage, and, in 
 addition to acting very quickly, has the advantage of being 
 less unpleasant and more easily employed. 
 
 If the fistula has been coming on for a considerable time. 
 
186 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK.- 
 
 however, or if the tumor is so near maturity that suppura- 
 tion is inevitable, the May-apple liniment is the proper re- 
 course. A thin coating of this should be' spread over the 
 whole surface of the tumor each morning, and carefully 
 washed off at night, after which any old grease that may be 
 at hand should be well rubbed on. This treatment should 
 be continued for three or four days, or until matter forms in 
 the little fissures of the crusted skin. "When the pus begins 
 to ooze out freely, the liniment may be gradually increased 
 in quantity, and allowed to remain as long as a day and a 
 night, but never more than this. At the end of another 
 twenty-four hours it may again be applied freely, without 
 preliminary cleansing of the surface. It must always be 
 washed off thoroughly before the grease is rubbed on, with 
 a cloth and warm, strong soap-suds. 
 
 The use of this liniment will produce effects really aston- 
 ishing to one who has never before witnessed them. At first 
 it occasions a severe burning and itching, so that the horse 
 will require careful fastening to prevent him from rubbing 
 it" off. After suppuration has once fairly begun, however, 
 he will stand in one place for hours together, apparently in 
 the enjoyment of great relief. The amount of matter dis- 
 charged is surprising, often oozing out from the enlarged 
 pores of the skin in such abundance as to run down the leg 
 to the ground, and stand in a puddle at the horse's feet. 
 When this stage has been reached the crisis is past, and a 
 cure is only a question of time. A few weeks, however, are 
 usually sufiicient. The hair, which had come off, will grow 
 out again, the neck will not be crestfallen, and the horse, 
 without a scar or disfigurement of any kind, may be returned 
 to duty hardly a whit less sound than ever. 
 
 Though requiring time to carry it out aright, this treat- 
 ment will cure in every stage of the disease, but is pecu- 
 liarly efficacious after matter has begun to form. It has 
 been known to accomplish more in four or five weeks than 
 all other remedies could bring about in as many months. 
 Its philosophy seems to be simply the active suppuration 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 187 
 
 which it induces, by drawing the high local fever to the 
 surface. Two or three weeks generally suffices for the dis- 
 charge of the matter, the swelling disappearing, meanwhile, 
 with surprising rapidity. 
 
 When the liniment is first applied, great care must be 
 exercised not to use it too freely nor allow it to remain too 
 long upon the tumor, as the fever and irritation which it 
 brings on are sudden and powerful, an-d tend to punish the 
 horse severely. It seems to scald the skin upon. the surface 
 before it has time to act on the capillaries and penetrate 
 to the deeper seat of the disease. Even when properly 
 used, the horse gives evidence of considerable suffering for 
 a few days, but this will be relieved at once when suppura- 
 tion actively sets in. 
 
 A few cases of failure with this remedy are to be recorded, 
 but it is believed that they are all justly chargeable to an 
 improper use of the May-apple liniment. In obstinate cases 
 an alternation of that application with the corrosive liniment, 
 each employed for two or three days at a time, will prove very 
 beneficial. Bleeding is indispensable. Fever is raging in the 
 system,. and the blood, poisoned by virus from the fistula, is 
 thick and sluggish. Its character must be changed by quick, 
 active, and powerful alteratives, and its quantity lessened by 
 copious bleeding from the neck-vein. A gallon of blood may 
 be taken away the first time, and half that amount again six 
 days later. After this, sulphur and green feed, with the ordi- 
 nary treatment, will be sufficient. « 
 
 REMARKABLE CASES. 
 
 The history of a few remarkable cases, in which fistula 
 was successfully treated by the remedies here recommended, 
 can scarcely fail to interest all concerned in the care of 
 horses, and who may, at any time, be called upon to combat 
 this formidable disease. They all occurred in the author's 
 own practice during the years from 1847 to 1851. 
 
 A valuable young mare, belonging to Mr. Job Hicks, of 
 Gibson County, Tenn., had been suffering from a large fistula 
 
188 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 on the left shoulder for about eighteen months. The ulcei 
 had been eaten out with arsenic some time before, and a 
 quantity of matter discharged, but it had now ceased run- 
 ning altogether, and was terribly swollen and inflamed. In 
 the crown of the tumor was an indentation half as large as 
 a tea-cup. The mare was quite thin in flesh, and in every 
 way her condition was bad, with a high fever, a hard pulse, 
 and the hair dry and bristling. This was a case peculiarly 
 adapted to test the May-apple liniment, which was used 
 faithfully, and accompanied with such other treatment as the 
 condition" of the patient required. In six weeks the tumor 
 was gone, and all that remained was a small sore. The cure 
 was perfect, and, except a t/'ifling scar, marking the site of 
 the indentation above-mentioned, every trace of the disease 
 was removed. 
 
 In the same neighborhood was an old mare, the property 
 of Mr. Joseph Sharp, with a fistula on both sides. It had 
 been eaten out with arsenic — twice upon one side, and once 
 on the other — and the shoulders, still very much swollen, 
 were dreadfully mangled, exhibiting great dish-like indenta- 
 tions where the poison had completely destroyed the tissues. 
 This case, having been on hand three years, proved obstinate 
 in the extreme. Six months were required to effect a cure, 
 yet it: was accomplished at last, and no recurrence of the 
 disease ever followed. 
 
 The next case to be mentioned was badly managed. Mr. 
 J. P. James had a fine young horse, with an unusually large 
 * fistula on the very top of the shoulder, and extending nearly 
 equally on both sides. Matter had not begun to collect, and 
 the fever was terrible. The May-apple liniment was left, with 
 full directions, but being allowed to remain on the tumor for 
 forty-eight hours at once, a thick crust was formed, which 
 soon peeled off, exposing a hard, tough, glazed surface, upon 
 ^hich subsequent applications seemed to have no effect what- 
 ever. At that period, 1848, the corrosive liniment had not 
 come into use, and it was only after five months of almost 
 unremitting attention that the sore was finally healed. A 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS, 189 
 
 large spot remained, however, on which the hair never grew 
 out again. 
 
 A fourth example will exhaust the space which can he 
 given this subject. A horse five years old, belonging to Mr. 
 Robert Ferguson, of Cageville, Haywood County, Tenn. — 
 at which place the writer then resided — was afflicted with 
 an enormously large fistula. The Maj-apple liniment was 
 applied cautiously, in the manner prescribed in the foregoing 
 pages, and with such happy results that in ten days the tumor 
 had entirely disappeared. In this instance treatment began 
 within three weeks after the swelling was first noticed. 
 
 FORMER MODES OP TREATMENT. 
 
 Fifteen or twenty years ago there were always to be found 
 one or more cases of fistula upon nearly every plantation in 
 Tennessee. In many instances the sufferer received no atten- 
 tion whatever, or was given away at once as worthless. Com- 
 paratively few planters were willing to run the risk of keeping 
 a horse or a mule thus afflicted for months, or, perhaps, years, 
 and meanwhile to- undergo the constant and excessively disa- 
 greeable labor of doctoring him according to the barbarous 
 practices of the times, only to have three chances out of five 
 of losing him at last. At best, it was poor pay for hard 
 work ; for,* even when cured, the horse remained greatly 
 disfigured, with shoulders crestfallen and the neck always 
 stiff. 
 
 Arsenic was the specific generally relied upon. A deep 
 gash v/as cut in the crown of the tumor, into which the 
 arsenic was blown by means of a quill, when it was closed. 
 The poison, .readily taken up by the absorbents, soon affected 
 not only the fistula, but also the neighboring tendons and 
 muscles, forming an abscess, from which resulted, in the 
 course of two or three months, a disgusting, running sore. 
 Immense quantities of foul matter poured forth ; the poison, 
 far infused, ate away in all directions, and tendons, cartilages, 
 and sometimes even bones, were utterly destroyed ; it pene- 
 trated to the vertebra, the crown or point of which (the 
 
^Mr. 
 
 WO AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 dorsal vertebra) crumbled away, and the skin sunk to the 
 main bone of the back, leaving a hollow from four to six 
 inches deep. As far as the poison spread, its ravages went 
 on. At length its force was spent, the abscess closed, and 
 the horse, with all his unsightly deformities, and often with 
 much impaired vigor, was returned to service. If any ani- 
 mal outlived the months or years of torture which this process 
 occupied, it was because his vital energies were equal to 
 almost any task which the heedless ignorance of man could 
 impose upon them. 
 
 Yet this picture, horrible as it is, fails to present in full 
 the awful consequences of this murderous system in many 
 instances. The author has seen the whole line known as 
 " tlie comb of the back-bone " so much eaten away that 
 the vertebra points were exposed to full view, the sickening 
 discharge of pus and blood, meanwhile, completing a spec- 
 tacle almost incredible. Sometimes even the top of the 
 blade and of the shoulder-bone became visible, and not un- 
 frequently the fly- worm concluded the barbarous tragedy in 
 the most revolting manner. 
 
 Among other common methods of treating fistula were 
 such as burning with a hot iron, scalding with the horn 
 and hot mush of ashes, and running a small sharp-pointed 
 iron, red-hot, entirely through the tumor ; also, p'utting polk- 
 root or corrosive sublimate into the swelling, with results 
 nearly similar to those following the use of arsenic. 
 
 It is impossible to recall these recollections without emo- 
 tions of inexpressible horror and detestation; while, upon the 
 other hand, humanity must rejoice that a dispensation of such 
 ignorance and cruelty has given place to an age of more 
 enlightened and generous views concerning the needs and 
 proper care of that noblest servant of man, the horse. 
 
 POLL-EVIL. 
 
 This is a tumor, that comes on the head, or, more properly, 
 upon the extreme forward part of the neck, just back of the 
 
 k 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 191 
 
 ears. At this point the bones of the cranium connect with 
 those of the neck, or cervical vertebrae. They are held by- 
 very strong cartilages, upon both sides of the neck, but still 
 more firmly by the remarkable tendon, or muscle, on top, 
 called the serratus minor, (See section on the muscles and 
 tendons, and also /, in sectional view of the head, in Chap- 
 ter II.) By these means the head is supported and kept 
 steady, and moved in nearly all directions with great facil- 
 ity. From the appearance of the tumor nearly upon that 
 part of the head called the "poll," the term "poll-e.v^" is 
 used to describe this affection. A better one would be poll 
 or head fistula; for the causes and symptoms of this pain- 
 ful disease are precisely similar to those of fistula upon the 
 withers. 
 
 Between the serratus minor and the serratus major — the 
 different parts of the whiileather, described in the' last sec- 
 tion — there is naturally a most intimate connection and sym- 
 pathy. It is almost impossible that one should be injured 
 without the other having a share in the suffering produced ; 
 and it is a well-known fact that cases of poll evil, not unfre- 
 quently, can be traced to no known cause, except sympathetic 
 connection with fistulous withers. 
 
 When the horse is in sound health, an ordinary bruise on 
 the poll generally produces no serious results ; but if the parts 
 are in a feverish state,, a slight blow may be followed by what 
 is indeed an eml. Kext to the shoulders and joints of the 
 limbs, there is no portion of the horse's frame so severely 
 taxed, during the animal's motion, as the muscles and ten- 
 dons of this region. 
 
 It is an exceedingly tender and sensitive point, and a blow 
 from a careless or enraged attendant, may occasion grave con- 
 sequences. If nothing worse happens, a knot, or lump, of 
 considerable size, is pretty sure to betray the violence which 
 has been employed, and will remain for some time. Such 
 treatment may cause instant death. The author once saw 
 an infuriated driver strike a large horse, with a club, on this 
 
192 AMEKICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 part of the neck. The animal fell dead at his feet. The 
 great spinal nerve was undoubtedly broken. 
 
 Poll-evil does not often so seriously affect the general 
 health of the horse as does fistula, being further removed 
 from those < great vital organs, the lungs and heart; yet it 
 is marked by great suffering, which the least observant spec- 
 tator can not help perceiving. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Follow the same directions as those given in the last sec- 
 tion for fistula. Before matter has formed, use the corrosive 
 liniment; after that period, the May-apple liniment. The 
 difficulties attending the treatment of this disease are the 
 same as those accompanying cases of fistula, and the same 
 barbarous means were formerly employed for its cure. 
 
 BOa AND BLOOD SPAVIN. 
 
 Bog spavin has its location in the membrane investing the 
 hock-joint, and in the little oil-sacks so plentifully supplied 
 to this part of the horse's frame. Although at the expense 
 of some repetition of what has been said in Chapter III, when 
 treating of bone spavin, it will be befet to consider the struct- 
 ure of the joint, and the uses of these little oil-sacks, before 
 proceeding further. 
 
 The various joints of the body which are most in use and 
 have the greatest degree of motion are furnishe4 with large, 
 strong tendons, as they obviously need to be. Attached to 
 the extremities of the tendons, and between them and the 
 bones, as also between the tendons themselves, are little bags, 
 or sacks, containing an oily, mucous secretion, whose office it 
 is to prevent friction when the parts are in rapid motion, or 
 are otherwise severely strained. The tendons upon the inside 
 of the hock, at the head of the inner splint-bone, and uniting 
 the metatarsals (see 45 and 46, in cut on page 24) with the 
 tibia (see 38 in same cut), are of unusual size and strength, in 
 order to perform the severe labor to which they are subjected. 
 It is reasonable to expect that here the oil-sacks should be 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 19'i 
 
 larger and more numerous than elsewhere, as here exists 
 greater liabilitj to friction than in any other joint in the 
 whole body. Such we find to be the case. 
 
 Violent exercise, unusual strains, and blows are liable to 
 injure these sacks and cause them to enlarge. More fre- 
 quently, however, they are ruptured, when their contents es- 
 cape and form a putfy swelling under the skin and cellular 
 tissues. To such accidents, those surrounding the hock-joint 
 are peculiarlj^ exposed; and, from their number and size at 
 this spot, the consequences are at once more noticeable, and 
 really much more serious than when the same things occur 
 in other places. 
 
 The oily, mucous secretions continue as before ; or, rather, 
 they are increased in quantity, from the effort which ITature 
 makes to repair damages and supply the deficiency in the lu- 
 bricating material furnished the joint. But in this case ITa- 
 ture fails ; for the oil-sacks never heal. There is a constant 
 accumulation of the synovial fluid, and as constant a discharge 
 into the spavin-bag, as it may be termed, under the skin. 
 The enlargement increases to an extent and with a rapidity 
 proportioned to the size and number of the oil-sacks which 
 have been ruptured. Sometimes the swelling makes surpris- 
 ingly rapid progress, and in a short time encircles the entire 
 joint. It always disfigures the horse very much, and has 
 been known to grow as large as a man^s head. In such cases 
 the joint becomes so stiff' as to be nearly useless,*the play of 
 tendons and muscles being prevented almost entirely. 
 
 "When a small vein is broken, and the blood mingles with 
 the contents of the spavin-sack, the enlargement is called 
 blood spavin. This is the only point in which this disease 
 differs from ordinary bog spavin. 
 
 Lameness is not always a consequence of these kinds of 
 spavin, and especially when the swelling is small, except 
 in cases where the horse is very hard worked; and while 
 they unquestionably constitute a form of unsoundness, a 
 horse thus afflicted may do very well for ordinary service. 
 He may work before the plow, or be hitched to a wagon or 
 13 • 
 
194 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 to a carriage, when slow motion only is required ; but he will 
 never do for rapid movement. Moderate exercise will not 
 materially aggravate the disease. It will cause but little if 
 any enlargement of the spavin-sack, and will not perma- 
 nently increase the lameness. 
 
 TRBATMENT. 
 
 Sometimes a local application of the corrosive liniment 
 will prove beneficial in checking the accumulation of the oily 
 fluid, and thus prevent the swelling from increasing. The 
 spavin-sack, if very small, or in the first stages of the disease, 
 may occasionalTy be dried up entirely, by the same means. 
 The remedy is worth a trial. IN'ot much confidence, however, 
 can be placed in any course of treatment. The difiSculty 
 arises from the fact that the oil-sacks lie so deep, and are sur- 
 rounded so closely by tendons, that no external application 
 seems to reach them directly. As the disease does not en- 
 tirely impair the animal's usefulness, and does not affect his 
 general health, it will rest entirely with the intelligent owner 
 whether to attempt a cure or not, with the probability of a 
 failure. 
 
 The old and absurd practice of tapping the spavin-sack, 
 which is thus transformed into a constantly-running and in- 
 curable sore, must be discountenance^l by every well-informed 
 person. We trust none of our readers will resort to it in 
 any case. Better do nothing than be guilty of such folly. If 
 ^ the corrosive liniment does not effect a cure, no other remedy 
 need be applied. 
 
 WIND-GALLS. 
 
 The little oil- sacks already described are most abundant 
 about the hock, the ankle, and the knee, but are by no means 
 confined to these localities; next to which they are most nu- 
 merous on the legs, below the knee and hock, and also upon 
 the ankles. When those which are situated on the parts last 
 named become ruptured, the swelling which results from the 
 effusion of their contents under the skin, is called a wind-galL 
 
I 
 
 DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 195 
 
 This singularly inappropriate name had its origin in the fool- 
 ish notion of the farriers, in former times, that the swelling 
 was filled with air. 
 
 In their nature and causes, wind-galls are thus seen to be 
 the same disorder as spavin. But the oil-sacks which are 
 injured in the former, are neither so large nor so numerous as 
 in spavin ; and, more than this, such irritation and inflamma- 
 tion as is constantly kept up at the joint by the movements 
 of the limbs, scarcely affect the parts where wind-galls ap- 
 pear. Hence the latter never become at all serious affairs, 
 and seldom impede motion in the least degree. They may 
 possibly disfigure the limbs somewhat, and are often evidences 
 of hard usage and bad treatment ; but, for every essential pur- 
 pose, the horse is as good as before. When there are several 
 of them, or if they become unusually large, it is generally an 
 indication that the animal lacks suppleness of joint and limb, 
 and will move heavily. Even in this case, however, he will 
 do as well in the plow or wagon as ever he could. 
 
 As we have intimated, wind-galls are caused by either a 
 bruise or a very severe strain — ^most commonly the former. 
 Such a degree of compression by the tendons as must be 
 necessary to crush and burst open any of the oil-sacks, can 
 only result from a most terrible strain ; and yet there can 
 be no doubt that it is not unfrequently produced. It is easy 
 to see that a comparatively light blow, directly upon the 
 point where the sack is situated, resting upon the bone or 
 a firm, unyielding tendon, may readily do the mischief. An 
 egg, when the ends are placed between the palms of the 
 hands, will bear a pressure of fifty pounds, yet a faint blow 
 will break the shell. So with the little oil-sack ; and hardly 
 a day passes in which the legs of the horse do not receive 
 blows, which, if they fall upon the exact spot, are sufficient 
 to do the injury. - 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Wind-galls are never removed without great difficulty, 
 and often they defy the most persevering treatment. There 
 
196 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 is but one way of exterminating them, and that is by burn 
 ing the enlargement to a crisp with a red-hot iron. Thib 
 will be likely to dry up the water in them, and seal the 
 fountains which supply it, and sometimes proves an effectual 
 cure. 
 
 The old farriers always pursued this course ; but it is at- 
 tended with great danger. The burning often induces an 
 inflammation that eventually ruins the horse, especially when 
 the swelling is near the joint. "When inflammation from this 
 cause is once fairly established, it generally terminates in an 
 incurable ulcer. The morbid secretions and the disorganiza- 
 tion of the tissues, which characterize this condition, no 
 remedy seems sufficiently powerful to correct. Kor is this 
 the only danger attending the operation of burning. When 
 the hot iron is applied to bunches on or near the joint, the 
 inflammation, which nearly always follows, is apt to prove of 
 unusual severity, and the joint will become so badly stiffened 
 that its use will be destroyed forever afterward. We can 
 not advise this mode of treatment. Its extreme cruelty, 
 coupled with the risk of ruining the horse for life, is more 
 than sufficient to condemn it entirely. 
 
 Some ignorant persons have tapped wind-galls " to let out 
 the wind," and have been very much surprised to find a 
 somewhat thick, yellowish fluid, exuding from the puncture, 
 instead of air, and, to their still greater amazement, have 
 found that they have opened a fountain which they were 
 powerless to Close. ^NTor were these all their troubles. Sore- 
 ness and inflammation have set in, and grown worse from 
 day to day, and week to week. Very often they have learned, 
 when too late, that they unwittingly ruined a valuable horse. 
 In many instances, a large, ulcerous sore remains, which the 
 practitioner's utmost skill can not heal over. 
 
 The only remedy that we can recommend is the corrosive 
 liniment, applied once a day for four or five days, and then 
 omitted for the same length of time, and so continued to 
 be used as long as necessary. The liniment should be well 
 shaken before using, then appliied with a little mop, and well 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 197 
 
 dried in with a hot iron. This will frequently remove wind- 
 galls, but not always. If the abscess containing the water 
 is next to the skin, they can be cured without much diffi- 
 culty; but when it is under the cellular membrane below 
 the skin, as it more frequently is, external applications will 
 not penetrate to them. 
 
 It will hardly be worth the pains to attempt the removal 
 of wind-galls, unless there is inflammation and lameness; 
 in which case the liniment will take away the soreness, and 
 should be applied at once. 
 
 CURB. 
 
 This is the name given an enlargement whi?ch sometimes 
 occurs on the back of the leg, and a short distance below 
 the hock. It is produced by a strain of the strong ligaments 
 which are found at this part of the leg, or, perhaps, still more 
 frequently, by a hard blow. In the former case, it makes 
 its appearance after unusually severe exercise of some kind. 
 The nature of the injury is very -similar to that of enlarged 
 hock, described in Chapter III. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment will be rest, and a persevering use of the 
 corrosive liniment, as directed for enlarged hock. The horse 
 will be badly lamed by curb, and must be put to work again 
 with caution. 
 
 THOROUGH-Pm. 
 
 Another watery enlargement that comes .on the back part 
 of the hock-joint, inside of the os calcis, (see 39, in cut on 
 page 24,) has received the name of thorough-pin. It extends 
 entirely through the connecting membrane from side to side, 
 and hence the lirst part of the name. But what resemblance 
 it bears to a pin 4s by no means apparent. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Thorough-pin is of precisely the same nature as wind-galls 
 and spavin, and will require the same general treatment. 
 
1^ 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 TETANUS, OR LOCK-JAW. 
 
 A. CASE OF TETANUS. 
 
 With singular fidelity, the artist has here depicted a case 
 of tetanus in the horse. Our readers will be well repaid for 
 a careful study of this engraving. The points to be partic- 
 ularly noticed are the rigidity of the muscles, and the stiff- 
 ness of the joints; the protrusion of the muzzle; the immo- 
 bility of the ears ; the dilatation of the nostrils, with little 
 or no play; the eye deeply withdrawn in the socket; the 
 haggard, horror-struck expression of the countenance; the 
 tucking up of the belly from the extreme contraction of the 
 abdominal muscles and diaphragm; and the straddling pos- 
 ture of the legs. 
 
 Tetanus is one of the most dreadful of all the diseases 
 which attack the horse. Fortunately, it is pf comparatively 
 rare occurrence in our country, as is proven by the fact that 
 thousands of persons, familiar with horses all their lives, 
 have never seen a single case of it. In some European 
 countries it has prevailed to a much greater extent, and has 
 engrossed a large share of the veterinary surgeon's attention. 
 
 The disease undoubtedly results from the lesion of some 
 functional nerve, producing, more or less rapidly, extreme 
 irritability of the entire nervous system, and terminating in 
 fearful contractions and spasms of all the muscles in the 
 
 J 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 199 
 
 body. The trouble originates, not in a nerve severed, but a 
 nerve injured — bruised, lacerated, or torn. When a nerve 
 is divided by a common, " clean " cut, its action is entirely 
 suspended, and, bye and bye, the parts heal over as naturally 
 as ever. This takes place in all ordinary incised wounds, 
 without producing any serious consequences. But when the 
 nerve is torn or bruised, its action is increased; it becomes 
 irritated and inflamed; and then, should there happen to be 
 any predisposition to fever lurking in the system, there is 
 great danger that tetanus will conclude the history of the 
 case. We are well satisfied that scarcely any possible injury 
 of the nerves will occasion lock-jaw when the general condi- 
 tion of the animal is that of sound health and entire free- 
 dom from fever. 
 
 Let any horse, however, be exposed, and take .cold, after 
 an injury of one of the nerves, such as we have mentioned, 
 and tetanus could not be courted more effectually. Of 
 course, some degree of inflammation must follow the sever- 
 ing or wounding of a nerve in any case ; but if J^ature had 
 nothing more than this to overcome, with all the vital forces 
 in perfectly healthful action, the trouble would very soon be 
 over. If the inflammation, on the other hand, finds a co- 
 operative agency ready to extend and aggravate it, as it 
 does when the blood is in a feverish state, it is carried rap- 
 idly along the nervous pathway to the great sensorium of the 
 body, the brain. From this it reacts in a terrible spasmodic 
 action, in which the tension of the muscles and tendons, in 
 every part and'*organ of the body, is so fearfully great that 
 the horse dies at last, exhausted by hard work. During the 
 progress of the disease, not only are the muscles and ten- 
 dons more and more contracted, but the skin becomes tighter, 
 the joints more stiffened, the breathing still more labored, 
 and the power of motion less and less, until, finally, the poor 
 sufferer falls to the ground, to rise no more. 
 
 The symptoms of tetanus are usually very obscure at the 
 beginning. Were they recognized at the outset, there would* 
 seldom be any great difficulty in applying effectual treat- 
 
200 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 ment; but, unfortunately, they are apt to be overlooked, 
 until the disease is so firmly rooted that remedies either can 
 not be used at all, or utterly fail to meet the needs of the 
 case. The disease first exhibits itself in the jaws, but soon 
 extends to every part of the body. Its popular name by 
 no means expresses all that it really is. It is no more an 
 affection of the jav^s than it is of the head, the back, or the 
 legs. 
 
 In studying the character and developments of this malady, 
 we have been glad to avail ourselves of the observations and 
 researches of others, especially of recognized authorities in 
 veterinary science in Europe, where it has challenged the 
 practitioner's skill so much more than in this country. That 
 excellent writer upon the horse, Mr. Youatt, says : 
 
 " Tetanus is evidently an affection of the nerves. A small 
 fiber of some nerve has been injured, and the effect of that 
 injury has spread to the origin of- the nerve ; the brain then 
 becomes affected, and universal diseased action follows. Te- 
 tanus is spasm of the whole frame, not merely of one set of 
 muscles, but of their antagonists also. * * * Tetanus is 
 usually the result of the injury of some nervous fiber, and 
 the effect of that lesion propagated to the brain.* The foot 
 is the inost frequent source, or focus, of tetanic injury. It 
 has been pricked in shoeing, or. wounded by something on 
 the road. The horse becomes lame; the injury is carelessly 
 treated, or not treated at all; the lameness, however, dis- 
 appears, but the wound has not healed. There is an un- 
 healthiness about it, and, at the expiration of eight or ten 
 days, tetanus appears. Some nervous fiber has been irritated 
 or inflamed by the accident, slight as it was.". 
 
 In this country, lock-jaw generally proves fatal, not only 
 from neglect in treating it until too late, but sometimes from 
 the actual starvatioti of its victim. The owner seldom seems 
 to consider that the poor animal needs food quite as much 
 as when in health, or, perhaps, even more than at that time. 
 Disease and the most exhausting form of muscular action 
 are rapidly consuming his strength, while the stomach and 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 201 
 
 other digestive organs are but little affected. In all proba- 
 bility many horses die from tetanus that might be saved if, 
 in connection with the treatment pursued, some nutritious 
 food corild be introduced into his stomach. A horse with 
 lock-jaw will manifest the strongest symptoms of hunger, 
 and should be fed every two or three hours at least. This 
 may be done by placing before him a tub or bucket of thick 
 meal gruel. He will at once try to suck some of it into his 
 mouth, and will actually swallow a little of it, from time to 
 time. There will be no harm in keeping it before him con- 
 stantly, if he seems to desire it. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Bleed freely from the neck vein ; it is" the only hope in a 
 case of tetanus. The blood-vessels and nerves are distrib- 
 uted throughout the body side by side, and closely sympa- 
 thize with each other. The blood must be depleted, and to 
 do this is to relax the nerves, and also the muscles through 
 which the nerves ramify. 
 
 Let the blood continue to flow as long as the horse can 
 bear it. It is useless to hope for a cure if this essential part 
 of the treatment is not properly attended to. In most cases, 
 it will be best to open the vein, and let the blood run until 
 the pulse grows perceptibly fainter ; then to remove the finger 
 or the cord from the neck for fifteen or twenty minutes, or 
 until the pulse rises and the vein becomes full. Now let 
 the blood flow a second time as long as at first. This may 
 be repeated three or four times, when the jaws and the 
 muscles generally will begin to relax. At first the blood is 
 thick, and its feeble stream is drawn chiefly from the im- 
 mediate region of the brain,, while the vessels of the extremi- 
 ties react but slowly. They are allowed time for this, how- 
 ever, by these temporary suspensions of the arterial flow ; and 
 there is another great a-dvantage in following this course, 
 from the fact that it prevents drawing away so much blood 
 from the vein as to overpower the vital energies of the horse. 
 If the blood is allowed to run without any intermission until 
 
\ 
 
 202 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 he falls, there is great danger that, with his stiffened limhs 
 and set joints, he will never rise again. The method of 
 hleedinff which we recommend obviates the difficulties which 
 attend the ordinary course, as it relaxes the system, while the 
 action of the vital forces remains uninterrupted. 
 
 The nerves must now be tranquilized by powerful opiates, 
 and further relaxation effected by the use of physics. A 
 half gill of laudanum is not a large dose in this case. Mix 
 this with half a pound of salts, dissolved in a pint of warm 
 water. N'ext, get a horn, open at both ends, and, inserting 
 the small end into the horse's mouth, between the front and 
 back teeth, turn the mixture very slowly down his throat. 
 At the end of six hours, give half of the above dose of salts 
 in the same way. Use every exertion to secure an operation 
 of the bowels as soon as possible. Give one quart of corn- 
 meal gruel, as a clyster, every five or six hours. This will 
 also afford nearly as much nutriment to the system as if it 
 were received into the stomach. Keep a soft bran-mash or 
 thick meal gruel before him, as before directed. 
 
 Treatment of another character should next be applied. 
 Put a pint of spirits of camphor and half a gill of tobacco- 
 juice in a gallon of warm water, and in this boil a peck of 
 oats or coarse bran. Have them in a bag, so that they will 
 be loose, and, after boiling for fifteen minutes, apply the bag 
 to the horse's throat, as hot as he can bear it. Fasten it on 
 over the top of the head, so that he can not get it off, or, 
 if necessary, his head may be tied. At the same time spread 
 a good, large blanket or quilt over him, and fasten it. This 
 course will generally throw the horse into a fine perspira- 
 tion, which will be one great point gained. Change the 
 poultice every six hours for two days, and continue to keep 
 him well covered with the blanket or quilt. 
 
 If these directions are faithfully carried out, the horse will 
 probably recover, unless he is suffered to starve to death. A 
 cure is quite easy if the disease be attacked at an early 
 stage. 
 
 We may add another simple method of treating tetanus, 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 203 
 
 without vouching for its effectiveness, as we never had an 
 opportunity of testing it. It is to take the scab from the 
 fore-leg of the horse and pulverize it very fine. This is done 
 by rubbing it on a coarse file. Put a tea-spoonful of this in 
 each ear of the horse, and dust a little up his nose. This, 
 it is said, will so operate upon his nerves and brain that he 
 will lie down and go to sleep ; and, after remaining thus for 
 about half an hour, he will get up, apparently well, and with 
 his muscles relaxed, and will then commence eating. We 
 know that this scab contains a powerful narcotic principle, 
 and as the authority for its use in lock-jaw was among the 
 best at the South, it will be worth a trial at least. 
 
 A REMARKABLE CASE. 
 
 While the author was engaged in the preparation of this 
 work, he was called upon to treat the most remarkable case 
 of tetanus that was ever brought to his notice. It occurred 
 in the village of Petersburg, Boone County, Kentucky, in 
 August, 1866. A young mare, the property of Mr. H. 
 McWithy, and only partially broken, was put into the hands 
 of a wagon-driver, during some of the hottest days of the 
 season, to gentle before the wagon. She was very fat, and 
 had been worked but little before. Although herself quite 
 small, her companion was a very large, strong horse, and the 
 labor to which she was put — hauling logs — was altogether 
 too hard for her. 
 
 One day we were summoned in haste to come and see her, 
 as she had the lock-jaw. Her condition was pitiable indeed — 
 the jaws firmly set, every muscle in the body drawn to its 
 utmost tension, and the limbs so stiffened that she could 
 move them only with the utmost diflSiculty. It was a case 
 of tetanus, resulting from a rare cause, and one not men- 
 tioned in any work upon the horse. We shall describe the 
 case and its treatment with some minuteness, as its history 
 may be the means of saving the life of a valuable horse for 
 the reader. 
 
 The primary cause of the attack was undoubtedly a dread- 
 
204 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 ful over-heating, by which the adipose matter in the body 
 had become softened — almost melted — and, settling down 
 upon the nerves and blood-vessels, had produced suspension 
 of nervous action, and a fearful congestion of the circulation. 
 Every nerve was fully set, and every muscle and tendon con- 
 tracted to its utmost. Her jaws were not only fixed, but 
 were so much drawn that to swallow was impossible. Med- 
 icines, abundant and powerful, were within easy reach ; but 
 of what avail was this when not a thimbleful could be made 
 to reach her stomach by any means? It was evident that 
 she could stand upon her feet but a little while longer, and, 
 if once down, she would never rise again. Unless relief 
 could be given at once, she could not live more than from 
 four to six hours at farthest. Her pulse was hard, corded, 
 and fearfully accelerated, beating about seventy-three to the 
 minute. Kow what was to be done ? We resorted to " the 
 vile practice " of bleeding, and are willing to compare results 
 with either any opposer or abuser of the system. 
 
 The neck vein having been opened, half a gallon of blood 
 was permitted to run, when she .appeared weak, and the 
 stream was stopped. The blood was the thickest and black- 
 est we ever saw drawn, except in some cases of big head, 
 and for some minutes came very slowly, although the incis- 
 ion was a large one. Her faintness from the loss of so little 
 blood was surprising; but this was in consequence of drain- 
 ing so much from the immediate region of the brain, while 
 the general circulation, as yet, had hardly been affected. lu 
 this short time the pulse had become soft and flabby, though 
 its rapidity was not diminished. Some of the bystanders 
 said, "Why do you stop so soon? Bleed her until she 
 faints." But we knew better what was the proper course. 
 Had she fallen, while in this condition, she would have lain 
 there until dragged away to her burying-place. Our object 
 was to relax the system graduallj^ without overpowering the 
 vital energies, as excessive bleeding, at this stage of the dis- 
 ease, would most certainly have done. 
 
 In about twenty minutes she rallied, and the arterial flow 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 205 
 
 became fuller and stronger. The vein was now reopened by 
 tightening the cord, and again as much blood drawn as be- 
 fore. For four successive times a half gallon of blood was 
 thus taken away, the animal seeming stronger at the conclu- 
 sion of the operation than at its commencement. In fact, 
 after the first bleeding, she showed no sign of faintness or 
 faltering. By this time the jaws had relaxed so that they 
 could be pulled open half an inch. All this consumed about 
 an hour and a half. 
 
 But the dependence was not wholly upon bleeding. While 
 this had been going on, a large, thick woolen blanket was 
 brought, and, after having been wet in cold water, was spread 
 over her whole body. Twenty bucketfuls of cold water 
 were then poured upon her. Instead of killing her, as some 
 might imagine it would have done, this proved of the greatest 
 benefit. It cooled her system, and caused the adipose matter, 
 or fat, to harden and contract ; and thus the nerves and blood 
 vessels were allowed space for their proper play again.* 
 
 In three hours her jaws were so much relaxed that, by 
 considerable effort, she was able to swallow. • A fourth of a 
 pound of salts and a gill of laudanum were given, while the 
 same amount of salts was used as a clyster. During the 
 bleeding, her pulse fell from seventy-three to sixty. She re- 
 mained under the author's treatment for two days, when she 
 was taken home, a distance of two miles. In due time she 
 entirely recovered, and at the date of this writing — two 
 months afterward — she remains as well as ever. 
 
 CRAMPS. 
 
 A few horses are subject to cramp. This is h:. irritability 
 and involuntary spasm of a particular muscle, or set of mus- 
 cles, and is caused by a strain, a bruise, or some similar in- 
 jury. Horses whose energies have been overtaxed by severe 
 pulling and straining during the day, and who are compelled 
 to stand all night in a narrow stall, are very likely to suffer 
 from cramp in the legs. When the horse tries to move, 
 the muscles, having become stiff' and inflexible, refuse to act 
 
206 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 for awhile, until the nervous energy is restored; and then 
 they exhibit a spasmodic overaction that produces cramp. 
 The horse seems utterly powerless to control their action, 
 and they jerk and twitch in a most singular manner. The 
 circulation, which has been partially suspended, is soon re- 
 stored by this exercise, and as the parts become warmed the 
 muscles relax, and their pliancy and elasticity return. 
 
 Cramping seems to be a species of temporary rheumatism. 
 It is very painful, and often leaves lameness and great sore- 
 ness behind it. When this is the case, no paine should be 
 spared to find the affected part, which, may be done by press- 
 ing upon the muscles of the legs with the hand. The horse 
 will wince when the tender spot is touched. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Bleed once, taking away three Quarts of blood. Wash the 
 parts well with salt and water, and rub them for some time 
 with the hand or a rough cloth. When dry, apply the cor- 
 rosive liniment once. 
 
 RHEUMATISM. 
 
 Very few persons are aware how frequently this disease at- 
 tacks the horse. Even among professional veterinarians it 
 has received but little attention. Yet many instances of 
 lameness have occurred — cases in which the horse apparently 
 suffered excruciating pain, and was barely able to move his 
 limbs at all — that could be referred to "no other possible 
 cause. There is no reason whatever why the horse's frame 
 should be exempt from rheumatism any more than the hu- 
 man. The physiology of the two are very much alike, and 
 exposure or bad treatment will be as likely to bring it on in 
 one as in the other. 
 
 Old horses are those most subject to rheumatism, especially 
 when they have been abused or very hard worked. It rarely 
 occurs among younger animals, unless their energies have 
 been greatl}^ overtaxed. Yet exposure and severe usage do not 
 appear to be the only causes of rheumatism. The lean horse, 
 
 '* 
 

 DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 207 
 
 if otherwise in good condition, is very seldom among its victims. 
 It is the horse well-fed, plethoric, fat, and sleek that is often - 
 est attacked. The immediate cause of the disease is obstruc- 
 tion of the circulation. It is always an evidence that the blood 
 is too abundant and too thick, as well as too sluggish and 
 irregular in its flow, from which condition proceeds nervous ^ 
 irritability, in the first instance, and next rheumatism, which 
 is but one form of this nervous disturbance localized. Te- 
 tanus is an aggravated and general development of the same , r 
 functional derangements. 
 
 Rheumatism affects the tendons and joints, and is accom- 
 panied by terrible inflammation and lameness. Although the 
 hips and shoulders are its favorite points of attack, the knees 
 and all the joints of the legs sometimes suffer from it. Cramp 
 is but a milder form of the same disease — a brief, spasmodic 
 rheumatism. 
 
 Many other diseases are liable to be confounded with rheu- 
 matism. Stiff* complaint, so called, is but the general eft'ects 
 of rheumatism located in the joints — in fact, become chronic. 
 On the other hand, many cases which have been doctored as 
 colic or founder have really been acute attacks of this dis- 
 order. 
 
 REMARKABLE CASES. 
 
 Although our space is limited, perhaps we can not do better 
 than devote two or three, pages to the narration of two re- 
 markable cases which the writer treated some years since. 
 They show how easy and common it is for the uninformed 
 to make mistakes in the diagnosis of rheumatism. 
 
 A gentleman named Hardison, residing in Middle Ten- 
 nessee, brought his family upon a visit to some friends in , 
 Gibson Count}^, in the same State. The distance was about 
 one hundred and fifty miles, which he drove with his family * 
 horse, in a carriage. She was a large mare, unusually full 
 and plethoric, and plainly showed the good usage which she 
 had been accustomed to receive. Unless in this journey, her 
 strength had not been at all overtaxed; but for some time 
 previous to making the trip she had been exercised but little. 
 
 *' 
 
208 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. ^ 
 
 One morning, after having been driven about half a mile 
 from the friend's house where Mr. Hardison was stopping, 
 and while still before the buggy, she was taken suddenly ill. 
 She seemed scarcely able to stand upon her feet; she trembled 
 all over; great drops of sweat rolled down her sides, and in 
 twenty minutes she was wet with perspiration. Her appear- 
 ance and motions indicated the most intense suffering, and 
 she seemed unwilling to let her feet touch the ground, as if 
 it gave her great pain. Yet there was an equal disinclina- 
 tion to lie down. Standing with her back roached up, and 
 the most imploring look possible, she was a spectacle to ex- 
 cite the deepest feelings of compassion. 
 
 With the bystanders, this was plainly an attack of- hots — 
 an opinion in which they were confirmed by the manner 
 in which she kept putting her head around to her sides 
 and fore-legs, and by the continual jerking of the muscles 
 and skin of those parts. As there was no swelling of the 
 abdomen, it could not be colic. 
 
 To the author, however, these symptoms indicated some- 
 thing entirel}^ different. A gallon of blood was accordingly 
 drawn from the neck, and some salts and laudanum were 
 given her, and in two hours she was relieved. 
 
 If the question is asked. Why give this as a case of rheu- 
 matism, when the attack was so sudden? it might be replied 
 that the latter did not pass off so suddenly, for it was two 
 months before the mare regained the use of her limbs suffi- 
 ciently to be taken home. . It was undoubtedly a severe case 
 of spasmodic rheumatism, whose surprisingly rapid devel- 
 opment proceeded from causes, in all probability, long pre- 
 existing. This example shows what a terrible enginery of de- 
 struction disease may sometimes plant in the system entirely 
 unsuspected. 
 
 The animal had seemingly been in the best of health, and 
 was only sick about two hours; yet she became very much 
 reduced, and it required six months to remove all traces of the 
 attack. Her legs, shoulders, and hips were stiff and sore for 
 months. It may be seriously questioned whether she ever 
 
I 
 
 DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 209 
 
 became quite as sound and active as before, or whether she 
 was as well able to withstand another assault of the same 
 disease. 
 
 In the winter of 1858-9, while traveling in the northern 
 part of Alabama, the writer encountered another case, which, 
 although very similar to the preceding, presented other fea- 
 tures so instructive that we shall give it in full also. 
 
 Our place of entertainment for the night happened to be 
 at one of the drovers' stands common in those parts — resting- 
 places for the accommodation of the numerous droves of 
 horses and mules on their way from the great stock-raising 
 regions of Kentucky and Tennessee, to the cotton districts 
 of the South. Here we met the worst case of rheumatism 
 our eyes ever rested on. The victim was a line young horse, 
 about six years of age, purchased in Williamson County, 
 Tennessee. He had been trained for the saddle exclusively, 
 never having been hitched in harness ; had been moderately 
 used, and always well treated. For the preceding seven or 
 eight days he had run loose in the drove, traveling in this 
 manner only about twenty miles a day. 
 
 Soon after reaching our stopping- place, we learned that a 
 horse was coming very sick with either colic or founder, and 
 presently he made his appearance. Certainly he was as 
 pitiable an object as we ever saw — his belly tucked up, his 
 back humped, his feet drawn under him, and his expression 
 indescribably woe-begone. He, too, was disinclined to lie 
 down, but finally did so, by giving entirely away and falling 
 to the ground. The groans which followed this performance 
 were perfectly heart-rending. We \iever heard such from 
 any other animal before or since. 
 
 What had brought on the attack? The horse was young, 
 very fat, and, until a very few hours before, had been in ex- 
 cellent health. The day was moderately cool, so that he 
 could not have become overheated; nor had he either eaten 
 or drank too frequently. There was no cause for founder. 
 Examination showed, too, that it was not the feet so much 
 as the knees and shoulders that were tender and sore. As 
 14 
 
210 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 for bots, the author of this work had been for years defending 
 that inoffensive little creature from the charge of killing the 
 hoi-se, satisfactory reasons being apparent for believing him 
 entirely innocent of the crime. It was not a case of colic, for 
 the symptomatic indications of intestinal disorder were lacking. 
 
 Treatment was applied as for rheumatism. It was success- 
 ful. Bleeding was the first step, a gallon of blood being 
 drawn from the overloaded vessels. Then, another of the best 
 of remedies for the horse was administered as a drench — one 
 quart of salt and water, as hot as it could be swallowed. The 
 legs were freely bathed with the same mixture. In one hour 
 the sufferer was greatly better, and -seemed nearly free from 
 pain. But a year later he had not entirely outworn the ef- 
 fects of this dreadful attack. 
 
 This, also, was a case of spasmodic rheumatism. Yet a 
 degree of mystery attaches to it. An attack so fearful as to 
 leave behind its brief duration of four hours such evil conse- 
 quences, did not spring up in a few hours or a day. Its 
 causes must have been in existence for weeks, or probably even 
 for months before, the disease, meanwhile, continually accu- 
 mulating its forces, until, at last, it suddenly overpowered the 
 vital energies and prostrated the horse's strength completely. 
 
 But are there no premonitory symptoms to indicate the 
 approach of so terrible a foe? Sometimes there are, but 
 more frequently there are not. Unfortunately, remedies can 
 be prescribed more easily than preventives ; yet considerable 
 may be done, in a general way, in the latter direction. Light, 
 moist food, a good pasture, or any relaxing diet, by keeping 
 the blood thin, will tend to the prevention of rheumatism ; 
 while dry, hard food, such as heats the blood, and makes it 
 thick arid dark, will be likely to bring it on. 
 
 ' TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment has been sufficiently indicated in the history 
 of the case last given. It consists in bleeding from the neck 
 vein, and the free use of salt and hot water, both internally 
 and to bathe the affected parts. 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 211 
 
 SPASMS. 
 
 Perhaps few affections are so common among horses as 
 spasms, and yet no veterinary Writer has thought proper to 
 introduce them in his classification of diseases. The reason 
 probably is, that, although well-known to all who possess 
 any familiarity with the ailments of horse-flesh, they so often 
 occur in connection with other diseases that they have been 
 regarded as merely symptomatic in all cases. But sometimes 
 we find them entirely disconnected with any other disorder, 
 under circumstances that forbid the intelligent practitioner 
 referring them to any local affection. 
 
 Spasms may be of three kinds — of the nerves, the muscles, 
 or the skin. Although only the second of these properly be- 
 longs to this chapter, it will be most convenient to consider 
 all of them in this connection. A minute description of each 
 IS a task not without some difficulty. Yet, where is the far- 
 mer that has not witnessed spasms of the muscles? For a 
 few minutes they contract violently, with sudden jerks ; then 
 the spasm passes away, leaving the animal apparently as well 
 as ever. 
 
 ITervous spasms are still more common. The horse sud- 
 denly becomes much agitated, trembles all over, and has a 
 wild, frightened look, when there is not the 'least sign of 
 any cause of alarm. For a few moments his very frame 
 shakes with excitement ; but this passes off presently, and he 
 becomes perfectly tranquil again. Such a case is plainly 
 nothing else than one manifestation of nervous disturbance, 
 in which alone all his disquiet and fears have their origin. 
 
 Every one knows that in human pathology nervous people 
 are usually very fearful, always imagining something wrong, 
 or some danger near. It is precisely the same with the horse. 
 Many a poor animal has been adjudged to be vicious, and has 
 received terrible beatings for his unaccountable excitement, 
 his reluctance to move, or his supposed perversity, when all 
 this was the result simply of nervous derangement, manifested 
 in the form of spasms, which affected the whole body. 
 
212 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Such a condition is generally produced by there being too 
 much blood in the system, and that too thick. Nervous 
 power is largely concerned in carrying on the circulation, 
 and, when the blood is in this state, must be overtaxed at 
 times. Hence these phenomena, which appear so singular 
 to the horse's driver. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Do not be such an ignoramus as to beat your horse when 
 he is suffering from a nervous spasm. Kearly always it is 
 something that your own negligence or bad management 
 has brought on, and is really less chargeable to the horse than 
 to yourself or his keeper. Try the effects of habitual kind- 
 ness and gentleness, if your horse is subject to such attacks, 
 and, our word for it, you will see a marked and constantly 
 increasing change for the better in a very short time. 
 
 If the spasm, of whatever kind, is a severe one, resort must 
 be had to bleeding. Many an excitable, fractious horse will 
 become perfectly quiet and tractable if a gallon of blood be 
 drawn from the overloaded vessels. It will seldom be neces- 
 sary, however, to take so much as this in a simple case of 
 spasm*. Relax the system by giving light, soft diet. This 
 does not mean, however, that you shall starve your horse into 
 weakness and languor. 
 
 STRING-HALT, OR SPRING-HALT. 
 
 Every member of the body has its appropriate nerve, with- 
 out whose prompting it could not move. The hips and hind 
 legs are given power and motion through the agency of the 
 sciatic nerve, a branch given off by the spinal cord in the 
 region of the lumbar vertebrae. It is this nerve which most 
 anatomists consider the seat of that singular derangement 
 which produces string-halt. 
 
 The disease is a familiar one. Instead of a suspension of 
 the nervous and muscular energy, it is an overaction of both; 
 so that whenever the horse attempts to lift his hind legs, they 
 move by a sudden spasmodic jerk,. and are caught up much 
 higher than is natural. In extreme cases, they are sometimes 
 
DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 213 
 
 thrown fairly up against the belly, and with some force. The 
 muscles are but the servants of the nerves, and only exhibit 
 the contractions and jerks that are communicated to them 
 by their superiors. 
 
 A celebrated horse in England, that had been afflicted with 
 string-halt in its most aggravated form, was dissected by 
 Professor Spooner, of the Royal Veterinary College, with a 
 view to gaining some light upon the causes of this disease. 
 The result of the examination has been given, as follows : 
 
 "On taking oft' the skin, all the muscles presented their 
 perfect healthy character. There was not the slightest en- 
 largement or discoloration of the fasciae. The muscles of 
 both extremities were dissected from their origins to their 
 tendinous terminations, and their fibrous structure carefully 
 examined. They were all beautifully developed, presenting 
 no inequality or irregularity of structure, nor aiight that 
 would warrant the suspicioh that any one of them possessed 
 an undue power or influence beyond the others. The only 
 abnormal circumstance about them was, that they were of a 
 rather darker yellow in color than is usually found. This 
 referred to them generally, and not to any particular muscle 
 or sets of muscles. 
 
 J'The lumbar, crural, and sciatic nerves were examined 
 from the spot at which they emerge from the spinal cord to 
 their ultimate distributions. The crural and lumbar nerves 
 were perfectly healthy. The sciatic nerve, at the aperture 
 through which it escapes froili the spine, was darker in color 
 than is usual, being of a yellowish-brown hue. Its texture 
 was softened, and its fibrillse somewhat loosely connected to- 
 gether. The nerve was of its usual size ; but on tracing it in 
 its course through the muscles of the haunch, several spots 
 of ecchymosis presented themselves, and were more particu- 
 larly marked on that part of the nerve which is connected 
 with the sacro-sciatic ligament. As the nerve approached 
 the hock, it assumed its natural color and tone; and the 
 fibers given oft' from it to the muscles situated inferior to the 
 stifle-joint were of a perfectly healthy character. 
 
214 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 "On dissecting out a portion of the nerve where it ap» 
 peared to be in a diseased state, it was found that this ecchy- 
 mosis was confined to the membrinous investiture of the 
 nerve, and that its substance, when pressed from its sheath, 
 presented a perfectly natural character. 
 
 "The cavity of the cranium and the whole extent of the 
 spinal canal were next laid open. The brain and the spinal 
 marrow were deprived of their membranous coverings, and 
 both the thecse and their contents diligently examined. There 
 was no lesion in any part of them, not even at the lumbar 
 region. 
 
 "The articulations of every joint of the hind extremities 
 then underwent inspection, and no disease could be detected 
 in either of them. 
 
 " Professor Spooner was of opinion that this peculiar affec- 
 " tion was not referable to any diseased state of the brain or 
 spinal cord, nor to any local affection of the muscles of the 
 limbs, but simply to a morbid affection of the sciatic nerve. 
 He had not dissected a single case of string-halt in which, he 
 had not found disease of this nerve, which mainly contributes 
 to supply the hind extremities with sensation and the power 
 of voluntary action." 
 
 String-halt is seldom sufficiently aggravated to provQ a 
 serious detriment to the horse's qualifications for service. 
 The ungainly and even ludicrously awkward appearance 
 which the gait presents, constitutes the only objection in most 
 instances. But we regard it as a great mistake to consider 
 this peculiarity an indication of unusual power. It is an evi- 
 dence, rather, of bad treatment. The horse has been strained, 
 at some time or other, and the injury then sustained by his 
 muscles has reacted upon the important sciatic nerve. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Bleed moderately, taking not to exceed three pints of. 
 blood, and repeat the operation at the end of ten days. Ap- 
 ply about a table-spoonful of the corrosive liniment to that 
 part of the hip in immediate connection with the spine, and 
 
 i 
 
DISEASES OF. THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 215 
 
 also to the back part of the foot. Keep both the hip and the 
 heel constantly sore with the liniment for at least a month, 
 using it daily. 
 
 This treatment, with the addition of three or four doses of 
 "jimson" seed, cured one of the worst cases of stringhalt 
 we ever saw. 
 
216 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. 
 
 As all the unfavorable external influences to which the 
 horse is exposed first come in contact with the skin, we can 
 readily understand why it should so frequently be the seat 
 of disease. When we consider the dreadful treatment to 
 which the poor animal is often subjected, it seems a wonder 
 that the case is not worse than it is. But the peculiar struc- 
 ture of the skin, as already described in the appropriate sec- 
 tion of Chapter 11, in a great degree protects him from in- 
 jury, and wards oft* many of the eftects of exposure and bad 
 treatment*. 
 
 The various affections of the horse's skin have received 
 different names according to their localities, and the different 
 phases which they assume. There is a great sameness in 
 the general symptoms of most of them, as well as in their 
 causes and treatment. They may all be embraced in two 
 classes: First, those which proceed from bad treatment; 
 second, those which are the result of constitutional tenden- 
 cies. The first of these classes embraces by far the larger pro- 
 portion of them. One of its most characteristic representa- 
 tives is the disease called 
 
 SCRATCHES. 
 
 Universally known and dreaded as this is by all American 
 horsemen, it seems to be a stranger to the English veterina- 
 rians ; at least, it is not mentioned by any of them so far as 
 we have any knowledge. It makes its appearance on the 
 back part of the foot, extending from the heel to the fetlock, 
 and much oftener on the hind than on the fore-feet. In ex- 
 treme cases, it has been known to extend upward on the 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. 217 
 
 leg to the joints of the knee and hock, and around to the 
 front of the foot, so as to entirely encircle it. It begins with 
 a thick, dry, scabby covering of the skin, coming in little 
 patches upon the difterent parts of the heel, which continue 
 tc spread until they unite in one solid mass of scab and 
 matted hair. 
 
 These scabs present a different appearance from those which 
 occur in any other disease of the skin or legs. They possess 
 an uncommon itchiness, which impels the horse to keep rub- 
 bing the parts, if it is possible for him to do so, very often 
 until they are raw and bleeding. This is the origin of the 
 name — Scratches. 
 
 The cause of this disease is undoubtedly bad treatment or 
 improper stable management. Let the horse habitually stand 
 in filth and mire when in service, or on piles of hot and steam- 
 ing manure in his stall, and the skin will become scalded and 
 scabby, and, before the negligent keeper is aware, scratches 
 be fully developed. This end will be much hastened by a bad 
 state of the system — impure blood, derangement of the diges- 
 tive functions, and general feverishness. It often happens 
 that when other diseases are pressing upon the vital energies 
 of the horse, this annoyance follows in the train of his mis- 
 fortunes. But these other diseases are usually of those types 
 which are superinduced by the bad management before ad- 
 verted to. Foul air and filth have poisoned the blood and 
 rendered the entire system an easy prey to the first deter- 
 mined assault of any of them. While the horse may be very 
 thin from both poverty and disease, without having scratches, 
 when these causes are combined with standing in filth and 
 mud, or on a great heap of soft, decomposing manure, it 
 will be a wonder of he escapes this pest. The horse that 
 stands in a dry stable, in a clean and well-kept stall, will 
 rarely indeed be troubled with scratches. 
 
 TREATMENT, 
 
 K the horse is in bad condition and thin in flesh, bleed 
 from the neck vein; but should he be weak and feeble, only 
 
218 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 a small quantity — not more than about three pints — of blood 
 must be taken at first, and ten days later, as much, more 
 If his strength has not been reduced, it may do to bleed but 
 once, then taking three quarts of blood. In case his general 
 health is vigorous, it will not be necessary to resort to bleed- 
 ing at all. But this condition will rarely be found in con- 
 nection with scratches. ^ 
 
 The remedy to be applied is as nearly infallible as any 
 thing possibly can be. The corrosive liniment will cure the 
 disease in every stage, and in every condition of the system, 
 and under almost any circumstances. Apply it with a little 
 mop, shaking it up well before using. Turn out about a 
 table-spoonful of it in an earthen cup, and with the mop 
 saturate the affected parts thoroughly. Use the liniment for 
 four days ; then omit for two days, and use again. The hot 
 iron need not be employed to dry it in, as this is one of the 
 cases in which it has more effect while on the surface. 
 
 Keep the horse out of the wet while applying the liniment, 
 or it will do him little good. Feed light; and if it is the 
 time of pasture, he will need no other diet. In winter, give 
 as much green, soft food as can be procured. 
 
 THRUSH. 
 
 This disease is characterized by a continuous discharge of 
 very offensive matter from the frog and heel of the foot. 
 The cleft of the frog is from one-fourth to one-half an inch 
 in depth. The exudation of purulent matter from this re- 
 gion sometimes continues for a long time before the inatten- 
 tive owner becomes aware of it. When thrush has an in- 
 dependent existence as a local disease, it is generally the con- 
 sequence of standing in a damp, wet stable; or it may be 
 produced by injuries of the frog. There is no disease of the 
 horse's foot but may be, and often is, the cause of thrush. 
 
 It is the result of gross negligence and mismanagement 
 in the large majority of cases. It would be a rare vis- 
 itant of our stables if they Were kept cleaner and dryer. 
 The cavalry horse seldom has it, and there is no reason what- 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. . 219 
 
 ever why the farmer should encounter- it any more frequently 
 than the trooper. We trust that to few of our readers the 
 following adyice will be applicable, but those to whom it is 
 can not act upon it too promptly : Throw out the great piles 
 of manure that have been accumulating in your stable, and 
 in which your horse has been so long standing, to the great 
 detriment of his health and vigor, and, instead, give him a 
 good bed of dry straw or sawdust. Do this, and you need have 
 little fear of being compelled to undergo the trouble or an- 
 noyance of treating any cases of this disease. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The corrosive liniment will prove as efficacious for thrush 
 as it is for scratches, if the affection is local and independent 
 of any other. If some other disease of the foot has caused 
 it, cure that first. The liniment should be applied by wet- 
 ting a little string of tow or piece of cloth with it, and press- 
 ing this into the cleft of the frog and the corresponding part 
 of the heel. Do this at night, and remove the tow or cloth 
 the next morning. Thus continue as long as may be neces- 
 sary, with intervals of omission every third or fourth day. 
 
 CRACKED HEELS, OR GREASE. 
 
 This is but another form of the disease, two of whose 
 developments we have already considered. It more nearly 
 resembles thrush, however, than it does scratches. It is en- 
 tirely confined to the back part of the foot, called the heel — 
 a locality that scratches attack much less frequently, but 
 which is the exact seat of thrush. In respect to the puru- 
 lent exudations by which it is accompanied, it is still more 
 like the latter. 
 
 Some other, and perhaps more obscure, disease of the foot 
 is very commonly the origin of this. In numerous instances, 
 it is not a local disease, but an oozing out through the pores 
 of the skin of a thin matter from some deeper-seated ulcera- 
 tion, generally that attending the disease of either the coffin or 
 the navicular joint, which has been described in Chapter IV. 
 
si 
 
 220 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 In most of these cases, the joint last named is the part really 
 affected. But the mischief very often flows from the same 
 external causes referred to in the last two sections — improper 
 stable management, and permitting the horse to stand habit- 
 ually in wet and filth, or on a mass of rotting straw, saturated 
 with the highly alkaline urine. 
 
 It is an established fact in the pathology of diseases, whether 
 of man or beast, that the same causes acting upon the physical 
 system, under different circumstances, may produce quite 
 different results. Hence arises the fact that many diseases 
 belonging to the same class, yet more or less varied in their 
 developments, and designated by totally different names, are 
 often traceable to precisely the same origin. Why this pecul- 
 iar form of disease in the horse's foot should be called " grease," 
 to the exclusion of others of a very similar appearance, is 
 not apparent from any pathological considerations. The 
 same purulent matter is given forth in thrush and foot-evil 
 as in this. These diseases are evidently most closely related. 
 They manifest the Same, or nearly the same, symptoms ; they 
 often run into each other, and may have exactly the same 
 causes ; and the same treatment cures them. One common 
 title, therefore, might be applied to all of them with perfect 
 propriety ; but, for the sake of distinction and greater clear- 
 ness, they are variously named according to their most promi- 
 inent and distinctive symptoms. The most striking pecu- 
 liarity of this disease, and the only one which marks the 
 Doundary between it and the others, is the cracked, open 
 heel. Throughout this work, therefore, it will be called 
 "cracked heels." It will be of decided advantage for our 
 agricultural and veterinary writers to accept this American 
 name, and drop the vague term of English farriers, " grease." 
 
 In the horse's heel, the skin has one peculiarity not dis- 
 coverable in any other part of the body. In its healthy state 
 there is a constant secretion and discharge of an oily fluid 
 from the cellular tissues underneath. This lubricates the much 
 exposed surface, and keeps it soft and pliable. It also pre- 
 vents the skin from becoming dry and hard, as well as from 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. 221 
 
 cracking or chapping, which it is very apt to do. Many 
 causes may operate to obstruct the flow of this oily fluid until 
 it ceases altogether. When this occurs, the skin becomes 
 dry and feverish, with a scurfy, red, and angry appearance. 
 Presently cracks begin to show themselves, from which the 
 long-pent-up oil secretions commence to run ; but instead of 
 being a soft, oily lubricator, it is now changed to a foul,'yel- 
 lowi^ water. If the disease is allowed to run on, the entire 
 heel is transformed into an ulcerated mass of fungous ex- 
 crescences. The flow of matter increases, and it becomes 
 more and more thick, sticky, and ofiensive. Such a develop- 
 ment marks the disease as entirely local, and originating in 
 entirely local causes. 
 
 Cracked heels is not contagious, as many have supposed; 
 yet if one horse has it, the others in the same stable are very 
 likely to exhibit the same condition, sooner or later, because 
 the surroundings of all are nearly identical. Like causes 
 produce like efl:ects. A wet, foul stable, or muddy stable- 
 lot, will be as likely to give this disease to one horse as to 
 another. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 As before intimated, the treatment necessary is similar to 
 that for scratches and thrush. The persevering use of the 
 corrosive linim.ent will cure this disease without fail, if ac- 
 companied by a reasonable degree of care and attention. 
 When the trouble is first discovered, a few applications will 
 be sufficient to remove it. But if the case is one of long 
 standing, it will prove extremely obstinate ; for, by this time, 
 not only will the heels have become badly cracked and a 
 fungous growth have made its appearance, but the general 
 health of the horse will have suffered materially. 
 
 Bleeding will not be required unless the horse is thin in 
 flesh, and in a low state of health from the effects of the dis- 
 ease, in which case bleed once from the neck vein, taking 
 two quarts of blood. Give sulphur and resin every third 
 day, in the proportions of two of the former to one of the 
 
222 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 latter. Four or five doses will be enough — a quarter of a 
 pound at a dose. 
 
 Apply the corrosive liniment with a little mop, until the 
 heel is thoroughly saturated. Shake it well before using, 
 and turn out about a table-spoonful into an earthen cup. It 
 should be applied every other day, until the disease is thor- 
 oughly conquered, and all traces of inflammation, as well as 
 of fungous growth, if any such there were, have entire!/ dis- 
 appeared. The liniment often, forms^ a thick scab upon the 
 skin, so dry and hard that the remedy almost ceases to act. 
 This is a sure sign that the case is progressing to a happy 
 issue. When this occurs, the liniment may be omitted for 
 several days, and the part kept well greased until the scab 
 comes off, when the applications may be resumed. Such a 
 course may be continued as long as necessary. 
 
 Keep the horse out of the rain and wet while the liniment 
 is being used, or, at least, for six hours afterward. The ap- 
 plications had better be made at night. The pasture is the 
 best place for the horse during the day, but he should not 
 be turned upon it until the dew is off in the morning, or the 
 grass has dried after a rain. If at a time of year when there 
 is no pasture, give him as much green, succulent food as can 
 readily be obtained. At night house him in a clean, dry 
 stable. 
 
 The horse must have rest. To work him while thus dis- 
 eased is not only unmerciful, but it may endanger his life, 
 and will most certainly prevent a cure. But men often' say, 
 "I can not do without the services of my horse; they are 
 really indispensable." Very well; we have this only to 
 say: You must take your choice either of getting along with- 
 out him for the little while necessary to effect a cure, or of 
 doing without him altogether, as you certainly will have to 
 do if the disease goes on unchecked. If you keep him at 
 work, you have no right to look for any other result than 
 some local disease that will ruin him forever. 
 
 Of one thing we feel certain : if the owner were half as 
 badly afflicted, he would contrive some means by which to 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EAR 223 
 
 do without his own services until he had recovered. Duty, 
 mercy, and self-interest all plead in favor of a similar exemp- 
 tion of man's faithful servant, the horse, when diseased and 
 suffering. 
 
 A singularly obstinate case of cracked heels was cured by 
 the treatment above prescribed, at the village of Petersburg, 
 Boone County, Kentucky, in the summer of 1866. A young 
 stable horse, belonging to Mr. J. Kelson Green, postmaster 
 at that place, had this disease in a very aggravated form. 
 The case had been treated by a professional veterinarian for 
 some time, and finally given up as incurable. The writer 
 then began treating it with the corrosive liniment. A thick 
 scab was formed presently, but the parts were kept well 
 greased, and by this means it was brought off". The appli- 
 cations were then renewed, with like results and treatment. 
 After the fourth alternation in the use q£ the liniment, the 
 last signs of the disease vanished entirely. 
 
 SWELLED LEGS. 
 
 Another form of disease intimately connected with cracked 
 heels, and in many cases only an extension of it, is that which 
 is appropriately known as swelled legs. The hind and some- 
 times the fore-legs of the horse are subject to an enlarge- 
 ment having its origin in the cellular tissue underlying the 
 skin. This tissue is the thin, white membrane that attaches 
 the skin to the muscles, and extends not only around the 
 legs, but is spread over the entire body. 
 
 Mature has filled all the interstices between the fleshy parts 
 and the outer covering of the body with minute sacs, or close 
 cells, filled with a watery secretion. They constitute the cel- 
 lular tissue, and act as little pads for the skin, which every- 
 where rests upon tThiem. All our readers practically familiar 
 with the operation of skinning a beef mug; have noticed the 
 watery secretions oozing out as the knife has divided the 
 little sacs of the cellular tissue. In many parts of the leg 
 devoid of muscle this tissue is the only substance which in- 
 tervenes between the skin and the hard, unyielding surface 
 
224 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 of the bones ; and hence these parts are peculiarly liable to 
 injury from the effects of blows and concussions. Here wo 
 find these little sacs especially numerous. It is another ex- 
 hibition of the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, which 
 the whole science of anatomy every-where reveals ; and, 
 again, we must admire the incomparable design and perfect 
 finish of every thing in Nature, all which is his handiwork. 
 
 But what was intended as an instrumentality for the horse's 
 protection, under some circumstances, becomes the seat of 
 very great distress and suffering. Terrible inflammations set 
 up in the cellular tissue, the leg becomes dreadfully swollen, 
 and the skin pufts out all around the limb, as though it had 
 been stuffed and pressed out to its utmost tension. The leg 
 grows very lame and stiff, and, after a time, cracks appear, 
 from which exudes a whitish-yellow, watery matter, similar 
 in appearance to that which characterizes cracked heels. The 
 latter are generally, but not always, found in connection with 
 swelled legs, and very often the two diseases run into each 
 other. 
 
 Sometimes the swelling of the legs comes on with aston- 
 ishing rapidity — perhaps in a single night — and then disap- 
 pears almost as suddenly. Such phenomena usually indicates 
 nothing more than sympathy with functional derangement in 
 Bome other part of the horse's frame. The disease has not 
 assumed its chronic form. What has yet occurred is only a 
 premonition of worse things to follow. If these warnings 
 were but understood and heeded, as they should be, a pain- 
 ful and obstinate disease might now easily be averted. 
 
 " Misfortunes never come singly," says the old proverb, and 
 rarely does the history of this complaint tend to disprove its 
 truth. Swelled legs is so intimately associated with other dis- 
 eases that, in many an instance, it is an im*possibility to decide 
 which is the caug^ and which the effect. They are contin- 
 ually running into and aggravating each other. At the root 
 of all of them, however, the careful investigator may discover 
 one of two or three primary diseases, in the great majority 
 of cases. These are the diseases of the navicular and lower 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. 225 
 
 pastern joints, and that most fruitful source of mischief in 
 the horse's limbs, hoof rot. 
 
 All these direful evils that wait upon the horse are stimu- 
 lated, and, in fact, often brought into existence, by both local 
 influences and constitutional tendencies. Under the first 
 head, we include exposure, insufficient or unwholesome food, ^. 
 irregular feeding, hard usage, improper stable management, 0; 
 and a foul atmosphere; under the other, a feeble state of 
 health, impurity of the blood, the presence of fever, and the '^ 
 like. Several of these causes, acting together, can not fail 
 to bring on one or more of these diseases with great celerity. 
 Two of them, indeed, are often enough to do the mischief 
 most efiectually. 
 
 When the disease takes on the form of swelled legs, local 
 inflammation is excited in the cellular membrane. The crack- 
 ing open of the skin is but Nature's mode of discharging the 
 accumulations of diseased water beneath, which ooze out and 
 run down the leg. 
 
 The foregoing we believe to be a fair history of this affec- 
 tion and its many kindred ones. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Nothing can be expected but that the case will prove ob- 
 stinate, and the improvement very gradual. At the begin- 
 ning of the treatment, take three quarts of blood from the 
 neck. vein. Apply the corrosive liniment with a little mop^jr 
 in the same manner as directed for cracked heels; but this' 
 may be done every morning, without any intermission, until 
 the swelling has entirely abated. Give daily a quarter of a 
 pound of sulphur and two ounces of -resin, both finely pul- 
 verized, for three or four days. Put this in some meal or 
 bran, and if the horse does not eat it, let him have no other 
 food until he does. 
 
 His diet should be light and moist, pasture being preferable. 
 Let him have rest, and a good, clean, dry stable, that he may 
 make the most of it. Keep him out of the wet, especially 
 while doctoring him. 
 15 
 
226 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 This treatment may be depended upon to effect a cure. It 
 has done so in a large number of cases where other remedies 
 have entirely failed. 
 
 AN ILLUSTRATIVE CASE. 
 
 In support of the statement just made, the history of one 
 case may be cited, from among numerous reminiscences of a 
 similar character. It occurred in the winter of 1856-57. 
 
 Colonel Jarmon, living in "Wilson County, Tennessee, had 
 a young stable horse afflicted with a swelled leg of fearful 
 dimensions. The disease was developed in its most aggra- 
 vated form. The hind leg had swollen until, from the hock 
 to the hoof, it was a mass of putrid matter. It was badly 
 cracked open, and the yellow, watery discharge was flowing 
 from it abundantly. Yet the general health of the horse 
 was not seriously impaired, and there was but little fever 
 except what arose from the diseased leg. 
 
 The previous history of this attack was a common one. 
 Disease of the foot and bad stables were the sources of all 
 the mischief. The whole list of remedies known in that part 
 of the country had been tried, during several months con- 
 tinuously, but with such utter lack of success that the horse 
 had grown worse and worse, and the general opinion was 
 rapidly settling down into the conviction that it was useless 
 to attempt any further treatment. 
 
 At this juncture. Colonel Jarmon having applied to the 
 author, the corrosive liniment was recommended, and a serv- 
 ant was immediately dispatched to Kashville, where the 
 medicine was prepared, under our direction, and sent out to 
 the farm. Special directions for its use had been given be- 
 fore leaving, and were strictly carried out. The horse was 
 effectually cured, and became as sound and well as ever. 
 
 SWELLED ANKLES. 
 
 • This is an affection of a much milder type than the pre- 
 ceding, and, as its name implies, is confined almost entirely 
 to the ankle joints. It is intimately connected with swelled 
 
DISEA3ES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. 227 
 
 legs, of which it is nearly always a precursor. Some horses 
 are extremely subject to swelled ankles. At night the parts 
 show no signs of enlargement, but in the morning they are 
 much swollen, and manifest a considerable degree of heat. 
 These symptoms disappear before night, and every thing 
 seems right again. This condition of the joints may last for 
 months, and has been known to trouble some horses for years. 
 That it is attended with great uneasiness and some real pain 
 is sufficiently evidenced by the efforts which the horse is con- 
 tinually making to rest his feet, his disposition to lie down, 
 and the. relief which he manifests in doing so. In such cases, 
 a diseased condition of the feet is invariably chargeable with 
 these developments. . 
 
 Less frequently the origin of swelled ankles may be traced 
 to the disease of the navicular and lower pastern joints ; and 
 occasionally it seems to be simply the result of constitutional 
 tendencies — a plethoric condition, a superabundance of blood, 
 in connection with hard work and severe straining. But in 
 nine cases out of ten, the evil proceeds from the hoof rot. 
 The fever and heat arising from the diseased condition of the 
 bottoms of the feet, inflame the membrane of the joint under 
 the skin, and it enlarges while the horse is resting; but ex- 
 ercise restores the healthful action of all the parts, and the 
 swelling disappears. 
 
 If the symptoms of sw^elled ankles are not met by appro- 
 priate treatment, swelled legs, cracked heel, or scratches will 
 be almost certain to supervene, sooner or later. - 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The first thing to be done is to remove the cauSe of the 
 swelling by curing the bottoms of the feet. Apply the cor- 
 rosive liniment to them freely every day for four or five days ; 
 then omit for two or three days, and resume the applications 
 as before. Examine the heels, to see if they show any sore- 
 ness, or whether there is any appearance of thrush. It may 
 be well to apply the liniment to the heel also, to be certain 
 to reach any disease which may possibly be lurking there. 
 
228 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 When the bottoms of the feet are well, the ankles will swell 
 no more. In those rare cases where the swelling proceeds 
 from plethora, bleeding will be proper. 
 
 The best diet will be something relaxing. An alterative 
 will be found beneficial in most cases. For this purpose, the 
 powders mentioned in Section YII, of Chapter XXIV, may 
 be employed. 
 
 SURFEIT. 
 
 Unlike the disorders we have been thus far considering 
 in this chapter, surfeit is a general disease of the skin, in- 
 stead of a local affection. It is usually of a mild type in this 
 country, and seldom does any particular injury; and if the 
 horse can have the privilege of a good pasture, it will gen- 
 erally go away of itself. It generally makes its appearance 
 in the spring, either at the time of shedding, or immediately 
 afterward, when the skin is more nearly bared and exposed 
 than at any other period of the year. 
 
 Surfeit always indicates a thick and impure state of the 
 blood. It is not often an evidence of a settled unhealthful- 
 ness of the general system, or of any chronic disease ; for 
 sometimes the best of horses are troubled with it. But it 
 ♦ does tell, very frequently, of neglectful keeping and poor 
 stables, although horses occasionally have it amid the most 
 favorable surroundings possible. 
 
 The blood being too thick and the circulation too slug- 
 gish, when the hair falls oft", the skin is suddenly exposed to 
 the variations of temperature, and other atmospheric condi- 
 tions, and, perhaps, to cold rains and winds. The horse is 
 chilled, slight inflammation arises, and the cuticle of the skin 
 becomes hard and dry^ from the closing of the pores and the 
 retention of the oily secretions, whose proper office is to 
 moisten and lubricate the surface. Little pustules appear 
 upon the skin, and from the tops of these exudes a thin, 
 whitish, oily matter. It is the long-pent-up unctuous secre- 
 tion which is now escaping, somewhat changed by disease. 
 It flows only in very minute quantities, and not much faster 
 than in health. The little, scabby excrescences which it 
 
DISEASES 'OF THE SKIN AND EABS. 229 
 
 forms upon the skin, thickly cover the shoulders, neck, sides, 
 and the back parts of the fore-legs. 
 
 When the skin is in the feverish condition that often char- 
 acterizes it about th*e time of shedding, a variety of causes 
 may produce a determination to surfeit. The eruptions may 
 be thrown out very suddenly, not only by exposure to cold, 
 but by the horse cooling off very quickly after having been 
 overheated, or by drinking large quantities of water. They 
 sometimes make their appearance in the course of a single 
 night. 
 
 A species of quick surfeit is sometimes the occasion of 
 great alarm to the inexperienced, from the apprehension that 
 it was farcy, by which name surfeit is called by thousands 
 of American farmers at this day ; but it has none of the dis- 
 tinctive symptoms of that fearful scourge. Surfeit may, very 
 rarely, degenerate into farcy, but this can only be when other 
 powerful predisposing causes tend to the same result. A 
 number of other diseases will be more likely to run into 
 farcy than will this simple affection of the skin. This sub- 
 ject has already been adverted to in the section on Farcy, 
 in Chapter Y. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Not much is called for in the way of treatment. Bleed 
 freely, taking three quarts of blood from the neck vein, and 
 give two of the ordinary doses of sulphur and resin. If the 
 case seems obstinate, anoint the surface on which the surfeit- 
 knots have broken out with a mixture of sulphur and lard, 
 a spoonful of each. Do this at night, once or twice. Turn 
 the horse out to pasture, let him have a few days' rest, and 
 all will come out right. • ^ 
 
 MANGE. 
 
 Mange is the only disease into which there is much dan- 
 ger that surfeit may degenerate. They are of the same type, 
 but mange is much more aggravated than the other, and is 
 also highly contagious. They are produced by the same in- 
 
230 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 fluences ; but while surfeit may run into mange, maqge is 
 entirely beyond surfeit. 
 
 This disease is the offspring of negligence and filth, and is 
 generally found in connection with emaciation and poverty. 
 A horse in good condition may have surfeit, but even if the 
 infection of mange should be communicated to him, it will 
 never reduce him to the condition that farmers term mangy. 
 The very idea of mange is universally associated with star- 
 vation, wretchedness, and misery ; and an old, poor, mangy 
 horse, out on the bleak commons or in an old field, tells 
 such a history more plainly than could any words. 
 
 The first appearance of the disease is a scabby eruption 
 of the skin. The cuticle, or scarfskin, becomes broken into 
 little pieces like scales, which peel off*, leaving the parts be- 
 neath raw and sore, and often bleeding. Before this, the 
 hair will have come off, exposing the skin, which presents a 
 dirty, brown appeaj'ance, and is loose, flabby, and puckered. 
 It is covered with sqales, and raw, red spots. A terrible, 
 burning itching accompanies these symptoms, by which the 
 horse is impelled to a continual rubbing, until it seems as if 
 he would tear the skin off. Every-where he rubs he leaves 
 the scurf, or dandruff, and every animal that repeats the ope- 
 ration at the same place is liable to take tne disease, and is 
 very certain to do so if he is poor and feeble. Mange is ex- 
 ceedingly infectious; but, although cattle, hogs, and even 
 dogs m^y receive the disease from horses, it is never com- 
 municated by them to the latter. 
 
 The least contact, however, is sufficient to impart the dis- 
 ease from one horse to another. It is very dangerous to use 
 the same brush or curry-comb for a well horse that is em- 
 ployed in grooming a mangy one, or to make a similar ex- 
 change of collars. Infection seems to be communicated to 
 the stable also, but may easily be counteracted in the man- 
 ner we shall lay down shortly. 
 
 Cases of this disease are more rare than formerly, thanks 
 to the bettered condition of the American horse, from the 
 increasing enlightenment of our farmers. Judging from the 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS., 281 
 
 descriptions which the English veterinarians give of mange, 
 it must exist in a materially worse form in Great Britain and 
 on the continent than in this country. So mild are many 
 cases here, that a single hleeding, with the run of a good 
 pasture, will bring about a cure almost without medication 
 or other treatment of any sort. 
 
 The disease may be successfully treated in all its stages, 
 but will hold out in proportion to the length of time it has 
 been running, and the reduction of flesh, strength, and vigor 
 which it has occasioned. A lean, emaciated, mangy horse 
 it is a no small task to cure, while one with tolerable flesh 
 and scarcely impaired health will recover with the aid of 
 but very light treatment. 
 
 In the case of the poor, feeble animal, liie disease is con- 
 stitutional. It has been brought into being by poverty and 
 debility,- by the lack of a suflScient degree of vital energy to 
 throw out the unctuous secretions to the surface of the skin. 
 It aftects the blood and general system to a sad extent. 
 Constitutional remedies will here prove absolutely essential. 
 In the case of the horse in a passable condition of health and 
 strength, mange is the result of infection only, and extends 
 its effects little, if at all, beyond the skin itself. Local treat- 
 ment will readily remove it, and, as before intimated, the 
 forces of iN'ature will sometimes prove almost sufficient to 
 throw it off without additional assistance. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Bleed the horse in proportion to the hold which the dis- 
 ease seems to have secured upon the system. We do not 
 believe, with the majority of writers, that moderate bleeding 
 of the horse, while diseased, tends to enfeeble him. Our ex- 
 perience leads to an entirely opposite conclusion. We have 
 repeatedly taken the diseased horse when so low that he 
 could not rise to his feet without help, and, after bleeding 
 him freely, have seen him begin to amend from that time, and 
 continue to improve until quite well. This subject will be more 
 fully discussed in the section on Bleeding, in Chapter XV. 
 
282 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Bleeding, then, is indispensable — one time in a moderate 
 case, and twice in an extreme one. Three quarts will be 
 about the average quantity of blood to be taken, which should 
 be from the neck vein. If a second bleeding is resorted to, 
 it should be ten days after the first. 
 
 Anoint the entire mangy surface with the mercurial salve, 
 applying it with a little mop or rag, and rub it in thor- 
 oughly. Use as small a quantity of salve as can be made to 
 effect the purpose intended, which is to spread a thin coat- 
 ing of it over the entire skin. As a general thing, one ap- 
 plication will be enough. If it is necessary to repeat it, 
 however, wash off the mangy surface with strong soap and 
 water, and, as soon as the skin is dry, apply the salve again, 
 as before. 
 
 Another remedy is to make a salve by using equal parts 
 of the corrosive liniment, sulphur, and lard. These, well 
 mixed, and applied as directed in the last paragraph for the 
 mercurial salve, will effectually kill the mange. The corro- 
 sive liniment should be well shaken before being turned out. 
 It will be better to use a very little of this ointment and rub 
 it in thoroughly, than to apply a much larger quantity with- 
 out the rubbing. 
 
 The next step in the treatment will be to give the old and 
 reliable remedy, sulphur and resin. A quarter of a pound 
 of sulphur and two ounces of very finely pulverized resin 
 will constitute the dose. Give this every third day, for a 
 period of twelve or fifteen days. 
 
 After this, the best medicine will be that furnished by a 
 good, green pasture, which will do more to "bring out" a 
 mangy horse than any thing else in the world. At night put 
 him up in a dry, clean stable, and let him have plenty of oats 
 or chop-feed. Poverty has been the cause of the mischief. 
 You should labor to improve his condition and flesh. Fill 
 out his flabby, puckered skin with sound, healthy muscle, 
 and mange will disappear. It can not live and flourish in 
 connection with proper care and a good condition of the 
 horse. 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. - ^g^ 
 
 As regards infection, all danger will cease as soon as the 
 salve has been applied. The stables should be washed with 
 strong lye or a decoction of tobacco. A solution of sulphur, 
 or chloride of lime and water, will form an excellent substi- 
 tute for this purpose. Any one of these will entirely destroy 
 the infection. 
 
 If a horse, in good condition, has taken the disease by 
 rubbing after a mangy companion, the bleeding may be 
 omitted altogether. The remainder of the treatment should 
 be carried out, except that, in his case, only two doses of 
 sulphur and resin need be given. 
 
 HIDE-BOUND. 
 
 This is a skin disease of a peculiar character. Although 
 similar to the mange in respect to the causes which produce 
 it, it is neither an infectious nor an eruptive disorder, and 
 the condition of the skin is the very reverse of flabby and 
 puckered. The flow of the unctuous, lubricating fluid through 
 the pores is entirely suspended, and the hide becomes dry and 
 hard, not unlike what it would be if it were taken ofi" and 
 hung upon the fence to dry. While hide-bound is a very 
 distinctive name, the term dry-hide would be equally appro- 
 priate, or perhaps still more so. 
 
 It is an affection not only of the cellular membrane, and 
 the watery secretions contained in its little sacs, but also of 
 the skin itself. Not long does this remain dry and hard be- 
 fore it loses all its flexibility. It adheres closely, almost im- 
 movably, to the ribs, the legs, the neck, and, in fact, to every 
 portion of the .body; and it becomes utterly impossible to 
 gather it up in folds with the hand, as one can easily do 
 when the horse is in health. The hair, robbed of that bright- 
 ness and glossiness which is its peculiar beauty in the ar- 
 rangements of ITature, looks dry and dingy, like the hair 
 upon a dead hide. 
 
 Hide-bound indicates a diseased condition of the system, 
 generally from derangement of the vital functions. The 
 blood is thick, dark, and feverish, and the circulatory and se- 
 
234 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 cretive processes morbidly and duggishly performed. How 
 greatly digestion is impaired is shown by the appearance of 
 the excrement, which is dry, hard, and black. 
 
 It is not so much itself a disease as it is the fearful eftects 
 of some other disorder raging in the animal's system. It is 
 an invariable accompaniment of big head. Glanders will 
 produce it, and so will farcy, founder, and distemper. Bad 
 cases of swinney, big shoulder, and lock-jaw, have this among 
 their final developments. The fever which attends these 
 dreadful complaints dries up the watery secretions of the 
 system, and the hide shrinks and shrivels closely to the 
 body. 
 
 , , TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment will be prolonged and tedious, and will be 
 productive of results but slowly. Especial attention must be 
 paid to the disease which has brought on such a condition 
 of the skin, and not until that has been cured can we hope 
 for a favorable change in respect to the latter. The predis- 
 posing disease, whatever it may be, must be treated directly, 
 as prescribed elsewhere, in its proper place. 
 
 Bleed three times, at intervals of ten days. The first time, 
 take four quarts of blood ; afterward, two. Give the "jim- 
 son" seed- every third day, until the stiffness has been en- 
 tirely removed. Of this a table-spoonful is the proper dose. 
 Let the horse have plenty of sulphur and resin, in the usual 
 proportions. Especial attention must be bestowed upon the 
 horse's diet and to stable regulations. Instructions have been 
 so fully given in regard to these points in the preceding sec- 
 tions of this chapter, that there can be no necessity for re- 
 peating them here. Pasturing will do more than medica- 
 tion to cure hide-bound. 
 
 STIFF COMPLAINT. 
 
 This seems to be a disease almost peculiar to the Southern 
 States. It is another and aggravated development of the 
 symptoms of hide-bound. The skin is dreadfully dry and 
 
■'*■■' 
 
 DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. 235 
 
 contracted, fitting so closely about the joints that they lose 
 their suppleness and grow so stiff that the horse can not 
 mo^^e them without painful exertion. The muscles and ten- 
 dons, especially those of the legs, become stiff, and fairly seem 
 to contract. The horse's movements, thus seriously retarded, 
 are dull, heavy, and stumbling. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Bleed copiously from the neck vein, removing at least a 
 gallon of blood. This will relax the system and stimulate 
 the lagging or suspended functions of Secretion. The ne- 
 cessity for bleeding arises, not from a superabundance of 
 blood, but from its diseased condition, which retards it proper 
 circulation, and eventuates in more or less of fever and 
 inflammation. The absorbents of the system act .with such 
 diflSculty that medication is of little service as a means of 
 purifying the blood. In fact, our experience has convinced 
 us that alteratives, so called, do more harm than good during 
 such a *state of suspended functions; for they can not be 
 taken up in any quantities and conveyed into the circulation, 
 but linger in the stomach and intestinal canal, which they 
 irritate, and tbns, instead of allaying fever, actually excite it. 
 The benefit of bleeding is that it prepares tne way for alter- 
 atives to act promptly and energetically. 
 
 Bleed copiously two or three times, as directed for hide- 
 bound, the blood being permitted to flow until it changes 
 from a dark, almost black, color to a bright, healthful red, 
 or until the pulse falters. This course will relax the system, 
 and relieve the vessels of their impure, turgid blood. 
 
 The "jimson" seed, which is perhaps the most powerful- 
 alterative in the world, meets this case exactly. It enters 
 freely and rapidly into the blood, relaxes the capillaries, opens 
 the pores, and sends out the retarded secretions to soften the 
 skin once more. Give a table-spoonful of the seed, each 
 morning, in some meal or bran, until the patient gets better. 
 Let the horse have an abundance of sulphur and resin at the 
 same time, the ordinary dose every other day, in some meal 
 
236 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 or bran, which compel him to eat by giving nothing else until 
 it is gone. • 
 
 A horse with stiff complaint must have rest. ]N"o one pos- 
 sessed of any feeling would put such an animal to service, 
 when every movement must give him pain. 
 
 WARTS. 
 
 These are little tumors or excrescences, of various sizes and 
 shapes, that come upon the horse's skin, generally accom- 
 panying plethora, high feeding, and limited exercise. Young 
 horses are oftener annoyed by them than older ones. Jacks 
 are* seldom free from them. They are of two kinds — seed 
 and blood warts. 
 
 Seed warts are generally small, and usually make their 
 appearance on the eyelids, the nose, and the sheath, and ad- 
 joining portions of the belly. They grow in patches, and 
 have little hard points, or grains, which are known by the 
 name of seeds. They have a connection with the cuticle, 
 and extend downward to the cellular membrane, which is 
 the source of supply to their growth. At the base of each seed,' 
 where it has its origin in this membrane, is what is popularly 
 called its root, which must be destroyed in order to remove 
 the wart. Seed warts indicate a morbid condition of the 
 humors of the skin, but do very little harm, and often go 
 away of themselves. 
 
 Blood warts are more serious affairs. They are a fungous 
 growth of flesh from the cellular membrane, are of a spongy 
 texture, and filled with little vessicles from which blood ex- 
 udes freely upon every slight irritation. Their favorite loca- 
 tions are the hock and knee-joints and the pasterns. Some- 
 times they are found upon the sheath and neighboring parts. 
 They are most numerous upon those surfaces where there is 
 unusual irritation, or where foulness of any kind is permitted 
 to collect; but, like seed warts, they have been known to 
 grow on all parts of the body. 
 
 The blood wart is always disposed to spread and enlarge, 
 and on the knee or pastern will sometimes extend entirely 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS."^' 237 
 
 around the joint. When one makes its appearance, it is to 
 be regarded as only the harbinger of many more. In the 
 winter of 1858-9, we saw a wart on the pastern of the hind 
 leg of a horse, encircling the whole joint, which was nearly 
 twenty inches in circumference. It consisted of ^ve or six 
 excrescences of different sizes, each of them very sore, raw, 
 and bleeding. The animal was a fine young mare, of good 
 size and form, but at that time feverish and in quite low 
 condition. 
 
 The blood wart is occasionally found hanging in the form 
 of a pellet, connected with the skin by a neck or stem. When 
 this is the case, it is easily removed. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 If the wart is of the kind mentioned in the last paragraph, 
 tie a waxed cord around the little stem of the waft as tightly 
 as it can be .drawn. This completely stops the circulation, 
 and, of course, cuts off all nutrition; and, in a few days, the 
 stem will separate from its connection, so that the wart will 
 drop off. 
 
 In treating other warts, a strong solution of caustic potash 
 will be the best remedy for eating down the excrescence and 
 killing the seed. Take of crude potash about one pound, and, 
 after allowing it to remain exposed to the air until it dissolves, 
 add a small quantity of water. Touch the end of the wart 
 each morning — or, still better, each morning and evening — 
 with this solution, by means of a little mop. After each ap- 
 plication, the dead matter on the top of the wart should be 
 scraped or thoroughly washed off before making another. 
 Three or four days will be long enough to use the solution 
 continuously. Then omit two days, and apply again as before. 
 
 Great caution will be necessary, not only in confining the 
 application to the wart, but also to prevent the potash from 
 afterward spreading to the healthy surface adjoining. Severe 
 sores have sometimes resulted from a careless use of this 
 powerful caustic. To guard against the possibility of such 
 injuries, take a thick piece of paper and cut a hole through 
 
238 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 it of the exact size of the wart, and, having lain it upon the 
 latter so that the top of the wart will protrude through the 
 opening, apply the caustic solution, as before directed. A still 
 better method, and the one which should always be pursued 
 in cases of blood warts, is to surround the wart with a coat 
 of tallow for about half an inch, on all sides, and then apply 
 the caustic. 
 
 For blood warts, the application may be continued each 
 morning and evening, without intermission, until they are 
 destroyed. Sometimes the wart will bleed too freely while 
 undergoing this treatment, and, in very extreme cases, it 
 may be necessary to check this by searing with a hot iron. 
 After this, suspend treatment for two or three days. Should 
 the legs swell badly, as they often do, intermit the applica- 
 tions in the same way. As a rule, however, the practition- 
 er's efforts for eradicating .blood warts can not well be too 
 vigorously prosecuted. In very bad cases, he should begin 
 by bleeding, in order .to relieve the overloaded vessels ; and 
 he might profitably substitute diluted nitric acid for the so- 
 lution of potash. But this must be handled with the utmost 
 .possible caution, following the directions above given. 
 
 As soon as the wart is properly reduced, apply a small 
 quantity of the corrosive liniment, each morning, with a 
 little mop. Continue thus for four days; then omit for as 
 many more, and apply again. During the periods of inter- 
 mission, the wart should be kept well greased, coal oil being 
 better for this purpose than any thing else. Before applying 
 the liniment again, the oil* or grease must be thoroughly 
 washed off with soap and water. 
 
 The removal of small seed warts will not require such vig- 
 orous measures as those above laid down. Bleeding from the 
 neck vein, with two or three doses of sulphur and resin, will 
 generally exterminate these little fellows. Sometimes they 
 disappear without treatment of any kind. Unless they come 
 on the joints, they are not worth troubling about. The 
 usual diminutive seed warts on the nose and eyelids may be 
 suffered to remain undisturbed. 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EABS. 239 
 
 ^N'ot SO with the blood wart, however small its first ap- 
 pearance. Attack this at once, for now it may be easily 
 conquered, while continued neglect ma}^ enable it to attain 
 such strength and vigor as to defy all treatment. 
 
 Some danger attends cutting off a large w^art, from* the 
 obstinate hemorrhage which may ensue. Only the searing 
 will close the vein in such a case, and this may give rise to 
 a dreadful inflammation. 
 
 SORE NOSE. 
 
 The noses of many horses are sometimes discovered to be 
 sore, and incrusted with scabs, when no other disease is ap- 
 parent. This condition may be the result of constitutional 
 debility; but it is, in the Southern States, more frequently 
 produced by a certain poisonous weed that grows in those 
 latitudes, and which, from its peculiar effects upon "the horse, 
 is there known as "sneeze-weed." It is a plant, growing 
 about one and a half feet high, and stands very thickly 
 upon the ground, which, at some seasons, is covered with 
 the old petals of its yellow blossoms and the leaves which 
 fall from its stalks. The tine particles of these the horse 
 snuffs up into his nose, when grazing near the weed, and 
 they create sores upon the outside of the nostril. Especially 
 is this the case when the animal feeds in such places early 
 in the morning, before the dew is gone. At that time, the 
 green weed itself will poison the nose. Young colts are the 
 most easily affected by these agencies, and very often have 
 noses perfectly covered with scabs. At one time, the opin- 
 ion was almost universal at the South that " sneeze-weed " 
 would kill, not only horses, but even cattle; but, although 
 extremely poisonous, there is no sufficient ground for believ- 
 ing it to be so deadly as this. 
 
 The nose is frequently j)oisoned by other weeds and vines, 
 many of which, though perfectly harmless when taken into 
 the stomach, will seriously irritate and fester the skin. The 
 "jimson weed" will poison the nose of cattle and sheep as 
 well as of horses ; and yet all of them have been known to 
 
240 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 eat quantities of both its leaves and buds, not only witboul 
 detriment, but with positive benefit to health. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The mercurial salve will be the proper remedy in this case. 
 Apply a very thin coat of it to the sore parts, and rub it in 
 well with a little mop. It may be best to mix the salve with 
 equal parts of lard and sulphur before using it thus. Anoint 
 the parts each morning, until the sores and scabs are all 
 gone. 
 
 SADDLE GALLS. 
 
 Nothing is more common than for the back of the horse 
 to become chafed and raw from the unequal pressure of the 
 saddle; and sometimes this condition continues until trouble- 
 some tumors are formed. After a time, these break, and dis- 
 charge considerable quantities of matter. The same conse- 
 quences may proceed from the severe pressure of other por- 
 tions of the harness besides the saddle. 
 
 These injuries of the back have taken different names, ac- 
 cording to the various phases which they assume, from the 
 first chafing of the skin to the final ulceration of the tumor. 
 Patches of skin, under the saddle, often appear dead and 
 destitute of blood, and these are called "warbles." When 
 they ulcerate and discharge pus, they are termed " sit-fasts." 
 After the tumor has gone, the saddle is often replaced too 
 soon, before the parts have entirely healed, and while there 
 is yet considerable tenderness. The rubbing now occasions 
 a hard, almost horny excrescence, and this has strangely re- 
 ceived the name of " navel gall," in consequence of its loca- 
 tion upon the back, opposite the navel. 
 
 So many names, for what is substantially the same trouble, 
 tend to confusion, and are certainly altogether unnecessary. 
 Saddle galls they all were in the beginning, and saddle galls 
 they may be appropriately designated under all after devel- 
 opments. 
 
# 
 
 • .4- 
 
 DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. 241 
 
 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment will necessarily vary somewhat, according 
 to the circumstances in which the horse, and the person 
 using him, happen to be placed. If at home, the first and 
 essential thing to do is to let the animal rest. Do not put 
 a saddle on him until he is entirely well. In all stages of 
 the complaint, use the corrosive liniment, which will readily 
 heal the sore, in all cases, if the horse is exempt from serv- 
 ice under the s.addle. Continue to apply it daily, with a 
 little mop, always drying it in well with a hot iron, until 
 the cure is completed. 
 
 But it may be the traveler's misfortune, when far away 
 from home, to find that the back of his horse has become 
 badly galled with the saddle, and this in warm weather 
 especially; or perhaps the skin of the back is scalded from 
 the use of a woolen blanket, forming a worse sore than even 
 saddle galls. At any rate, his horse is in no condition to 
 bear the saddle ; yet he must ride the poor creature, or else 
 dispose of him at a sacrifice, and hurry forward by some 
 other mode of conveyance. In such a predicament, the 
 knowledge of some means, either to cure the sore back or 
 to remove pressure from it, when the saddle is being worn, 
 would be not merely of pecuniary benefit, but, to every hu- 
 mane person, it would prove a source of real pleasure. 
 
 Such means we can easily suggest. As soon as the con- 
 dition of the back is discovered, wash the sore with clean, 
 cold w^ater, and, when dry, cover it entirely over with a 
 piece of adhesive plaster. This must first be heated, of 
 course, until the salve with which it is coated has been 
 melted, and it must then be applied as quickly as possible, 
 and pressed down with the hands. The best plan is to carry 
 «ome live coals from the fire, or a hot iron, close to the 
 horse, and there heat the plaster. If the back is greatly 
 swollen, and matter has formed, cut a hole in the center of 
 the plaster, before putting it on, so that the matter can 
 escape readily. 
 16 
 
 IL 
 
242 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Such a plaster will eotirely prevent the friction of the 
 saddle or blanket, while the salve upon it is very healing. 
 It also excludes the air, and is almost equivalent to a new 
 piece of skin. Using it thus is emphatically patching the 
 horse's back. Should the plaster come 8ff, apply another 
 immediately. If an ulcerated sore has formed, either a hole 
 may be cut in the blanket, so as to relieve the part from 
 pressure, or the blanket may be folded in such a manner 
 as to lift the saddle from the sore entirely. 
 
 With this treatment, the horse may be ridden constantly, 
 and the saddle gall will not only grow no worse, but will 
 slowly heal. But it can be recommended only in the case 
 we have supposed. When the horse can be at home, no 
 saddle should be allowed to touch his back until it is quite 
 well again. 
 
 IN JURIES < OF THE EAB. 
 
 Among the many cruelties practiced upon the horse is 
 that of pinching and pulling the ears. If the animal is rest- 
 less or fractious while shoeing, many blacksmiths have a 
 fashion of taking hold of the ear with their pincers; and 
 should he rebel against such usage, he is pulled by the ear 
 with all the strength which the smith can exert, or that of 
 some assistant who holds him while the shoe is being fast- 
 ened. Other persons habitually pursue the same course when 
 they wish to control a wild or fractious horse. 
 
 By such means the ear is often badly injured, and the ten- 
 dons which sustain it in its erect position being broken, it 
 drops down to one side. The horse no longer has any con- 
 trol over it, and it flaps about with every motion of the 
 head and neck. Serious ulcers are sometimes the conse- 
 quences of these lesions of the muscles and cartilages of the 
 ear; and cases have occurred where the same causes proi 
 duced a running sore, similar to poll-evil, on the upper side 
 of the ear, near the head. 
 
 But these abuses occasionally result in still graver disorders. 
 Ulcers have been formed in the cavities of the ear within 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. 243 
 
 the head, especially from blows inflicted upon the latter at 
 the origin of the ear. Some persons are so ill-tempered and 
 furious that, if the horse does not obey the slightest intima- 
 tions of their will, they rush for the nearest cudgel, and 
 commence beating him over the head. 
 
 Permanent deafness is not unfrequently caused by such 
 violence. There are many horses in this country either 
 w^holly or partially deaf in one or both ears. How^ common 
 it is to find horses that seem never to hear any commands 
 unless given in a very loud tone of voice, and then they 
 start suddenly, as though only just conscious of having been 
 spoken to. Sometimes the hearing is perfect upon one side, 
 but on the other it is gone entirely. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 If the trouble is all upon the outside, the treatment for fis- 
 tula should be employed. If there is nothing more than a 
 swelling or tumor just beginning, apply the corrosive lini- 
 ment; but use the May-apple liniment when matter is al- 
 ready forming. Should there be an abscess on the outside, 
 open it at its lower extremity, and let the lancet slant up- 
 ward into the tumor. 
 
 In case the injury is within the cavities of the head, little 
 can be done either to relieve or cure. Sometimes, however, 
 relief can be given by ejecting into the ear, with a small 
 syringe or pipe, a small quantity of the eye-wash, prepared 
 as directed in Chapter XXIV. The case will assuredly prove 
 a very obstinate one. A fatal termination is not impossible, 
 w^hile deafness is a very probable result. 
 
 SORE EARS. 
 
 Scabby or mangy eruptions sometimes make their appear- 
 ance on the tips of the ear, and spread downward until that 
 whole member is covered with them. These constitute a 
 genuine skin disease, resembling several other cutaneous 
 eruptions described more fully in the preceding sections of 
 this chapter. . > . 
 
244 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Make^3ome good strong soap-suds, with which wash off 
 the ear, and then anoint with the sulphur ointment. Give 
 this a thorough trial, and if a cure is not eftected, apply a 
 very little of the mercurial salve once a day, for two or three 
 days. Omit for about the same period, and apply again. But 
 it will rarely be necessary to use this salve. 
 
 VERMIN. 
 
 This is a very appropriate connection in which to intro- 
 duce the subject of vermin, those pests which, in some form 
 or other, torment every class of the animal creation. Here- 
 tofore, vermin have generally been supposed to infest only 
 the horse which was very poor and in bad plight generally ; 
 but during and since the late war, we have known them to 
 trouble a great many animals in excellent condition. In such 
 cases they hav^ probably been only the offspring of chance 
 comers, originally bred elsewhere. 
 
 On poor, mangy horses, these pests do undoubtedly breed. 
 They are one of the curses which attend bad stabling, foul 
 air, filth, and negligence. Although they may appear on 
 horses that run in pasture, in nine cases out of ten they are 
 bred in illy-managed stables, and are almost invariably the 
 associates of impurities and squalid poverty. They always 
 evidence a lack of proper currying, and negligence in respect 
 to keeping both the horse and stable clean. 
 
 They are generally worse in the early spring, just before 
 the hair is shed; but, unless removed, they often cling to 
 many old carcasses all the year. Old horses are more troubled 
 with them than the young and vigorous. They are the tor- 
 ment especially of the colt, during his first winter, and many 
 a poor, thin, half-dead yearling has been reduced to that con- 
 dition by these crawling nuisances. To' their presence the 
 farmer may often trace the lean unthrifty condition of his 
 colt, that is otherwise inexplicable. 
 
 In some cases they are the ofifepring of disease, and too 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. 245 
 
 commonly are the cause of it; for no animal can long re- 
 main healthy while thus infested. Surfeit, mange, and hide- 
 bound, and perhaps some other affections, are always aggra- 
 vated by them. . v 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 If the horse has no chronic or seated disease, vermin may 
 be destroyed by simply greasing the hair with the mercurial 
 salve, or the precipitate or sulphur ointment. Tobacco will 
 kill them, but it will come too near killing the horse also, to 
 be a desirable remedy. 
 
 In connection with whatever ointment may be used, the 
 horse should be well dosed with sulphur and resin. Three 
 table-spoonfuls of sulphur and one of finely-pulverized resin 
 may be given in the feed every other day. 
 
 A change from the stable to the pasture will be the best 
 medicine after this; but if this can not be afforded the horse, 
 let him have a diet abundant, wholesome, and relaxing. 
 
 In all skin affections, where alteratives are needed, the 
 preparation mentioned in Section YII, of Chapter XXIV, 
 may be used with advantage. It will do as a substitute for 
 the sulphur and resin, in some cases, and still oftener, per- 
 haps, in connection with them. 
 
246 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 ^ CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 The brain and nervous system of the horse, like those of 
 the human being, are subject to a variety of disorders \ but 
 in this country much less frequently, we are led to believe, 
 than in Europe. Some of these diseases result from injuries; 
 others are due to local derangement in the cerebral region it- 
 self; and a third class proceed from a disturbed condition of 
 the nervous system generally. Injuries of the brain nearly 
 always terminate in death. 
 
 In a large majority of cases, where the brain of the horse 
 is affected, compression is a principal cause, or, at least, the 
 very marked accompaniment, of disease. Compression of the 
 brain may be of three kinds — of the bones, of water, and of 
 blood. Bony enlargements occasionall}^ form upon the inner 
 surface of the cranial bones, and, pressing inwardly upon the 
 brain, produce spasms and death. Similar eftects are some- 
 times caused by brutal or heedless blows upon the* head, es- 
 pecially that of the colt, in whom the bones are yet soft and 
 flexible. 
 
 WATER ON THE BRAIN. 
 
 This constitutes the watery compression. It is the collec- 
 tion of a viscid fluid between the membranes or the ventricles 
 and passages of the brain. In the mature hprse this affec- 
 tion occurs but seldom, but it is a not uncommon ailment 
 of young colts. It nearly always produces deformity, and 
 usually considerable enlargement of the head. The colt gen- 
 erally dies at the time of foaling, or soon afterward, but iu 
 some cases lingers along for some months. 
 
 We know of no remedy for water on the brain. Occasion- 
 ally, the forces of Nature may prove sufficient to overcome 
 
DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 247 
 
 the difficulty, but this is more than the owner ever has any 
 right to calculate upon. 
 
 APOPLEXY. 
 
 Apoplexy is caused by the pressure of blood upon the 
 brain, and is common in the human subject. It is rarely 
 recognized in the veterinary practice of the farmer, and he 
 would probably be surprised to know, how many horses die 
 of it yearly. The animal's death is usually attributed to some 
 other disease, and the treatment pursued, being in accordance 
 with the erroneous diagnosis, in nine cases out of ten, aids 
 materially in hastening a fatal result. Perhaps nearly one 
 fourth of those severe attacks of disease which go among the 
 masses by the name of hots, is really apoplexy ; and we ven- 
 ture the opinion that in the I^Torthern States, as well as in 
 Europe and other grass-growing countries, the'disorder w^hich 
 the schools, the veterinary practitioner, and the farmer all 
 alike call staggers is, in a very large majority of instances, no 
 other than the same disease. As we have elsewhere stated, 
 that awful scourge of the Southern States, blind staggers, 
 is not known north of about the latitude of thirty-six. 
 
 Apoplexy does not often attack any other than the horse in 
 very plethoric condition. Sometimes it may result from 
 other diseases ; and the animal which has been greatly over- 
 tasked and reduced in flesh, and then kept for a time with 
 nothing to do, and an abundance of high feed, will undoubt- 
 edly be a proper subject for it. Young colts, while teething, 
 are rather apt to be troubled with it also. But, after all, 
 plethora, with its usual accompaniments of high feeding and 
 limited exercise, constitutes by far the most frequent cause 
 of apoplexy. 
 
 Happily, notions now prevail very diflerent from those 
 which fonnerly obtained, in relation to the condition of flesh 
 most conducive to the horse's beauty, utility, and health. It 
 is not now esteemed desirable that the animal should be made 
 fat enough for the butcher, nor that it is even safe to keep 
 him housed up nearly all the time without exercise. 
 
*• 
 
 248 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Apoplexy is always characterized by giddiness and wild- 
 ness of motion, and nearly always by a staggering gait. 
 Hence, the reason why it is so frequently mistaken for stag- 
 gers. Its severe symptoms, in the next stage, are profuse 
 sweating ; a trembling of the whole frame, and especially of 
 the knees ; a wild, wistful look, and a twitching of the skin 
 and jerking of the ears. The majority of farmers, and half 
 the modern horse doctors, would pronounce these symptoms 
 indicative of bots, and would fill the poor creature's stomach 
 with quantities of nauseous drugs, for the purpose of making 
 the hot " let go his hold," but which only increases the suffer 
 ing, if indeed they do not actually cause death. 
 
 All this is sheer nonsense. The horse needs no medicine; 
 the condition of his system precludes their use at this stage. 
 His suffering proceeds from a nervous agitation ; for the 
 whole system of nerves is dreadfully disturbed, and the 
 brain — the great sensorium of nervous power — is fearfully 
 compressed. There has been a great and sudden determina- 
 tion of blood to the head. The whole cerebral tissue of 
 nerves and blood-vessels has become terribly congested. The 
 brain, first benumbed by the compression of the engorged 
 vessels, is next paralyzed, and its functions are suspended, 
 and then the final external symptoms of the disease are loss 
 of sensation and voluntary motion. 
 
 The cause of this flow of blood to the head, is not a 
 changed or a diseased condition of the brain itself. General 
 contraction of the vascular system has forced undue qan titles 
 of blood into its large receptacles ; or it may be that violent 
 external pressure, such as that of a tightly-fitting collar, has 
 impeded the return of the blood from the brain to the heart. 
 The accumulation of fat, or an excessive growth of flesh 
 throughout the body, along the channels of the blood-vessels, 
 is apt to produce such a contraction of their walls, while, in 
 addition to this, it is always accompanied by a great fullness 
 of blood. For these reasons, it is dangerous to overfeed and 
 pamper any animal. 
 
 Not only is there too much blood, but it is too thick, and 
 
DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 249 
 
 of an unnaturally deep red, almost, brown color. By the 
 contraction of the vessels, this turbid blood is thrown back 
 upon the heart in larger quantities than that organ can dis- 
 pose of it. The heart becomes full, and can contain no 
 more ; the blood returning from the brajn can not move 
 forward; the jugular vein at the side of the neck is swollen 
 to its utmost capacity; the vessels of the brain, dreadfully 
 distended, press violently upon its soft substance ; the blood 
 is stilled; nervous action is suspended, and the horse falls 
 down in death. 
 
 All this may not consume more time than we have occu- 
 pied in telling it, but sometimes it is the work of hours. The 
 condition that has induced the attack may have been de- 
 veloping for months or years. One who feeds his horse very 
 high, until the animal is very fat, and, meanwhile, allowed 
 but little exercise, need not be surprised, on going to the 
 stable some morning, to find his favorite dead or dying from 
 apoplexy. 
 
 The attack comes on without much warning, sometimes 
 with none at all. When the farmer'l "bots" or "staggers" 
 takes on the features described above, the case is a grave 
 one. 
 
 One effect of this disease merits particular notice, and this 
 is the extent to which the eyes often suffer, even w^hen the 
 apoplectic symptoms have been comparatively mild. Not a 
 few cases of eye diseases, and some of actual blindness, have 
 their origin in attacks of apoplexy. Says Youatt : " It is 
 not the common blindness from cataract, but a peculiarly 
 glassy appearance of the eye. If the history of these blind 
 horses could be told, it would be found that they had been 
 subject to tits of drooping and dullness, and these produced 
 by absurd management respecting labor and food." 
 
 The symptoms and developments of apoplexy we have 
 already described, in great measure ; but Youatt's treatment 
 of the same subject is so full and satisfactory, that we can 
 not forego the pleasure of spreading the passages before our 
 readers: 
 
250 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 " The horse is a little off his feed ; he is more tl^n usually 
 dull ; there is a degree of stupidity about him, and, generally, 
 a somewhat staggering gait. This goes off when he has 
 been out a little while, but it soon returns under a more de- 
 cided character, until, at length, it forces itself on the atten- 
 tion of- the most careless. 
 
 " The actual illness is perhaps first recognized by the horse 
 standing with his head depressed. It bears upon, or is forced 
 against the manger or the wall, and a considerable part of 
 the weight of the animal is evidently supported by this pres- 
 sure of the head. As he thus stands, he is balancing him- 
 self from one side to the other, as if he were ready to fall ; 
 and it is often dangerous to stand near to him, or to move 
 him, for he falls without warning. If he can get his muzzle 
 into a corner, he will sometimes continue there motionless 
 for a considerable time, and then drop as if he were shot ; 
 but, the next moment, he is up again, with his feet almost 
 in the rack. He sleeps, or seems to do so, as he stands, or 
 at least he is nearly or quite unconscious of surrounding ob- ^ 
 jects. When he is rohsed, he looks vacantly around him. 
 Perhaps he will take a lock of hay, if it is offered to him ; 
 but, ere it is half masticated, the eye closes, and he sleeps 
 again, with the food in his mouth. Soon afterward he is, 
 perhaps, roused once more. The eye opens, but it has an 
 unmeaning glare. The hand is moved before him, but the 
 eye closes not; he is spoken to, but he hears not. The list 
 act of voluntary motion which he will attempt is usually to 
 drink ; but he has little power over the muscles of deglutition, 
 and the fluid returns through the nostrils. 
 
 " He now begins to foam at the mouth. His breathing is 
 laborious and loud. It is performed by the influence of the 
 organic nerves, and those of animal life no longer lend their 
 aid. The pulse is slow and oppressed; the jugular vein is 
 distended almost to bursting; the muzzle is cold, and the 
 discharge of the faeces involuntary; he grinds his teeth; 
 twitchings steal over his face and attack his limbs — they 
 sometimes proceed to convulsions, and dreadful ones, too, in 
 
DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 251 
 
 which the horse beats himself about in a terrible manner — 
 but there is rarely disposition to do mischief. In the greater 
 number of cases, these convulsions last not long. All the 
 powers of life are oppressed, and death speedily closes the 
 scene. 
 
 " On examination after death, the whole venous system is 
 usually found in a state of congestion, and the vessels of the 
 brain are peculiarly turgid with black blood. Occasionally, 
 however, there is no inflammation of the brain or its mem- 
 branes; but either the stomach contains a more than usual 
 quantity of food, or tl^e larger intestines are loaded with 
 foul matter." 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment indicated by the symptoms of apoplexy is 
 very plain. The stomach itself needs no medicine, but may 
 be made the medium through which to convey a remedy for 
 the benefit of the nervous system. As it is the superabun- 
 dance of blood in the region of th'e brain that is killing the 
 horse, the first step in the treatment will be to bleed. Open the 
 jugular vein as soon as possible, and let the blood run until 
 its color changes to a light red color. The incision, whether 
 made with the fleam or lancet, should be large, so that the 
 stream may be of corresponding size, and flow freely. Re- 
 action is to be produced, and the blood drawn from the 
 vicinity of the brain as rapidly as possible. The operator 
 must be the judge as to the precise amount of blood to be 
 taken, as this will vary greatly in diflferent cases ; but his rule 
 should be to let it flow until the horse falters or trembles, or 
 begins to blow. 
 
 Next, give a pint of hot salt and water, with a tea-spoonful 
 of Cayenne pepper and half an ounce of laudanum in it. 
 Youatt prescribes gentian and ginger. These are very good, 
 but quite mild, and, in our practice, have not seemed to fully 
 meet the requirements of the case. They do pretty well, 
 however, to follow after the laudanum. Prepare in propor- 
 tions as follows : One-half ounce of pulverized gentian, the 
 
,252 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 same of ginger, and four ounces of Epsom salts. These 
 quantities constitute two doses. Give the first dose four 
 hours after the laudanum, and the other twelve hours later. 
 An opiate is needed, as well as a powerful sedative and anti- 
 spasmodic. All these are contained in the remedies here 
 recommended. The salt and water nauseate, the pepper 
 stimulates, the laudanum is the opiate, and all are anti- 
 septic. 
 
 As soon as the horse becomes somewhat easy and still, the 
 aloes pill should be given — from one-half an ounce to an 
 ounce of aloes, made into a pill with some flour. Put this 
 upon the roots of the patient's tongue, and he will swal- 
 low it. 
 
 But little more is needed. If the case can be carried thus 
 far successfully, a recovery may reasonably be looked for. A 
 judicious care must be exercised in regard to diet. Light 
 food only must be allowed — mashes, green substances, and 
 . pasture. Horses that are regularly permitted to graze are 
 not troubled with apoplexy. It is a disease of the stables. 
 
 After recovery, do not suffer the horse to become full and 
 plethoric again, or the attack will be almost certain to return. 
 A horse that has once had apoplexy is more subject to it 
 ever afterward. The tendency will probable be to take on 
 flesh and fat, but this must be carefully guarded against. 
 Strong, rich food may bring on another attack in a few days. 
 
 RABIES (hydrophobia, OR MADNESS). 
 
 Of this awful disease we know nothing, except from the 
 descriptions given of it in books. Among horses it is of 
 rare occurrence, indeed, in America ; and we are persuaded 
 it never has any origin independent of the bite of a mad dog. 
 But even mad dogs are scarce animals ; for, although- they 
 may occasionally be found in cities, the country is very sel- 
 dom troubled with them. In our extended travels through 
 twenty- two States of the Union, we never encountered a 
 mad dog, nor so much as heard of more than a few authen- 
 ticated cases. 
 
 r^fK 
 
DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 253 
 
 English writers sa}^ that it is dangerous to leave a dog iu 
 the stable with the horse, lest he should go mad and bite the 
 latter. I^o such fears are ever entertained in our favored 
 Ian J, nor is there the least need that there should be. 
 
 We rejoice to speak of this as so nearly a foreign disease 
 only, for all veterinarians concur in pronouncing it incurable. 
 
 FITS, OR EPILEPSY. 
 
 Though seldom met with, epilepsy is not unknown in the 
 United States! The horse suffering from fits approaches, 
 nearly to a condition of frenzy. He has a wild, fierce look, 
 rears and pitches about, and is generally unmanageable from 
 the very beginning of the attack. As the disease progresses, 
 nervous tremblings seize him, and, at last, he falls down in 
 utter stupor or fearful convulsions. The duration of these 
 fits varies, in different cases, from a few minutes to a con- 
 siderable length of time. 
 
 After awhile the stupor passes away, or the convulsions 
 cease. The horse gets up, shakes himself, as though nothing 
 serious had happened, moves off, and goes to eating. 
 
 As to a cure, it is doubtful whether one has ever been 
 effected in a case of genuine epilepsy. Some authors bid 
 the farmer set to work and discover the cause, and then tim- 
 idly bid him hope for a cure. But we have yet to learn of 
 such a discovery ever being made with any satisfactory de- 
 gree of certainty. A horse that is subject to fits must be 
 regarded as a dangerous possession, and the farmer will con- 
 sult his own interest and the safety of his family by putting 
 the poor creature beyond all opportunity of doing mischief. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN, OR PHRENITIS. 
 
 This disease, though by no means a common one in this 
 country, is encountered more frequently than epilepsy. It 
 is of two kinds, or, rather, it may originate from two sources: 
 first, from the brain itself, in which case it is called spon- 
 taneous inflammation ; and, secondly, from some other dis- 
 ease, when it is described as symptomatic. 
 
254 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 The latter forms the only development of the disease With 
 which we are practically acquainted. It is this which is the 
 final cause of death in all fatal cases of the genuine blind 
 staggers of the South. Occasionally apoplexy is attended 
 by it, and acute rheumatism often produces slight cerebral 
 inflammation. 
 
 A case of spontaneous inflammation or fever of the brain 
 we never saw. This form of the disease may occur in this 
 country, but it is certainly very unfrequent. It can not be 
 far wrong to characterize this as a European malady, and 
 here again let the Englishman* tell his own story: 
 
 "Primary inflammation of the brain or its membranes, or 
 both, sometimes occurs, and of the membranes oftenest when 
 both are not involved. 
 
 " Whatever be the origin of phrenitiB, its early symptoms 
 are scarcely different from those of apoplexy. The horse is 
 drowsy — stupid; his eye closes; he sleeps while he is in the 
 act of eating, and dozes until he falls. The pulse is slow 
 and creeping, and the breathing oppressed and laborious. 
 This is the description of apoplexy. The symptoms may 
 difter a little in intensity and continuance, but not much in 
 kind. 
 
 " The phrenitic horse, however, is not so perfectly coma- 
 tose as another that labors under apoplexy. The eye will 
 respond a little to the action of light, and the animal is 
 somewhat more manageable, or, at least, more susceptible, for 
 he will shrink when he is struck^ while the other frequently 
 cares not for the whip. 
 
 " In the duration of the early symptoms there is some 
 difference. If the apoplexy proceeds from distension of the 
 stomach, twenty-four or thirty-six hours will scarcely pass 
 without the cure being completed, or the stomach ruptured, 
 or the horse destroyed. If it proceeds more from oppression 
 of the digestive organs than from absolute distension of the 
 stomach, and from that sympathy which subsists between the 
 
 *Youatt: American edition, p. 98. 
 
 > 'x^ •'•{>■ " 
 
 ^' 
 
DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 255 
 
 stomach and the brain, the disease will go on — it will be- 
 come worse and worse every honr, and this imperfect coma- 
 tose state will remain during two or three days. The apo- 
 plexy of the phrenitic horse will often run its course in a few 
 hours. 
 
 *' II a case of evident phrenitis, blood-letting and physic 
 must be early carried to their full extent. The horse will 
 often be materially relieved, and, perhaps, cured, by this de- 
 cisive treatment; but, if the golden hour has been sufiered to 
 pass, or if remedial measures have become ineffectual, the 
 scene all at once changes, and the most violent reaction suc- 
 ceeds. The eye brightens — strangely so; the membrane of 
 the eye becomes suddenly reddened, and forms a frightful 
 contrast with the transparency of the cornea; the pupil is 
 dilated to the utmost; the nostril, before scarcely moving, 
 expands and quivers, and labors ; the respiration becomes 
 short and quick ; the ears are erect, or beflt forward to catch 
 the slightest sound ; and the horse, becoming more irritable 
 every instant, trembles at the slightest motion. The irrita- 
 bility of the patient increases — it may be said to change to 
 ferocity — but the animal has no aim or object in what he 
 does. He dashes himself violently about, plunges in every 
 direction, rears on his hind legs, whirls round and round, 
 and then falls backward with dreadful force. He lies for 
 awhile exhausted ; there is a remission of the symptoms, but 
 perhaps only for a minute or two, or possibly for a quarter 
 of an hour. :?? :jc * 
 
 "The second attack is more dreadful than the first. Again 
 the animal whirls round and round, and plunges and falls. 
 He seizes his clothing and rends it in pieces ; perhaps, desti- 
 tute of feeling and of consciousness, he bites and tears him- 
 self. He darts furiously at every thing within his reach ; but 
 no mind, no design, seems to mingle with or govern his 
 fury. • 
 
 "Another and another remission and a return of the ex- 
 acerbation follow, and then, wearied out, he becomes quiet ; 
 but it is not the quietness of returning reason, it is mere 
 
# 
 
 a 
 
 -56 AMERICAN FARMEE'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 stupor. This continues for an uncertain period, and then he 
 begins to struggle again; but he is, probably, unable to rise. 
 He pants, he foams ; at length, completely exhausted, he dies. 
 
 *' There are but two diseases with which phrenitis can be 
 confounded, and they are cholic and rabies. In cholic, the 
 horse rises and falls; he rolls about and kicks at his belly; 
 but his struggles are tame compared with those of the phre- 
 nitic horse. There is no involuntary spasm of any of the 
 limbs ; the animal is perfectl}^ sensible, and, looking piteously 
 at his flanks, seems designedly to indicate the seat of pain. 
 The beautiful yet fearfully-excited countenance of the one, 
 and the piteous, anxious gaze of the other, are sufficiently 
 distinct ; and, if it can be got at, the rapid, bounding pulse 
 of the one, and that of the other scarcely losing its natural 
 character in the early stage, can not be mistaken. 
 
 "In rabies, when it does assume the ferocious form, there 
 is even more violence than in phrenitit^; but there is method, 
 and treachery, too, in that violence. There is the desire of 
 mischief for its own sake, and there is frequently the artful 
 stratagem to allure the victim within the reach of destruc- 
 tion. There is not a motion of which the rabid horse is not 
 conscious, nor a person whom he does not recognize ; but he 
 labors under one all-absorbing feeling — the intense longing 
 to devastate and destroy." 
 
 PALSY. 
 
 A case of primary palsy we have not been called upon to 
 treat in a practice of twenty years. The few cases of palsy 
 which have come under our own observation have invariably 
 been produced by other diseases, and always shared their 
 fate. If the horse recovered from the other attack, the palsy 
 passed away, but never otherwise. 
 
 Palsy is occasioned by the suspension or the cessation of 
 nervous action. In the horse, it is generally considered to 
 be the result of some injury of the spinal cord, in consequence 
 of which the hips and thighs, and other parts of the hind ex- 
 tremities,, become partially paralyzed. 
 
DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 257 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 This would seem to be plainly indicated by the nature of 
 the disease. Bleed two or three times, at intervals of ten 
 days, drawing a gallon of blood the first time, and half as 
 much at each successive bleeding. Physic actively. Give 
 half an ounce of aloes in a pill, and, after a reasonable in- 
 terval, follow this up with one- fourth of a pound of Epsom 
 salts. 
 
 Kow apply the magic nerve liniment, twice a day, to the 
 back, near the junction of the hips with the spine. If this 
 seems insufficient, substitute a daily application of the cor- 
 rosive liniment for two or three days. 
 
 If the weather is cold, cover the horse with a good, warm 
 blanket, so as to protect him from it as much, as possible. 
 Nothing should be given as food but the lightest and most 
 relaxing diet, provided it does not produce dysentery. Strong 
 or heating food will be nearly certain to result in killing the 
 horse. 
 
 INSANITY. 
 
 John Bull's horses, like his dogs, appear not only to suffer 
 from affections of the brain to a much greater extent than 
 do ours, but also to exhibit, now and then, the most singular 
 and sometimes highly diverting idiosyncrasies. For any re- 
 putable American author to descant upon the horse's insan- 
 ity would lead most of his readers to question whether hia 
 own mental condition was much better; but, as a curious 
 and entertaining episode in the history of veterinary science 
 in other lands, we are tempted to close this chapter by draw- 
 ling upon the already much-quoted pages of Youatt for the 
 following ^necdotes, which that distinguished writer intro- 
 duces, by way of illustration, in his remarks upon "In- 
 sanity :" 
 
 "A horse, seven years old, was remarkable for an habitual 
 air of stupidity, and a peculiar wandering expression of coun- 
 tenance. When he saw any thing that he had not been accus-, 
 tomed to, or heard any sudden or unusual noise, whether it 
 17 
 
258 AMEEICAN FAEMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 was near or at a distance, or sometimes when his corn was 
 thrown into the manger without the precaution of speaking 
 to him or patting him, he was frightened to an almost in- 
 credible degree ; he recoiled precipitately, eyery limb trem- 
 bled, and he struggled violently to escape. After several 
 useless efforts to get away, he would work himself into the 
 highest degree of rage, so that it was dangerous to approach 
 him. This state of excitement was followed by dreadful con- 
 vulsions, which did not cease until he had broken his halter, 
 or .otherwise detached himself from his trammels. He would 
 then become calm, and suffer himself to be led back to his 
 stall; nor would any thing more be seen than^an almost con- 
 tinual inquietude, and a wandering and stupid expression of 
 countenance. He had belonged to a brutal soldier, who had 
 beaten him shamefully, and before which time he had been 
 perfectly quiet and tractable. 
 
 "A Piedmontese officer possessed a beautiful and, in other 
 respects, serviceable mare, but which one peculiarity ren- 
 dered exceedingly dangerous — that was a decided aversion 
 to paper, which she recognized the moment she saw it, and 
 even in the dark if two leaves were rubbed together. The 
 effect produced by the sight or sound of it was so prompt 
 and violent that she several times unhorsed her rider. She 
 had not the slightest fear of objects that would terrify most 
 horses. She regarded not the music of the band, the whist- 
 ling of the balls, the roaring of the cannon, the fire of the 
 bivouacs, or the glitt^ing of arms. The confusion and noise 
 of an engagement made no impression on her; the sight of 
 no other white object affected her. "No other sound was re- 
 garded, but the view or the rustling of paper roused her to 
 madness. ^ 
 
 "A mare was perfectly manageable and betrayed no an- 
 tipathy to the human being, nor to other animalsj nor to 
 horses, except they were of a light-gray color; but the mo- 
 ment she saw a gray horse, she rushed toward it, and at- 
 tacked it with the greatest fury. It was the same at all times, 
 and every-where. She was all that could be wished on the 
 
 #. 
 
DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 259 
 
 parade, on the rout, in the ranks, in action, and in the stable; 
 but if she once caught a glimpse of a gray or white horse, 
 she rested not until she had thrown her rider or broken her 
 halter, and then she rushed on her imagined foe with the 
 greatest fury. She generally contrived to seize the animal by 
 the head or throat, and held him so fast that she would suf- 
 focate him, if he were not promptly released from her bite. 
 
 "Another mare exhibited no terror except of white, inani- 
 mate objects, as white mantles or coats, and particularly 
 white plumes. She would fly from them if she could; but if 
 she was unable to accomplish this, she would rush furiously 
 upon them, strike at them with her fore-feet, and tear them 
 with her teeth. 
 
 " These instances are selected from various others, because 
 they approach so nearly to what would be termed insanity in 
 the human being. It is confined to one object — it is a species 
 of monomania, and as decided insanity as ever the biped dis- 
 covered. One of these horses, the second, was, b^^ long and 
 kind attention, divested of this insane terror, and became 
 perfectly quiet and useful; but the other three bid defiance 
 to all means of cure, and to coercion among the rest." 
 
260 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 DISEASES 'OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 
 
 The cut represents the palate and the teeth of the upper 
 jaw of the mature horse. It shows the six incisors, or nippers ; 
 the two canine teeth, or titshes — sometimes called bridle-teeth ; 
 
 and the twelve molars, or grind- 
 ers. Upon one side of the roof 
 of the mouth is a natural view 
 of the bars of the palate, and 
 upon the other is indicated the 
 appearance which would be pre- 
 sented if the bars were dissected 
 olt* so as to reveal the intricate 
 net-work of blood-vessels and 
 nerves below. 
 
 Careful observation has con- 
 vinced us that the teeth of the 
 horse are much oftener the 
 source of sufiering and disease 
 than is generally believed. In 
 speaking of this subject, Youatt 
 says: "Horsemen, in general, 
 think too lightly of dentition 
 [teething], and they scarcely 
 dream of the animal suffering 
 to any considerable degree, or 
 absolute illness being produced ; yet he who has to do with 
 young horses will occasionally discover a considerable degree 
 of febrile aflection, which he can refer to this cause alone. 
 Fever, cough, catarrhal affections generally, disease of the 
 eyes, cutaneous affections, diarrhea, dysentery, loss of appe- 
 
DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 261 
 
 tite, and general derangement will frequently be traced by 
 the careful observer to irritation from teething. 
 
 " It is a rule, scarcely admitting of the slightest deviation, 
 that, when young horses are laboring under any febrile af- 
 fection, the mouth should be examined, and if the tushes are 
 prominent and pushing against the gums, a crucial incision 
 [that is, one in the form of a cross] should be made across 
 them. *In this way,' says Mr. Percivall, *I have seen ca- 
 tarrhal and bronchial inflammations abated, coughs relieved, 
 lymphatic and other glandular tumors about the head reduced, 
 cutaneous eruptions got rid of, deranged bowels restored to 
 order, appetite returned, and lost condition repaired.' " 
 
 Possibly the effect which this extract is calculated to pro- 
 duce is hardly distinguishable from that of an over-statement, 
 and yet few experienced veterinary practitioners' would un- 
 dertake to dispute the general correctness of these views. 
 
 The colt cuts his first front teeth when very young, which 
 operation is called teething. After this, at difierent stages of 
 his growth, these are displaced by a new set, larger and better 
 adapted to the needs of the mature horse. For the sake of 
 convenience, this process is distinguished by the name of 
 shedding. 
 
 The horse has, or should have, when fully grown, forty 
 teeth — in each jaw, six nippers, two tushes, and twelve 
 grinders. In the mare, the tushes are either not developed 
 at all, or else do not make their appearance before old age, 
 although bony protuberances, corresponding to them, are hid- 
 den below the gums. The tush is a long, sharp tooth, occupy- 
 ing a position on each side of the jaw, between the nippers 
 and grinders, but somewhat nearer the former than to the 
 back teeth. What a great many farmers call blind teeth, andx 
 ignorantly imagine to be the cause, of almost numberless 
 ills, come on the lower jaw between the bridle-teeth and 
 grinders. 
 
 The changes which the teeth undergo before attaining 
 their full development, with the derangements which attend 
 these changes, will first claim our attention. 
 
262 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 OR DENTITION. 
 
 Wh^n the foal is born into the world, no teeth are visible 
 except the first and second grinders, on each side, above and 
 below, making eight in all; or sometimes these do not ap- 
 pear for two or three days afterward. He cuts the remain- 
 ing teeth in succession, at various intervals ; so that the milk 
 teeth — the first set — are not all developed until he is in his 
 third year. 
 
 It is not our purpose, in this connection, to describe the 
 methods of telling the age of a horse by his teeth, that sub- 
 ject being reserved for Chapter XIX. The diseases of the 
 teeth and mouth form what we have now to consider. 
 
 The cutting of nearly thirty teeth, however lightly it may 
 be regarded by the stock- raiser, is certainly a matter of no 
 small moment to the colt. While it is true that ITature pre- 
 pares the gums, in a great measure, for this process, if any one 
 \vill take the trouble to examine the mouth and gums of the 
 colt while it is going on, he will probably be astonished to 
 find how hot and feverish these parts are. During the period 
 of suckling, the milk of the mother tends greatly to counter- 
 act the evil eiFects of teething, and, at this period, Nature 
 will seldom need any assistance in the way of other diet, or 
 medication of any kind. But, after weaning, all through 
 what remains of teething, and the entire process of shed- 
 ding, the young animal does not fare so well, and a variety 
 of disorders lie in wait for him, making this the most crit- 
 ical period of his whole life. 
 
 It is undoubtedly a wise and kindly provision of JS'ature 
 that the colt's teeth do not all come at once; for, if that 
 were the case, such would be the severity of the operation 
 that very few, probably, would live through it. As it is, the 
 soreness and inflammation occasioned by the cutting of one 
 pair has time to subside, and the gums are allowed time to 
 heal over before any more come through. It is worthy of 
 remark, also, that dentition does not so seriously afi:ect the 
 horse as either the human species or the dog. 
 
DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 263 
 
 The colt's nippers are not set in the jaw-bones, as a great 
 many suppose they are, but rest upon them in a sort of sad- 
 dle-fashion, and are attached to the jaw by a bony adhesion, 
 having a small, shallow socket, but no appearance of fangs 
 or roots, like the permanent teeth. This setting, however, 
 is sufficiently firm for all the purposes that Mature intended 
 the colt to use the teeth for, embracing scarcely any thing 
 more than the procuring of such food as grass, hay, oats, 
 and other provender easily masticated. But hard food, such 
 as corn, especially when it is fed in the ear, does very ma- 
 terially injure his teeth. The great strain to which its 
 mastication subjects them is exceedingly liable to produce 
 soreness and inflammation that, in turn, often become the 
 exciting causes of other forms of disease, especially of those 
 whose seat is in the head. 
 
 SHEDDING. 
 
 Closely connected with teething, and, in the beginning, 
 coincident with the latter stages of that operation, is the 
 process of shedding, which is the replacement of the milk 
 by the permanent teeth. The first set of teeth do not come 
 out, and the lacerated gums then heal over, as is the case 
 with children, but the second tooth comes up immediately 
 under the first one, and lifts it entirely out of the gums. 
 What is still more remarkable, while this is going on, the 
 under part of the milk tooth .is being gradually ground or 
 worn ofl:*, and its substance absorbed by the surrounding 
 parts, so that there is but a small portion of it left by the 
 time the permanent tooth reaches the top of the gums. As 
 the under tooth comes up from its bed in the jaw, the gums, 
 being lifted up with it, retain their hold upon the other un- 
 til the second is near enough through to subserve the needs 
 of the animal in eating ; then, all at once, the gums peel ofl:' 
 from the upper tooth, which drops out, and they now sink 
 down around the new one ; their swelling and soreness sub- 
 side, and all is right in the mouth again. 
 
 For a considerable time previous to their removal, the po* 
 
264 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 eition of the milk teeth is by no means a firm one, as they 
 are only retained in their places by the adhesion of the gums. 
 Every hard substance that comes in contact with them is 
 likely to move or twist them about. 
 
 Soreness and inflammation almost invariably accompany 
 shedding. Perhaps there is no time, until this operation is 
 over, that the mouth and gums are wholly free from fever 
 and swelling. The bad condition of many young colts, fol- 
 lowing loss of flesh and appetite, may be traced to these cir- 
 cumstances. It is easy to test the matter by examining the 
 parts. Nor is the loss of appetite the only or chief difficulty 
 in such cases. The character of the saliva undergoes an in- 
 jurious change from the feverish influences of the mouth and 
 gums, and, being carried to the stomach in this condition, 
 it naturally produces derangement of the digestive process. 
 No doubt many a serious disease of the mature horse origin- 
 ated at this period of his life, and is largely attributable to 
 the eftects of shedding. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Not much either can or should be done in the way of med- 
 ication while the colt is teething and shedding. The great 
 consideration is his diet, and to this too much attention 
 can not well be paid. Keep away from him solid and heat- 
 ing food, and let him have only such a moist, light diet as 
 can easily be supplied him in winter, by provender, cut feed, 
 and small quantites of oats ; Avhile for the summer season, 
 pasture is 'not only the most readily procurable food, but is 
 immeasurably the best. 
 
 In the cotton States, where pastures are poor and scanty, 
 it is almost impossible to raise a colt by any ordinary degree 
 of care. There the young creatures are generally fed on 
 corn, and on corn fodder, which is still worse, and the large 
 majority of them become diseased and die. They are not 
 unfrequently troubled with big head, though such is the 
 vigor of the system at this age that they withstand its at- 
 tacks much better than old horses. Green grass we consider 
 
DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 265 
 
 essential to the health an^ natural power of the horse of all 
 
 Salting is another important matter. Salt is medicine to 
 the horse, and to the colt especially. If fed in a trough or 
 manger, give the unthrifty colt some sulphur, from time to 
 time. It will aid much to restore health and condition. Be- 
 fore this, however, it will have been w^ell to examine his 
 mouth, and, if there is marked heat and soreness about 
 the gums, it is pretty surely an indication of teething. 
 Two incisions, at right angles, made by drawing a sharp 
 knife across the gum, just above the tooth, will give great 
 relief. 
 
 The very frequent belching of wind, which may be noticed 
 in some horses and colts, betrays a very common source of 
 annoyance and suffering. This is a sour stomach. Per- 
 haps the teething colt is, most of all, subject to it, caused by 
 the action of the changed saliva, which is continually flow- 
 ing from the feverish mouth into the stomach. Fermenta- 
 tion of the food is one of the evil effects of this action. To 
 correct this, it is desirable that some good wood ashes be 
 kept in the animal's trough with his oats. In a majority of 
 cases, their alkaline properties would entirely neutralize the 
 acid condition of the stomach, in the same manner as the 
 milk of the mother does this for the- colt before he is weaned. 
 
 • BLIND TEETH. 
 
 Blind teeth are still, to many uninformed persons, the 
 source of an anxiety amounting almost to terror. Yet they 
 seldom do any material injury, and never in the way that 
 they are supposed to do. It is not probable that they are 
 ever the real cause of any kind of disease. Some farmers 
 imagine that they bring on the peculiar enlargement of big 
 head, especially in the colt; and. if the eyes are at all sus- 
 pected, the first thing done is to look for blind teeth, and 
 the next to knock them out. Many a blind tooth has the 
 writer removed at the imperative bidding of credulous own- 
 ers, whom no amount of argument could satisfy that such an 
 
266 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Operation was not at all necessary to "stop the big head," or 
 "save the eyes." 
 
 True, they are often in the way, and never of the least 
 service, and, for these reasons, it is best to extract them. 
 But there is no ground for supposing them instrumental in 
 developing other diseases, any further than they may excite 
 local irritation and soreness in cutting, although this effect 
 is less marked in their case than in that of the other teeth. 
 
 Mares do not have them, unless a peculiar growth of the 
 jaw-bone, which is occasionally seen at the point where they 
 usually come through, can be called such. Neither do a 
 great many horses. In most instances, the appearance is 
 rather that of a bony enlargement on the top of the jaw- 
 bone than that of a real tooth, and the gum is frequently 
 not cut through at all. Blind teeth seem to have no socket, 
 fang, or nerve, and are to be regarded as intruders only. 
 
 DECAY OF THE TEETH. 
 
 The teeth of horses, like those of human beings, are sub- 
 ject to decay. In common parlance, they become rotten, 
 which is just the same condition that the dentist refers to 
 when he speaks of " caries" of the teeth. The horse's front 
 teeth sometimes show signs of decay, but generally it is the 
 jaw teeth, the molars, which are affected. 
 
 It may be a novel idea to many farmers, and, perhaps, still 
 more so to the charming portion of creation representedi by 
 their wives and daughters, but it is a fact* that the horse not 
 unfrequently suffers from toothache. This is one of the 
 causes which so often make him suddenly drop the corn, or 
 other hard feed, from his mouth while eating. The owner or 
 attendant generally sets this down as indicating some nat- 
 ural disrelish for the food at that particular time, whereas the 
 fact very often is, that he has hurt his tooth. Having no 
 hand to press to his mouth, the poor animal is allowed to 
 suffer without there being so much as a suspicion of what 
 the trouble really is. 
 
 A disordered condition of the stomach has much to do with 
 
DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 267 
 
 the premature decay of the teeth. The foul gases which it 
 gives off, when there is fermentation of the food, exert a very 
 detrimental effect upon the teeth. Similar consequences fol- 
 low the reprehensible practice of giving the horse strong- 
 mineral poisons, such as copperas, blue stone, calomel, corro- 
 sive sublimate, arsenic, and many others. These have a ten- 
 dency to destroy the enamel, and corrode and ruin the teeth. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 We know of nothing to be done in the case of a decayed 
 tooth except to extract it. This should be done, if at all 
 practicable. Have made a pair of pullers on the principle of 
 the keyed instrument used in dentistry, but larger and 
 stronger, of course; and while an assistant holds open the 
 horse's mouth, the operator can fasten on the decayed tooth 
 and draw it. If the horse is vicious or restless, it will be 
 necessary to fasten his head, so that he can not move it about. 
 The operator may stand on a bench or box, so as to work to 
 better advantage. 
 
 The horse's teeth* should not be extracted except in ex- 
 treme cases, when the fact admits of no doubt that they are 
 the occasion of acute suffering. The practice of driving out 
 the teeth with a punch or hammer ought not to be counte- 
 nanced, and is only justifiable in those rare instances where a 
 proper instrument can not be procured. 
 
 As one of the causes of decay, the condition of the stom- 
 ach should receive careful attention. A hot, fetid breath, 
 the tongue of a whitish-purple colpr, the saliva of the mouth 
 thick and stringy — these are the indications of derangement 
 of the digestive functions. The proper remedies now will be 
 sulphur and " jimson" seed. Of the former, give four ounces 
 every other day; of the latter, one ounce every third day. 
 Four doses of each, at the intervals here prescribed, will be 
 sufficient. Pulverized yellow poplar bark, or green limbs 
 from the tree, may be used for the same purpose, and in the 
 same manner as will shortly be directed for scurvy of the 
 teeth. 
 
268 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 SCURVY OF THE TEETH. 
 
 The teeth of old horses, in most cases the front teeth only, 
 sometimes become covered with ridges of white scurf, or 
 calcarioiis, limy deposits, which extend downward to the 
 gums and keep them continually sore and inflamed. The 
 trouble is not wholly incident to old age, for it sometimes 
 affects young horses also. , 
 
 Its causes, in nearly all cases, are very similar to those of 
 decay. In fact, scurvy of the teeth is only one form which 
 their decay assumes, the deposits of the decayed tooth re- 
 maining upon its surface. In the fermentation of the food, 
 that so often follows high feeding and other causes of de- 
 ranged digestive action, carbonic acid gas is generated in con- 
 siderable quantities, and is belched up from the stomach. 
 The teeth are mainly composed of the phosphate of lime, 
 and when this gas unites with the lime which they contain, 
 there results a scaly incrustation of carbonate of lime. 
 
 Mineral poisons constitute a powerful ^agent in producing 
 scurvy of the teeth, no less than other forms of decay. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The first and most important part of the treatment consists 
 in the regulation of so much of the digestive process as is 
 conducted in the stomach, whose sourness must be promptly 
 corrected. Sulphur and "jimson" seed will admirably serve 
 this purpose, as indicated in the last section. The former 
 acts as a mild alterative, and is the best regulator of the 
 horse's system that we know of. 
 
 Good wood ashes should be kept in the manger. Yellow 
 poplar bark, well pulverized, will prove an excellent adjunct 
 in this part of the treatment. If kept constantly in the 
 place where the horse feeds, he will eat considerable quanti- 
 ties of it from time to time. In some of the Southern States, 
 it is customary to put long poles of green poplar in the stable. 
 in front of the horse, and in a little while he has the bark 
 eaten off them entirely. The bark of the poplar is a most 
 
DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 269 
 
 excellent tonic, and he is quite fond of it when green. In- 
 stinct teaches the horse a hundred things which man dis- 
 covers only after laborious investigation, experiment, and 
 reasoning. When diseased, if he is permitted to run where 
 there are an abundance of bushes, he may very frequently 
 be seen nibbling away at such of them as possess medicinal 
 qualities, and especiall}^ those which act as tonics and astrin- 
 gents. 
 
 . It will do no good to apply any thing to the teeth until 
 the stomach is in proper condition ; but this end having been 
 secured, it will be quite in order to remove their calcarious 
 deposits. This can be effectually done with a brush and a 
 mixture of tartaric acid with fine salt. The use of the latter 
 is to prevent the injurious effects of the acid upon the teeth, 
 in a measure. Some ashes, or a weak lye made from them, 
 may be used after this mixture, to still further counteract the 
 acid. But we must here record our emphatic objections to 
 the employment of any acids or caustics about the teeth. 
 Their effects can not be wholly neutralized, and thus, while 
 they may remove one difficulty, they are sure to bring ou 
 another. 
 
 Some persons are in the habit of filing the teeth that are 
 affected with scurvy, and this ia an operation which may be 
 performed with decided benefit. After the incrustation has 
 been removed with the*file, the teeth will present a rough, 
 jagged, appearance, and are in fine condition to favor the 
 accumulation of more deposits. This may be remedied by 
 using a second and much smaller file, or a piece of coarse 
 sand-paper, followed by a piece of fine sand-paper. The 
 beautiful enamel which disease has destroyed no art can re- 
 place; but the surface can be given a smooth polish that 
 will be of great service, as a substitute for it, in resisting the 
 eftects of wear and decay. 
 
 The process is a simple and easy one. It requires a twitch 
 on the horse's nose, and one man to hold it and turn the 
 lip down, whik the operator, with a file, broken off at the 
 end, scrapes off the incrustations from the teeth, and, after 
 
 
270 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 polishing them with sand-paper, oils them with a little sweet 
 oil. This includes all that is to be done. 
 
 "We have devoted more space to these branches of our sub- 
 ject than, at first, it was our intention to do. To this we 
 have been impelled by the considerations that the general 
 health of the horse is so intimately connected with the con- 
 dition of the teeth, and that so little account is commonly 
 taken of this fact by horsemen. Especially are they apt to 
 overlook the injuries sometimes sustained by the colt from 
 the operations of teething and shedding. If the stock-raiser 
 will reflect for a moment upon the suffering entailed upon 
 the child by the first of these processes, and how often dis- 
 ease and death result from it, and then consider how much 
 the experience of his young colts may resemble this case in 
 the human subject, it would pretty surely be of material ad- 
 vantage to his growing stock. Poor, feeble colts, with rough 
 hair, thin flanks, staggering gait, and loss of appetite, would 
 be cared for with better, because more intelligent, regard to 
 their real wants. 
 
 We have recommended the following course to be pursued 
 on stock farms, and the system can be carried out quite as 
 easily on a smaller scale. In the pasture, or in the stable- 
 yard, let there be placed long troughs, and salt kept con- 
 stantly in them, or at least placed in them once a week. 
 Wood ashes should be mingled with the salt, and together 
 they will correct any tendency to indigestion in nearly all 
 instances. Sulphur should be used abundantly at the same 
 time; for its properties as an alterative are unrivaled. 
 
 STUMP-SUCKING, CRIB-BITING, AND WIND-SUCKING. 
 
 The strange habit known as " stump-sucking," which some 
 horses have, is not well understood. We have seen and ex- 
 amined a great many animals that were addicted to it, es- 
 pecially colts, but must acknowledge that we know not to 
 what cause to refer it with positiveness. It is said to be 
 more common in the ^NTorthern States than at the South, and 
 
 .A 
 
DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 271 
 
 still more so in eome European countries. In the Southern 
 States the practice has received the name of " stump-suck- 
 ing," from the fact that the stable-lots in which stock run a 
 great deal of their time are very often filled with old stumps 
 of trees, and upon these the horse exercises his singular pro- 
 pensity. The same strange actions are manifested in older 
 sections by gnawing the crib or manger, and hence the term 
 " crib-biting." Still a third name is given the habit in many 
 parts of the country, that of "wind-sucking," from a pecu- 
 liarity of some " stump-suckers," of violently dra^wing in air 
 through the teeth. 
 
 The afi:ection, whatever it may really be, appears to come 
 on by " spells," or at particular times which have no regu- 
 lar or periodic recurrence. When the attack does come on, 
 however, the poor creature rushes up to the nearest object 
 that will serve his purpose — a stump, a rail, the crib, or the 
 manger — with such haste as though his very life depended 
 upon it, and, seizing it with his teeth, stands biting the wood, 
 or leans back and pulls with all the strength that the teeth 
 will bear. 
 
 Wind-sucking is not so common an eccentricity, but when 
 it does occur is really distressing to witness. We are not 
 aware that it has ever been described by any writer upon 
 the diseases of the horse, but we have seen the operation a 
 immber of times, The horse looks around him for a mo- 
 ment, with a wild, hurried look, and then, with a sudden 
 start, lays hold of some hard substance, and grips it with his 
 teeth with all the power he possesses. Straightening his 
 neck and falling back upon his haunches, he hangs with his 
 teeth to the wood, and sucks in the air through his throat 
 with such force as to produce a loud, roaring noise, that may 
 sometimes be heard nearly one-fourth of a mile away. At. the 
 same time the most awful groans escape him, almost as 
 though "the very ribs of Nature were bursting in." At in- 
 tervals he holds his breath, until the spectator begins to fear 
 lest it should be gone forever. Then, with a slow, measured 
 groan, increasing to a roar, he recommences to suck the wind. 
 
272 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 With such an effort is this performed, that his lips fairly 
 quiver, his sides tremble, and his flanks puff* in and out, like 
 a horse that has been running at the top of his speed. His 
 ears are thrown back, with an angry look, like a stubborn 
 mule, pulling at the halter with all his might. He shakes, 
 trembles, groans, and sucks wind at the same instant. Pres- 
 ently the muscles of the jaw relax and give way, unable any 
 longer to endure the strain, and the horse either falls to the 
 ground or staggers wildly for a moment. This breaks the 
 spell ; he turns round, and walks off" or begs for something 
 to eat, as though nothing particular had happened. 
 
 In some cases, the horse rests the ends of his front teeth 
 upon some hard, firm surface, with the extremities of the 
 jaws separated about half an inch, and the tongue between 
 them, and so remains, pressing his teeth with all the weight 
 of his head and strength of his neck. These paroxysms, as 
 they may be called, last from ten to forty minutes, and vary 
 greatly in intensity. Occasionally they are very light, and 
 the horse does nothing more than press his teeth upon the 
 object, or merely grips it with them, for a short time. 
 
 The most inveterate case we ever knew was that of an old 
 horse belonging to Mr. Thomas Bay, of Haywood County, 
 Tennessee. He was a stump-sucker for many years, and we 
 have often heard him suck wind and groan at the distance 
 of at least one-eighth of a mile. He lived until he was 
 twenty years old, and was always in good working condition. 
 
 By many this strange affection js considered one of the 
 vices, or, at least, a most disagreeable habit of the horse, and 
 such, perhaps, his nibbliugs of the manger may sometimes 
 be. But when the practice is accompanied by the actions 
 above described, we are satisfied that it should properly be 
 classed among the animal's diseases, and venture the opinion 
 that it proceeds from a disordered condition of the teeth, 
 probably some neuralgic affection. It is most likely that the 
 sufferer has somehow discovered that, by pressing his teeth 
 upon some hard substance, or by biting and pulling with 
 them, he can obtain relief. When one has been salivated, 
 
DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 278 
 
 and is suffering tortures from sore teeth and gums, if a small 
 chip or piece of stick be held between the teeth and they 
 be closed forcibly upon it, the abatement of pain will be in- 
 stantaneous and great. May not the stump-sucking horse 
 be merely resorting to the same expedient to secure tempo- 
 rary relief from suffering of a similar character ? It is not 
 difficult to understand how grateful such relief would be to 
 an animal in that state, nor how pleasureable a sensation it 
 might be to cool the hot and feverish gums by drawing the 
 air rapidly through the teeth. 
 
 We strongly incline to the belief that the affection is a 
 disease not only of the teeth and gums, but also embracing 
 the membrane (the periosteum) covering the fangs of the 
 former, and of the nerves of the adjacent regions. 
 
 One fact in the symptoms is very prominent : the horse 
 evidently suffers during the paroxysms, and, as before stated, 
 is sometimes even convulsed by spasms. Another is that he 
 generally loses flesh and strength, becomes low in condition, 
 and can not be made to thrive. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 This should be directed to the teeth and gums. Try the 
 effects of wetting the front teeth with the magic nerve lini- 
 ment, morning and night, for at least ten days. Apply the 
 liniment with a small mop to the top of the teeth, and 
 enough will run down upon the surrounding gums. If the 
 horse is inclined to plethora, bleed once, taking about three 
 quarts of blood. In mild cases, this treatment will often 
 prove of marked benefit. 
 
 A confirmed stump or wind sucker is undoubtedly impaired 
 for usefulness in nearly all cases, and his market value ma- 
 terially diminished. We have treated the subject at this- 
 length in the hope that the suggestions here thrown out 
 may be the means of eliciting the true facts in relation to 
 the nature and causes of this singular affection. 
 18 
 
274 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 LAMPAS. 
 
 This is an ailment principally incident to young horees, 
 and was an object of great alarm to the farriers of former 
 times. It is simply an inflammation of the muscles in the 
 front part of the roof of the mouth. These have the form 
 of a succession of little ridges — or bars, as they are called — 
 running across the surface of that part, and constitute an 
 extension of the palate. Their appearance, so familiar to 
 every practical horseman, is tolerably well represented in the 
 cut which we have introduced in the beginning of this chap- 
 ter. The bars serve the purpose of assisting the tongue in 
 moving the particles of food backward to the jaw teeth, there 
 to be properly masticated. 
 
 That portion of the muscle next to the front teeth some- 
 times swells, until it extends downward not only to the level 
 of the teeth, but, it may be, even beyond them. It becomes 
 very sore, and greatly annoys the horse in eating, especially 
 if his food consists of such hard substances as corn, oats, 
 and timothy hay. He shows the pain which their pressure 
 occasions by often dropping the food from his mouth. 
 
 Such inflammation is apt to arise from the soreness that 
 accompanies teething, and which is communicated to the 
 bars in the adjoining parts of the mouth. This is the reason 
 why the young horses are more subject to it than the older 
 ones. But changes of some kind are continually going on 
 in the mouth ; the teeth, after the operations of teething and 
 shedding are done with, begin to wear away, and, after a 
 time, they commence to fall out, and the gums sink down 
 around them. As a general thing, the horse is free from 
 lampas between the ages of five and eight years ; but, at the 
 latter period, the wearing oft* of the teeth becomes more 
 marked and rapid, the gums have noticeably shrunk, and this 
 disease is apt to appear again. 
 
 We think there is a' tendency on the part of most late 
 writers on veterinary practice to underrate the injurious 
 effects produced by lampas. A marked derangement of the 
 
DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 275 
 
 digestive process would be no more than might reasonably 
 be expected from the constant flow of the unhealthy saliva 
 secreted by the feverish mouth and gums ; and observation 
 plainly teaches that when horses have been long troubled 
 with larapas, they are likely to be found in bad condition, 
 thin in flesh, and with a staring coat of hair. • 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 In many cases, lampas will disappear of itself. If not, 
 scarification is the first thing to be done. This should be 
 performed with the point of a very sharp knife, the object 
 being to relieve the overloaded vessels of the superabun- 
 dance of blood they contain. Great care must be taken not 
 to make the incisions too deep, or back of the third bar, just 
 behind which an artery approaches very near to the surface, 
 that will be quite difficult to close, if it should be severed 
 in this operation. Should such an accident happen, the 
 bleeding can be stopped by tying a strong cord around the 
 upper front teeth, close to the gums, and drawing it very 
 tightly. This will close the orifice, and check the hemor- 
 rhage at once. 
 
 The use of some mild astringent will form the proper con- 
 tinuance of the treatment. Alkaline solutions will often 
 meet the requirements of the case when nothing else will. 
 Make a strong solution of chlorate of potash — one ounce of 
 the chlorate to two ounces of rain-water — and with this wash 
 the mouth and gums every morning. 
 
 If the general health of the horse is not good, it may be 
 well to bleed once from the jugular, and give the usual alter- 
 atives — sulphur and resin — or the powders mentioned in Sec- 
 tion YII, of Chapter XXIY. 
 
 Wq must add our emphatic concurrence in the condem- 
 nation expressed by all respectable veterinarians in regard 
 to the brutal custom of burning the bars of the mouth for 
 the cure of lampas. Much of the sense of taste and of the 
 enjoyments of eating reside in this part of the mouth, and 
 the bars are of great service, as before stated, in moving the 
 
276 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 food about during mastication. To burn them, therefore, is 
 not only an act of great cruelty, but is really a permanent 
 injury. Besides this, the hot iron often comes in contact 
 with the teeth, and destroys their enamel, when they soon 
 begin to decay. Caustics are equally objectionable to the 
 m«uth, and to the teeth still more so. There is not the least 
 excuse for resorting to either of these modes of treatment, 
 for the swelling can readily be removed by the courses pre- 
 scribed above. 
 
 ^ 
 
DISEASES OF THE THROAT. 277 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 DISEASES OF THE THROAT. 
 
 Diseases of the throat and respiratory organs are very 
 common among the horses of our climate, which is so vari- 
 able, and subject to such great extremes of temperature in a 
 short time, that twenty-four hours is sometimes enough to 
 plunge one from summer heat into the severity of winter. 
 Perhaps the valley of the Mississippi has, in this respect, one 
 of the least desirable climates within the temperate zone. 
 During much of the year, also, the atmosphere is very damp, 
 especially in the winter and spring seasons. The horse has 
 nothing but the superior strength of his system, enabling 
 him better to resist unfavorable influences, to entitle him to 
 any exemption from most of the diseases of humanity, and 
 this advantage is apt to be fully overbalanced by the greater 
 exposure he is compelled to undergo. Hence we find that 
 the horse's throat and air-passages are as subject to disease 
 as most other parts of his body, and nearly as much so as 
 those of the human being in the same latitudes. 
 
 COLDS. 
 
 This is the simplest and most common of the class of dis-^ 
 orders under consideration, as well in the horse as with his 
 master. When we consider the great and sometimes pro- 
 longed exposure of the horse, it is astonishing that he does 
 not take cold more frequently than he does. There are 
 many farmers — and it is something for which every humane 
 person must be thankful that their number is constantly in- 
 creasing — who are as careful concerning their teams as the 
 nature of their duties will permit ; and who, knowing the 
 advantages of good, sufficient, and regular feeding, of com- 
 
278 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 fortable stables, and of warm blankets at the proper tinae, 
 practically improve that knowledge in the habitual manage- 
 ment and keeping of their stock. Such exeniplify the Scrip- 
 tural proverb that " a merciful man is merciful to his beast," 
 and are repaid thrice over, in a pecuniary point of view alone, 
 for their humanity. 
 
 But, to the shame of our race, this class does not embrace 
 all horse owners. Let us put a case, such as has its counter- 
 part every winter in nearly every neighborhood in our land. 
 The horse is forced to his utmost speed through mud and 
 water, storm and sleet, that his master may the sooner reach 
 home, there to exchange the pelting storm and piercing blast 
 for a comfortable room, a blazing fire, and a downy bed. 
 The horse, however, is either put into a cold, open stable, or 
 is turned into the yard, where the mud is knee-deep. His 
 blood is boiling from the severity with which he has been 
 driven; the snow and sleet melt upon his back; freezing 
 winds chill his whole frame, and, through all the dreary 
 night, he stands out in the weather, shivering and shaking 
 with cold. Next morning he is found on the sheltered side 
 of a straw stack, or in some fence-corner — his body drawn 
 up almost in a heap, his hind and fore-feet almost together, 
 his ears half drawn back, and his whole appearance the very 
 picture of misery. As the thoughtless master, (for let us be 
 charitable, and suppose his cruelty is not really intentional,) 
 at a late hour, makes his appearance with the morning feed, 
 the plaintive whicker, the dull eye brightening a little, with 
 evident effort, and the stiffened, tired limbs well-nigh refusing 
 obedience to the will, show too plainly the mischief that has 
 been done : the horse has taken cold. How could he help it? 
 
 But the weather moderates, the warm sun shines out, and 
 the horse appears as well, or nearly so, as ever. Time passes, 
 and that dreadful night is forgotten by the owner, who never 
 once has thought of connecting with it the idea of any in- 
 jury to his horse. After a time, however — a week, a fort- 
 night, or a month — we hear the somewhat alarmed remark, 
 "I wonder what has given my horse such a cough?" Or, 
 
DISEASES OF THE THROAT. ' 279 
 
 " Mj horse had a dreadful attack of colic last night, and 
 came near dying. He has not been subject to colic. I won- 
 der what could have caused it?" Or, "I have noticed, for a 
 few days, that he has been running at the nose. What. can 
 be the matter?" Or, '* One of his eyes is terribly inflamed 
 this morning, and. is running water. I begin to fear his 
 gight is not so sound as I thought it was." And so one 
 might go on enumerating a dozen ailments that, at such a time, 
 are liable to excite the surprise and anxiety of the master. 
 
 My dear, and now deeply-interested friend, just set your 
 wits to work, and see if you can not discover a cause for all 
 this. If you fail in this, come with me, and let us counsel 
 together ; for, " in the multitude of counsel, there is safety." 
 
 Together, Ave may perhaps be enabled to connect eftect 
 with cause, and thus arrive at the origin of the whole 
 trouble. Let us go backward, in memory, for a- few weeks, 
 to that hard drive, that bitter cold night, and that over- 
 heated, steaming horse, exposed to all its severities, and then 
 to the next morning, when you found him in the fence cor- 
 ner, or behind the straw-stack,, quaking with the cold. Look 
 at him again, my honest friend, as he stands there, with such 
 a pitiful, beseeching look, drawn and doubled up, and that 
 pleading, imploring whicker for better treatment, as you 
 come out to his mud-lot to give him a feed of corn in a 
 trough half filled with snow, and in the full sweep of the 
 wind, at the highest part of the lot. I^eed you wonder that 
 your horse is sick? Would not such exposure be a sufficient 
 explanation of an attack of illness, or perhaps a death-bed, 
 in your own case? But you say, "I am not a horse, and 
 that is the difference." True ; but a horse is flesh and blood, 
 and his physical being is governed by the same laws as is 
 yours ; and, after all, a horse is capable of bearing but lit- 
 tle more exposure than a man. 
 
 And now, for your own good, and for the improvement 
 of your future practice, let me say, kindly, yet firmly, what 
 is patent to every discriminating veterinarian : " This is work 
 of your own doing. You are the responsible party; and, if 
 
280 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 the horse has sickened, and should die from such treatment, 
 it is you who have killed him, and that just as surely as 
 though you had broken his neck, or taken an ax and split 
 open his skull." We are of the deliberate opinion that two- 
 thirds of the cases of lung and throat diseases in the horse 
 are the offspring of bad treatment, of unnecessary exposure, 
 and of colds contracted by neglect and unkindness. 
 
 It will not be difficult to trace the connection between 
 cause and effect, so as to get, at least, some proximate idea 
 of how these exposures ajid colds form the beginnings of so 
 many serious attacks of disease. The powerful efforts which 
 Nature makes to throw oft* the consequences of the bad treat- 
 ment inflicted on the dumb sufferer, only serve to lull sus- 
 picion to rest. ^Nevertheless, these very efforts are often the 
 sure means of producing local or specific disease. Their ef- 
 fects are extremely likely to concentrate upon some particu- 
 lar part or member of the body — the nose, head, brain, throat, 
 lungs, stomach, bowels, feet, the glands, skin, tissues, mem- 
 branes, tendons, joints, bones — we know not what pprtion 
 may suffer; but rarely will the horse escape without some 
 of them becoming involved. It "v^ould be impossible, in most 
 instances, to assign ai positive reason why any particular 
 organ sufters more than another. Possibly it has been weak- 
 ened by some strain or lesion of the parts ; but of this we 
 can seldom speak with certainty. 
 
 All the vessels and passages of the body are liable to be 
 more or less deranged in action for the time being, if not 
 permanently injured, from the effects of the circumstances 
 we are considering; the pores of the skin are closed; the 
 capillaries are congested; the secretions cease to flow; the 
 bk)od is thickened, and circulates unequally in different parts 
 of the body; the glands become swollen, and the walls of the 
 air-passages and ducts are enlarged and sore. INow comes 
 on a struggle with the powers of ITature, to see in which part 
 this fiery ordeal of heat and inflammation shall reach its 
 greatest height. Some weaker organ is the one that first 
 succumbs. Here the fever rises higher and higher, and the 
 
DISEASES OF THE THROAT. 281 
 
 inflammation increases. The empoisoned virus of the blood 
 rushes to this more-heated part as surely (and on somewhat 
 the same principle, too) as the oil flows through the wick to 
 the flame of the burning lamp. 
 
 "We have pursued this subject at some length, because 
 right here is the ground- work of the difficulty^ Here are 
 the fountains of disease, whose streams so often ruin the 
 horse. In seven cases out of ten, disease is generated by 
 mismanagement, bad treatment, and exposure, and thou- 
 sands of the best horses in the United ' States die annually 
 from these causes. 
 
 This great aggregate of unnecessary suflering, and these 
 vast sacrifices of pecuniary interest consequent upon it, 
 might be saved by better practices on the part of the 
 farmer and horseman. When a system of humane and ju- 
 dicious treatment has been univei'saljy adopted in respect 
 to the horse, the pristine vigor of his race will perhaps be 
 nearly attained, even in circumstances of servitude to man ; 
 and, .at any rate, the field of labor of the veterinary surgeon 
 will be "not a little circumscribed, and his practice greatly 
 simplified. 
 
 In the moral universe, no relation can exist without some 
 corresponding obligation. Man's relation to the brute cre- 
 ation is that of lord, of master, and by that he is obligated 
 to become, at the same time, a protector and provider. As 
 a moral duty, the prevention of sufl:ering is made binding 
 upon him by the law of the Creator, of whose ordaining it 
 is that the brutes have been made subject to his dominion, 
 or even capable of subserving his purposes. An act of cru- 
 elty, whether we commit it ourselves, or simply permit it 
 to be done, is a grievous wrong, and it is a sin against God. 
 
 The weather being unfavorable, if the horse is much 
 heated from his daily labors, by all means give him a good, 
 warm, dry stable, with a clean bed of straw, and have mat- 
 ters so arranged that he can lie down and rest during the 
 night. If very cold, cover his body with a warm blanket. 
 It would be no more than you should be prompted to do, 
 
282 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 bj considerations of decency and gratitude, to take a blanket 
 from your own bed, if need be, in order to furnisb your faith- 
 ful servant a proper protection after bringing you through 
 the pitiless storm, over many a weary mile, safely to youi 
 own home, even should you then have to sit up half the 
 night to keep up the fire in your own room, that you might 
 not suffer from cold. 
 
 Great care should be regularly exercised in regard to food. 
 Under no circumstances should the heated horse be given 
 corn. If, unfortunately, nothing else is at hand, better let 
 him stand for an hour and a half, until the heat subsides, 
 his blood cools, and his stomach is in proper condition to 
 receive such stimulating food ; and, meantime, give him a 
 little water, and some salt in his trough to lick. If hay or 
 any soft feed is at hand, give him this first. A bran-mash, 
 some meal, or some cut feed, will be the best. We say again 
 that a horse which has performed severe labor during the 
 day, and at night goes to the stable hot and tired, should 
 never have any corn until morning, if any other food can 
 possibly be procured. 
 
 ENLARGED GLANDS. 
 
 One of the forms of disease specially treated of in this 
 chapter, is what may be classed under the general head of 
 enlarged glands. It embraces those swellings of the glands 
 of the mouth and throat that are unaccompanied by any 
 severer malady, such as they are so often the mere symp- 
 toms of. While this condition may not be a specific or per- 
 manent disorder, but simply the temporary effects of cold 
 and exposure, its tendency is toward that termination. It 
 should, therefore, be watched carefully, and, if it lingers 
 about at all, it should be treated much in the same way as 
 will be directed in the next section for 
 
 SWELLED THROAT. 
 
 This general term, we are persuaded, will better suit the 
 farmer's uses than more minute divisions of highly-educated 
 
DISEASES OF THE THROAT. 283 
 
 and scientific practitioners, some of whom have a specific 
 name for the disease of every little organ in the throat. As 
 our work is designed for the farmer, we prefer to adopt this 
 name instead of the others. This whole class of diseases, in 
 the causes, development, and treatment of each, are so much 
 alike amid all their slight diversities of location, that this can 
 be done without any serious confusion or lack of precision. 
 
 While engaged in the preparation of the pages for one of 
 the preceding chapters, we saw a case of this kind on Wal- 
 nut Hills, near Cincinnati. It was swelled throat from the 
 effects of cold and inflammation of the glands. 
 
 These inflammations often become chronic, and not a few 
 of the obstinate coughs that so much trouble both the horse 
 and his owner have their origin right here. 
 
 Laryngitis, or inflammation of the larynx, is the most 
 common disease, which we may consider under the general 
 name at the head of this section. Mr. Youatt gives this de- 
 scription of it : 
 
 "Its approach is often insidious, scarcel}^ to be distin- 
 guished from catarrh, except by being attended with more 
 soreness of throat, and less enlargement of the parotid 
 glands. There are, also, more decided and violent parox- 
 ysms of coughing than in common catarrh, attended by a 
 gurgling noise, which may be heard at a little distance from 
 the horse, and which, by auscultation, is decidedly referable 
 to the larynx. The breathing is shorter and quicker, and 
 evidently more painful than catarrh ; the membrane of the 
 nose is redder ; it is of a deep modena color ; and the horse 
 shrinks and exhibits great pain when the larynx is pressed 
 upon. The paroxysms of coughing become more frequent and 
 violent, and the animal appears, at times, almost suffocated. 
 
 "As the soreness of the throat proceeds, the head of the 
 animal is projected, and the neck has a peculiar stiffness. 
 There is, also, much difliculty of swallowing. Considerable 
 swelling of the larynx and the pharynx ensue, and also of 
 the parotid, sublingual, and submaxillary glands. As the in- 
 flammation increases, the cough becomes hoarse and feeble, 
 
V 
 
 284 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK.' 
 
 and, m some cases, altogether suspended. At the commence 
 ment, there is usually little or no nasal defluxion, but the se- 
 cretion soon appears, either pure or mixed with an unusual 
 quantity of saliva. 
 
 "He who is desirous of ascertaining whether there is any 
 disease in the larynx of a horse should apply his ear to the 
 lower part of the windpipe. If he finds that the air passes 
 in and out without interruption, there is no disease of any 
 consequence either in the windpipe or the chest, for it would 
 immediately be detected by the loudness or the interruption 
 of the murmur. Then let him gradually proceed up the neck, 
 with his ear still upon the windpipe. Perhaps he soon begins 
 to recognize a little gurgling, grating sound. As he continues 
 to ascend, that sound is more decisive, mingled with an occa- 
 sional wheezing, whistling noise. He can have no surer proof 
 that here is the impediment to the passage of the air, pro- 
 ceeding from the thickening of the membrane and diminution 
 of the passage, or increased secretion of mucus, w^hich bub- 
 bles and rattles as the breath passes. By the degree of the 
 rattling or whistling, the owner will judge which cause of 
 obstruction preponderates — in fact, he will have discovered 
 the seat and the state of the disease, and the sooner he has 
 recourse to professional advice the better." 
 
 These inflammations of the throat are generally accom- 
 panied by cold or coughs, and occasionally by bronchitis. 
 Particular glands are frequently congested, and become choked 
 up, their secretions becoming thickened, so that they do not 
 flow readily, or perhaps not at all. Soreness and inflamma- 
 tion arise; the glands swell and puff out on the under side 
 of the throat, and, if this condition is not bettered soon, an 
 abscess will form, which may perhaps go on until it requires 
 opening with the lancet. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Whatever is done ought to be done quickly, for some- 
 times these throat diseases are very rapid in their action. 
 
DISEASES OF THE THROAT. 285t 
 
 The first resort will be bleeding, as usually the attack is not 
 detected until it has progressed so far that blood-letting is 
 absolutely necessary. By opening the neck vein, much 
 blood is abstracted from the very seat of the disease, and 
 the fever will be considerably lessened in this entire region. 
 Let the blood run until the pulse falters. You are attack- 
 ing the inflammation, not the horse, and there need be no 
 fears about his bleeding to death. 
 
 After this, prepare the following remedy, to be used as a 
 wash : One ounce of chlorate of potash, two ounces of golden 
 seal, and forty grains of tartar emetic. Mix these in one 
 pint of water, and, dividing into nine doses, give three of 
 them daily, each morning, noon, and night. 
 
 Apply the corrosive liniment to the outside of the throat 
 for two mornings, and, if the throat is swelling much, it will 
 abate the symptoms readily. If an abscess is forming, sub- 
 stitute the May-apple liniment. 
 
 In a mild case of sore throat, the bleeding may be omitted, 
 and, also, the corrosive liniment. But use the throat-wash, 
 as directed; and, for three mornings, bathe the under side of 
 the throat and between the jaw bones with a hot decoction 
 of tobacco. 
 
 COUGH. 
 
 !N'early every disease of the respiratory organs is accom- 
 panied by a cough more or less severe. An extreme irrita- 
 bility of the throat, the windpipe, and the lungs, from the 
 effects of disease and the influence of the air upon the sore 
 and inflamed parts, is very commonly a feature of all disor- 
 ders of this class. A cold atmosphere is exceedingly annoy- 
 ing to a sore throat, and, if drawn suddenly into the lungs, is 
 pretty sure to excite a coughing spell. 
 
 In human pathology, one of the most frequent causes of 
 coughing is the enlargement and soreness of the tonsils. 
 These organs are situated on each side of the palate, and pro- 
 ject outwardly and over the glottis (the upper part of the 
 trachea), in the shape of an almond. Located in the tonsils 
 are the small openings of a number of cells, or cavities, from 
 
 
•v 
 
 286 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 which flows a transparent mucus, which is pressed out in the 
 act of swallowing, and is designed to lubricate the throat, so 
 that the food may pass without friction through the pharynx 
 into the oesophagus, on its way to the stomach. The tonsils 
 are often sore and swollen; the little openings close, so that 
 . no mucus flows from them ; the mouth and throat become 
 dry and irritable, and then there is coughing. This act is 
 simply an efibrt, often involuntary, to obtain relief from the 
 dry, itchy, and irritable feeling in the throat, and to force the 
 tonsils to disgorge the mucus from its cells; and when a suf- 
 ficient quantity has been forced out by the pressure of the 
 muscles, in coughing, to once more lubricate the throat, the 
 unpleasant sensations subside, there is a temporary respite, 
 and the cough ceases for awhile. 
 
 The horse, however, has no tonsils such as the human 
 species is furnished with, and hence his cough can not pro- 
 ceed from exactly the same cause as that here mentioned ; 
 yet the same eff*ect is produced in his case by dryness of the 
 lining membrane of the trachea and air-passages of the lungs. 
 The secretions of the parotid and other glands furnish a vapor 
 to the warm air, as it is inhaled in the act of respiration, and 
 this vapor is deposited on the smooth, delicate mucous mem- 
 brane which lines the nasal cavities, the mouth, the throat, 
 and air-passages, and serves to keep it moist. Inflammation 
 and fever tend to evaporate this moisture much faster than 
 it is supplied, and the membrane is left dry. Coughing is 
 the method by which Kature seeks to force an increased sup- 
 ply of moisture from the glands, in order that the membrane 
 may receive the vapory deposits necessary to its comfort. 
 
 One very important object obtained by the act of coughing 
 is the disgorgement of the morbid secretions, which are 
 ' thrown out by the glands of the mouth and throat, and some- 
 times by the lungs. Instead of being a thin, transparent 
 fluid, these are changed into a thick, coagulated mucus, 
 sometimes even tough and stringy in character. Of this 
 large quantities are removed in the acts of coughing and ex- 
 pectoration, and the relief thus obtained is very great. Much 
 
DISEASES OF THE THROAT. 287 
 
 of the labor of chronic cough consists in the disgorging and 
 throwing out this irritating and troublesome matter from the 
 4|ings and air-passages. 
 
 Another slight benefit arising from coughing, yet only very 
 temporary at best, is effected by the rapidity with which the 
 air rushes over the dry and irritated surface, for the moment 
 cooling its fever and allaying the burning heat. A slight 
 friction of the parts is also produced, which serves very 
 much the same ends as a gentle scratching, where it itches 
 and burns. 
 
 The sound of coughing is occasioned by the violent con- 
 cussion of the air, as it is forced from the lungs through the 
 glottis into the larynx, in which are formed the vocal into- 
 nations of man and all the higher tyipes of animals. 
 
 Any disease that affects the respiratory organs and pas- 
 sages, whether the various parts of the throat, or" the trachea, 
 the bronchi, the lungs, or the pleura, to such an extent that 
 fever and inflammation are caused, will give rise to a cough. 
 If the disease becomes chronic, so will the cough. The latter 
 will share the fate of the other in that case ; yet cough some- *^ 
 times remains after an acute attack of disease has been pretty 
 thoroughly subdued. Among the various ailments in which 
 coughs originate, we may name the following : Soreness and 
 inflammation, of whatever sort, of tke throat and its pas- 
 sages, and of the trachea and lungs; bronchitis, pneumonia, 
 consumption, and pleurisy. 
 
 There are other diseases that at times sympathetically af- 
 fect the lungs and throat, and are apt to be marked by more 
 or less of coughing, though this will pass away when the 
 more severe symptoms of the disorder disappear. Such are 
 indigestion, worms, derangement of the Uver, and distemper. , 
 
 TREATMENT. ^ ' . 1 
 
 This may prove somewhat difficult, as coughs "^e often 
 obstinate and unyielding. Usually the cough may be abated 
 in a short time, and perhaps to a very great extent; but a 
 cough stopped is, by no means, one cured. It clings in- 
 
 ♦ , ■ ■ 
 

 288 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. ' 
 
 separably to the disease which produced it, and occasionally 
 even remains after that disease has been utterly routed. 
 Only those cases which are lingering or chronic will require 
 special directions for treatment, as all others wdll yield to the 
 remedies that cure the diseases in which they originated. 
 
 Tke proper time to begin the treatment of a cough which 
 makes its appearance as one of the fruits of exposure and 
 colds, is at its earliest development. The first time the horse 
 is heard to cough, notice should be taken. of the fact, and its 
 cause be investigated at once and diligently. If it proves to 
 be occasioned simply by dust or chaft*, nothing will be re- 
 quired but to give the animal a drink of water. On the other 
 hand, should it be from a cold or sore throat, active treatment 
 should be begun forthwith. Put the ear to the throat, near the 
 jaw-bone, to ascertain whether any rattling of the larynx or 
 the glottis can be detected; and note carefully whether the 
 horse, in drinking, gulps his water and straightens his neck 
 after swallowing, as though it hurt him. Such symptoms as 
 either of these indications constitute must not be neglected. 
 
 Extract from the jugular or neck vein three quarts of 
 blood. Then prepare as follows: One table-spoonful of gun- 
 powder, one of soft soap, two of lard, one of tar, and one of 
 gum myrrh, finely pulverized. Mix this well, and divide into 
 six doses. Each morning put one of them down the horse's 
 throat with a paddle or spoon, and at night drench him with 
 half a gill of the solution of chlorate of potash — one ounce 
 of the chlorate of potash to a pint of water. 
 
 After this, if he stands in the stable, give as much sulphur 
 and resin as he can be induced to eat; but if in time of 
 pasture, green grass will be the best" thing in the world for 
 hina. 
 
 In the spring of the year, bleeding may not be necessary, 
 unless the horse's condition is very bad. In a mild case, the 
 faithful use of the throat medicine, with a careful bathing 
 of the throat, for two or three successive mornings, with the 
 hot decoction of tobacco, will nearly always remove the 
 cough. But in the winter, the* case will be pretty sure to be 
 
 ^r 
 
• DISEASES OF THE THEOAT. ' 289 
 
 obstinate, sufficiently so to necessitate active and energetic 
 employment of the whole treatment. 
 
 MALIGNANT EPIDEMIC* 
 
 "In 1714, a malignant epidemic was imported from the 
 Continent, and, in the course of a few months, destroyed 
 70,000 horses and cattle. It continued to visit other coun- 
 tries, with but short intervals, for fifty years afterward. Out 
 of evil, however, came good. The continental agriculturists 
 were alarmed by the destruction of their property. The 
 different governments participated in the terror, and veter- 
 inary schools were established, in which the anatomy and 
 diseases of these animals might be studied, and the cause 
 and treatment of these periodical pests discovered. From 
 the time that this branch of medical science began to receive 
 the attention it deserved, these epidemics, if they have not 
 quite ceased, have changed their character, and have become 
 comparatively mild and manageable. As, however, they yet 
 
 occur, and far too fatal, we must endeavor to collect the 4k 
 
 symptoms, and point out the treatment of them. • 
 
 "The malignant epidemic was almost uniformly ushered 
 in by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the respira-- "^ 
 tory passages, but soon involving other portions, and then 
 ensued a diarrhea, which no art could arrest. The fever, 
 acute at first, rapidl}^ passed over, and was succeeded by great, ; ^ . 
 prostration of strength. The inflammation then spread to * * 
 
 the cellular texture, and there was a peculiar disposition to 
 the formation of phlegmonous tumors; sometimes there were 
 pustular eruptions, but oftener deep-seated tumors rapidly 
 proceeding to suppuration. Connected with this was a strong * ^ 
 tendency to decomposition, and, unless the animal was re- 
 lieved by some critical flux or evacuation, malignant typhus 
 was established, and the horse speedily sunk. ^ 
 
 " The most satisfactory account of one of these epidemics is 
 
 *The ravages of this epidemic lorm a highly interesting, though startling, 
 page in the history of veterinary science. The epitome embodied in this sec- 
 tion is from Youatt. 
 
 19 
 
 « 
 
 ' 'i 
 
290 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 given us by Professor Brugnone, of Turin. It commenced 
 with loss of appetite, staring coat, a wild and wandering 
 look, and a staggering from the very commencement. The 
 horse would continually lie down and get up again, as if tor- 
 mented by colic; and he gazed alternately at both flanks. 
 In moments of comparative ease, there were universal twitch- 
 ings of the skin and spasms of the limbs. The temperature 
 of the ears and feet was variable. If there happened to be 
 about the animal any old wound or scar from setoning or 
 firing, it opened afresh and discharged a quantity of thick 
 and black blood. Very shortly afterward the flanks, which 
 were quiet before, began to heave, the nostrils were dilated, 
 the head extended for breath. The horse had, by this time, 
 become so weak that, if he lay or fell down, he could rise no 
 more ; or if he was up, he would stand trembling, stagger- 
 ing, and threatening to fall every moment. The mouth was 
 dry, the tongue white, and the breath fetid ; a discharge of 
 yellow or bloody fetid matter proceeded from the nose, and 
 fetid blood from the anus. The duration of the disease did 
 not usually exceed twelve or twenty-four hours; or, if the 
 animal lingered on, swellings of the head and throat, and 
 sheath and scrotum, followed, and he died exhausted or in 
 convulsions. 
 
 " Black spots of extravasation were found in the cellular 
 membrane, in the tissue of all the membranes, and on the 
 stomach. The mesenteric and lymphatic glands were en- 
 gorged, black, and gangrenous. The membrane of the nose 
 and pharynx was highly injected, the lungs were filled with 
 black and frothy blood, or with black and livid spots. The 
 brain and its meninges were unaltered." 
 
 ■ ' DIFFICULTY OF BREATHING. 
 
 Many horses give evidence of. considerable difficulty in 
 breathing, and to such an extent, in many cases, that the an- 
 imal is incapacitated for any thing but the slowest kind of 
 work. Such a condition may result from a partial change 
 in the organization of the substance of the lungs, or from 
 
DISEASES OF THE THROAT. 291 
 
 some obstruction of the air-passages. This affection of the 
 horse is variously designated, according to its different mani- 
 festations. In England, the sound produced is what decides 
 the name, and hence veterinarians and horsemen in that coun- 
 try speak of roarers, whistlers, wheezers, pipers, etc. There 
 are, also, the terms "thick wind" and "broken wind," both of 
 which are very approp'riate, and, to a certain extent, are in 
 use in this country as well as in Great Britain. Difficulty 
 of breathing, in the Southern States, is known as " bellows," 
 and in the !N'orthern States as " heaves." These terms relate 
 to precisely the same affection — broken wind — and are de- 
 rived from the rapid and labored motion of the animal's 
 flanks in respiration. 
 
 Perhaps it would serve every purpose to include all these 
 distinctive names under one comprehensive term, such as 
 that at the head of this section ; but, as the farmer will 
 probably recognize what they stand for more readily under 
 the customary titles, we will treat separately broken wind, 
 thick wind, and roaring. The former. two are most com- 
 monly the permanent effects left in the wake of those two 
 dreadful diseases bronchitis and pneumonia, or inflammation 
 of the lungs. 
 
 BROKEN WIND, BELLOWS, AND HEAVES. 
 
 The lungs act on the principle of a pair of bellows, worked 
 by the power of the respiratory muscles. If they are im- ^^, 
 paired, and portions of them closed up, it will require a more '*■ 
 labored effort of the muscles to keep them blowing. As ex- 
 ercise increases, the blowing increases also, in both volume 
 and rapidity, and greater exertion is required, of course, to 
 blow the bellows fast than slow. The action of the lungs is 
 thus much quickened, the breathing is short, and the sides 
 puff in and out like a pair of bellows indeed. Hence the 
 name by which this affection goes in Dixie, while the syno- 
 nym " heaves," employed in Yankee-land, originates in the 
 same peculiarity. 
 
 In broken wind, the air is drawn into the lungs — or in- 
 
. « 
 
 292 AMERICAN FAKMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 spired, as the technical word is — somewhat more quickly and 
 laboriously than in health ; but, when it is forced out in ex- 
 piration, a singular and characteristic phenomenon appears. 
 This is a peculiar and forcible double action, the ordinary 
 expiration being succeeded by another, evidently a labored 
 one. The cause of this is a change in the structure of part 
 of the lungs, in which the w/ills between some of the air- 
 cells are broken down, so that the usual action of the respir- 
 atory muscles is not sufficiently powerful to expel all the air. 
 Such a condition is called emphysema. In the second expira- 
 tion, all the muscles of the chest are called into play. 
 
 Says " Stonehenge : " " The pressure of unchanged air is a 
 constant source of irritation to the lungs, and, although suf- 
 ficient may be expired easily enough to carry on their func- 
 tions while the body is at rest, yet, instinctively, there is a 
 desire to get rid of the surplus, and hence the two acts of 
 respiration. Immediately after this second act the muscles 
 relax, and the flank falls in, and this it is which catches the 
 eye in so remarkable a manner. On examination after death, 
 the lungs are found to remain enlarged, and do not collapse, 
 as in the healthy condition. They are distended with air ; 
 and thft is especially the case when the emphysema is of the 
 kind called interlobular, in which the air has escaped into 
 the cellular membrane. In the most common kind, however, 
 the cells are broken down, several being united together, 
 while the enlargement pressing upon the tube which has 
 opened into them diminishes its capacity and prevents the 
 ready escape of air." 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 A cure of broken wind is impossible, since the trouble 
 originates in an organic injury. The ruptured walls of the 
 pulmonary tissue can never be built up again by the skill or 
 medication of man. But the disease may be greatly palliated 
 by proper attention to feeding, and regular and judicious ex- 
 ercise. The horse should not be watered for at least an hour 
 before going to work, nor be put at severe labor while the 
 
DISEASES OF THE THROAT. 293 
 
 stomach is distended with food, for the lungs ought to have 
 the freest and fullest play possible. Oats will be an excellent 
 article of diet. In England, carrots are considered of great 
 benefit in this and similar diseases of the respiratory organs. 
 
 THICK WIND, WHEEZING, ETC. 
 
 Thick wind is the general name applied to the defective 
 respiration of the horse when there is no clearly-defined 
 unnatural noise, and there are no signs of the condition 
 known as emphysema, described in the last section. It is 
 characterized by a short, quick, and labored breathing, as 
 well of inspiration as of expiration. Sometimes the bron- 
 chial tubes are the seat of the trouble, from their diameter 
 becoming lessened by a thickening of the mucous membrane 
 with which they are lined ; but, usually, it follows pneumonia, 
 and is caused by the hepatization of a portion of the lungs — 
 that is, some of the air-cells are closed up or obliterated, so 
 that only a part of the lungs is available for the purposes of 
 respiration. This part has extra labor thrown upon it, of 
 course; and/the breathing is necessarily quicker, in order 
 that the blood, which it was intended should be acted upon 
 by the air in every portion of the lungs, may not suffer, now 
 that only a part of their air-surfaces can be used. 
 
 This trouble often precedes "broken wind;" but, while 
 that disorder is the effect of particular afiections of the lungs, 
 nearly all of them are attended or followed by thick wind, 
 or wheezing. Unlike broken wind, the latter often passes 
 away with the disease that produced it. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 This will be of the same character as that prescribed in the 
 last section for broken wind, and can not be expected to do 
 more than simply mitigate the symptoms. 
 
 ROARING. 
 
 This is the name given in England to a disease exceedingly 
 rare in this country, although some parts of Europe contain 
 
294 AMEEICAN FAKMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 a great many roarers. From the accounts of British veter- 
 inarians we cull the following statements concerning it : It 
 is produced by obstruction in some part of the respiratory 
 canal, oftenest in the larynx, and next to that in the trachea. 
 Sometimes these obstructions are originally caused by bands 
 of coagulated lymph in the trachea, or elsewhere. Chronic 
 cough occasionally terminates in roaring. The majority of 
 roarers are draught horses, and horses of quick draught. 
 
 Facts are said to establish the hereditary predisposition to 
 this aifection beyond a doubt. " Major Wilson, of Didling- 
 ton, England," had a valuable stable horse; but he was a 
 roarer, and so were many of his colts. On the other hand, 
 "Eclipse" and "Taurus," two celebrated racers of England, 
 were roarers, but none of their colts were. 
 
 This is a rather strange concatena^tion of assertions and 
 contradictions to be derived from the same sources ; and thus 
 \^e leave the subject and the roarers of Euijland. 
 
DISEASES OF THE CHEST AND LUNGS. 295 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 DISEASES OF THE CHEST AND LUNGS. 
 
 a The first rib. 
 
 6 The cartilages of the eleven hindermost, or faUe ribs, connected together, 
 and uniting with that of the seventh or last true rib. 
 
 c The breast-bone, or sternum. 
 
 d The top, or point, of the withers, which are formed by the lengthened 
 spinous, or upright, processes of the first ten or eleven bones of 
 the back. The bones of the back (dorsal vertebroe) are eighteen in 
 number. 
 
 e The ribs, usually eighteen on each side ;. the first seven united to the breast- 
 bone by cartilage ; the cartilages of the remaining eleven united to 
 each other, as at h. 
 
 f That portion of the spine where the loins commence, and composed of six 
 bones (the lumbar vertebroe). 
 
 g The bones forming the hip, or haunch, and into the hole at the bottom of 
 which the head of the thigh-bone is received. * 
 
 h The portion of the spine (the sacrum) belonging to the haunch, and consist- 
 ing of five pieces. 
 
 i The bones of the tail, usually seventeen in number. 
 
 CHEST FOUNDER. 
 
 The muscles of the horse's breast are sometimes the seat 
 of a peculiar soreuess and swelling never satisfactorily ac- 
 counted for, and not known to be connected with any other 
 
296 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 disease. Probably this condition is the result of cold settled 
 in these muscles from some cause; or, it may be, from some 
 strain or lesion of them, or of their connection with the tenr 
 dons. Some have supposed it to be a form of rheumatism. 
 The affection was formerly called chest founder, and by that 
 name is still best known to most American farmers. 
 
 Whatever the real causes of the attack, its symptoms are 
 obvious enough. The horse manifests pain when he is 
 touched; there is evident stiffness of the shoulders and legs 
 during motion, and, at times, there is considerable fever. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 "Wash the breast in some warm salt and water in the morn- 
 ing, and again at night ; and on the second day apply the cor- 
 rosive liniment to the chest. Give as a drench, as hot as the 
 animal can bear it, a pint of salt and water, in which has been 
 stirred half an ounce of ground ginger and one dram of 
 tartar emetic. Six days will usually be long enough for this 
 to do its work; but, if necessary, its use may be continued 
 longer, until a decided improvement is perceptible. 
 
 In a bad case, bleed moderately. 
 
 BRONCHITIS. 
 
 Bronchitis is but one of the legitimate fruits of exposure, 
 such, for instance, as that depicted at the opening of the 
 last chapter, where we saw the heated and steaming horse 
 turned out into the cold and biting storm, there to stand 
 shivering and freezing in the mud, through a long winter 
 -jiight. As a consequence of that treatment, there was first 
 a cold, next enlarged glands, and then swelled throat. Happy 
 that horse and owner if the difficulty goes no further than 
 this. Sometimes it will not; but often the inflammation 
 creeps downward from the larynx through the trachea into 
 the bronchi and air-passages of the lungs. 
 
 Bronchitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane 
 lining the bronchial tubes, which membrane, becoming filled 
 with blood, the diameter of the tube is sensibly diminished. 
 
DISEASES OF THE CHEST AND LUNGS. 297 
 
 BO that some diflSculty and an increased rapidity of breathing 
 is the consequence. "After a time, a frothy mucus is 
 poured from the membrane, and this still further interferes 
 with respiration, and necessitates a constant cough to get rid 
 of it. These symptoms are always present ; but they will 
 vary gi^eatly in intensity, and in the" rapidity with which they 
 progress, from which circumstances bronchitis is usually said 
 to be acute or chronic, as the case may be." 
 
 The discharge in bronchitis is mainly of a purulent, mu- 
 cous character, with clots of blood and plugs of matter from 
 the nose. The disease gradually steals its way along the line 
 of the trachea to the air-tubes, and even the substance of the 
 lungs, and the inexperienced will have some difficulty in 
 distinguishing it from pneumonia, which is its very frequent 
 termination. The horse is very sensitive to pain, and his 
 nerves are all alive to excitement. That he feels the full 
 force of his suffering is manifest by his haggard look, and 
 also by his evident dread of suffocation, which causes him to 
 remain standing and motionless. There is a hard, dry cough ; 
 the breathing is hot, and noticeably quickened; the pulse is 
 full and rapid, beating sixty or seventy times per minute, 
 and the membrane of the nose is of a deep florid red. 
 
 When the ear is placed to the throat and chest, (which is 
 that most useful means of forming a true diagnosis of all 
 pulmonary diseases, which the books describe under };he namvj n 
 of auscultation^ there is heard a dry, ratt\ing sound, differing 
 materially from the crepitation — the murmurous, crackling 
 sound — of pneumonia. Upon the formation of mucus, this 
 is succeeded by gurgling, and what have been called "soap- 
 bubble sounds," forming a distinctive feature of bronchitis 
 that is easily recognized. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment of this disease is so nearly identical with 
 that to be prescribed for pneumonia, in the next section, that 
 it will be sufficient to refer the reader forward to that con- 
 nection. 
 
 ;^ 
 
298 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 PNEUMONIA, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 
 
 This follows hard after bronchitis, in most instances where 
 it occurs, and the horse generally dies. In only a small pro- 
 portion of cases is it possible to effect a cure. Where the 
 horse has a strong constitution, and his vital forces are all in 
 energetic play, if the disease be attacked in season, there will 
 be some chance of overcoming and removing it. The pro- 
 cess of treatment, however, will prove long and arduous. 
 Primary or pure pneumonia, as it is called, is undoubtedly 
 » found to exist, at times, without attendant bronchitis ; but it 
 is equally certain that the two diseases are intimately con- 
 nected, in the great majority of cases. Perhaps pure pneu- 
 monia is oftener accompanied, or rather preceded, by bron- 
 chial irritation than is now generally supposed; but this 
 symptom being so involved in th6 severer ones which follow 
 after with great rapidity, it is apt to be overlooked. When 
 the progress of the disease is slow, however, the bronchial 
 symptoms are seen clearly as a separate link in the chain. 
 
 • Pneumonia is commonly ushered in with a chill, the horse 
 
 shivering all over. Presently this passes off, and is succeeded 
 
 ** by an unnatural degree of warmth. Before long another 
 
 chill comes on, more severe than the former, and lasting 
 somewhat longer. Thus there may be three or four recur- 
 rences of these chills before any other conspicuous symptoms 
 are manifested. The extremities are deathly cold from the 
 very outset. On putting the hand to the legs or the ears this 
 will be noticed in an instant. As the symptoms progress, the 
 breathing becomes hurried and distressed, averaging about 
 one inspiration each second ; the pulse, though oppressed, is 
 quick, running up to sixty-five or seventy per minute; the 
 mouth and breath are very hot; there is a short and evidently 
 painful cough ; the fore-feet are wide apart, from the animal's 
 instinctive effort to dilate the chest as much as possible ; and 
 the sound heard in auscultation is a peculiar crisp crackling, 
 which some have likened to the crackling of a dried bladder. 
 This sound is caused by the infiltration of blood into the air- 
 
DISEASES OF THE CHEST AND LUNGS. 299 . 
 
 cells. The langs are in a state of fearful congestion', and it 
 often happens that simple congestion, such as maybe caused 
 by violent over-exertion at any time, brings on an attack of 
 pneumonia. 
 
 " The unfavorable symptoms," says Youatt, '* are, increased 
 coldness of the ears and feet, if that be possible; partial 
 sweats ; grinding of the teeth ; evident weakness ; staggering, 
 the animal not lying down. The pulse becomes quicker, and 
 weak and fluttering ; the membrane of the nose paler, but of 
 a dirty hue, the animal growing stupid, comatose. At length 
 he falls, but he gets up immediately. For awhile he is up 
 and down almost every minute, until he is no longer able to 
 rise; he struggles severely; he piteously groans; the pulse 
 becomes more rapid, fainter, and he dies of suffocation. The 
 disease sometimes runs its course with strange rapidity. A 
 horse has been destroyed by pure pneumonia in twelve hours. 
 The vessels ramifying over the cells have yielded to the fear- 
 ful impulse of the blood, and the lungs have presented one 
 mass of congestion. 
 
 "The favorable symptoms are, the return of a little warmth 
 to the extremites, the circulation b^inning again to assume 
 its natural character; and, next to this, the lying down quietly 
 and without uneasiness, shoeing us that he is beginning to 
 do without the auxiliary muscles. These are good symptoms, 
 and they will rarely deceive. 
 
 " Congestion is a frequent termination of pneumonia. Not 
 only are the vessels gorged — the congestion which accom- 
 panies common inflammation — but their parietes are neces- 
 sarily so thin, in order that the change in the blood may 
 take place, although they are interposed, that they are easily 
 ruptured, and the cells are filled with blood. This eftused 
 blood soon coagulates, and the lung, when cut into, presents 
 a black, softened, pulpy kind of appearance, termed, by the 
 farrier and the groom, rottenness, and being supposed by them 
 to indicate an old disease. It proves only the violence of 
 the disease, the rupture of many a vessel surcharged with 
 blood; and it also proves that the disease is of recent date; 
 
300 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 for, iu no great length of time, the serous portion of the blood 
 becomes absorbed, the more solid one becomes organized, the 
 cells are obliterated, and the lung is hepatized, or bears con- 
 siderable resemblance to liver." 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 As already stated, the treatment for pneumonia and bron- 
 chitis is essentially the same. The first thing to be done is 
 to bleed, taking three pints of blood from the neck vein. 
 J^ext, wash the entire neck and chest with a weak decoction 
 of tobacco, as hot as it can be safely applied, and as soon as 
 this is dry, bathe the chest with the corrosive liniment. 
 
 A hot drench — as hot as it can be made without scalding — 
 is the next step in the treatment. This is to consist of two 
 ounces of Epsom salts in a pint of salt and water. Follow 
 this with a preparation of gentian and ginger. Take one 
 ounce of each and boil them in one quart of water, until 
 their strength is out, or until there is only a pint of water 
 left. Divide this into four doses, of which give the horse one 
 in the morning and another at night. These doses may be 
 kept up as long as the symptoms warrant their use. 
 
 A clyster of warm soap-suds will be of benefit, to follow 
 the first dreuch. As only a light discharge from the bowels 
 is to be sought, the use of strong purgatives must be avoided 
 with the utmost care. They will be very likely to induce 
 inflammation of the bowels, in the present condition of the 
 patient, and only tend to hasten a fatal termination. 
 
 Ko symptom of pneumonia is more characteristic than cold 
 extremities, sometimes even icy cold; nor is there any so 
 easily recognized. It will greatly improve the condition of 
 the feet and limbs to bathe them with strong salt and Water, 
 as hot as the horse can bear it, and then to rub them well 
 with a coarse cloth or brush. 
 
 The food must be very light. Green feed will be best, but 
 if this can not be procured, bran-mashes, a little meal, or 
 some chopped feed will do Yerj well instead. Until there is 
 a marked improvement in his condition, the horse will not 
 
DISEASES OF THE CHEST AND LUNGS. 301 
 
 attempt to eat any thing ; nor is it at all desirable, even if it 
 were not useless, to coax him to do so. 
 
 "When the patient is so much better that he can be turned 
 out, give him the run of a good pasture, if possible ; or, if 
 too feeble for this, keep him warm in the stable, until he 
 gains strength. In any case, great care must be taken to 
 prevent a relapse. The condition of the lungs will hardly be 
 that of sound health for a long time afterward, even if the 
 animal can be carried through without becoming broken- 
 winded. l!^ot unfrequently an attack of pneumonia seems to 
 pernaanently enfeeble the constitution and shorten life. After 
 a good interval of rest, (^Idom less than two months, when 
 the attack has been an acute one), the horse may be put to 
 light work, which may be gradually increased in severity, as 
 he is found capable of it. 
 
 CONSUMPTION. 
 
 Consumption in the horse is oftener than otherwise the 
 successor of pneumonia. It is generally but the finishing 
 stroke, the final winding up of the long train of evils follow- 
 ing exposure and neglect. Those were the cause; this is the 
 result. Inflammation in the lungs has produced rupture of 
 the air-cells, and the mucus and blood has mingled together 
 in lumps or knots, and, under the influence of the prevailing 
 local fever, these masses have become coagulated and consti- 
 tute what are called tuhercles. These are of a pale yellow 
 color, varying greatl}' in size, and still more in number, the 
 latter being dependent upon the number of the air-cells de- 
 stroyed by the inflammation. If pneumonia leaves behind 
 it but a few of these tubercles, and not much irritation re- 
 mains in the lungs, they may pass to a state of induration — 
 that is, hardness and dryness — without occasioning any harm. 
 But in these bodies there is always a strong predisposition to 
 growth, and the formation of tubercular matter, a kind of 
 yellowish white pus, of a creamy appearance, and coagulable 
 by the action of heat, acids, and alcohol. 
 
 Tubercles are frequently found in the lungs, and some- 
 
302 AMERICAN FARMEE'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 times exist there for a long time, without seriously injuring 
 the horse. But we have many doubts whether they can long 
 remain there without some growth, some increase in size, 
 though it be very slowly. Almost any irritating cause may 
 occasion their enlargement. Exposure, colds, extra labor, 
 derangement of the stomach and bowels, a general feverish 
 condition of the system, and certain specific diseases, may 
 send such unhealthy influences to the lungs through the blood 
 as to excite tubercular growth and the formation of matter. 
 The healthy parts of the lung are involved by degrees^ and 
 gradually destroyed ; and now consumption has fairly entered 
 on its fell career. The yellow, almost purulent, mucus raised 
 from the lungs is the pus of the tubercles, which has burst 
 through their cells into the air-passages of the lungs, when 
 it is expectorated by the human patient, and in the horse es- 
 capes through the nostrils. 
 
 The reader must bear in mind, that in the foregoing de- 
 scription, the tubercles have been supposed to originate in 
 the diseased condition of the lungs consequent upon- pneu- 
 monia, bronchitis, or pleurisy; but this does not imply 
 that consumption invariably follows those disorders, or even 
 that their tubercular formations necessarily produce it. [N'or 
 do we wish to be understood to say that tubercles may not 
 exist in the lungs of the horse quite independent of them, 
 and indeed of all other aifections. 'We are satisfied that they 
 may so exist, and that consumption may establish itself in the 
 lungs as a primary disease. Perhaps the latent virus of 
 scrofula is the not uncommon, though seldom suspected, in- 
 strumentality which develops consumption in many of these 
 cases. * • ' 
 
 The symptoms of consumption do not vary much from 
 those of inflammation of the lungs, except in intensity. 
 There is a much slower but still more morbid action going 
 on in the lungs ; the pulse is feeble ; the nose, ears, legs, and 
 even the skin, constantly feel not only chilly, but of a clammy, 
 death-like coldness ; the membrane of the nose is of a pale 
 and ashy color; the breath is hot and very oflensive ; there is 
 
DISEASES OF THE CHEST AND LUNGS. 303 
 
 a very severe and painful cough, and the pose is continually 
 discharging a purulent matter, often mixed with blood. 
 
 Consumption kills more horses than is generally supposed. 
 It is apt to be mistaken for some other disease, in many 
 cases, and is even less understood by the mass of horse own- 
 ers than its kindred diseases, pneumonia and bronchitis. 
 All of. these sometimes run their course so rapidly that irre- 
 parable mischief is done before the keeper awakens to a 
 realization of the true condition of the suffering animal. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The hope of a cure in a case of genuine consumption is 
 slight indeed; and it will not do for the practitioner to 
 effect improvement simply, although that may be very great. 
 iNot only must life be prolonged, but the patient must be 
 made sound and well, and capable of full service, "or nothing 
 is accomplished; and the skill and judgment of the veter- 
 inarian is gauged, not by the measure of success that attends 
 his treatment, but by its perfect success. The human patient 
 willingly submits to medical treatment for months, or even 
 years, and is happy if life is merely preserved and made tol- 
 erably comfortable, so that he can get about a little. To secure 
 this, he regards scarcely any sacrifice as too great. In respect 
 to the horse, however, this amounts to nothing ; yet seldom, 
 exceedingly seldom, can any thing more be done for him if 
 pulmonary consumption is fairly established. He may be 
 patched up a little, so as to regain sufficient strength for 
 some quite light service, but a sound, strong horse he never 
 will be again. In nine cases out of ten, it will be worth 
 twice the after value of the horse to ^*cure" him, as many 
 would use the term. 
 
 Mercy can be the only inducement to undertake an} treats 
 ment after the disease has passed its earlier stages. Much 
 Buffering may be alleviated, and this might well be a suffi- 
 cient motive for adopting that course. But the pecuniary view 
 is that which would control the action of the great majority 
 of our farmers, and, perhaps, necessarily so in many cases. 
 
304 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 A radical cure is an impossibility, except in the first stages 
 of the malady; but the symptoms of that period seldom 
 receive any attention, and thus the golden opportunity is 
 forever lost. When the tubercles have commenced break- 
 ing in the lungs it is too late. To those who are disposed 
 to try their skill in treating a consumptive horse, we give 
 the following directions : 
 
 Bleed moderately, taking three pints of blood at first, and 
 on the sixth day afterward the same quantity again. For the 
 general building up of the system, and especially to act upon 
 the skin, give sulphur and resin. Accompany this with the 
 following preparation for the throat and lungs: One pint of 
 new milk, one gill of French brandy, one gill of honey, and 
 half an ounce of finely-pulverized gum myrrh. Mix, and 
 divide into two doses — one to be given in the morning, and 
 the other at night. Continue the use of this remedy until 
 the patient recovers or dies. 
 
 This treatment will produce a marked abatement of the 
 symptoms, at least in the early stages of the disease. It is 
 worth a trial at almost any period, and it will rarely fail to 
 relieve the distressing cough. 
 
 Perhaps a good pasture will prove better than any med- 
 icine, and, at any rate, will prove a valuable adjunct to the 
 course of treatment. But watchful care must be taken to 
 prevent such exposures as might induce colds, etc. Compre- 
 hensively stated, the attention and general treatment extended 
 the patient must be kind and generous throughout. 
 
 We may appropriately conclude this subject by quoting 
 the cautionary language of Youatt, which is yet hopeful in 
 that it impliedly recognizes the chance of a cure : 
 
 " When this disease has been properly treated, and appar- 
 ently subdued, the horse can not be summarily and quickly 
 dismissed to his work. He is sadly emaciated; he long con- 
 tinues so; his coat stares; his skin clings to his ribs; his 
 belly is tucked up, notwithstanding that he may have plenty 
 of mashes, and carrots, and green meat, and medicine; his 
 former gayety and spirit do not return, or, if he is willing to 
 
 I 
 
DISEASES OF THE CHEST AND LUNOS. 305 
 
 work, he is easily tired, sweating on the least exertion, and 
 the sweat most profuse about the chest and sides ; his appe- 
 tite is not restored, or, perhaps, never has been good, and 
 the slightest exertion puts him completely off his feed." 
 
 PLEURISY. 
 
 This is a disease of the pleura, the membrane which in- 
 vests the lungs and lines the entire cavity of the chest. It 
 may be the follower of bronchitis, and the adjunct of pneu- 
 monia, and is generally the offspring of exposure and bad 
 treatment. It may affect both sides or only one of them. 
 Fortunately, the farmer's practice does not often include the 
 treatment of. this disease in our country, and probably not 
 more than one in five hundred of our readers will ever be 
 called upon to undertake a case of this kind. 
 
 By the masses of farmers and horse-owners generally, 
 pleurisy will be very likely to be mistaken for pneumonia, 
 or, perhaps, even for bronchitis. It has a number of quite 
 distinctive symptoms, however, most of which may be recog- 
 nized without much difficulty by any ordinarily careful ob- 
 server. One of the most characteristic of these is the peculiar 
 respiration, the inspiration being short and very painful, from 
 the extremely irritable condition of the pleura, consequent 
 upon inflammation, while the expiration is affected by allow- 
 ing the chest to fall slowly, and affords an interval of very 
 great relief. The feeling is that which the human patient 
 calls the stitch. Still, the breathing is somewhat quickened, 
 raising to forty or fifty respirations per minute. The pulse is 
 considerably accelerated, but, though small toward the last, 
 is strong and wiry throughout ; whereas, in pneumonia, it is 
 oppressed and sometimes hardly appreciable. The nostrils 
 and eyes are of a natural color, or nearly so, and the former 
 are not dilated. The legs, instead of being extended, as in 
 pneumonia and bronchitis, are rather drawn together. The 
 head is protruded rather than drooped ; the expression anx- 
 ious, but brightening at times, at least in the earlier stages ; 
 and when the sufferer turns to look at his flanks, his move- 
 20 
 
306 ^ AMEEICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 ments are more sudden and spasmodic than in pneumonia. 
 As in that disease, he can not be induced to lie down. There 
 is a short, hurried cough, not easily distinguishable by most 
 observers, however, from that which marks bronchial or pul- 
 monary disease. The temperature is apt to be variable. 
 Sometimes it is even warmer than natural, and, though gen- 
 erally the reverse, the extremities are never so deathly cold 
 as in pneumonia. The mouth, upon the other hand, is not 
 80 hot, and the breath, in this respect, is almost natural. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 This is substantially the same as that prescribed for bron- 
 chitis, with the addition of copious applications of corrosive 
 liniment to the sides, low down, both in front and back of 
 the shoulders, and between the fore-legs. 
 
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 307 
 
 CHAPTER Xni. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 
 
 The digestive organs of the horse, particularly the stomach 
 and bowels, are more subject to disease than any others; 
 while, from their location and their peculiar service in 
 the animal economy, it is more difficult to understand the 
 minutiae of their structure and functions than those of any 
 other portions of his system, except the lungs. Besides 
 the embarrassment to which the latter circumstance gives 
 riise in treating intestinal diseases, there is this additional 
 one: that the symptoms exhibited are so varied that the 
 practitioner is often in great danger of being entirely misled 
 as to the real nature and causes of the disorder. 
 
 The stomach is the receptacle of not merely what the 
 horse eats as food, but likewise of every nostrum which 
 ignorance and quackery can force into it, and which too 
 often itself proves the fruitful source of disease. To its 
 inner coating a merciful Creator has given a degree of 
 msensibility, which, though its only safeguard, is a power- 
 ful one ; yet even this is not always sufficient to protect it 
 from the dire effects of the poisons poured into it. Con- 
 sidered in relation to the bulk of his entire body, and es- 
 pecially to the enormous capacity of the abdominal cavity, 
 the stomach of the horse is very small, being only three or 
 four times as large as in man, whose body is scarcely one- 
 tenth the size of that of his faithful servitor. It contains 
 but two or three gallons, while the intestines, when fully 
 expanded, have a. capacity of from twenty to twenty-four. 
 
 So far as is known, it is provided with no gastric 
 agencies, and conducts the process of digestion no further 
 
308 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 than simply softening down the food. The remaining* 
 operations are carried on in the intestines, which, by their 
 great length, presenting an immense extent of surface 
 'filled with absorbents, are especially adapted to the per- 
 
 THE STOMACH. 
 
 a The oesophagus, or gullet, extending to the stomach. 
 
 b The entrance of the gullet into the stomach. The circular layers of the 
 muscles are very thick and strong, and which, by their contractions 
 help to render it difficult for the food to be returned or vomited. 
 
 c The portion of the stomach which is covered by cuticle, or insensible skin. 
 
 d d The margin, which separates the cuticular from the villious portion. 
 
 e e The mucous, or villous (velvet) portion of the stomach, in which the food 
 is principally digested. 
 
 / The communication between the stomach and the first intestine. 
 
 g The common orifice through which the bile and the secretion from the pan- 
 creas pass into the first intestine. The two pins mark the two tubes 
 here united. 
 
 h A smaller orifice, through which a portion of the secretion of the pan- 
 creas enters the intestines. 
 
 formance of this duty. A remarkable peculiarity in the 
 anatomy of this organ in the horse, is strikingly indicative 
 -of its limited part in the functions of digestion. As is well- 
 known, it is the mucous membrane which is furnished with 
 
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 309 
 
 the minute absorbents whose office it is to take up the 
 digested particles of food, in the form of chyle, and trans- 
 fer them to the general circulation. While this coating 
 lines the entire inner surface of the intestines, not more 
 than one-third of that of the stomach is similarly provided, 
 there being in the latter only a small patch of it, no larger 
 than the two hands would cover, in the upper part, near 
 the esophagus. 
 
 Though apparently free from bilious disorders, the horse 
 is frequently a sufferer from various derangements of the 
 digestive functions, some of which are liable to assume 
 the gravest character quite suddenly. The simplest and 
 least hurtful of these is 
 
 SOUR STOMACH. 
 
 The purely vegetable food of the horse, in the mouth re^ 
 ceives an imperfect mastication, with a merely partial moists 
 ening from the saliva; and in this condition it passes 
 through the esophagus, or "swallow," to the stomach, 
 where it is shut in above by the closing of the esophagus, 
 and below by that of the pylorus — literally the door-keepers — 
 which is the outlet to the alimentary canal. Here the crude 
 material, greatly thinned by the quantity of water drank, 
 is softened down into a pulpy mass called chyme, to allow 
 whose passage into the small intestines, the pylorus, at the 
 proper time, relaxes, and soon the. stomach will be clamor- 
 ing for more food. 
 
 "When, the animal is in sound health, this process goes 
 on with perfect regularity and comfort; but, unfortunately, 
 such is not always his condition. Irritation and undue 
 heat often occur in the stomach, producing fermentation or 
 sourness of its contents. He is likely, indeed, to bring 
 about these uncomfortable results at any time, by eating 
 either improper or too much food. It is in some disturb- 
 ance or other of digestion that the prime cause may be 
 found of the diseases, not only of the stomach itself, but 
 likewise of those of the bowels; and, hence, also, the for- 
 
310 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. ' • 
 
 mation of those gases betrayed by low rumblings, and 
 other indications, which nearly ahv^ays occasion restiveness 
 and suffering, and often end in an attack of flatulent colic. 
 During this fermentation, carbonic acid gas is given off, 
 and sometimes with such rapidity that stricture of the 
 pylorus takes place. The stomach soon becomes most pain- 
 fully distended, from the constant accumulation of the gas, 
 which the extreme heat of the organs, meanwhile, continues 
 to greatly rarify. The owner soon finds that he has upon 
 his hands a case of 
 
 COLIC IN THE STOMACH. 
 
 The symptoms become more and notore aggravated, and, 
 unless relief can be given, there is imminent danger of rup- 
 ture of the stomach, which must kill the horse, of course. 
 Few persons suspect how frequently this sad event hap- 
 pens. 
 
 A case which, several years ago, came within the author's 
 own observation, at the village of Petersburg, Lincoln 
 County, Tennessee, is so exactly in point that it merits 
 a narration in detail. A horse, about ten years old, and 
 in good condition of flesh, had been sick for several days, 
 refusing all food, and manifesting the usual symptoms of 
 intestinal disease. With the towns-people, including the 
 owner, this was a plain case of hots ; and when the writer 
 first saw him, a large man, weighing at least two hundred 
 pounds, was riding him about the streets, to cure him 
 by means of a charm which the fellow pretended to pos- 
 sess. An opinion being asked, it was promptly given, to 
 the effect that the stomach-pump afforded the only hope, 
 though the sufferer was probably too far gone for even this 
 to save him; and that, as no such instrument for the horse 
 could be found in the State, he must certainly die. About 
 two hours afterward, he suddenly fell dead. 
 
 A bystander at once suggested that, if the horse were cut 
 open, his stomach would be found " perfectly riddled by the 
 bot." The idea was caught up by the entire crowd, of 
 
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 311 
 
 not less than fifty persons, and, to gratify the general de- 
 sire, the author consented to make an examination. The 
 carcass was removed to a suitable place; and when, in a 
 few minutes, the viscera was fairly laid open, the cause of 
 death was visible to all. The stomach was literally torn 
 into shreds, and its contents were scattered\ throughout the 
 entire abdominal cavity. So great had been the concus- 
 sion, that the diaphragm was ruptured, and fragmentary 
 debris from the stomach, was found in the region of the 
 heart and lungs. ITo special indications of inflammation 
 were discoverable in its coatings, although the organ was 
 nearly destroyed by disease. The mucous membrane was 
 entirely gone, and the cuticle was so much decomposed that 
 in appearance it resembled gauze, or fine net-work, falling 
 out as if it were an extraneous substance when the stomach 
 was detached from its connection. The muscular coating 
 was also much decomposed, and had become a soft mass, 
 so that it could be torn almost like a piece of wet paper. 
 A spectator described its condition by the blunt remark, 
 *' The thing is all rotten." The pylorus was still closed, 
 its fearful stricture, whence had proceeded all the mischief, 
 remaining as before death. 
 
 In the small intestines traces of inflammation were abun- 
 dant. Ten feet or more of these, immediately next .the stomach, 
 presented a blood-red appearance, and similar patches were 
 found along the entire line of the bowels. From the stomach 
 to the anus there was not a particle of alimentary substance. 
 This empty condition invariably characterizes cases of this 
 kind, all the contents of the bowels below the stricture being 
 speedily voided. 
 
 Inflammation had undoubtedly existed throughout the 
 digestive organs in a high degree, but fuel had been added 
 to the flames by drenching the poor animal with almost 
 incredible quantities of so-called medicines. The stomach 
 must have contained at least two gallons of these nostrums: 
 sweet oil, castor oil, turpentine, epsom salts, sweet milk, 
 molasses, sage tea, and several others. In all probability 
 
812 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 the horse fell a victim to excessive drenching rather than 
 disease, and would have had a much better chance for re- 
 covery if nothing at all had been given him. 
 
 The diseases of the stomach, described in the foregoing 
 pages, may be recapitulated in their proper order as follows : 
 
 Sour stomach, produced by fermentation of the food. 
 
 Exhalation of gases, causing painful distension. 
 
 Inflammation, followed by decomposition. 
 
 Spasmodic colic, with paroxysms of agony. 
 
 Rupture of the stomach, and death. 
 «■ 
 
 THE BOT. 
 
 This is the proper place to consider this so-called disease, 
 whose supposed frequency and fatality render it a subject of 
 deep interest to every proprietor of the horse. It has given rise 
 to numberless theories regarding both its cause and cure, all 
 
 CUT OP THE BOT AND THE GAD-FLY. 
 
 a and 6 The eggs of the gad-fly, adhering to the hair of the horse. 
 
 c The appearance of the bots adhering to the walls of the stomach. 
 
 d The bet detached. 
 e and / Gad-flies. 
 
 strenuously urgBd by earnest advocates, of whom, neverthe- 
 less, there are exceedingly few but are willing to confess 
 they know next to nothing of the habits and office of the 
 
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 313 
 
 bot, or of the effects created by the little creature's presence 
 upon the horse's general system. ITearly all agree in this, 
 however: that, in some way, the bot does kill the horse 
 The common opinion is that he effects this by seizing hold 
 of the stomach, from some rabid propensity which possesses 
 him at certain undetermined periods, and eating or cutting 
 his way entirely through its walls; and as to a remedy, that 
 all depends upon the speedy administration of something 
 which will compel him to relinquish his hold before his 
 ravenous work has produced irreparable injury. 
 
 These views are grossly erroneous. From personal in- 
 vestigations, the author is satisfied that the public mind has 
 been entirely misled upon the whole subject. "What is sup- 
 posed to be the ravages of the bot, is, in reality, the work 
 of some inflammatory disease. To begin with, the natural 
 history of the bot has never been properly understood. The 
 bot is hereditary with the horse, and is born into the world 
 with him, the colt, at the moment of foaling, having the little 
 parasite in his stomach in as perfect a state as the horse of 
 six years. He is found attached to the cuticular or insensi- 
 ble coating in the upper portion of the stomach — not by his 
 head, as is popularly supposed, but hanging by his tail. For 
 a mouth he has a little orifice, no larger than the point of a 
 cambric needle, with which he feeds upon the food in the 
 stomach, after it has been softened down into chyme. This 
 tiny mouth he can close against any substance which offends 
 his dainty taste ; and, being protected by a scaly or bony cov- 
 ering, upon which no acid, caustic, or poison will operate, he 
 is much safer from the action of any hurtful element than 
 the horse into whose stomach he is introduced. There is 
 no evidence that in his normal condition he ever injures 
 the horse's health in the least degree. 
 
 The bot is an entirely different insect from the grub, or 
 worm, with which he has no relationship whatever. The 
 latter is the offspring of the gad-fly, and is, undoubtedly, an 
 intruder. It is a species of light yellow worm, which passes 
 away from the horse in the excrements during the months 
 
314 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 of July and August, and becomes imbedded in the earth, 
 where the chrysalis is formed, whence, in time, is hatched the 
 fly. The eggs of the fly are deposited upon the horse's skin, 
 are bitten off, and find their way into the horse's stomach. 
 Here the worm is developed in turn, and thus the species 
 continues to be propagated. Unlike the hot, the grub never 
 attaches itself to the coating of the stomach, but lives among 
 the particles of food, the tough, fibrous portions of which it 
 decomposes, and, in both the stomach and bowels, undoubt- 
 edly performs the same ofiice for the horse that worms 
 do in the child. When multiplied in great numbers, the 
 grub may occasion much uneasiness and irritation, but never 
 causes death, or even serious disease. 
 
 Although the stomach is often found " completely riddled 
 by the hot," as the popular expression is, there is good reason 
 to believe that the work is done entirely after the horse is 
 " struck by death." One or two facts will go far to prove 
 the truth of a proposition which to many will appear so ex- 
 traordinary. 
 
 The cuticular coating of the stomach, to which the hot 
 fastens himself by means of two little bearded hooks, is 
 nearly, if not wholly, insensible, having no more feeling, 
 apparently, than the animal's hoofs. When the horse is in 
 health, it is hard, rigid, impenetrable, and the hot, if ever so 
 much disposed to do so, would attack it in vain ; but when 
 death seizes him, this coating becomes relaxed and soft, and 
 begins rapidly to decompose. Then only it is that the hot 
 can, or ever does, work his way through it. Another fact, 
 still more strongly corroborative of the above proposition, is 
 this : that of any number of horses killed while in perfect 
 health, and opened an hour or two afterward, there will be 
 found not of^e whose stomach is not "riddled by the hot." 
 Dissection has revealed the existence of this condition in 
 hundreds of instances of sudden death from accident. 
 
 Dr. John Franklin, of Sumner County, Tenn., relates the 
 case of a horse instantly killed by the falling of a large 
 timber, whose carcass he opened within a few hours after 
 
.DISHA^SES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 315 
 
 death, with the especial object of testing the theory that the 
 hot forces a passage through the walls of the stomach, in all 
 cases, when the disease is not of such a nature as to stupefy 
 him. As he expected, the insects, in considerable numbers, 
 had already cut their way out. 
 
 The hot does not attack the stomach for the purpose of 
 preying upon it, or of injuring the animal, but simply to 
 seek escape from certain death himself. The same disease 
 that is killing the horse threatens his destruction also. An 
 instinct, similar to that which prompts vermin of nearly all 
 kinds to leave a dead or dying carcass, teaches him that his 
 old habitation is no longer a safe one, and hence his des- 
 perate endeavors to get away. He has been found working 
 up to the esophagus, passing through the small intestines, 
 and even cutting through between the ribs almost to the 
 skin itself. If possible, he would escape from the horse 
 entirely. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS — ENTERITIS. 
 
 In all the fatal cases of bots, so-called, there exist other 
 causes amply sufficient to produce death, the large majority 
 being examples of putrid inflammation of the bowels — or 
 enteritis, as it is scientifically designated — very frequently, 
 complicated with stricture. That this disease may be fully 
 understood, it will be necessary to give a short description 
 of the anatom}^ of the parts involved, which are very simi- 
 lar in their structure to the corresponding organs in man. 
 Proceeding from the stomach, the outlet of which is called 
 the pylorus, or pyloric orifice, commences the line of small 
 intestines, in the horse from fifty-four to sixty feet in 
 length, and comprising three divisions, the duodenum, the 
 jejunum, and the illeum. The duodenum is that portion 
 extending from the pylorus to the hepatic or biliary duct, 
 which in the horse empties into the intestines about twenty- 
 two inches from the stomach, or ten inches further than in 
 man. The jejunum occupies about two-fifths of the length 
 which remains, and, as its name implies — jejune, or empty — is 
 
816 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 generally found, after death, filled with nothing but air. The 
 illeum is the fleshy part of the bowels. Then come, in suc- 
 cession, the caecum, or blind gut, which is the first of the 
 
 CUT OF THE INTESTINES. 
 
 a The commencement of the small intestines. The biliary and pancreatic ducts 
 
 may be seen a little below. 
 6 b The convolutions or windings of the small intestines. 
 
 c A portion of the mesentery, a fold of serous membrane, which hangs over the 
 
 greater part of the intestines, and is thickly inlaid with fat, designed to 
 
 protect the included organs from cold and violence, and to facilitate their 
 ' movements. 
 
 d The small intestines, terminating in the caecum 
 
 e The caecum, or blind gut, with the bands running along it, pijckering and 
 
 dividing it into numerous cells. 
 / The beginning of the colon. 
 ff g The continuation and expansion of the colon, divided, like the caecum, into 
 
 cells, 
 h The termination of the colon in the rectum. 
 i The termination of the rectum at the anus. 
 
 large intestines; the colon, the largest convolution of all; an.d 
 the rectum, terminating in the outlet of the anus. The 
 intestines are composed of three distinct coatings, or lay- 
 ers, namely: the outer, or peritoneal, which forms the 
 smooth, glassy investment of the contents of the abdom- 
 inal cavity in general; the middle, or muscular one, con- 
 sisting of two sets of fibers running transversely with the 
 
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 317 
 
 direct line of the intestines, and crossing each other at right 
 angles ; and the inner coating, the villous or mucous mem- 
 brane, which is spread, not only over the surface of the 
 bowels throughout, but, as we have seen, over a portion of 
 that of the stomach also. 
 
 In enteritis, it is usually the jejunum, or airy subdivision 
 of the small intestines, which is the seat of disease. Stric- 
 ture, or stoppage, follows inflammation, and, in turn, pro- 
 duces spasms of the bowels; and hence the disorder speci- 
 fically known as spasmodic colic. Under the s^^mpathetic 
 influences of the feverish state of the bowels, the food sours 
 in the stomach, and the carbonic acid gas which is evolved 
 escapes into the intestines, here becoming greatly expanded 
 and rarified by the abnormal heat of the parts. Painful 
 distension is speedily the result. As the gas irritates the 
 sensitive membrane, and increases the fever, so the fever, in 
 turn, continues more and more to expand the gas and air. 
 And now arises the peril of a grave and peculiar complica- 
 tion. Whenever this distension occurs in any portion of the 
 bowels, there is nearly always an equal contraction in the 
 parts just beyond. As a net when pulled out in one part 
 draws in at another, in like manner this distension and con- 
 traction reciprocally affect each other, until, at length, the 
 bowels become firmly locked up, affording no passage what- 
 ever. This constitutes a stricture. 
 
 The horse experiences great and increasing distress, and 
 soon spasms set in. These appear to subside, at length, but 
 presently they come on again, with redoubled violence. The 
 poor suflerer sweats profusely, especially about the shoulders 
 and sides, ^.nd scarcely less about the neck and head. He 
 shakes and trembles constantly, twitching the muscles of his 
 body convulsively; he paws with his fore-feet, and putting 
 them out, tries to stretch himself; he throws his head around 
 to the side, as if to indicate where the pain is. Suddenly he 
 lies down, and, endeavoring to roll over on his back, in thatr 
 position strikes the fore-feet violently against the chest, and 
 then as suddenly springs to his feet again. Throwing back 
 
318 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 his ears, as if angry, he swiftly starts off, turns around two 
 or three times, and drops to the ground. All his motions 
 are rapid, and he continues switching and jerking his tail 
 almost incessantly. Ko signs of swelling are discoverable; 
 but the lips and ears are very cold, and the pulse ranges from 
 65 to 80 per minute, whereas it should not be more than 
 from 30 to 36. 
 
 All these manifestations of acute suffering are caused by 
 the severe inflammation and attendant contraction of the 
 bowels, which are in imminent danger of becoming ruptured. 
 This catastrophe nearly always forms .the fatal climax in 
 those cases where the horse suddenly drops dead. 
 
 Sometimes, when the stricture occurs at a considerable 
 distance from the stomach, the intestines become perforated 
 with small holes, over which, however, the mucus of the 
 bowels may slough so as to fill them up, when, for a time, 
 the patient appears to be growing better. But nothing can 
 save him. He wastes away with fever, continuing for days, 
 or, it may be, for even weeks, and inevitably dies at last. 
 
 The small intestines are much the most sensitive part of 
 the alimentary canal, and, when affected by disease, they are 
 the seat of pain proportionately acute. They are, also, the 
 ones most subject to attacks of enteritis, and of irritation 
 ending in stricture ; and as they are situated so far forward 
 in the abdominal cavity as to be principally incased by the 
 ribs, it is almost impossible to discover any swelling, even 
 in the advanced stages of disease. 
 
 Yet irritation and stricture often happen in the large 
 bowels also. These swell, and become greatly distended ; the 
 sides are pressed out, and the disease at once betrays its 
 character as colic. 
 
 There is no difference between this case and the one we 
 have described more at length, except that the location is not 
 the same. One is no more the colic than the other. In nearly 
 all instances the attack is brought on, no matter which form 
 it assumes, by immoderate eating or drinking, or, what Is still 
 worse, by both together. If in perfect health, the horse may 
 
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 319 
 
 gorge himself, perhaps scores of times, with impunity ; but if 
 there is any considerable derangement of the digestive func- 
 tions, Mature, whose laws are every-where coincident, exacts 
 the penalty of suflering, if not of death. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 It would be impossible to condemn too strongly the stupid 
 practice, usually resorted to, of making the horse^s stomach a 
 receptacle for every vile nostrum which ignorance and pre- 
 sumption can devise. A great many more horses are killed 
 by excessive drenching than would die if nothing at all were 
 given them. One person recommends one thing, and another 
 advises something else, until, presently, a dozen or more dif- 
 ferent remedies have been prescribed, each of which, though 
 claimed as a certain specific, usually has no efi*ect save to 
 hasten a fatal termination. The anxious and over-excited 
 owner, that no effort may be left untried to save his faithful 
 animal, gives all that he is bidden to ; and when the end 
 comes, to which he himself has so largely but unwittingly 
 contributed, he shakes his head in hopeless wondermeAt at 
 the power of disease, or the strange ferocity of the hot. 
 
 Yet there should be treatment of some kind, and that as 
 speedily as possible; for, though it is true that the horse 
 might recover without a finger being moved to assist him, no 
 one can know this positirely. On the other hand, all must 
 recognize the fact that many disorders, in the systems of both 
 man and beast, which at first are susceptible of easy control, 
 may at last baffle the utmost skill of the practitioner, if neg- 
 lected too long. 
 
 The same methods will be equally effective, whether the 
 trouble has arisen in the large or the small intestines. The 
 great object to be obtained is a passage of the bowels, which 
 must be brought about with all possible speed. When this is 
 done, the horse's recovery may be guaranteed. As to the 
 hot, the inoffensive little creature is never likely to do half as 
 much damage as ignorant and foolish bystanders are. The 
 system must be relaxed at once, that contraction and stric- 
 
•820 AMEKICAN FAKMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 ture may be relieved. Bleeding, then, must be the first re- 
 sort, affording the only hope in obstinate cases. It is the 
 sheet-anchor of the practitioner's treatment. - The bleeding 
 should be from the neck vein, and never from the mouth. 
 Blood is neither food nor medicine to the horse, but is posi- 
 tively hurtful when taken into the stomach, in nearly all cases. 
 Moreover, it is impossible from the mouth to take enough 
 blood, or with sufficient rapidity to produce the desired effect. 
 It should flow rapidly, so that the required quantity may be 
 discharged in the shortest time possible. 
 
 The bleeding should be continued until there is a percep- 
 tible faltering of the pulse. As comparatively few persons 
 know where to look for the pulse, it will be proper here to 
 describe it again, and, if possible, so plainly that its location 
 can not be mistaken. It can readily be found by pressing 
 the fingers upon the sub-maxillary artery, which passes 
 directly over the extreme lower part of the under jaw-bone, 
 where it feels like a small cord running across the edge of 
 the bone, under the skin. By resting the fingers upon this 
 artery, the pulsation can be felt and counted in precisely the 
 same mianner as in one's wrist. If the owner has any timid- 
 ity, let him remember that bleeding does not at all endan- 
 ger the life of the animal. It is not the horse which the 
 lancet attacks, but the disease. 
 
 All that is needed in the form o^ medicine is some simple 
 remedy to correct the acid condition of the stomach, which 
 organ, even when not itself the seat of disease, is quickly 
 affected sympathetically ; and, when there is fermentation of 
 the food in consequence of obstructions, its own condition is 
 the occasion of great distress. For this purpose, chloroform 
 is the best prescription, and is especially valuable from the 
 fact that a small dose suffices to secure very speedily the de- 
 sired effects. It is a powerful anodyne, allaying this condi- 
 tion of the^ stomach at once ; gives instant relief from pain, 
 and causes a speedy relaxation of the whole system. The 
 dose should be a table-spoonful, in a gill of whisky mixed 
 with half a pint of warm water — a remedy so perfectly harm- 
 
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 321 
 
 less that there need not be the least fear in administering 
 it; for, although chloroform is heating in its tendencies, its 
 properties, when the stomach is in the condition we have 
 described, undergo an entire change before it reaches the seat 
 of inflammation in the bowels. 
 
 The object of this simple medication, it must be borne in 
 mind, is not to afiect the hot; because not only does no 
 medicine reach that portion of the stomach where the hot 
 is located, but it would not disturb him if it did. Of the 
 thousand baneful compounds given to kill the hot, or to 
 " make him let go his hold," as the common phrase is, not 
 one ever accomplished its object, unless at the expense of 
 the horse's life also. They are much less offensive to the 
 hot than scores of substances of which the horse often par- 
 takes freely. If the hot is invulnerable to the effects of 
 oak and hickory leaves, pennyroyal, dog-fennel,- " jimson " 
 leaves and berries, and many other plants equally noxious, 
 the sage tea, the milk, the molasses, and the like, may as 
 well be thrown out to the pigs. These can do no good 
 whatever, except as they may possibly tend, in a limited 
 degree, to correct the acidity of the stomach. 
 
 In case the chloroform can not readily be procured, 
 some strong soap-suds, weak lye, or a table-spoonful of 
 soda, dissolved in a pint of milk, will serve as a substitute; 
 and even the simple mixture of common salt and water 
 will answer an admirable purpose. If the last named is 
 used, it should be made by dissolving in a pint of warm 
 water — as hot as the horse will bear it — all the salt which 
 the liquid will hold in solution. It often proves almost as 
 eflicacious as chloroform. 
 
 Having proceeded energetically with the treatment thus 
 far, the practitioner, for the rest, must rely upon the im- 
 mediate use of the clyster. Three table-spoonfuls of tur- 
 p'entine, added to a pint of melted lard, makes one of the 
 best and safest clysters known. Warm soap-suds, thin 
 starch, or salt and water, may be used for the same pur- 
 pose, and are very simple and effective. If no syringe is at 
 21 
 
322 ' AMERICAN FAHMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 hand, a long-necked bottle will do instead ; the bottom, or 
 back end, being elevated, the contents will be readily dis- 
 charged into the rectum. A horn, or a long-necked gourd 
 is nearl}^ as convenient. Let nothing prevent' this operation 
 from being attended to, nor from being repeated until a pas- 
 sage is obtained. Whoever the person is that has charge 
 of the case, he must be fruitful in expedients. If one con- 
 venience is not to be found, he must employ the substitute 
 nearest at hand. Above all, he must see that the work is 
 not only done, but done thoroughly. 
 
 When a discharge from the bowels has been secured, the 
 horse is safe for the present. His food should be light, and 
 if it is in the season for it, pasture alone will be the best. 
 He should have daily exercise, increasing from time to time, 
 as he grows able to bear it. For three or four days, he 
 should have as much pulverized sulphur and rosin, as he can 
 be induced to take ; four ounces of the sulphur and two of 
 the rosin, at a dose. 
 
 Before proceeding to consider the diseases of the large in- 
 testines, it will be well to refresh our raeniory in regard to 
 the anatomy of these parts, which is well represented in 
 the last cut. The caecum, with its remarkable blind pouch, 
 appears at e; the colon, at'f gg; and the rectum between h 
 and z, the latter of which is the outlet, the anus. 
 
 The caecum, or blind gut, holds about four gallons, and in 
 it are countless little absorbents, as it is from here that the 
 greater part of the nutritive elements of the chyle is sup- 
 posed to be transferred to the circulation. It serves as a 
 reservoir for the large quantities of water which the horse 
 drinks, and much of which passes directly to the blind pouch 
 without tarrying in the stomach or intervening small intes- 
 tines. - The colon, in which the last processes of digestion 
 are completed, is very large, filling about two-fifths of the 
 abdominal cavity. In the rectum, the last of the intestines, 
 the excrement accumulates in little balls, which receive their 
 shape and consistency from the action of the numerous little 
 
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 323 
 
 cells of the colon, until the horse is disposed to evacuate 
 them by the contraction of the proper muscles. In a horse 
 of medium size, the large intestines will hold, altogether, 
 about nineteen gallons. 
 
 FLATULENT COLIC. 
 
 This disease has its location in either the caecum or the 
 colon, or sometimes in both. The colon is the part most 
 violently affected. 
 
 It may be excited, in great part at least, by sympathy with 
 a diseased state of the stomach and small intestines, which 
 can not be much inflamed without affecting the whole line 
 of the alimentary canal. But its most frequent cause is un- 
 doubtedly what may be termed stricture of the rectum — con- 
 traction of the rectum upon the hard masses of excrement 
 with such force that the passage even of gases becomes im- 
 possible. If such a stricture did not occur somewhere, there 
 could be no flatulent colic, of course, since all the gases 
 usually generated would very readily escape in the natural 
 way. 
 
 We have seen how common it is for these foul gases to 
 be evolved during digestive disturbances in the stomach and 
 small bowels. There may be fermentation of the contents 
 of the csecum and colon, producing the same results; and, 
 usually, the difiiculty is greatly aggravated by the accumu- 
 lations of gas pressing downward from the stomach and the 
 small intestines intervening. 
 
 Flatulent colic evidences pre-existent inflammation in some 
 part of the alimentary tube, or, at least, great unnatural heat, 
 which generates the noxious gases. These distend the colon, 
 and then, one part of the net being drawn out, the other part 
 draws in ; in other words, when the colon is greatly distended, 
 there is a corresponding contraction at the throat of the rec- 
 tum, and there the hard masses of excrement become so firmly 
 impacted that it often requires a considerable manual exertion 
 to dislodge them. Such a condition is not likely to occur ex- 
 cept when the stomach has been gorged with immoderate 
 
,824 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 quantities of food, and the collection of the fceces is corres 
 pondingly great. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Sometimes the horse will recover from an attack of flatu- 
 lent colic without any assistance. The stricture relaxes suf- 
 ficiently to allow a passage of the fceces, when, the obstruc- 
 tion being removed, the gases readily escape, and the horse 
 is at once relieved. 
 
 But such an issue can not be calculated upon, and ener- 
 getic treatment must be commenced at once, for, in all dig- 
 eases of this kind, time is precious. 
 
 The essential thing to be done is to remove the impedi- 
 ment to the passage of the gases which are causing such a 
 painful expansion of the bowels. A clyster will often effect 
 this, in connection with bleeding. It may be of salt and 
 water, of soap-suds, or of lard, as is most convenient. By 
 these means, the parts may be so relaxed as to admit of a 
 passage, and, when* this point is reached, the danger is 
 over. 
 
 . The only course which can be infallibly relied upon, how- 
 ever, is the operation which the books speak of as hack- 
 raking, consisting simply of the removal of the impacted 
 balls from the throat of the rectum by the hand. The strict- 
 ure takes place about eighteen or twenty inches from the 
 anus. The hand and arm should be well greased, and grad- 
 ually pushed forward to the place of the obstruction, and 
 the balls carefully removed. If the forefinger is pushed 
 through the ball, it can be pulled along more readily ; but 
 the ball is generally too hard to permit of this being done. 
 In this case, the forefinger must be gently passed over the 
 ball, which is then to be rolled backward. Such will be 
 the force with which the rectum contracts upon the hand^ 
 and arm that the pain will become very great to the oper- 
 ator, and he will probably be compelled to withdraw the arm 
 for a time. 
 
^ 
 
 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 325 
 
 INFLAMMATION AND RUPTURE OF THE COLON. 
 
 If the stricture of the rectum be not relieved, the diffi- 
 culty grows more and more serious. From the accumula- 
 tion of the gases, the colon is distended to an almost incred- 
 ible extent. The sides of the flanks are puffed out, and the 
 horse looks as though he had been inflated with wind. The 
 prevailing fever and heat rise constantly, and the symptoms 
 become more and more acute. No one who has ever wit- 
 nessed an attack of this kind can forget the terrible mani- 
 festation of pain which it has occasioned. 
 
 Subjected to a terrible strain from the expansibility of the 
 heated gas, and even disorganized, to a certain extent, by 
 its poisonous qualities, the coatings of the intestines at 
 length give way, and become perforated with little holes. 
 From that moment the horse is doomed. Up to" this period 
 there may have been hopes of a recovery, but this catas- 
 trophe settles the question. It will be almost impossible to 
 decide the time of its occurrence, and perhaps the patient 
 even seems better, as the fearful distension of the bowels is 
 now greatly relieved by the escape of the gas through the 
 perforations. If these are large, death will soon ensue; but 
 if small, the horse may possibly linger for several days. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The attack we have been describing is essentia^ the same 
 as enteritis, or perhaps it is only a form of that disease, and 
 hence the treatment must be of the same character. 
 
 Our first operation is bleeding. It relaxes the parts, and 
 thus accomplishes what medicines will not and can not do, 
 for they never reach the seat of the trouble. But bleeding 
 having been efficiently performed, medicines may be of much 
 assistance in what remains of the treatment. The properties 
 to be sought in their selection are those which will neutral- 
 ize and destroy the poisonous gases, and that will make the 
 remedy both a disinfectant and an anti-spasmodic. The 
 chloroform mixture prescribed for enteritis possesses all 
 
326 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 these, and is the best preparation known for securing the 
 desired effects. If there is high fever, it will prove injuri- 
 ous, just as will all other powerful medicines. But it may 
 be safely employed in the large majority of cases, and is not 
 only exceedingly efficient, but rapid in its action. Kext in 
 value to the chloroform is that simple prescription, hot salt 
 and water. This never does any harm, and its materials are 
 always at hand. 
 
 In the first stages of the attack, bleeding and a quart of 
 hot salt and water will rarely fail to cure. If the case is 
 severe or obstinate, bathe the flanks and the parts between 
 the hind legs with the salt and water, as hot as the horse 
 can bear it ; or, still better, do this with the hot decoction 
 of tobacco.. Such a course tends to hasten the relaxation of 
 the parts materially. 
 
 INFLAMMATION AND BLEEDING OF THE RECTUM. 
 
 This is a condition we have frequently been called upon 
 to treat in our veterinary practice. It usually either ac- 
 companies or follows inflammation of the colon. Sometimes 
 it is apparently both a feature and a successor of that disease. 
 
 Not only is there inflammation and swelling, but there is 
 protrusion, forming the prolapsus ani of the doctors, and 
 blood is discharged from the parts in considerable quantities. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Such a case demands immediate attention. Cold salt and 
 water is the remedy, applied as both a wash and a clyster. 
 The addition to this of a slight infusion of chlorate of pot- 
 ash, and also some of the golden seal, will decidedly increase 
 its efficiency. It may be used as often as convenient. 
 
 If this condition is not connected with any disease of the 
 bowels, no bleeding will be necessary. 
 
 SORENESS AND ITCHING OF THE ANUS. 
 
 Following after diseases of the rectum, and occasionally 
 from other causes, the anus sometimes becomes sore and ir- 
 
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 327 
 
 ritable, the parts showing a peculiar dryness and scurfiness. 
 The horse rubs the roots of his tail, often until nearly all 
 the hair is worn away. Many persons imagine the trouble 
 lies about the roots of the tail or the hairs. But the irrita- 
 tion really exists at the point we have named, and the parts 
 which the horse rubs are as near it as he can reach. Some- 
 times, however, the itching may be occasioned by worms. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Keep the parts well greased with some lard, in which a 
 little fine salt has been mixed. This will soon remove the 
 trouble. In a few cases, we have found the soreness to exist 
 just within the rectum, and have successfully modified the 
 treatment by pressing a little of the salt lard, and some 
 golden seal just within the anus. 
 
328 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 
 
 The purpose which the liver subserves in the animal econ- 
 omy is an important one, and upon the projper discharge of 
 the functions of this organ the health of any animal is 
 largely dependent. It is in the liver that the bile is elimi- 
 nated from the blood, and hence this viscus is considered a 
 I gland, by far the largest one in the body. Using the terms 
 ' exa^etion ,a,nd secretion in the distinctive senses indicated on 
 page 58 of this work, the action of the liver is both secret- 
 ive and excretory — secretive because the admixture of bile 
 with the chyle is essential to the healthy performance of the 
 digestive process ; excretory because if the bile were allowed 
 to remain in the blood, it would vitiate and poison the entire 
 circulation. These considerations will better enable us to 
 understand how important a bearing the condition of this 
 organ must have upon the general health. 
 
 In the horse, the bile from the liver, together with a whitish 
 fluid from the pancreas (or sweet-breadfSLa it is vulgarly called) 
 enters the small intestines at the termination of the duode- 
 num, about twenty-two inches from the pyloric orifice of the 
 stomach. These secretions are conveyed through the biliary 
 and pancreatic ducts, which are shown near a, in the cut of 
 the intestines, in the preceding chapter. The horse has no 
 gall-bladder, so that the bile, as fast as it is eliminated from 
 the blood, passes directly to the intestines. He is less sub- 
 ject to liver complaints than either any of the remaining 
 domestic animals, or his master — man. 
 
 This is a circumstance which the farmer may well be thank- 
 ful for, on account of the obscurity of the symptoms in such 
 cases, and the extreme difficulty of determining precisely 
 
DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 329 
 
 what the trouble is. In fact, it is only by a 'post mortem ex- 
 amination that the most experienced can make a diagnosis, 
 even tolerably satisfactory. Perhaps the following extract 
 from that usually precise and reliable veterinarian, Youatt, 
 will illustrate all that we could wish to say upon the vague- 
 ness and uncertainty which surrounds our knowledge of 
 hepatic diseases : 
 
 " If horses, destroyed on account of other complaints, are 
 examined when they are not more than five years old, the 
 liver is usually found in the most healthy state ; but, when 
 they arrive at eight or nine or ten years, this viscus is fre- 
 quently increased in size ; it is less elastic under pressure ; 
 it has assumed more of a granulated or broken-down ap- 
 pearance ; the blood does not so readily permeate its vessels, 
 and, at length, in a greater or less quantity, it begins to exude, -d' 
 and is either confined under the peritoneal covering, or 
 oozes into the cavity of the belly. There is nothing, for 
 awhile, to indicate the existence of this. The horse feeds 
 well, is in apparent health, in good condition, and capable 
 of constant work, notwithstanding so fatal a change is taking 
 place in this important viscus ; but, at length, the peritoneal 
 covering of the liver suddenly gives way, and the contents 
 of the abdomen are deluged with blood, or a sufficient quan- 
 tity of this fluid has gradually oozed out to interfere with the 
 functions of the viscera. 
 
 " The symptoms of this sudden change are pawing, shift- 
 ing the posture, distension of the belly, curling of the upper 
 lip; sighing frequently and deeply; the mouth and nostrils 
 pale and blanched, the breathing quickened ; restlessness, de- 
 bility, fainting, and death. 
 
 " On opening the abdomen, the intestines are found to be 
 deluged with dark venous blood. The liver is either of a 
 fawn or light yellow, or brown color, easily torn by the 
 finger, and, in some cases, completely broken down." 
 
 Hemorrhage of the character above described, when it is 
 checked before the animal suffers much from it, is said to 
 produce the genuine gutta serena of professional occulists, that 
 
330 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 kind of glass eye which occasions permanent blindness ; but 
 upon this point our experience does not enable us to add 
 testimony of any sort. 
 
 JAUNDICE, OR YELLOWS. 
 
 ^The liver of the horse is sometimes attacked by inflam- 
 mation, from one of whose symptoms the disease is known 
 by the names here given. "Yellows" is the word of the 
 common people. The best authorities of recent date discard 
 the term "jaundice " as being apt to mislead, the slightly yel- 
 lowish tinge of the eye and skin being no indications of such 
 a state as is understood when it is applied to the human 
 patient. 
 
 Youatt's description of the disease, though under the old 
 designation, is very good. 
 
 " Jaundice occasionally appears, either from an increased 
 flow or altered quality of the bile, or obstruction even in 
 this simple tube [the biliary, or hepatic duct]. The yellow- 
 ness of the eyes and mouth, and of the skin where it is not 
 covered with hair, mark it sufliciently plain. The dung is 
 small and hard ; the urine highly colored ; the horse languid, 
 and the appetite impaired. If he is not soon relieved, he 
 sometimes begins to express considerable uneasiness ; at other 
 times he is dull, heavy, and stupid. A characteristic symp- 
 tom is lameness of the right fore-leg, resembling the pain in 
 the right shoulder of the human being in hepatic afi:ections. 
 The principal causes are overfeeding or overexertion in 
 sultry weather, or too little work, generally speaking, or in- 
 flammation or other disease of the liver itself. 
 
 " It is, at first, necessary to inquire whether this afi*ection 
 of the liver is not the consequence of the sympathy of that 
 organ with some other part; for, to a very considerable de- 
 gree, it frequently accompanies inflammation of the bowels 
 and the lungs. These diseases being subdued, jaundice will 
 disappear. If there is no other apparent disease to any great 
 extent, an endeavor to restore the natural passage of the bile 
 by purgatives may be tried, not consisting of large doses, lest 
 
DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 331 
 
 there should be some undetected inflammatioii of the lungs 
 or bowels, in either of which a strong purgative would be 
 dangerous ; but, given in small quantities, repeated at short 
 intervals, and until the bowels are freely opened. Bleeding 
 should always be resorted to, regulated according to the ap- 
 parent degree of inflammation, and the occasional stupor of 
 the animal. Plenty of water, slightly warmed, or thin gruel^ 
 should be given." 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Our remedies in this disease are necessarily constitutional, 
 rather than specific ; or, perhaps, it would be still more 
 proper to class them as preventives. They consist of sulphur 
 and resin, and a very free use of the bark of the yellow 
 poplar, either in the form of a powder, or as a decoction, to be 
 administered as a drench. If this bark, in chips or pulver- 
 ized, be kept in the manger, the horse will eat considerable 
 quantities of it. It acts as one of the best of tonics for him. 
 Golden seal operates very advantageously in the same man- 
 ner, and, in connection with sulphur and resin, forms a most 
 excellent tonic alterative. The dose is one ounce of the 
 powder, in his feed or in the compound of sulphur and resin. 
 But, above all the alteratives known to the profession gen- 
 erally, we give the preference to the " jimson " seed. This 
 may be considered the liver and blood medicine for the 
 horse. 
 
 To the above list of remedies may be added Prof. Dale's 
 powders (see Chapter XXIV), which are highly recommended 
 for their action upon the blood and general system of the 
 horse. 
 
 ENLARGEMENT OF THE SPLEEN. 
 
 "What is the precise function of the spleen — or melt, as it 
 is commonly called — has never been fully demonstrated. 
 This strange organ is subject to enlargement, but from w^hat 
 cause, or by what remedies to counteract it, no one seems 
 to have more than surmised. We confess to an entire igno- 
 
332 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 ranee in relation to a subject which, at any rate, is of no 
 practical moment to the farmer. Youatt says the spleen 
 " has been ruptured," but to brin^ this about must certainly 
 require the most extraordinary violence. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THB KIDNEYS, OR NEPHRITIS. 
 
 The kidneys are frequently the seat of disease, one of 
 whose most acute manifestations is that of their inflamma- 
 tion, technically denominated nephritis. The causes of this 
 condition are various. Perhaps as common as any is ex- 
 posure of the loins to wet when the animal stands still for a 
 long time, especially if the atmosphere is raw and chilly, as 
 well as damp. We know that when certain substances also 
 are introduced into the stomach and subjected to the di- 
 gestive process, that their absorption results in great irrita- 
 tion and disturbance of renal action (renal being a word 
 that signifies " relating to the kidneys," which were anciently 
 called the reins). Thus, moldy feed of every kind is found 
 to have a strong tendency to bring on urinary diseases. 
 Many strong diuretics, of which ignorant practitioners are so 
 extremely fond, possess the same hurtful properties in such 
 degree as should condemn their use entirely, except, perhaps, 
 in the hands of a man of known experience and caution. 
 To this class belong all such mineral poisons as saltpeter, nux 
 vomica, blue stone, and copperas. 
 
 Severe strains, and other injuries of the loins and hips, 
 seem often to cause inflammation of the kidneys, though the 
 connection between the two circumstances is not very ob- 
 vious; and it has been supposed that the disease, in such 
 cases, is developed by exposure to cold while in a state of 
 exhaustion, or that some branch of the venal artery or vein 
 has been ruptured by the violence of the preceding exertion. 
 
 We believe that bad treatment of every kind predisposes 
 to venal affections as one of the effects of constitutional de- 
 bility, and its tendency to functional derangement. For this 
 reason, therefore, if the many stronger ones were all lacking, 
 low, damp situations should always be avoided, and the foul 
 
DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. B33 
 
 air and fetid breath of many stables ought never to be tol- 
 erated. Finally, whatever produces disorder in the digestive 
 apparatus will be quite apt to extend its harmful influence 
 to the kidneys, also, as adverted to above. 
 
 "The early symptoms," says Youatt, "are those of fever, 
 generally ; but the seat of the disease soon becomes evident. 
 The horse looks anxiously round at his flanks ; stands with 
 his hind legs wide apart; is unwilling to lie down; straddles 
 as he walks; expresses pain in turning; shrinks when the 
 loins are pressed, and some degree of heat is felt there. The 
 urine is voided in small quantities; frequently it is high- 
 colored, and sometimes bloody. The attempt to urinate 
 becoms more frequent, and the quantity voided smaller, until 
 the animal strains painfully and violently, but the discharge 
 is nearly or quite suppressed. The pulse is quick and hard-^— 
 full in the early stage of the disease, but rapidly becoming 
 small, yet not losing its character of hardness. These symp- 
 toms clearly indicate an aflection of the urinary organs; but 
 they do not distinguish inflammation of the kidney from 
 that of the bladder. In order to effect this, the hand must be 
 introduced into the rectum. If the bladder is felt full and 
 hard under the rectum, there is inflainmation of the neck of 
 it; if it is empty, yet on the portion of the intestines im- 
 mediately over it there is more than natural heat and tender- 
 ness, there is inflammation of the body of the bladder ; and 
 if the bladder is empty, and there is no increased heat or 
 tenderness, there is inflammation of the kidney." 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Bleeding should be resorted to at once, in order to abate 
 the inflammation. An ounce of assafetida, or even more if 
 the case is urgent, may be given safely, as a pill. A third 
 of a pound of Epsom salts, administered in the usual manner, 
 will do nearly as well. Make a free application of the magic 
 nerve liniment to the loins; or the corrosive liniment may 
 be used instead, if more convenient. The patient should be 
 plied with a small quantity of sulphur and resin daily. The 
 
 ,n^ 
 
S84 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 latter is a mild diuretic, and the only one which should be 
 given. 
 
 If it is winter-time, be sure and see that the stable is warm 
 and dry ; and should it turn cold, cover the animal with a 
 blanket. The feed should be light and moist, a large pro- 
 portion of it green. If pasture can be had, no other food 
 will be needed. 
 
 Especial attention should be paid to removing the causes 
 of the disease, if they still exist ; and, in all cases, the entire 
 diet should be changed at once. The effect of this course 
 upon the character of the urine will soon prove of marked 
 benefit. When feeding any horse moldy and unwholesome 
 food, the owner might profitably stop and consider whether 
 he is not losing two dollars in horse-flesh where be saves 
 one in the cost of hay and oats of the best quality. If an at- 
 tack of this disease follows the use of such food, he can not 
 escape conviction under the charge of having produced it ; 
 and if the horse dies, he is the destroyer. 
 
 PROFUSE STALLING, OR DIABETES. 
 
 Of this disease we know but little more than its existence, 
 and its obvious manifestations in a troublesome and excess- 
 ive flow of urine. Of course, it proceeds from an unnaturally 
 increased action of the kidneys, but its primary causes are 
 obscure. Strong diuretic medicines, as might be expected, 
 sometimes develop it ; and unwholesome food, such as mow- 
 burnt hay, moldy fodder, etc., has a similar tendency. In 
 England, the disease is said to be much more common than 
 formerly. 
 
 TREATMENT. ♦ 
 
 We recommend a decoction, or tea, made of whortleberry 
 leaves, the plant known to the botanist as the uva ursi. Take 
 two ounces of the leaves and boil them well in a quart of 
 water. This will make two doses, one of them to be given 
 in the morning of each alternate day, the treatment being 
 continued until the trouble is removed. Bleeding will not 
 l>e necessary in this case. 
 
DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 335 
 
 Be at pains to remove from the customary diet every arti- 
 cle of food having a diuretic tendency, especially if it is foul 
 and unhealthy generally. If this is neglected, you run the 
 risk of soon having a case of inflammation of the kidneys 
 on your hands. 
 
 BLOODY URINE, OR HiEMATURA. 
 
 Bloody discharges are sometimes mixed with the urine, 
 and this may occur, in connection with its flow, in natural 
 increased or diminished quantities. Occasionally the blood 
 passes away in lumps of a somewhat dingy hue, but it is oft- 
 ejner diffused through the urine, giving it a highly-colored 
 brownish-red tint. The causes of this phenomenon are not 
 well understood, but it is believed to be occasioned by some 
 mechanical injury within the kidneys or about the region of 
 the loins — some lesion of the parts, which occasions an oozing 
 out of blood, continuing until the wound is healed. The 
 results of dissection indicate that the mischief, in some cases, 
 proceeds from the presence of a species of little worms, of 
 cancer, or of sharp calculus in the kidneys. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Moderate bleeding will be beneficial in most cases. Use 
 the whortleberry tea, as prescribed in the last section, and, 
 if any thing more is needed, give a solution of the acetate of 
 potash in half a pint of cold water. In preparing the solu- 
 tion, the proportions will be two drachms of the acetate of 
 potash to four ounces of water. In a very mild case, a few 
 days of rest will sometimes set matters right, without any 
 thing additional. 
 
 THICK AND ALBUMINOUS URINE. 
 
 In our country, horses are very subject to the annoyance 
 of thickened urine, often of a mucilaginous consistency. In 
 its mildest stages, this aft'ection is characterized by a thick, 
 reddish-brown discharge, when the urine first begins to flow, 
 but changing soon to a more natural appearance, and ending 
 
 'V' 
 
836 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 with a whitish, milky fluid; or, as sometimes happens, the 
 process is. exactly the reverse of this. When the disease is 
 further advanced, the urine is thicker and of the deeper tinge 
 at every period of its discharge, and often has an offensive 
 smell. Hundreds of our readers have doubtless seen the 
 case in so bad a form that the urine flowed and fell to the 
 ground like a stream of molasses, and was nearly as dark in 
 color. 
 
 The thick, milky discharge resembles that which a few 
 veterinary writers have described under the name of albu- 
 minous urine, in which the kidneys secrete an excessive 
 quantity of albumen — the sticky element of the blood, and 
 that which is found, almost unmixed with any other sub- 
 stance, in the white of an egg. 
 
 In this condition, there is great difficulty experienced in 
 passing the urine, which the horse seeks to overcome by 
 stretching, straining, and putting out his fore-feet as far aa 
 possible. Some 8tifi*ness in the hind legs and hips also ac- 
 companies it, and occasionally there is some fever. As will 
 now be described, this is one of the agencies instrumental in 
 producing the paiaful disease which is known as gravel — 
 the formation of calculi, or stones, in the kidneys and bladder. 
 
 WHITE OR LIMY URINE. 
 
 In all urinary discharges, there is a certain amount of cal- 
 carious or limy substances, which, if they pass away natur- 
 ally and without any obstruction, are not prejudicial to the 
 animal's health. Even when these limy secretions are excess- 
 ive, they do not probably bring on any specific disease, until 
 the urine takes on the albuminous character, mentioned 
 above; and then there is a mechanical union of the sticky 
 albumen and the limy matter, so that the latter is cemented 
 into little balls, or lumps, which continue to slowly increase 
 in size, and, at last, become very painful. As a certain com- 
 bination of circumstances is necessary to solidify the fine mist 
 of the clouds into the rattling hail-stones, so it requires the pres- 
 ence and action of the albumen to unite the impalpable limy 
 
%^" 
 
 DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 337 
 
 deposits of the urine into calculi. "We have now come to the 
 subject of 
 
 GRAVEL, OR STONE IN THE BLADDER. 
 
 The latter of these terms is not popularly applied to the 
 disease until the calculi have become of considerable size, and 
 occasion extreme suffering ; but this is only an aggravation 
 of gravel. 
 
 The origin of this most distressing complaint is to be found 
 in the kidneys rather than the bladder; for, although calculi 
 are oftener found in the latter, it is every way probable that 
 they exist there only as secondary results. According to this 
 view, they are first formed in the kidneys, and, passing to 
 the bladder when still quite small, frequently continue to 
 grow until they attain an astonishing size. Some have been 
 removed from the bladder, by surgical operations, that 
 weighed four ounces! In the human subject, ,the kidneys 
 are situated almost directly over the bladder, by which ar- 
 rangement the force of gravity acts to convey the little cal- 
 careous mass along the latter. But in the horse the case is 
 different. The passage communicating between the two or- 
 gans is very nearly horizontal, and the influence of gravity, 
 in effecting the end referred to, is hardly noticeable ; hence 
 calculi not unfrequently remain in the horse's kidneys, and 
 do great injury to those organs. In other cases, the calculi 
 pass into the bladder, and, when the urine is voided, are car- 
 ried by its current into the neck of that organ, and partially 
 or wholly close this outlet, and the stream then flows either 
 very slowly or is suppressed entirely. 
 
 We have no certain means of detecting the existence of 
 calculi in the kidneys, and the fact can only be inferred from 
 the scantiness of the urine, when this is not traceable to any 
 trouble within the bladder, and by the general symptoms of 
 venal disease. But when these bodies are in the bladder, 
 they may be readily felt by passing the hand into the rectum 
 and pressing the fingers on the bladder, which lies immedi- 
 ately underneath. This is a sure test, if the calculi are of 
 any size whatever. 
 22 
 
■^ 
 
 338 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 The symptoms of gravel are generally very much the same 
 as those of spasmodic colic; but they come on less rapidly, 
 and not so severe, while the horse's actions point to a spot 
 further back than in colic as the seat of his suffering. But 
 great difficulty is manifested in voiding the urine, whose 
 passage is attended with violent straining and groans of dis- 
 tress; and, as before intimated, the irregularities of the urinal 
 flow may even amount to a total suppression. The color and 
 heat of the urine is another characteristic indication. In 
 both colic and gravel the sufferer sweats profusely, but there 
 is more of this about the flanks and loins in the latter dis- 
 ease. 
 
 Stone in the bladder is the cause of the most acute suffer- 
 ing. Persons who have been thus afflicted describe their 
 tortures as beyond the power of expression. Even if the 
 passage of urine is not much obstructed, the weight and pres- 
 sure of such a body within the bladder is a constant source 
 of annoyance and irritation, while its rough and jagged edges 
 may lacerate and seriously injure the delicate membranes of 
 all these parts. 
 
 Happily, the farmer rarely has such a case to encounter 
 among his stock ; but when he does, he will always find it a 
 most obstinate disease to manage. At best, it will take time 
 to remove the difficulty, which, in severe cases, it will defy 
 his utmost endeavors to do, nothing but a delicate surgical 
 operation offering any hopes of success. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 We give two remedies, both of which have cured, and 
 both of which have been known to fail — as all treatment 
 frequently must fail in this disease. Our preference, how- 
 ever, is indicated by the order in which we here mention 
 them. 
 
 The first is " jimson seed." That this was of great value 
 rn cases of gravel, we learned in treating a fine horse, be- 
 longing to Mr. Robert McDonald, of Salem, Tippah County, 
 Mississippi. This was a case of chronic distemper, wdth the 
 
DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 339 
 
 complication of gravel in an aggravated form. "Jimson 
 seed " was employed as an alterative and tonic in treating 
 the distemper, and effectually cured the gravel also. 
 
 The dose is an ounce, or large table-spoonful, in the feed, 
 every other day, until the horse is better, or until i^ve or six 
 doses have been given. Accompanying this, prepare and 
 give the following : Four ounces of the spirits of niter, half 
 an ounce of the oil of juniper, and one ounce of the oil of 
 sassafras. Divide this into four doses, and give one of them 
 in the morning, and another at night, for two successive days. 
 
 The other remedy is to take a quart of green coffee, and 
 boil it in a gallon of water until the strength is all out, and 
 only about a quart of water is left.- Divide this into three 
 doses, and give one dose, with an ounce of spirits of niter 
 in it, every other day. 
 
 In an experience of twenty years, we have seen but few 
 well-defined cases of gravel. Four or five we treated, and 
 of these we succeeded in curing all but one. The exception 
 was a mule in most pitiful condition when we first saw him. 
 There had been an entire suppression of urine for a week, 
 and the parts were very much swollen. Whether our di- 
 rections were strictly carried out we never learned, but we 
 did learn that the animal died. 
 
 SUPPRESSION OF URINE. 
 
 This painful disorder has already been adverted to as one 
 of the occasional symptoms of gravel, and the presence of 
 large calculi in the kidneys and bladder; but this, although 
 the most common cause, is by no means the only one. The 
 same effect may follow stricture of the urethra, produced by 
 some mechanical injury. The urethra, as the reader will 
 recollect, is the canal extending from the neck of the blad- 
 der, and through which the urine is voided. Inflammation 
 and swelling of the neck of the bladder also may obstruct 
 or entirely prevent the urinal flow. From whatever cause 
 it has originated, such a condition is necessarily productive 
 of intense pain. 
 
340 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 In all cases of this complaint, give the spirits of niter mix- 
 ture, prescribed in the last section for gravel ; but the quan- 
 tity there specified should be divided into three instead of 
 four 'doses, of which administer one at morning, noon, and 
 night, in a pint of warm water. If gravel be the cause of 
 - the trouble, the niter mixture should be used in connection 
 with the other treatment laid down for that disease. Should 
 there be much swelling of the parts, bathe them well with 
 cold salt and water, three or four times a day. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 
 
 In nearly all cases, the existence of this disease is due to 
 gravel, yet occcasionally one finds a case of primary inflam- 
 mation of the bladder. The books call this disorder cystitis. 
 The neck is that part of the organ most generally afl:ected, 
 the membranes of its body being involved but comparatively 
 seldom. 
 
 There is always a degree of inflammation in connection 
 with gravel, owing to the mechanical irritation of the parts. 
 Aside from this, we know of no other cause for this disease, 
 except the administration of certain poisons as diuretics, con- 
 spicuous in the list of which are cantharides and nux vomica. 
 If people will force such substances into the horse's stomach, 
 they deserve to lose their stock. But how can they plead 
 guiltless to the charge of wantonly torturing and destroying 
 those dumb brutes committed to their control by the benefi- 
 cent Creator ? 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 Copious bleeding is the first step in the treatment. iNTot 
 less than a gallon of blood should be extracted at once. 
 Then give the niter mixture, as directed for gravel. Let the 
 patient have a pint of flaxseed tea three times a day, and, 
 ^ if he will eat at all, set before him only light, soft food — 
 preferably a bran-mash — rye-bran, if it can be procured 
 
DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 341 
 
 Bathe the loins, sheath, and adjacent parts with cold salt 
 and ^yater. In hot weather, use ice, if it can be got. 
 
 Let the horse remain perfectly still, or as nearly so as pos- 
 sible. He should have no strong food for a long time, and, 
 unless the owner is willing to dispense with his services for- 
 ever, there should be a total banishment of moldy hay and 
 fodder from his manger, and only the most sparing use of 
 corn for all the future. 
 
 FOUL SHEATH. 
 
 A foul sheath is a low voiced commentary on the neglect 
 and stupidity of the horse's keeper. The number of horses 
 that suffer from thi-s condition — ^growing poor, sinking into 
 low condition, and sometimes even dying from its effects — is 
 really astonishing; and so, also, is the frequency with which 
 it causes other and serious diseases. Inattention in this re- 
 gard has nearly, or quite, ruined many an animal for a time, 
 and sonietimes permanently. 
 
 We have been called to see at least a hundred horses, 
 many of them so reduced as to be " on the lift," when 
 nothing else was the matter ; and to the same cause may be 
 traced mauy cases of stricture of the urinary org^s — sup- 
 pression of urine, bloody discharges, and even inflammation 
 of the kidneys. A horse in this condition will invariably 
 be colicky, for we have good reason to know that the in- 
 flammation set upop these parts often extends its influence 
 to the bowels. 
 
 The difllculty consists in the collection of lumps of black, 
 waxy substance inside of the sheath and its upper extremity. 
 In some cases, there is only one of these lumps, while in others 
 we have found two, three, or four of them, varying in bulk 
 from that of a walnut to a hen's egg of large size. If these 
 are long permitted to remain, they produce soreness, fever, 
 and inflammation, so that the horse dribbles his water from 
 the sheath. Matter begins forming in time; and it has often 
 excited both our astonishment and indignation to see how 
 blind some owners are when the horse is even in this condition. 
 
342 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 We have been called ou to examine perhaps fifty poor, 
 broken-down animals, from whose sheaths putrid, offensive 
 matter had been running for months,. and the horse was so 
 stiff from its effects that he could hardly move at all ; and 
 all this time the stupid attendant " could not tell, for the life 
 of him," what was the trouble. 
 
 Foul sheath is intimately associated with fever and dis- 
 ease of the urinary organs, and, in many cases, is caused by 
 them. But it is oftener a promoter of them. Old horses are 
 much more subject to it than younger ones, the mucous 
 secretion which Nature furnishes to lubricate the parts and 
 facilitate their movements being apparently more thick and 
 waxy in old age. 
 
 The symptoms will be easily recognized by an observant 
 spectator. The horse does not protrude the penis at all in 
 the act of urinating, but lets the water run out of his sheath. 
 Such an indication invariably points to something wrong 
 in this quarter. There is also considerable soreness of the 
 parts, stiffness of the hips, and a disposition to straddle out 
 the hind legs, in order to give as much room and as free 
 play as possible to the irritated surfaces. When in health, 
 the hor^ usually throws back the hind limbs and drops the 
 hips, in which position he sometimes makes two or three 
 efforts before the stream begins to flow; but, in the case 
 under consideration, he hardly moves at all, and seems 
 rather to permit" than force the urination. The explanation 
 of this is, that every motion and the ordinary contraction 
 of the muscles concerned in this operation necessarily give 
 him pain. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment is very simple. The first thing to be done 
 is to clean the sheath. Remove the lumps, if there be any, 
 with the hands ; then wash out thoroughly with some clean 
 soap-suds; after which, grease with a spoonful of lard in 
 which has been mixed half as much fine salt. Be certain 
 that this is applied to all partb of the inside of the sheath, 
 
DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 343 
 
 and let it remain until the second day. Kow wash out with 
 soap and water, and apply the lard and salt as before. This 
 treatment must be continued until the parts are well, or 
 until the foul smell that communicates to the hand or cloth 
 employed has entirely disappeared. 
 
 Bathe the outside of the sheath, two or three times a day, 
 with cold water, if it is in the summer time, but in the 
 winter have the water warmed. If the horse is in quite 
 a bad condition, or has fever, bleed once, taking three or 
 four quarts of blood, and give him plenty of sulphur and 
 resin. Do not work him until he is well again. 
 
 COLT FOUNDER. 
 
 During the years from 1850 to 1856 inclusive, a remark- 
 able disease prevailed extensively in many parts of the val- 
 ley of the Mississippi among brood-mares, to which the peo- 
 ple of those sections gave the name of colt founder. It 
 always occurred while the mare was heavy with foal, and 
 first showed itself by tenderness and soreness of the loins, 
 accompanied by fever. This soon brought on extreme de- 
 bility, ending in complete prostration and death. In some 
 instances, a few days sufficed to reduce the sufferer so much 
 that she was "on the lift," while in others the disease did 
 its work much more slowly. 
 
 Two out of every three mares thus attacked died sooner 
 or later, and above one-half of these before foaling. If the 
 animal succeeded in giving birth to the colt, she sometimes 
 recovered, but more frequently she died before this took 
 place. We have known a number of colts born when the 
 mothers were so weak that they could not stand on their 
 feet; and, in most of these cases, the offspring were not only 
 born alive, but were raised by hand, and made tine horses. 
 The comparatively few mares that recovered after parturi- 
 tion did so only after a long time, and a large proportion 
 were feeble, and disqualified for service for a twelvemonth 
 afterward. 
 
 One feature of the disease, in particular, was well calculated 
 
 *¥ 
 
344 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 to arrest the attention of the farmer and veterinariau, and 
 this was. that its favorite victims were selected from among 
 the finest brood-mares on some of the best stock farms, and 
 especially those of Middle Tennessee. It was a most painful 
 scene, yet one often to be witnessed, to discover a fine, large, 
 fleshy brood-mare, heavy with foal, lying helplessly upon her 
 side, unable to rise. 
 
 No specific was ever found for " colt founder." Various 
 remedies were tried, some of which often gave relief, and at 
 times was undoubtedly the means of saving life. Neverthe- 
 less there was nothing which could be relied upon for a cure. 
 The difficulty was not so much to understand the disease as 
 it was to reach it by any adequate method of treatment. 
 This was owing to the nature of the attack, and the peculiar 
 condition of the mare. 
 
 Plainly the disease was inflammation of the uterus, or 
 womb, involving the organs of production generally, and, in 
 some instances, the kidneys and bladder also. The intense 
 heat of the parts could be readily felt in the rectum ; the 
 uterus was terribly swollen and inflamed, often producing 
 prolapsus uteri (falling of the womb) ; and the hinder part€ 
 were dreadfully pufted out, making a most unsightly appear- 
 ance. The eftects of the fever upon the urinary organs were 
 clearly manifested by the highly-colored character of the 
 discharges. Except in cases of blind staggers, and possibly 
 a few others of rare occurrence, we have never known so 
 high a pulse, frequently from sixty to seventy per minute. 
 
 From examination and treatment of a large number of 
 cases, we came to the conclusion that the trouble was prin- 
 cipally caused by overfeeding with corn, and the plethoric 
 condition of the mare. As spring came on, the time of 
 change and shedding the hair, the pressure of the heavy foal 
 upon the vessels, filled with the heated, turgid blood, so ob- 
 structed circulation as to give rise to local fever and inflam- 
 mation. We are convinced that this result was materially 
 hastened by some peculiar epidemic influences prevalent 
 during the years named. The disease was but little known 
 
 *'• 
 
DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 345 
 
 before that period, and prettj^ generally disappeared afterward. 
 It was the most common in Middle and West Tennessee, 
 and I^orthern Mississippi ; and, so far as our knowledge ex- 
 tends, no disease characterized by the same symptoms has 
 ever prevailed elsewhere than in those sections, and to a less 
 degree in the territory contiguous. But the periodic recur- 
 rence of many epidemics is a fact so well established, that it 
 would not be at all surprising if " colt founder," though per- 
 haps under another name, should again invade the stock- 
 raising districts of the South-west at some future time, and 
 hence we deem it best to detail in full the 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 This we shall give as practiced under our directions in nu- 
 merous cases. When fairly carried out it will save four or 
 five mares out of every six. It was attended with a greater 
 measure of success than rewarded any other which ever came 
 within our observation. 
 
 Bleeding was apparently indicated by the marked symp- 
 toms of inflammation and fever, but copious bleeding was 
 extremely apt to bring on an abortion, to cause the mare to 
 cast her foal, and this led us to abandon the practice alto- 
 gether, as unwarrantably hazardous. 
 
 We next resorted to the use of counter-irritants, and found 
 that the corrosive liniment, applied to the loins, produced an 
 excellent effect. That compound, as a counter-irritant, is not 
 excelled by any thing known to the profession. We invari- 
 ably continued to employ the liniment in subsequent cases. 
 
 The next step was direct medication — some prescription to 
 act as a mild diuretic, more powerful remedies operating 
 very badly. For this purpose we gave the following: One 
 ounce of golden seal in a quart of water, which was then 
 boiled well and strained. To this were added two large 
 table- spoonfuls of fine salt, and one ounce of spirits of niter. 
 Three doses were thus made, and one of them was given cold 
 each morning. 
 
 Two or three times a day, as much as a pint of cold salt 
 
346 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 and water, containing a slight admixture of spirits of niter, 
 was injected into the vagina, and thrown well up toward the 
 uterus. At the same time the clyster of salt and water was 
 freely used in the ordinary manner. We recommend the ad- 
 dition of a small quantity of cream of tartar to the uterine 
 clyster. In warm weather it had an excellent effect to turn 
 bucketfuls of cold water upon the loins. 
 
 Chief among the obstacles to a cure was the extreme weak- 
 ness of the hips. Once down, the sufferer could not get up ; 
 and lying out in the hot, scorching sun, the prey of a high, 
 consuming fever, she was sure to die. Another great diffi- 
 " culty to be encountered was the almost entire loss of the use 
 of the hind legs, the limbs becoming more and more numb 
 and stiff the longer she lay upon the ground. It was indis- 
 pensable, therefore, to build a shelter over her, and at the 
 same time to raise her to a standing position, so that some 
 exercise of the hind extremities could be obtained. 
 
 We have seen dozens of the finest mares to be found on 
 the farms in Middle Tennessee, where fine stock abounds, 
 lying on the ground, as some of them had been for weeks, 
 exposed to all the alternations of cold rains, chilling winds, 
 and scorching suns which the season might bring, their 
 bodies and legs nearly eaten up by those torments, the flies, 
 and the ground beaten like a mill-path for yards, from the 
 poor creatures dragging themselves along by the fore-legs 
 and feet. How earnestly have we begged and plead with the 
 owner to do something for the suffering animal ! But very 
 often our appeals were met by " the penny-wise, pound-foolish,'' 
 not to say most cruel, reply that he was too busy ; had too 
 much else to attend to, and the sooner she died the better. 
 Sometimes, however, the owners did set to work and raise 
 the patients to their feet, and generally succeeded in carry- 
 ing them through safely. 
 
 The modes of operation adopted in such cases, may be 
 easily explained. One was to set four posts in the ground, 
 about ten feet apart, and of about the same height, and on 
 the top of these to pin strong joists or timbers, the whole 
 
DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINAKY ORGANS, ETC. 347 
 
 then being covered with planks or boards, so as to form a 
 shelter from the sun and rain. The posts, well braced apart, 
 served an excellent purpose for a sling, substantially the same 
 as that represented by the illustration given in Chapter XXI. 
 The ropes may be carried over the side pieces, and made fast 
 either to them or to strong pins placed on the outside o^ 
 them. 
 
 But a quicker way of raising any horse to his feet, and 
 that which was most practiced in the cases under considera- 
 tion, consists in building a rail-pen around him. For this 
 purpose, all that is needed, beside the rails, is three strong 
 planks and five or six men. The planks should be not less 
 than one and a half inches in thickness, and at least ten feet 
 long, and they are to be put under the animal's body so that 
 they shall project equally on each side. On the'planks should 
 be spread first some hay or straw, and then an old blanket or 
 quilt, or some carpeting, as a pad for the body to rest on. 
 This required especial care in colt-founder, as the belly was 
 very tender and sore. When this has been done, and plenty 
 of rails are at hand, the preparations are complete. There 
 should now be one man for each plank, another to handle the 
 rails, and two to stand at the animal's head and hold him 
 still by the bridle. Let the ends of the planks be raised on 
 one side, and a rail laid under them, about one foot from the 
 ends of the planks, the rail being so placed that they shall 
 be about the middle of it. Then raise the other ends of the 
 planks in the same way. End rails can now be laid on, so 
 as to be ready to raise the planks again. In this way, as the 
 pen is gradually built up, the horse is raised along with it. 
 When part way up, it is very likely that he may struggle 
 considerably, the position in that stage being novel and some- 
 what uncomfortable ; but he must be held by the bridle as 
 still as the two men at the head can hold him, and the pen 
 raised to its proper height as soon as possible. This height, 
 of course, should be such that the feet will touch the ground, 
 and may be rested upon, if ihe horse is disposed to do so. 
 The rails of the pen must be carried up still higher in front 
 
348 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 and behind, and placed close to the hip and breast, so as to 
 prevent the animal from surging back and forth on the 
 planks. Lastly, heavy pieces of timber may be placed on 
 the pen, in front and behind, to hold it firmly, and strong 
 stakes driven down at each corner of the pen, which, by these 
 means, will be so well secured that no movement will be pos- 
 sible. The horse may be hitched by a halter to a post in 
 front, and some planks being laid on the rails at the same 
 place, a platform will be formed on which a feeding-box may 
 be placed. 
 
 Such a piece of work will cost the owner perhaps ten dol- 
 lars, and consume one day of his time ; but, besides saving 
 the horse's life, it will be worth fifty dollars in the practical 
 experience gained. The contrivance may be applied in a 
 variety of cases, which most of the farmers destitute of the 
 enterprise necessary for so simple a task;, would give up as 
 hopeless from the outset. In cases of broken legs, for ex- 
 ample, it can hardly fail to preserve the horse's usefulness 
 unimpaired. 
 
 But to return to the treatment of " colt founder," particu- 
 larly. The mare having been raised by means of the rail- 
 pen, a good shelter should be fixed over her, and if before 
 foaling, preparations may be made for that event. In a ma- 
 jority of cases, however, such extreme weakness does not 
 occur until after the birth of the colt; and even though it 
 should, if that period be very near, it may be best to defer 
 raising the mare until after foaling. 
 
 There being no longer any danger in regard to abortion, 
 bleeding may be resorted to without fear, to abate the in- 
 flammatfon. The food should be very light, soft, and relax- 
 ing. Green grass should be cut and placed in the feeding- 
 box, and quantities of sulphur and resin should be given. If 
 there is great costiveness, so that the dung is hard, dry, and 
 black, two or three doses of " jimson " seed will be the proper 
 remedy. On no account, however, is this to be given until 
 after foaling, as its use before that tii^e is dangerous. 
 
 If the animal is in the stable instead of out in the field, 
 
DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 349 
 
 all the operations we have here described may be carried out 
 there. 
 
 DISEASES OF YOUNG COLTS. 
 
 Perhaps we can find no more appropriate connection than 
 this in which to consider certain diseases that sometimes 
 attack the young colt. They were especially prevalent in 
 the stock-raising districts of Tennessee during the same 
 period that colt founder was so common there — from 1850 
 to 1857. In these cases, the colt, sickening in a few days 
 after foaling, was apt to prove but a short-liv6d addition to 
 the farmer's stock. The mule colt shared equally with the 
 horse colt in the mortality. 
 
 These diseases are of two distinct classes : first, those of 
 the bowels, which include both costiveness and looseness ; 
 second, those of the urinary organs, which were suppression, 
 increased flow, and bloody urine. Suppression of the urine 
 is sometimes caused b}^ mechanical obstructions, as will be 
 mentioned when we speak of the treatment; but, with that 
 rare exception, the origin of all these troubles may be traced 
 to the condition of the mother at the time of foaling, and, 
 subsequently; for the quality of the milk which the youngster 
 begins life upon is to him a matter of vital consequence. 
 
 We have before noticed the highly injurious results which 
 follow the use of such feed as the unsound corn and moldy 
 fodder that constitute a great part of the diet of thousands 
 of horses at the South. It is a matter that involves the 
 causes of big head, blind staggers, all manner of digestive 
 and urinary disturbances, and we know not how many evils 
 besides; but the dire category would be singularly incom- 
 plete if these complaints of the young colt were left out 
 of it. 
 
 It is impossible for the mother, fed on such substances, not 
 to impart her unhealthy condition to the colt. It does not 
 always follow, however, that each will have precisely the 
 same disease as the other, and much less in the same degree. 
 The rule can scarcely be carried further than that if the 
 
350 AMERICAN FAEMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 mother is unhealthy, the offspring will he unhealthy also. 
 Each may have disorders that the other entirely escapes. 
 
 But corn, though the best grown, is not the feed for a 
 mare suckling a young colt. It is too strong and heating, 
 and forms a quality of food not suited to the needs of the 
 foal. So, although the mother remains in scarcely impaired 
 health, he may be the victim of obstinate costiveness, or the 
 most troublesome scours. The difficulty would have no ex- 
 istence had the mare been fed on proper diet, and judiciously 
 cared for in all other respects. The case is the same in re- 
 gard to the other class of affections. Although the urinary 
 organs of the mare may suffer to some extent, the superior 
 strength of her system enables her to bear up against the 
 unhealthy influence, and may even enable her to throw them 
 off almost entirely ; yet the tender colt succumbs more readily, 
 and suddenly the owner discovers that the young animal is 
 very ill, and suffering acutely. Stricture, suppression, diabetes, 
 bloody urine, are the various developments of disease having 
 one uniform origin. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The treatment will prove difficult, as it is very dangerous 
 to give medicine to the young colt, and he may be seriously 
 iiQared, if not killed outright, by injudicious drenching. In 
 this case, all the medication attempted should be through the 
 milk of the mother, and the clyster alone given the colt. If 
 the bowels are constipated, an aperient given the mother 
 will affect the colt nearly as quickly as it does her. In this 
 case, give the colt a clyster of salt and water, as warm as he 
 can bear it, with a small quantity of aloes added ; or some 
 warm soap-suds may be used for the same purpose. 
 
 In " scours," as it is called, neither through the mother's 
 milk nor to the colt will it answer to give much astringent 
 medicine. A little of the blackberry-root tea may be ad- 
 ministered to the mare. ' As a clyster for the colt, it will be 
 best to use fifty drops of laudanum, with one- fourth of an 
 ounce of Epsom salts, dissolved in water ; or a little salt and 
 

 DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC. 351 
 
 water, cold, with a slight infusion of golden seal, and a 
 table-spoonfal of finelj-pulverized charcoal. If an astrin- 
 gent medicine be given the colt, some mild aperient should 
 accompany it, or extreme costiveness, with fever, will be the 
 result. 
 
 The urinary difficulties of the colt are not so readily man- 
 aged. When there is suppression of the urine, examine the 
 parts to see that the trouble does not arise from mechanical 
 causes. In a few cases, the outlet at the end of the penis 
 will be found sealed, perhaps, so that no urine can possibly 
 force a passage. If this is caused by a scabby incrustation, 
 wash off the part thoroughly, and there will be relief at once. 
 If there appears a skinny covering over the outlet of the 
 urethra, cut an orifice through it with the point of a sharp 
 knife. Stricture of the neck of the bladder from inflamma- 
 tion is the only other cause of suppressed urine that can be 
 positively indicated in regard to the colt, as we have no 
 knowledge whether his kidneys are diseased or not. In 
 treating this, it will tend to relax the parts to apply hot salt 
 and water to the outside, and to inject some of it into the 
 rectum; and, at the same time, half an ounce of spirits ^f 
 niter may be given to the mother each day, in some warm 
 water. 
 
 Bloody urine in the colt we have found to prove fatal, 
 almost invariably, from the fever and inflammation that was 
 set up. We recommend bathing with hot salt and water ; a 
 clyster of the same, except that it should be cold, and some 
 spirits of niter given the mother. 
 
 Perhaps all these cases of disease might be remedied, and 
 generally prevented, by proper attention to diet during the 
 time that the mare is with foal, and afterward until the 
 period of weaning. For the benefit of the young colt, the 
 food of the mare should be changed at once. If he is costive, 
 give her relaxing food, such as bran — preferably, rye bran — 
 or, still better, green, succulent grass. If he has the scours, 
 feed her on good light hay, and clean, pure oats. Here, as 
 every-where else, the ruTe is, a dry diet for scours, and a 
 
«. 
 
 352 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 moist one for costiveness. Whether for derangement of the 
 bowels or of the urinary organs in the colt, give as much 
 sulphur and resin as the mare will eat. In cases of bloody 
 urine, if the colt has fever, bleed- the mare, and that will be 
 equivalent to bleeding the foal. 
 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. 
 
 353 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. 
 
 The accompanying cut is, of course, imaginary, but it ad- 
 mirably conveys to the mind, through the eye, the general 
 plan of the circulation as it exists in man and all the higher 
 types of animals. Both the general and 
 the pulmonary circulations are here rep- 
 resented. It will well repay the reader 
 not thoroughly familiar with at least the 
 outlines of anatomy and physiology, to 
 turn back to Chapter II, and carefully go 
 over the sections on the blood-vessels and 
 the heart, in connection with this illus- 
 tration. By this means he may perma- 
 nently fix in his memory some of the most 
 important facts and principles, that are 
 taught in the entire range of the two 
 sciences referred to. 
 
 PLAN or THE CIBCTTLATIOV. 
 
 The arrows indicate the direction in which the blood flows in the diflferent- 
 vessels. Those of the latter, which convey the pure or arterialized blood, are 
 indicated by the absence of all shading; and those which convey impure or 
 venous blood are represented by heavy shading. 
 
 A, Capillaries on the general surface in all parts of the body, forming the in- 
 tricate net-work of minute vessels by which the veins and arteries- 
 are connected. 
 
 £, One of the vena cavae, which are the two great veins through which all the 
 venous blood in the body is finally returned to the right auricle of 
 the heart. 
 
 (7, The right auricle, from which the venous blood passes into the right ven- 
 tricle. 
 
 Df The right ventricle, from which the venous blood passes into th« pulmonary 
 arien/. 
 
 E, The pulmonary artery, which carries the still impure or venous blood tot 
 the lungs. 
 
 Ff The capillaries of the lungs, spread out over the immense extent of surface 
 
 23 
 
354 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 afforded by the air-cells. In these the blood is purified, by the pro- 
 cesses of decarbonizaiion and oxygenizaiion. They unite and form the 
 pulmonary veins, one of which is indicated in the cut, near the up- 
 permost of the downward-pointing arrows, but is not lettered. 
 
 Gj The left auricle of the heart, which receives the now purified, or arterial- 
 ixed, blood from the pulmonary veins, and from which it passes to the 
 left ventricle. 
 
 JJ, The left ventricle, the contraction of whose powerful walls forces the blood 
 out through the aorta and the successive subdivisions of the arteries 
 to all parts of the system. 
 
 /, The aorta posterior, dividinj^ and subdividing into smaller arteries, which 
 finally unite with the capillaries at A, where begins once more the 
 venous circulation. The aorta posterior is the great artery which 
 supplies the abdomen and all the hrnd extremities with blood. The 
 latter is now freighted with nutrition extracted in the intestines 
 from the food, and conveyed into the general circulation through the 
 thoracic duct (not shown in the cut) and the anterior vena cava. 
 
 J^ The trunk of the aorta anterior, the great artery which supplies the con- 
 tents of the thorax, or chest, and all the fore extremities, etc., with 
 the pure and nutriticJ^ blood. It ramifies and terminates in the 
 same manner as the aorta posterior. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE HEART. 
 
 The causes and symptoms of this entire class of diseases 
 are very obscure. Perhaps hypertrophy, or enlargement of 
 the heart, is the most common affection- A Mr. Thomson, 
 of Bath, England, several years ago, contributed to veterinary 
 science the history of a singular case, in which the heart be- 
 came *'a large disorganized mass, weighing thirty-four 
 pounds." Other cases have been reported much nearer 
 home ; but hardly any thiug seems to be known respecting 
 the disease, beyond its simple existence. Of course the pro- 
 cess of growth must be going on for some time before it kills 
 the horse ; yet there are no certain means by which the exist- 
 ence of such a condition can be detected. If the action of 
 the heart be seriously obstructed, the animal must die at 
 once, and a comparatively slight 'derangement would occasion 
 acute suffering. In rnany, or perhaps nearly all, cases of 
 death from this disease, the heart seems to have performed 
 its usual functions, without noticeable disturbance, up to the 
 very moment of its entirely ceasing to beat. 
 
 In regard to any other disease of the heart, we must con- 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. 355 
 
 fess entire ignorance. Among the hundreds of horses that 
 we have examined and dissected, we have never discovered 
 any preternatural symptoms in the tissues of that organ. It 
 is only fair to say, however, that these examinations were di- 
 rected to some other end than critically investigating the sub- 
 ject of heart disease. 
 
 Youatt enumerates eight different diseases of this class, and 
 attempts to give specific symptoms in each case. But we 
 see no essential differences in his descriptions of them, save 
 merely in their verbal arrangement. He makes no pretensions 
 to giving any remedy for them. Hardly any other recognized 
 authority makes any mention of the horse suffering from 
 heart disease. 
 
 Although it is quite reasonable to suppose that so vital a 
 part of the animal's organism may be the seat of various 
 disorders, it will be of no consequence to the farmer to spend 
 much time in considering the subject, unless some remedy 
 can be suggested ; and as this is beyond our power, we may 
 as well dismiss the whole matter and pass on to something 
 else. 
 
 THUMPS. 
 
 This is a not uncommon disease in many*sections, having 
 its origin, not in the heart, yet very near it, in the pulmonary 
 artery, (See E, in preceding cut.) It is a cartilaginous en- 
 largement of the walls of that vessel, so that the channel be- 
 comes diminished in size, and can not pass the same quantities 
 of blood that it does in its healthful state. When it is con- 
 sidered that every drop of blood in the entire circulation is 
 propelled through this main duct, on its passage from the 
 right ventricle of the heart to the lungs, there to be arteri- 
 al ized or purified, it becomes apparent^ at once, that any 
 obstruction of the pulmonary artery must cause serious dis- 
 turbance in the heart, whose contractions are the power that 
 forces the blood along this channel. 
 
 The pulmonary artery, like every other in the body, is 
 composed of three distinct coatings — the outer, or perito- 
 neal; the middle or muscular; and the inner, or serous. Its 
 
356 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 walls are very elastic and flexible when in their natural oi 
 healthy state, and expand, to some extent, at every pulsa- 
 tion. But it so happens that they sometimes become grown 
 together and hardened, in which condition they do not ad- 
 mit the flow of blood so freely as before. Ordinarily, no 
 • •' disturbance is noticeable from this change in the coatings 
 of the artery. The duct still appears to be sufficiently large 
 for the passage of the blood, until the horse is severely exer- 
 cised, or otherwise excited ; and then the blood courses 
 * through its channels with such increased rapidity that the 
 diminished capacity of the pulmonary artery is found to be 
 a serious trouble. The vessel does not respond to the grow- 
 ing demands upon it by the heart. The blood now begins 
 to accumulate in the heart, compelling that organ to put on 
 extra labor to urge it forward through the unyielding artery ; 
 and this labored action of the heart often becomes so great 
 that the other arterial channels sympathize with it, and a 
 general throbbing of the internal viscera is the consequence. 
 This throbbing may be plainly seen upon the sides and flanks, 
 and hence the appropriate, though homely, name, thumps. 
 When the excitement passes off, and the blood becomes cooled, 
 and the system tranquilized, these throbbings subside again. 
 
 Thumps affects some horses much more than it does others 
 having the same difficulty, probably from the pulmonary 
 artery being more constricted in such cases. Occasionally it 
 kills the horse. The whole heart sympathizes with, and par- 
 ^ takes of, the disease of the artery, and inflammation is set 
 up, or stricture of the artery takes place. In the latter event, 
 the blood is suddenly stopped, and the horse falls down dead. 
 
 We were once driving a very large, fleshy mare, in a buggy, 
 upon the turnpike leading from Pulaski to Columbia, Ten- 
 nessee. The day was excessively hot. When about mid- 
 way between the two places the mare had an extremely 
 severe attack of this distressing complaint. So violent were 
 the thumpings, that it seemed as if her very sides would be 
 torn asunder. We were compelled not only to stop and rest, 
 but to unhitch her from the buggy. Such terrible throb- * 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEAET AND BLOOD, ETC. 357 
 
 bings, amounting almost to convalsions of the sides, we never 
 saw elsewhere. Prospects were very fair for staying there 
 the remainder of the day, until a fortunate idea suggested 
 the simple but admirable remedy which will presently be 
 prescribed under the head of Treatment. Eight quarts of 
 water, from one of the many cold lime-stone springs of this 
 region, with a handful of salt stirred in, were given her, and 
 greedily drunk. In thirty minutes all was as tranquil with 
 the animal as if nothing had happened, and we went slowly 
 on our way rejoicing. 
 
 In about a year from that time, this mare died very sud- 
 denly, as we afterward learned, undoubtedly from the dis- 
 eased condition of the pulmonary artery. She had been 
 subject to these spells of thumps for a number of years 
 previous. | 
 
 TREATMENT. [ 
 
 The treatment can not be expectea to prove really cura- 
 tive ; the changed structure of the atterial walls can not be 
 corrected by the skill of man; but relief may readily be 
 given in an attack of thumps. Bleeding will accomplish this 
 almost instantly, by lessening the flow of the blood ; but it 
 must be an extreme case, indeed, in which this can become 
 necessary. It is to be tried only as a last resort. 
 
 Any thing given the horse to cool his blood will cause the 
 thumps to subside. Ice- water, with a little salt in it, just 
 enough to make it palatable, as well as to prevent it from 
 bringing on an attack of colic, will give relief in a few min- 
 utes. This is recommended as the best and safest treatment. 
 It is astonishing with what avidity a horse in this condition 
 will drink the cold water, and that, too, with a pretty good 
 sprinkling of salt in it. All that he will swallow can do him 
 no harm. If the ice- water can not be procured, the coldest 
 water that can be will answer very well. The cessation of 
 the thumpings is only a question of time, in nearly all cases, 
 and sometimes an hour or two of rest in the shade will set 
 every thing to rights again. 
 
 Blue stone, dissolved in spirits, has often not merely given 
 
358 * AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 relief from a severe attack, but has seemed to abate the 
 symptoms of the disease for a considerable time afterward. 
 The -best prescription of this sort is the following: Two 
 ounces of blue stone, the same of asafoetida, and the same of 
 "jimson" seed — all to be pulverized, and then put into one 
 pint of good spirits. Divide this into six doses, and give one 
 each day in a pint of warm water. 
 
 We have seen hundreds of cases of thumps at the South, 
 and have treated a considerable number. We have bled in 
 some instances, but of these cases only two or three do we 
 now think needed bleeding. * , 
 
 SCROFULA. 
 
 Before passing on to an examination of the causes and 
 phenomena of fever, or inflammation of the blood, we wish 
 to consider briefly the question whether the horse is a scrof- 
 ulous animal. 
 
 We know that the body of the hog is filled with scrofulous 
 ulcers. They are found in his liver, lungs, mesentery, pan- 
 creas, diaphragm, intestines, and pleura ; on the heart, also, 
 and on the walls of •the ribs, the fat on the sides, and even 
 on the legs. No hog, probably, lives or dies without having 
 scrofulous ulcers and tubercles in some of these organs. Cat- 
 tle are similarly affected, though in a much less degree. 
 Tubercles have been found in both the liver and lungs of 
 the kiue. Sheep are scrofulous, and decidedly more so than 
 cattle. Of other animals, we have no positive knowledge, 
 but there are indications which lead us to believe that many 
 of them, at least, have been made subject to the same taint. 
 Is the horse a scrofulous animal? We believe that he is. 
 What mean those ulcers on the liver, those tubercles in the 
 lungs, those tumors in the glands, if such is not the case? 
 
 In hogs, sheep, cattle, and horses tubercles and ulcers oc- 
 cur in precisely the same localities as those which exhibit 
 scrofulous ulcers in the human being. The lungs and the 
 glands of all these are found, on examination, to have the 
 same structure and functions. The affections of the class we 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. .359 
 
 are considering appear the same in all of them, heing erup- 
 tive in the glands, consumptive in the lungs, and ulcerous in 
 the liver and bowels. 
 
 " Man hath no preeminence over a beast ; as the one dieth, 
 so dieth the other." May not this have reference, not merely 
 to the manner, but to a universal cause of death — something 
 to which all flesh and blood are subject ? We are well aware 
 that this is delicate ground for the pathologist, yet have long 
 entertained the opinion that the whole animal creation was, 
 to some extent, affected with the virus of scrofula, insidiously 
 diffusing its poison and scattering the seeds of disease uni- 
 versally. The horse we believe to present indications of a 
 decidedly scrofulous characber; hence the benefit of altera- 
 tives, by which, in connection with bleeding when the symp- 
 toms warrant it, the blood may be purified, its subtle poisons 
 neutralized or destroyed, and its qualities changed, so as to 
 make it fit for the support of a healthy and vigorous life. 
 
 We have often recommended to the reader's favor the 
 "jimson" seed of the farmer, the datura stramonii of the 
 schools, and here desire to repeat the statement that, in our 
 judgment, no other alterative which the veterinarian can 
 give will produce equally beneficial results. It is invaluable 
 in farcy, distemper, hide-bound, mange, surfeit, stiff com- 
 plaint, big head, and numerous other diseases. It greatly 
 assists the digestive process, changes the character of all the 
 secretionsy eliminates the offensive matter from them, and 
 gives tone to the entire system. The dose is one table-spoon- 
 ful, or half an ounce of seed, given every other day, in the 
 horse's feed. 
 
 The blood is not to be regarded as the seat or fountain of 
 disease ; yet there is hardly an ill to which horse-flesh is sub- 
 ject that does not affect it to a greater or less extent. It is 
 itself first filled with the virus of disease, which it then car- 
 ries to all parts of the frame. 
 
 Fever is an inflamed condition of the blood, which has be- 
 
360 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 come overheated by local or general irritation in the system. 
 Some part is cut, bruised, or injured in some way; some lesion 
 of muscles, tendon, or membrane has taken place; some 
 bone is broken or nerve impaired; some dreadful exposure 
 to cold has made the whole body sore; in some way, and 
 from some cause or other, a certain organ or part has re- 
 ceived injury, so that it is weaker, more frail than the others. 
 It suffers increasingly from this injury, and becomes more 
 sore ; irritation and heat are here augmented, and fever arises. 
 The most familiar sources of heat are combustion and fric- 
 tion. Animal heat is principally evolved by a process essen- 
 tially the same as the former, while it is the latter which 
 generates fever. Fever heat is the result of the friction of 
 the blood, surcharged with the heat fcpm the injured and, 
 presently, inflamed part. It is not that the blood heats the 
 part, or even itself, but that the inflamed and heated part 
 heats and inflames the blood. 
 
 It is a principle laid down in Chapter I of this work, 
 among the important facts to be remembered in treating dis- 
 eases of the horse, that nearly all disorders of both man and 
 beast, whatever may have been the primary or external 
 causes, proceed from obstruction and derangement of the cir- 
 culatory and secretive functions. Such obstructions are nearly 
 or quite always caused by injuries of some kind. These may 
 be local or general, but wherever they produce obstruction, 
 there will heat and fever be found. 
 
 The shoulder is sprained or bruised, and a tumor arises, 
 marked, by swelling and great heat. From whence comes 
 this increased amount of heat? Certainly not from the blood. 
 Had not the part been injured, the blood would have kept 
 on flowing, as it had been doing from the moment of birth, 
 without the development of any extra heat. This must 
 clearly have its origin in the obstruction. Some of the 
 blood-vessels and many of the little capillaries have been in- 
 jured, or perhaps even broken, and their contents are now 
 discharged into the surrounding tissues. Here begins ob- 
 struction, interruption of the circulation. 
 
I 
 
 DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. 361 
 
 If any one asks, But what causes the heat? we answer, 
 friction of the circulation in the injured part. The flesh has 
 been crushed and mangled, and, when Nature endeavors to 
 force the current of circulation through these disjointed, 
 broken channels, there is an extra amount of friction, and 
 extra heat is the result. Even the flow of water through a 
 pipe abounding with angles is attended by an appreciable 
 rise m its temperature. In the animal system not only are 
 analogous causes now in operation, but there is increased mus- 
 cular contraction to overcome these impediments to circula- 
 tion, and muscular exertion is always accompanied by the 
 evolution of heat. 
 
 If the circulation could be either suspended or carried for- 
 ward regularly, there would be pain, but no extra heat., t 
 "When a little abnormal heat is generated, its influence upon ♦* 
 the neighboring secretions and circulation is lite the burning ^ 
 of the wick in the lamp. In accordance with the same phys- 
 ical law by which the oil rushes to the consuming flame do 
 the blood and watery secretions move toward the injured, 
 heated part; and, as the tendency of the flame is to ignite 
 all the combustible material surrounding it, and would do so 
 unless prevented, so the heat of the injured part spreads and 
 increases until th6 whole system is involved and on fire with 
 fever heat. It is like the burning of dry wood — a little flame 
 and a little heat at first, but how soon is the whole pile on 
 fire! — a small beginning, a little heat in the injured parts 
 at first, but how soon it spreads through every portion of the 
 frame ! 
 
 This we believe to be the true theory of fever. The blood 
 is not the generator of heat, but simply the conductor of it 
 from the burning fountain at the injured spot to all other re- 
 gions through which the blood ramifies. 
 
 jN"ow, what are the plain, logical inferences from all this? 
 Two principal ones are all, perhaps, that practically concern 
 the farmer. The first is, to prevent the fire from burning at all, 
 if this be possible; to allow it no start whatever; to protect 
 the house from sparks and fire-brands. Let there be no oc- 
 
• 
 
 i 
 
 362 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 casion, which prudence and foresight can guard against, for 
 fever and heat to arise. Adopt for the habitual rule of ac- 
 tion the old and homely, yet most excellent adage, that " an 
 ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure ." Forestall 
 disease, and no encounter with it need be anticipated. In 
 this department there is great room for improvement on the 
 part of our farmers. It should receive a greater share of 
 thought and investigation. Its -intelligent study, and a uni- 
 form practice in harmony with its laws, would well repay 
 every man who has any thing at all to do with the care of 
 stock. 
 
 If the minds of those having the charge of horses could 
 be aroused to the fact that three-fourths of the ills which 
 befall overworked and ill-treated horse-flesh in civilized com- 
 munities was due to neglect and mismanagement — to expos- 
 ures, deprivations, and abuses — what a vast aggregate of 
 suftering might be prevented, and how great pecuniary ad- 
 vantages might be secured! Our farmers should be reading 
 men, thinking men — men of intelligence and broad culture. 
 They should be reformers of abuses and instructors of igno- 
 rance ; and even if they were men of science it would not do 
 them a grain of harm. They should seek to learn the best 
 systems of management, and practice those only. They 
 should study the laws of health ami every thing pertaining 
 to the sanitary condition of their noble servant, the horse, 
 and make their treatment of him conform to the knowledge 
 thus acquired. When this becomes the case generally, in- 
 stead of exceptionally, as at present, the horse will be freed 
 from disease to an extent 'that probably few would now 
 deem credible. 
 
 That man who is ignorant of the physiological require- 
 ments of his horse, and of the pathology and treatment of 
 the animal's diseases, is to be pitied when his horse is taken 
 i ill. He is in the predicament of a man whose house is on 
 
 fire, and he trying to put out the flames. Poor fellow ! his 
 is a diflScult task. Better, a thousand times better, that he 
 had never allowed the fire to get under way at all^iad pre- 
 
DISEASES GF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. 36^ 
 
 vented it altogether. How many a farmer and horseman 
 there is in the land who never knows when his horse is on 
 fire with fever and disease until the case becomes utterly des- 
 perate, if not hopeless, and who has not the remotest idea of 
 how to manage to prevent the attacks of disease which are 
 always lying in wait to avenge any enforced violation of 
 !N"ature's laws by his poor, dumb servitor. When the horse 
 of such a man is taken ill, the symptoms of the case are 
 pretty sure t(^ argue to the better-informed observer careless- 
 ness and neglect, if not downright cruelty, on the part of 
 the owners. 
 
 The second inference to be drawn from the facts laid down 
 in expounding what we consider the true theory of fever is, 
 that if disease should make its appearance, it should be at- 
 tacked at once, and vigorously. No time ought to be lost. 
 The first stages — the development of the earliest symptoms — 
 indicates the period for beginning energetic and intelligent 
 treatment. As in the case of the fire, so it is here — a little 
 blaze may be put out with trifling exertion, but if this be 
 neglected, a conflagration may ensue beyond the power of 
 hundreds to arrest. Thousands of horses — and, for that 
 matter, thousands of people — die yearly that might be saved 
 if treatment was soon enough begun. 
 
 TREATMENT. 
 
 The successful treatment of fever embraces three distinct 
 considerations — the organ or part diseased ; the blood, which 
 spreads universally the influences arising in the diseased 
 part; and the capillaries and pores. From the first of these 
 it is our opinion that all fever proceeds. We may not always 
 be able to find the aflected organ; but it exists, and upon 
 our success in finding it greatly depends our chances for 
 curing the fever. For the many failures to cure fever two 
 principal causes may be assigned ; namely, ignorance in re- 
 spect to the primary location of the disease — the part where 
 the prevailing fever and heat have their origin — and igno- 
 rance of the proper remedy after the nature of the disorder 
 
364 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK • 
 
 is fully understood. Oftener than otherwise, the trouble lies 
 in the former. 
 
 An effort to free the blood from fever, while there is a 
 fountain somewhere in the system pouring out its influences 
 of heat and inflammation, will prove fruitless in the end. 
 All sych treatment must necessarily fail; the fountain must 
 be dried up, or the stream will continue still to flow. We 
 may ameliorate symptoms, but until the cause of disease is 
 discovered and renloved, there can be no permanent cure. 
 
 We have, therefore, no specific treatment for fever, nor 
 any directions, save those which are given in connection 
 with the disease of which the fever is the symptom and de- 
 velopment. In general terms, alteratives are of great benefit 
 as both preventive and. corrective of a diseased condition of 
 the blood. Some of them accomplish wonders in aiding the 
 vital forces to resume their full, free, and healthy action. 
 INText to the "jimson seed" — even better than that in some 
 diseases — we must give the highest excellence among all al- 
 teratives to the sulphur and resin compound, so often pre- 
 scribed in the preceding pages of our work. It acts some- 
 what slowly, but always surely, and can do no harm, no 
 matter in what quantities the horse will eat it. 
 
 But it often occurs that the horse's blood is in such a state, 
 and the whole system of absorbents rendered so inactive, that 
 alteratives can not be thrown into the circulation with suffi- 
 cient rapidity to produce the desired effects; and here fre- 
 quently arises the necessUy for bleeding. Before considering 
 this subject, however, let us inquire what changes disease 
 may work in the blood, and what that state of the blood is 
 in which bleeding becomes proper. 
 
 THICK BLOOD. 
 
 This is a condition of the blood often found in venesec- 
 tion. The blood is so thick that it scarcely runs at all for 
 some time, though the large vein of the neck — the jugular — 
 hsL^ been opened with a broad-shouldered fleam or a large 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEAET AND BLOOD, ETC. 365 
 
 lancet, and the neck has been corded. Such a thickening 
 of the blood is due to the influence of fever. It has be- 
 come sticky; it moves sluggishly in the veins, and is no 
 longer the life-sustaining, strength-giving fluid that ]N"ature 
 designed it to be. 
 
 Such blood is very dark in color. In those diseases that 
 involve the general system, it is astonishing how thick and 
 dark the blood becomes. In cases of big head, for example, 
 we have often found the blood of a tinge even deeper than 
 a dark brown — ^in fact, almost black. 
 
 This condition of the blood is attributable to fever, and is 
 always a feature in fistula, distemper, glanders, farcy, chronic 
 founder, hide-bound, mange, and in some of the diseases of 
 the lungs. Its existence, with very rare exceptions, is indic- 
 ative of the propriety of bleeding, and generally of its absolute 
 necessity. 
 
 THIN BLOOD. 
 
 There are some diseases, producing little or no fever, that 
 have a tendency to make the blood too thin and watery. 
 Such are the " scours " that affect ijiany horses, diarrhea or 
 dysentery, and other diseases that waste away the body by 
 continued defluxions. Affections of the urinary organs be- 
 long to this class. Consumption, also, disorganizes the blood, 
 making it thin and light. 
 
 The blood, as was explained in Chapter II, is made up 
 of coagulum, or clot, and serum, or watery fluid. In disorders 
 of the kind we are now considering there is a deficiency of 
 coagulum, which is the component that gives the blood its red 
 color; and, from the excess of the thin, colorless serum, the 
 blood becomes pale and watery. In such cases, the horse, 
 instead of being bled, needs the most generous diet and treat- 
 ment, in order that more and richer blood may be made and 
 thrown into the feeble circulation. 
 
 BLEEDING. 
 
 Physicians, in treating the human subject, have almost 
 dispensed with phlebotomy as unnecessary, and tending to 
 
366 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 deplete the system and weaken the vital energies. We do 
 not care to dispute the correctness of their practice in this 
 regard, but when the same theory Is advanced in respect to 
 the horse, we know that it is not applicable. A few pseudo- 
 veterinarians have advocated it, we are well aware, and they 
 have poured forth unnumbered vials of wrath, and subjected 
 the people's English to no one knows what torture, in their 
 denunciations of the " vile practice " of bleeding, as they are 
 pleased to characterize it. One *' modern horse doctor," iu 
 particular, claiming the benefits of an experience of nine 
 years' practice in the vicinity of Boston, informs us that 
 "the disease can, if curable, be cured without abstracting 
 blood. In every disease where bleeding has been resorted 
 to, complete recovery has been protracted, and the animal 
 manifested the debility by swollen legs and other unmistak- 
 able evidences of derangement." His other argument is, 
 "Because the letting of blood impoverishes that which re- 
 mains, and leads to other equally dangerous diseases as the 
 one it was intended to cure." 
 
 Now, all this is simply not so in relation to the horse ; and, 
 in passing to its examination, we can not help remarking 
 how little support this writer's theory is likely to derive from 
 his own experiences as recorded by himself in the same 
 volume. We believe that he has not told us of a single 
 cure that he has effected. He went to see several bad cases, 
 it is true, but these all died; and as for the others, one can 
 hardly help being led to believe that they died also, or else 
 that, if they got well, they would have done so just as soon 
 without his assistance. His work either entirely ignores 
 or contains gross inaccuracies concerning some of the most 
 dreadful maladies to which the horse is subject. While some 
 diseases, and they among the worst known, he barely men- 
 tions, for others he has prescribed as man^^ as twenty-two 
 or even twenty-eight different ingredients in compounding 
 a remedy. Some of his preparations it requires fourteen or 
 fifteen days to make ready for use ! 
 
 With our own hands we have bled five hundred horses and 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. 367 
 
 mules, and in no case found any of the evil consequences to 
 follow that are indicated in the quotations above given. 
 Thousands of animals have been bled for big head alone, to 
 our certain knowledge; and we know that neither the '^mod- 
 ern horse doctor" nor any one else can cure that disease 
 without a resort to the ^'•vile practice." There are other 
 complaints in whose treatment it is equally indispensable. 
 
 Bleeding, if judiciously . performed, does not necessarily 
 ^' impoverish the remaining blood." In nearly all cases where 
 bleeding is proper, the blood is already impoverished by dis- 
 ease, and, if it were not so, the horse would be well. It is 
 thick, dark, and greatly deficient in the nutrition which the 
 system requires for* its support and growth. To say that 
 the horse would be better oflF without any of it in his veins 
 would be pushing the argument to an absurd e-xtreme ; but 
 the statement is within perfectly reasonable bounds that it 
 has become only the vehicle of disease and deterioration to 
 the different tissues of the body. * 
 
 But this is not the only or the chief difficulty. The capil- 
 laries — those little channels which ultimately ponvey the nu- 
 trition imparted by the food to the entire organism of the 
 body — ^have become obstructed, and perhaps closed, by this 
 very same condition of the blood; and muscles, tendons, 
 membranes, bones, skin — all parts of the frame, in fact — are 
 suffering and wasting away. There must be a removal of 
 the cause if the results would be altered. The blood must 
 be changed and purified ; new and better blood must be sub- 
 stituted for that which is impure and impoverishing. 
 
 How is the blood to be operated upon when it is in this 
 state ? Whatever is done now must be done quickly. The 
 whole system is fearfully disturbed, and, unless the natural 
 functions are restored to their healthful action speedily, the 
 animal must die. Will medication do this? Rarely, indeed. 
 The medicine may distend the stomach to its utmost capacity, 
 and the blood scarcely be influenced by it. In this condition 
 of the blood, communication with the alimentary canal, 
 whence it receives all its supplies, is closed to an alarming 
 
368 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 extent, so that neither food nor medicine is taken up by the 
 lacteal absorbents in nearly the quantities that they would 
 be if the body was in health. 
 
 It is folly, then, to lay such stress on that flimsy web of 
 argument, the impoverishment of the blood by bleeding. 
 The blood is already impoverished, disorganizing, decaying, 
 and the sooner it can be replaced by what is new and health- 
 ful the better. 
 
 This leads us to another and very important consideration ; 
 namely, the certainty and swiftness with which bleeding re- 
 laxes the system — in numerous cases doing at once what 
 medicines will not do in time to save life. As consequences 
 of this relaxation, the absorbents of the bowels are opened, 
 and the secretions throughout the body are eliminated more 
 nearly as in health. 
 
 In respect to bleeding, it will not do to consider the case 
 of the horse exactly analogous to that of the human being. 
 Although the physical organisms of man and of the horse 
 are so much alike, there exist some marked diversities when 
 we come to the minute applications of hygienic laws. All 
 medicines do not have precisely the same effect upon both 
 of them. Some which act with great severity upon the horse 
 are almost inert upon the human subject ; while others that 
 are poisonous to the latter are mild and gentle, or quite in- 
 operative, when given to the horse. Our liniments are ex- 
 amples of the first. They produce comparatively little effect 
 upon the skin of the person handling them, while they act 
 most powerfully upon that of the horse. Of the second class, 
 the datura stramonii is a remarkable specimen. Although it 
 is a rank poison to man, a gallon of it would not hurt the horse. 
 "We have known him to almost live on it for two months, in 
 that time eating bushels of the leaves and buds. 
 
 Not a few cases of bleeding have we witnessed in our time 
 from the human subject, but have never known such blood 
 to be drawn as we have seen flowing from the jugular vein of 
 the horse — thick, sticky, and almost black. From him we 
 have abstracted, we might almost say, hogsheads of blood, 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEAKT AND BLOOD, ETC. 369 
 
 and rarely, indeed, without witnessing marked and speedy ^ 
 improvement afterward. The object of bleeding is to relieve ^ 
 the circulation of impure, diseased blood, and to relax the ^ 
 system generally; and, in this condition, medicines may be 
 administered to some purpose. Its tendency is not to debili- 
 tate in those cases where the horse's system is already pros- 
 trated, or greatly deranged by disease of such character as to * 
 render bleeding proper. For example, we have taken a horse 
 with big head, time and again, when he was so stiff and 
 weak that he could not get up. without help, and, in a very 
 few days after bleeding, have seen him rise to his feet by 
 his own strength, and continue to grow stronger and stronger 
 until quite well. 
 
 Some persons have a zeal without knowledge, and, in their 
 haste to assume the character of reformers, do not stop to 
 weigh facts with due care, or to test new theories by actual 
 experience. We are as much in favor of improvement as 
 any one else, but we want it to be in the right direction, i^o 
 arbitrary views should be clung to in the face of an over- 
 whelming array of facts upon the other side of the question, 
 simply because they constitute the distinctive policy of one's 
 self or of any other person whatsoever. We would gladly 
 dispense with the trouble of bleeding, if it were not necessary 
 for the cure of the diseased horse. The system of blood- 
 letting was undoubtedly abused in former times, but that is 
 no argument against its practice on the proper occasions. - ;^ 
 
 Those occasions are not seldom, or difficult to distinguish. 
 Many of the horse's diseases it is impossible to reach effect- 
 ively in any olher way. 
 
 Our views upon this point are in harmony with those of 
 the best talent whom this subject has ever engaged. We 
 are in excellent company in this respect, in support of which • jT 
 
 position let us quote the opinion of that unsurpassed au- 
 thority in veterinary science, William Youatt, than whose 
 judgment, in this important matter, no man's is worth 
 more : 
 
 " If inflammation consists of an increased flow of blood to 
 24 
 

 
 . * 
 
 370 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 and through the part, the ready way to abate it is to lessen 
 the quantity of blood. If we take away the fuel, the fire 
 will go out. All other means are comparatively unimportant, 
 contrasted with bleeding. * * * It is a principle in the^ 
 animal frame which should never be lost sight of by the vet- 
 erinary surgeon or the horseman, that if by bleeding the 
 process of inflammation can once be checked — if it can be 
 suspended but for a little while — although it may return, it 
 is never with the same degree of violence, and, in many 
 cases, it is got rid of entirely. Hence the necessity of bleed- 
 ing early, and bleeding largely, in inflammation of the lungs, 
 or of the bowels, or of the brain, or of any important organ. 
 Many horses are lost for want or insufliciency of bleeding ; 
 but we never knew one materially injured by the most copious 
 extraction of blood in the early stage of acute inflammation. 
 The horse will bear, and with advantage, the loss of an almost 
 incredible quantity of blood. Four quarts taken from him 
 will be comparatively little more than one pound taken from 
 the human being. We can scarcely conceive of a consider- 
 able inflammation of any part of the horse, whether proceed- 
 ing from sprains, contusions, or any other cause in which 
 bleeding, local (if possible), or general, or both, will not be 
 of essential service." 
 
 As before stated, it is not necessary to bleed in all diseases. 
 The operation is to be resorted to only in cases of acute in- 
 flammation and old chronic complaints. To prevent mis- 
 takes, we give the following rule : If, when the vein is 
 opened, the blood flows freely from the first and looks red, 
 with but a slightly dark tinge, close the vein at once — the 
 horse does not need blood-letting. !N^ever bleed to improve 
 condition, but only to attack disease. If your horse is sick, 
 you can seldom go amiss to bleed him, unless his disorder 
 belongs to the class referred to a few pages back, that waste 
 the system away by constant defluxions. We only recom- 
 mend bleeding in cases where experience has taught us its 
 necessity, where the blood is in a diseased, disorganizing con- 
 dition, and free communication between it and the alimen- 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, EIC. 371 
 
 tary canal — its source of nutrition — is in great degree or en- 
 tirely suspended. 
 
 The amount of blood to be taken at any one time will de- 
 pend upon the violence of the attack, or the length of time 
 which the disease has been running. It will be very seldom 
 that the practitioner will find it judicious to take more than 
 four quarts at a single bleeding, and from this the quantity 
 will diminish down to a quart, in case of extreme weakness 
 or a mild attack. In sudden attacks of inflammation, copi- 
 ous bleeding will be necessary only once, as a general rule. 
 In chronic or constitutional diseases, it may be necessary to 
 bleed oftener, but not so much should be taken at one time. 
 Big head, hide-bound, mange, fistula, chronic founder, and 
 some other disorders, make the blood very black, and here 
 the stream should be kept running until its color changes to 
 a healthy venous color — somewhat darker than arterial blood, 
 but still a beautiful red. In cases of lock-jaw and blind 
 staggers, the vein must be kept open until the pulse falters, the 
 knees begin to tremble, and the horse commences to blow. 
 
 The proper place to bleed is in the neck vein — the jugular 
 vein, as its proper name is — about two inches down the neck, 
 from where the two branches of the vessels unite. It is a 
 little below the point indicated at t in the cut at the begin- 
 ning of the next section. 
 
 "We will now describe the manner of bleeding in the way that 
 most horsemen will practice it, not being supplied with a lancet, 
 which is a matter of no consequence. The operation is so 
 simple that no farmer, or intelligent lad who is intrusted with 
 the care of a team, need have any fears about undertaking it,, 
 if his mind has once been conclusively made up in relation 
 to its necessity. A small, hard cord should be drawn tightly 
 around the neck, about six inches below the place where the 
 incision is to be ijiade, and, as soon as the neck fills out, 
 smooth the hair with the moistened finger, so that it may lie 
 close and straight with the vein. Then have some one to 
 hold the horse ; cover the eye on the side whence the blood 
 is to be drawn, or, if the operator is alone, the horse may be 
 
 ■ * 
 
>\ 
 
 372 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 blindfolded. l!^ow lay the fleam lengthwise the vein, holding 
 it in the left hand, and resting it exactly on the center ot 
 the vessel, and, with a hard piece of wood in the right hand, 
 strike the fleam with sufficient force to cut into the vein. 
 The piece of wood used for this purpose should be about a 
 foot long, and an inch or more in thickness. The blow given 
 with it must not be so violent as to cut through the inner 
 wall of the vein. Such an accident has sometimes occurred, 
 and is apt to result in inflammation of the parts, and the 
 formation of an abscess back of the vein, which will prove 
 exceedingly difficult to remove. The incision should be 
 large, so as to secure the abstraction of the requisite amount 
 of blood in the shortest time possible ; hence the advantages 
 of using a broad-shouldered fleam. After enough blood has 
 been drawn, remove the cord from the neck, and the blood 
 will cease to flow. !N"ow bring the edges of the cut together, 
 and put a quite small pin through the skin, so as to hold them 
 thus ; then tie some of the tail hairs, wet in the blood, under 
 the pin, drawing them tightly, and let the whole remain in 
 this condition for twenty-four hours. The pin should then 
 be removed, and the scar afterward wet with spittle occa- 
 sionally. 
 
 The few remaining directions which may properly be laid 
 down concerning bleeding, we give in the language of Youatt : 
 
 " When the bleeding is to be repeated, if more than three 
 or four hours have elapsed, it will be better to make a fresh 
 incision rather than to open the old wound. Few directions 
 are necessary for the use of the lancet. They who are com- 
 petent to operate with it will scarcely require any. If the 
 point is sufficiently sharp, the lancet can scarcely be too 
 broad-shouldered ; and an abscess lancet will generally make 
 a freer incision than that in common use. Whatever instru- 
 ment is adopted, too much care can not^be taken to have it 
 perfectly clean, and very sharp. It should be carefully wiped 
 and dried immediately after the operation, otherwise, in a 
 very short time, the edges will begin to be corroded." 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEAET AND BLOOD, ETC. 
 
 373 
 
 THE PULSE. 
 
 ^% 
 
 The cut admirably shows the muscles, nerves, and blood- 
 vessels of the head and the upper part of the neck. "We 
 have reserved it to introduce here, in order to point out the 
 location of the pulse so plainly that no one can be at a loss 
 where to look for it. It will be easily found in the living 
 subject, at the point here indicated by lo. Down to p, inclu- 
 sive, the lettering below relates to the muscles. 
 
 a The upper part of the ligsCment of the neck — the wUUeather. 
 
 * The levator humeri (elevator of the 8houlder), arising from the tubercle of 
 the occiput, the mastoid (nipple-shaped) process of the temporal bone, 
 and the transverse processes (cross projections) of the first four 
 bones of the neck, and the ligament of the neck, and going to the 
 muscles of the shoulders and the upper bone of the arm : to draw 
 forward the shoulder and arm, or turn the head and neck; and, 
 when the two levators act, to depress the head. 
 
 e The tendon common to the complexus major (larger complicated), and spleniua 
 (splint-like) ; to the mastoid process of the temporal bone, to hold up 
 the head, or, the muscles on one side alone acting, to turn it. 
 
 d The stemo-maxillaris (belonging to the breast-bone) and upper jaw, from the 
 cartilage in front of the chest to the angle of the lower jaw; to bend 
 the head, or, if only one acts, to bend it on one side. 
 
 e The stylo-mazillaris, from the styloid (pencil-shaped) or coracoid (beak- 
 shaped) process of the occiput, to the angles of the jaw : to pull the 
 jaw backward and open it. 
 
8Y4 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 / The subscapulo hyoideus, from under tlie shoulder-blade, to the body of the 
 OS hyoides (the bone at the root of the tongue formed like a Greek 
 u, v): to draw back that bone. 
 
 ff The masseter (chewing) ; a most powerful muscle, constituting the cheek of 
 the horse: from the upper jaw bone into the rough surface round 
 the angle of the lower: in conjunction with the temporal muscle to 
 close the mouth and chew the food. 
 
 h The orbicularis (circular) surrounding the eye and closing the lids. 
 
 t The zygomaticus, from the zygomatic arch and masseter to the corner of the 
 mouth, to draw back the angle of the mouth. 
 
 k The buccinator (trumpeter), from the inside of the mouth and cheeks, to 
 the angle of the mouth, to draw it back. 
 
 I The vasalis labii superioris (belonging to the nose and upper lip), from a de- 
 pression at the junction of the superior maxillary and malar bones, 
 to the angle of the nostril : to raise the lip and dilate the nostrils. 
 
 m Dilator naris lateralis (side dilator of the nostril), reversed to show the ves- 
 sels atfd nerves which it covers, going from the covering of the na- 
 sal and frontal bones, to the angle of the mouth, and side of the nos- 
 tril ; to retract the upper lip and dilate the nostrils. 
 
 n Dilator magnm (great dilator), assisting in the same office. 
 
 Depressor labii inferioris (puller down of the under lip), to the sides of the 
 under lip ; to pull it down. 
 
 p Orbicularis oris (circular muscle of the mouth), surrounding the mouth : to 
 close the lips and dilate the nostrils. 
 
 q The upper portion of the parotid gland (gland near the ear) reversed, to 
 show the blood vessels and nerves beneath it. 
 
 r The parotid duct piercing the cheek, to discharge the saliva into the mouth. 
 
 s The maxillary gland (gland of the lower jaw), with its duct. 
 
 t The jugular (neck) vein, after the two branches have united. 
 
 w At this letter, the submaxillary artery, a branch of the jugular, and the 
 parotid duct, pass under and within the angle of the lower jaw; 
 they come out again at w, and climb up the cheek to be distributed 
 over the face. 
 
 V The vein and artery, passing under the zygomatic arch. 
 
 X A branch of the fifth pair, the sensitive nerve of the face, emerging from 
 under the parotid gland. 
 
 y The main branch of the portio dura (hard portion) of tlfb seventh pair, the 
 motor (moving) nerve of the face coming out from beneath the paro- 
 tid gland, to spread over the face. 
 
 z Branches of both nerves, with small blood-vessels. 
 
 The condition of the pulse is a consideration of the utmost 
 importance to the veterinary practitioner. In most diseases 
 he has no other means equally good of determining the actual 
 state of his patient's system, and there is nothing which will 
 guide him so well in forming his opinion in regard to the ne- 
 cessity for bleeding. As was remarked in the proper section 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. 375 
 
 of Chapter II, the beats of the pulse simply indicate so many 
 impulsions of the blood from the heart. !N'ow, there can be 
 no considerable excitement of the system, whether from ex- 
 ercise, intense emotion, or disease, without causing a corre- 
 spondingly increased action of the heart. This is indexed by 
 the pulse, and thus the presence of disease is readily detected, 
 and its course traced throughout all its developments. 
 
 The pulse may be discovered and counted in several places 
 on the horse's body, but nowhere else is it so easily found 
 as upon the underside of the lower jaw-bone, at the point 
 indicated in our description of the foregoing cut. Here the 
 submaxillary artery passes over the edge of the bone, and 
 feels like a small cord under the skin. By pressing the 
 fingers upon it steadily, the pulsations may be felt pushing 
 their way along at the rate of about thirty-fiv6 per minute 
 in the farmer's horse, although some fine breeds average as 
 much as forty, or even more, when in perfect health. This 
 is what writers refer to when they speak of the standard 
 pulse. The great advantage of resorting to the submaxillary 
 artery to find the pulse is this: that here pressure upon the 
 hard bone beneath enables one to determine, not merely the 
 rapidity of the pulse, but also its strength and other charac- 
 teristics. 
 
 Fifty beats to the minute, when the horse is not laboring 
 under muscular or nervous agitation, constitutes a decidedly 
 diseased pulse, and seventy or eighty betrays a most fearful 
 state of excitement. Such is the case in blind staggers, for 
 instance. As high a pulse as one hundred to the minute is 
 recorded by English veterinarians ; but the farm horse of 
 this country rarely shows one above eighty, which is quite 
 sufficient to soon wear out his vital energies. In inflamma- 
 tion of the lungs or bowels, seventy per minute is about the 
 maximum attained in the great majority of cases. 
 
 In health the pulsations are slow and soft, making an im- 
 pression, truly, that is readily recognized when the pressuie 
 of the finger is applied, but not hard and tense by any means. 
 But as fever and inflammation come on, the vein becomes 
 
376 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 more turgid ; the blood is more heated ; the action of the 
 heart is heightened, and the pulse increases in proportion. 
 It is sometimes the case that the blood is thick when there 
 is but very little fever; but the amount of the latter is al- 
 ways indicated by the quickness of the pulse. The quick, 
 throbbing pulse speaks of inflammation somewhere; the hard, 
 corded pulse, of some chronic or long-standing disease. 
 Sometimes we find the pulse to present both of these con- 
 ditions simultaneously, and then the case is an alarming one, 
 calling for prompt and vigorous measures, or death will 
 probably forestall further efforts. 
 
 Besides the terms employed above, there are others in gen- 
 eral use among horsemen, to distinguish the various kinds 
 of pulsations recognizable under the influences of disease. 
 The hard pulse is that in which the beats evidence powerful, 
 perhaps even violent, over-action of the heart, but without 
 much disturbance of the circulation otherwise. In the wiry 
 pulse, they appear small as to volume, but hard and jerking, 
 indicating great irritability in the region of the heart, so 
 that the ventricles contract too soon, before they are properly 
 filled. Danger does not liirk behind this, but advances with 
 it boldly, defiantly, and with rapid strides indeed. It be- 
 tokens acute inflammation, especially of the bowels, or some- 
 times of the urinary organs. The oppressed pulse exists when 
 the arteries are too full, overloaded with blood thrown out 
 from the heart, but returning to it with difliculty. There is 
 obstruction somewhere, such that even the immensely power- 
 ful contractions of the muscular walls of the heart can hardly 
 force the sluggish current through the blood-vessels. In- 
 flammation of the lungs, a sudden and violent attack of 
 pneumonia, is generally the cause of this phenomenon. In 
 this case bleeding, if not carried to excess, will actually in- 
 crease the strength of the pulsations instead of weakening 
 them. It will be the proper recourse in all the conditions 
 of the pulse thus far enumerated. 
 
 Not so, however, in the case of the weak pulse; for here 
 there is debility and exhaustion, \nd the heart acts but feebly, 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. 377 
 
 «. 
 
 while the blood is poor and thin,- as well as deficient in quan- 
 tity. Such a pulse accompanies all diseases that tend to 
 prostrate the system, and at other times may indicate the 
 yery near approach of death. Depletion means murder here. 
 Stimulants, tonics, are what the patient needs, to arouse and 
 assist the flagging life-energies to proper action. 
 
 Some persons bleed for every ailment, and others for none 
 at all. There must be discrimination in this as in every 
 thing else. When the horse is well, it is absolute folly and 
 cruelty to bleed. Let well enough alone. But when the 
 veins are turgid with blood, and the pulse, under the stim- 
 ulus of fever and inflammation, is hard, wiry, or oppressed, 
 the practioner who endeavors to cure the horse by means 
 of medication only will generally find himself a fool for his 
 pains. 
 
 For the more convenient reference of the reader, we will 
 here recapitulate the various states of the pulse in disease, 
 with the general indications of each concerning bleeding : 
 
 Quick throbbing pulse — ^inflammation : bleed freely. 
 
 Hard pulse — feverish excitement: bleed freely. 
 
 Full, corded pulse — chronic or long-standing disease : bleed 
 moderately two or three times, ten days apart. 
 
 Small, wiry pulse — usually inflammation of the bowels: 
 bleed copiously. 
 
 Oppressed pulse — usually inflammation of the lungs : bleed 
 freely. 
 
 Weak pulse — debility : do not bleed at all. 
 
 Several things are to be taken into account in making up 
 one's mind as to the frequency of the pulse, such as the 
 horse's temperament, blood, customary employment, etc. 
 Especially should the fact be inquired into whether the ani- 
 mal is overheated or much agitated by fear, as by these cir- 
 cumstances the pulse will be increased as much as from eight 
 to twelve beats per minute. Fear, indeed, will occasion 
 greater excitement, in this respect, than even exercise. In 
 judging of the pulse, then, the horse should be as nearly 
 tranquil as possible. It will be best to note its beats two or 
 
378 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. ' 
 
 three times, at least, before forming a final opinion concern- 
 ing them. 
 
 THE MODES OF GIVING MEDICINE. 
 
 This will be the proper place for considering the different 
 methods of administering medicine to the horse, which are 
 four in number, as follows : Drenching, in the feed, the pill, 
 and the clyster. 
 
 DRENCHING. 
 
 Drenching is the most common mode among the masses 
 of horsemen, and generally the most successful ; yet it is 
 not without a share of danger to the patient. Many horses 
 have been occasioned much suffering, some permanently in- 
 jured, and a few even killed, by carelessness in administering 
 drenches ; especially in filling the mouth so rapidly that the 
 liquid could not be swallowed fast enough, and portions of 
 it being forced into the trachea, or windpipe. Strangulation 
 and a severe coughing spell are the least serious consequences 
 of this occurrence; or, perhaps, a cough may be induced that 
 will prove obstinate and unyielding for a long time. 
 
 All this may be easily avoided. Enough of the drench 
 should be turned into the mouth to nearly till it, but no more 
 until the horse has swallowed this, as he can readily do. He 
 may sometimes refuse to swallow until he is compelled to do 
 so, by lifting the nose up and down, so as to move the mus- 
 cles of the throat; or, quite eftectually, by pulling the mouth 
 open with the hands. In extreme cases, where the horse proves 
 utterly intractable, the drench may be turned into the nos- 
 tril ; but this, being still more dangerous than drenching in 
 the mouth, should not be resorted to except in cases of entire 
 failure by the other method, and where the disease is of such a 
 character as to admit of no delay. If a small quantity, about 
 half a gill, of the liquid be turned into the left nostril, it 
 will run into the throat. Should the horse strangle, drop his 
 head at once, and do not attempt to repeat the operation; 
 for, while in most horses the drench will pass through the 
 nostril into the throat without injury, there are others in 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. 379 
 
 which this caii not be done. If the first dose passes safely, 
 the operation may be repeated at intervals of a minute or so, 
 until the drench is all given. In all cases let the head drop 
 after swallowing, before turning any thing more into the 
 mouth or nostril, so that the animal may readjust the palate, 
 which is apt to be cramped by raising the head too high. , 
 Upon the latter point care should always be exercised, the 
 head being raised only just enough to allow the drench to 
 run into the throat. Here is where much of the danger at- 
 tendant upon drenching arises. When the head is too much 
 elevated, the glottis may be forced open, permitting the liquid 
 to run into the trachea, or windpipe. 
 
 Giving the drench is a simple operation, with most horses, 
 at least. The best method is by using a long-necked bottle, 
 holding about a quart. Fill the bottle with the drench, al- 
 ways warm if it can be made so, and insert the neck of the 
 bottle into the mouth, upon the right side of it, and just in 
 .front of the jaw teeth, or grinders. Stand in an elevated 
 position ; for instance, upon a bench or box. Lift the head 
 carefully with the left hand, and, with the bottle in the right, 
 turn out a gill into the horse's mouth and throat. If he 
 swallows it, as he will be likely to do, drop his head, and 
 let him work his jaws and the muscles of his throat for a 
 minute or so. In this manner continue until the whole 
 drench is disposed of. 
 
 A few simple directions in regard to preparing the drench 
 may be of value to some. The liquid must contain no pow- 
 ders, lump, or sediment of any kind; for these may cause 
 strangulation, and do serious injury. "When any medicine 
 is to be administered that is in powder or lumps, give it in 
 some other way, and not in a drench. The great advantage 
 of drenching consists in the greater rapidity with which rem- 
 edies act than when given in any other way. The pill is a 
 much easier method of medication, but the drench will usually 
 have done its work before the pill is dissolved. 
 
880 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 THE PILL. 
 
 This constitutes a more safe and expeditions method of 
 giving medicine than drenching, and in cases of chronic dis- 
 eases, and all others that can wait upon slow action, it is to 
 be given the decided preference. The medicine may be mixed 
 with some flour and water, and the whole rolled into a pill 
 about an inch in thickness and an inch and a half in length. 
 Put this on the end of a stick, pull out the horse's tongue 
 carefully, place the pill on the roots of that organ, if neces- 
 sary pushing it back gently with the stick. Now let the 
 tongue fly back suddenly, and the horse will be compelled to 
 swallow the dose. Care must be taken not to injure the 
 throat with the stick. A person with a small hand may in- 
 troduce the pill with the ends of the fingers better than with 
 the stick. 
 
 IN THE FEED. 
 
 This is the style of medicating which horsemen prefer, as 
 it is attended with no danger and but little trouble. But 
 there are a great many medicines which can not be given in 
 this way ; and, at any rate, it is only applicable to those cases 
 where speedy action is no especial object. Another difficulty 
 arises from the fact that many horses refuse to take medicine 
 thus. Hunger, however, will generally bring the animal to 
 it ; but if he manifests an unusual aversion to the food, it will 
 be better to give the remedy in the form of a pill rather than 
 starve him long. In fact some medicines are so exceed- 
 ingly distasteful, that with them it will be of no use to try 
 any thing but the pill. 
 
 Some skill is desirable in disguising the medicine in the 
 feed. It may be put at the bottom of some meal, or only a 
 little given at first, until the horse has learned to eat it with 
 less disrelish. "Whatever is given in this way should be re- 
 duced to a fine powder, and mixed with such feed as bran or 
 meal mashes, cut feed, or oats. % 
 
DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC. 381 
 
 THE CLYSTER. 
 
 The clyster is a liquid medicine, injected into the rectum 
 of the horse by the aid of a syringe, or some other means. 
 It is not designed to supersede any of the other methods of 
 giving medicine, hut to act in conjunction with them, espe- 
 cially in cases of extreme costiveness or stricture. In colic, 
 inflammation of the bowels, lock-jaw, or any other disease in 
 which the bowels are obstinately closed, it is a valuable as- 
 sistant in hastening evacuations. In all cases where an active 
 purge is needed, and at once, the aperient medicine given 
 into the stomach can be much expedited in its action by a 
 simultaneous use of the clyster. It is also of great service in 
 checking diarrhea, or " scours." Finally, in several diseases — 
 lock-jaw, for example — nutrition tnay be introduced into the 
 system in the same way, in suiBcient quantities to prolong 
 life for a considerable period. 
 
 The best and easiest means of administering a clyster is 
 with a regular syringe, with the appendix of a gum-elastic 
 tube. If this be not procurable, the operator may substitute 
 a cow's horn, open at both ends, or a gourd with a long 
 handle, of which the small end had been cut off. When the 
 latter is used, the clyster medicine may be turned into* the 
 bowl of the gourd, the small end having first been inserted 
 within the rectum; and, on elevating the-bowl, the contents 
 will pass out at the other end. This is a very convenient 
 mode. A tube made of leather, and covered with old mus- 
 lin, or some similar fabric, will answer the same purpose. 
 Whatever is employed should have a smooth surface, and be 
 well greased, so as not to injure or irritate the rectum. 
 
 An aperient ball may be made by mixing the clyster med- 
 icine in some flour and water, and then pushing this into the 
 rectum with the hand, as far as the arm can reach. Being 
 placed between the ends of the fingers, and the hand and 
 arm well greased, it can be thrust forward eighteen or twenty 
 inches. Food-balls may be given to the horse in the same 
 way in 'eases of stricture, inflammation of the bowels, lock- 
 
" K 
 
 382 AMERICAN FAEMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 jaw, and the like, in which either nutrition can not be intro- 
 duced into the stomach at all, or it is hazardous to do so. 
 
 We subjoin a list of some of the clysters that may be given 
 the horse in different cases, with the ingredients of each. 
 In all cases, we prefer the clyster in solution to the ball, 
 with the exception of the food-ball, which is undoubtedly a 
 better means of giving food to the horse than the solution : 
 
 Aperient Clysters. — Solution of Aloes 4 dr. 
 
 Solution of Epsom salts .... 8 oz. 
 
 Solution of assafetida i oz. 
 
 Lard 1 pint. 
 
 Turpentine (in a pint of warm 
 
 water) 1 table-spoonful. 
 
 Cooling Clysters. — Solution of Epsom salts 4 oz. 
 
 Salt and water 1 pint. 
 
 Slippery elm mucilage \ pint. 
 
 Astringent Clysters. — Laudanum (in a pint of warm water). 1 oz. 
 Blackberry root tea (in a pint of warm 
 
 water) 1 gill. 
 
 Nutrition Clysters. — Meal gruel (warm) 1 quart. 
 
 Slippery-elm mucilage (thickened 
 
 with meal) 1 pint. 
 
 Arrowroot (thickened with meal).. . 1 pint. 
 
 Sweet milk (thickened with flour) . . 1 pint. 
 
 Each of the above is to be used separately as a clyster. 
 The practitioner must exercise his own judgment in select- 
 ing from each class that which will probably be most suc- 
 cessful in the particular case he has in hand. 
 
 The aperient and food balls may be composed of the ma- 
 terials indicated in their respective classes, with the addition 
 of flour. The ball should be about three inches in thickness. 
 
 i 
 
POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS. ETC. 383. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC. 
 
 The action of poisonous substances is not uniformly the 
 same upon the horse as upon the human subject, for, although 
 some of these are nearly equally destructive to both, many 
 that are deadly in their effects upon the biped are quite 
 innocent when given the horse; and still others are in the 
 highest degree injurious to the latter, but not at all harmful 
 to man. 
 
 In this chapter the design will be to describe, not the ac- 
 tion of those poisons which are known to be universally de- 
 structive to animal life, for of these there is no need to warn 
 the reader against using, but to call the attention of all 
 classes to the dangers attending the employment of various 
 drugs which many people are ignorantly accustomed to give 
 their horses to purify the blood, and for the improvement 
 of condition generally, and to point out the best antidotes 
 that are known for the counteraction of their effects when 
 they have been given either by accident or design. We shall 
 also have occasion to treat of the various animal poisons to 
 whose operation the horse is sometimes exposed — the bite of 
 serpents, the sting of poisonous insects, and the like. 
 
 Often nothing will avail in a case of poisoning. Poisons 
 usually act very quickly, disorganizing the blood and the 
 tissues of the body so rapidly that only the promptest possi- 
 ble measures will save the victim's life. Others, however, 
 do not kill at once, but the horse lingers along in ill-health, 
 and finally dies — it may be' even months afterward. Many 
 cases of chronic disease and permanently-impaired health 
 has the author known among horses that were referable to 
 nothing else in the world than the use of poisonous medi- 
 cines. Such remedies, every intelligent farmer and horse- 
 
884 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 owner will entirely ignore in his veterinary practice, and upon 
 no consideration whatever will he be induced to have any 
 thing to do with them. There is no need to resort to the 
 use of such poisons in any case, for there is an abundance of 
 other medicines to select from which are equally or nearly 
 eflS-cient, and attended with no dangerous consequences. 
 
 It is not often that the horse is poisoned internally, except 
 as before adverted to — by the careless or ignorant use of 
 certain articles administered as medicines. Natural instinct 
 teaches him to avoid most of the poisonous herbs that com- 
 monly grow in the pasture-fields, where he seldom receives 
 any injury of this kind, unless it be occasionally from the 
 poisonous weeds and vines with which his nose may come 
 in contact during grazing. Perhaps the chief danger of in- 
 ternal poisoning to which the horse is exposed proceeds from 
 the mean, dastardly mode which some cowards adopt to take 
 revenge upon an enemy — ^that of destroying or ruining his 
 horse. 
 
 In 1866, we treated an aggravated case of this kind in 
 Petersburg, Boone County, Kentucky. A young horse, 
 from motives of revenge which some miscreant entertained 
 toward his owner, was poisoned by applying some villainous 
 compound to the animal's nose, causing it to swell to three 
 times its natural size, while great blisters came out all over 
 the surface. The treatment was alternate washings with hot 
 salt and water, and a strong decoction of golden seal, every 
 four hours. This gave relief in a short time, and in a few 
 days the horse was quite well. 
 
 In many districts of the South and South-west, however, 
 the stock-raiser has much more reason to dread the bites 
 of venomous serpents, insects, etc., than any of the other 
 sources of poisoning. 
 
 The subjects of which we propose to treat in this chapter 
 may be grouped under three different heads ; namely, inter- 
 nal poisons, poisons of the skin, and animal poisons. The 
 latter includes the bite of venomous snakes, and the sting 
 of scorpions, poisonous insects, hornets, wasps, etc. 
 
POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC. 385 
 
 INTERNAL POISONS. 
 
 This, of course, is the class of poisons which communi- 
 cate their hurtful influences through the medium of the 
 stomach and the lacteal absorbents of the intestines. Many 
 of them prove deadly at once ; but these are all too well 
 known to need any enlarging upon here. Our object is to 
 warn against the employment of such as are slower in their 
 action, and •whose ill efi'ects, in consequence, are more apt 
 to be overlooked. 
 
 Nux Vomica. — This is used extensively in many parts of 
 the country as a purifier of the blood and a promoter of 
 condition, but never without decided injury to the horse. 
 It is a powertul poison, injuring the teeth, destroying the 
 healthy tone of the stomach, impairing digestion, and pro- 
 ducing general derangement of the bowels. For a time it 
 may possibly appear to benefit the horse, and to abate dis- 
 ease, yet its results are so uniformly disastrous in the end 
 that it should never be given the animal as medicine. Be- 
 sides being an unsafe remedy at all timies, it is wholly unnec- 
 essary, since the prescriptions laid down in this work will 
 accomplish the desired ends more perfectly and without 
 hazard. 
 
 Among the symptoms of poisoning from this source are 
 the following : The pulse is irregular ; the mouth and tongue, 
 white; the saliva, stringy; the membrane of the nose, a dull 
 purple; the eyes, a whitish yellow; the breath, hot and fever- 
 ish ; the skin likewise hot and dry, and the hair rough and 
 standing. I^ot all of these are necessarily present in every 
 case, but some of them always are ; and occasionally others, 
 of &> more* alarming character, supervene, such as colic pains, 
 retching of the stomach, excessive flow of highly-colored 
 urine, etc. Spasms and convulsions may next ensue, and 
 then death is not far oft". 
 
 The antidote, in this case, is grease. Give the horse a pint 
 of sweet oil or lard, with six eggs broken into it, to hold the 
 25 
 
>.^ 
 
 386 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 poison in solution ; then set to work to bring about an evacua 
 tion of the bowels as soon as possible. Use the clyster 
 freely — a quart of warm, strong soap-suds — and this re- 
 peated every half hour until a discharge is secured. Fol- 
 low the original dose of oil, in two hours, by a drench of 
 strong salt and water, as hot as the horse can bear it. In 
 this way the horse may usually be saved, even when the 
 symptoms of poisioning were decided ; but the owner will be 
 exceedingly fortunate if he does not afterward find the ani- 
 mal's vigor noticeably impaired, or his future history show 
 a strong tendency to colic. 
 
 In 1851 we had under treatment a very bad case of fis- 
 tula — that of a horse belonging to a gentleman named Fow- 
 ler, living in Gibson County, Tennessee. The condition of 
 the animal was low, and the blood in a very impure state. 
 During our absence, and, of course, without our knowledge, 
 the owner was prevailed upon to administer nux vomica for 
 the purpose of cleansing the blood. Half a button per day 
 was the dose, and of these nine had been given, when, upon 
 the tenth day, the poor creature died — poisoned to death. 
 
 Cantharides, or Spanish Flies. — This is a dreadful poison, 
 of the strongest diuretic properties. It is unsafe given in 
 how small quantities soever; and for this reason, notwith- 
 standing that nearly all veterinary writers prescribe it, with 
 more or less strenuous cautions, we must condemn it alto- 
 gether. Given internally, it very often produces strangury 
 and death ; and if these sad results do not follow, there will 
 generally be found a permanently-diseased condition of the 
 urinary organs, extending not unfrequently to the stomach 
 and bowels also. Whether administered in large or small 
 doses, it is hurtful in the extreme. Perhaps the large dose 
 is really least objectionable, as it soon puts the victim out 
 of his misery, while the small dose operates in the way of a 
 slow and lingering torture. One drachm given the horse 
 will kill him in a very short time. 
 
 "In the breeding season/' says Youatt, "it is shamefully 
 
POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC. 387 
 
 given as an excitement to the horse and mare, and many a 
 valuable life is lost by the abominable practice." This we 
 indorse, and will go so much further as to say that the scamp 
 who would be guilty of such a procedure ought to be sent 
 to the penitentiar3^ Strangely enough, this usually excel- 
 lent and judicious veterinarian sitU prescribes the use of 
 cantharides in small doses. We must express our astonish- 
 ment that any respectable authority should recommend it in 
 any case; and our advice to the farmer is, have nothing to 
 do with it, nor with the ignorant fellow who would bid you 
 give it so much as a trial. As a blister, the corrosive lini- 
 ment will accomplish all that cantharides can, and is prefer- 
 able 'in every way. 
 
 The symptoms of poison from this source are a hot breath, 
 a rapid and irregular pulse, and colicky pains. Crampings, 
 convulsions, and death complete the series. 
 
 In regard to an antidote, it is difficult to prescribe. If 
 your folly has been so great as to lead you to give your horse 
 such abominable poison, you will probably have the poor sat- 
 isfaction of seeing him die from its effects, and the consola- 
 tion of knowing that this is work of your own doing. A 
 pint of castor oil, to act upon the bowels as soon as possi- 
 ble ; six fresh eggs, at the same time, to hold the poison in 
 check ; and then a vigorous use of the warm soap-suds clys- 
 ter, comprise all that can be done, except tonnake up the 
 mind never to be caught in the like folly again. 
 
 Copperas, or Sulphate of Iron. — This is another substance- 
 sometimes given the horse as a promoter of condition that 
 is really very detrimental. It is highly injurious to both the 
 stomach and the teeth, and should be thrown aside entirely 
 in treating the diseases of the horse. 
 
 In general terms, the sulphates, acetates, and nitrates of 
 copper, lead, silver, and zinc are poisonous to the horse — 
 sufficiently so, at least, to condemn their administration as 
 internal remedies, although many of them may be used with 
 decided benefit in the forms of liniments and washes. There 
 
 "im 
 
 
S88 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 are three minerals of great service in medicatiou, whose ju- 
 dicious employment may be especially recommended. These 
 are oxide of iron, calomel, and nitrate of potassium. 
 
 Corrosive Sublimate. — This is a direful poison, of fearfully 
 destructive effects when introduced into the stomach ; but 
 though so deadly a potion, it forms, with other ingredients, 
 one of the most valuable liniments in the world. It is the 
 most powerful principle of the corrosive liniment, so often 
 recommended in the previous chapters of this work. 
 
 Acids. — ITone of these constitute a suitable medicine for 
 the horse. They are the acetic, cUric, muriatic, sulphuric, 
 nitric, tartaric, oxalic, and prussic — all of which are to be 
 rejected as injurious, and some of them as most swift and 
 deadly poisons. 
 
 Alkalies. — Alkalies and their salts may all be used at times 
 with decided advantage as correctors of an acid condition 
 of the stomach, or as mild and safe diuretics. In this list 
 of remedies, the nitrate of potassa (the niter, or saltpeter, of ^ 
 every-day life) stands high as a mild diuretic. It should be 
 given only in small doses, and never except in clear cases of 
 urinary disease. Common wood ashes is of exceeding value 
 to the horse, %nd, when he is in the stable, they should be 
 given him as regularly as his salt, but in moderate quantities, 
 of course. The tendency in the stomach of the horse is 
 toward acidity and fermentation. Acids aggravate this con- 
 dition, and ruin the horse; alkalies correct the former, and 
 relieve the animal. 
 
 Creosote. — Given in large quantities, this is poisonous to the 
 horse ; but in doses of ten drops, in some warm water, it is 
 very serviceable in both cramp and flatulent colic. 
 
 Tobacco. — "The weed" is a poison, although many men 
 seem never to suspect the fact. It is not to be used in- 
 
POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC. 389 
 
 ternally in veterinary practice, except in cases of farcy, dis- 
 temper, and glanders, where we prescribe it on the principle 
 of employing one poison to neutralize and destroy another 
 lurking in the blood. 
 
 Tar. — This substance is not a poison ; but it is not best to 
 give it to the horse unless well mixed with grease, as, in its 
 fresh state, it is apt to choke the animal, and has been known 
 to form balls in the stomach that killed him. It has some 
 valuable pectoral properties, when mixed with other ingredi- 
 ents. The oil of tar should not be used. 
 
 Turpentine. — Turpentine is an excellent constituent of ex- 
 ternal applications, such as liniments, the best of which can 
 hardly be made without using it to some extent. It is a 
 rubefacient, (as those substances are called which produce 
 redness of the skin,) and, opening the pores, it prepares the 
 way for the other ingredients of the liniment to act ; but, 
 given internally to the horse, it is poisonous to both the di- 
 gestive and urinary organs. The oil of turpentine should 
 not be used at all. The turpentine from the tree is better 
 than either. 
 
 Tartar EmUic. — This may be used advantageously, in small 
 doses, to abate fevers, and is particularly valuable in inflam- 
 mation of the lungs and all catarrhal affections. It is b, 
 powerful nauseant, and, in large quantities, has the effect of 
 an active poison. In doses of from a drachm to a drachm 
 and a half, when given in connection with niter and digitalis, 
 it excites the secretions of the skin, acting as a powerful 
 diaphoretic as well as diuretic. In overdoses it is apt to do 
 injury. As the horse can not vomit, it is safest to accom- 
 pany tartar emetic with a small dose of salts. 
 
 Groton Oil. — Great danger attends the use of croton oil in 
 veterinary practice. It is admissable only in very extreme 
 cases of costiveness and stricture. Such is the rapidity and 
 
890 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 violence of its action, that it often does material injury before 
 the bowels relax, having a strong tendency to produce -rup- 
 ture and death. The dose is from eight to ten drops, in 
 sonae warm water ; but the instances are rare in which milder 
 remedies will not serve a better purpose. 
 
 As an external application, however, in all cases where an 
 active liniment is needed, croton oil is quite valuable. It 
 should be mixed with sweet oil, in the proportion of ten 
 drops of croton oil to forty drops of the latter. Applied with 
 a cloth or brush, and well rubbed jn, this is a very efficient 
 adjunct in the treatment of colic, inflammation of the lungs 
 or bowels, sprains, cramps, nervous affections, etc. 
 
 The antidote for an excessive dose of croton oil consists 
 of a full dose — from one to two ounces — of laudanum, fol- 
 lowed, in four hours, by half a pound of Epsom salts. 
 
 Of the large number of vegetable poisons, there are very 
 few which appear to be very injurious to the horse. It is a 
 matter of extreme doubt, in fact, whether any vegetation 
 grows in our country from which there can arise any danger 
 of his being poisoned to death. We have often known him 
 eat with impunity the leaves and buds of the " jimson" weed, 
 and the ground and fence ivy of the meadows. Externally, 
 these are poisons; but taken into the stomach they do not 
 harm the horse. We know of but two plants growing in 
 America that he will ever eat which act as a poison to him. 
 These are the poison-oak that grows upon dead trees and 
 stumps, and the laurel growing upon the bluffs of creeks and 
 rocky chasms. 
 
 For these the following is the antidote : A pint of lard 
 and half a pound of salts, to evacuate the bowels as soon as 
 possible, followed, in two hours, by some lime or chalk water. 
 
 Belladonna, or Deadly Nightshade. — This is a deadly poison 
 in its prepared form; but the horse will not eat it when 
 growing wild, as it does in the United States only in certain 
 sections. It is a powerful narcotic and sedative, and, in 
 
POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC. 391 
 
 small doses, is a valuable auxiliary in all cases of undue action 
 of the nervous and vascular systems, especially in affections 
 of the heart and lungs. The proper dose is five or six 
 grains of the powdered leaves. Given in overdoses, it has 
 sometimes been the cause of death. 
 
 White Hellebore. — This is a virulent poison, very dangerous 
 in the hands of those who are ignorant of its properties. In 
 small doses, it may occasionally be used to advantage, but it . 
 is always to be administered with great cautioik It is a '•^" 
 
 powerful cathartic, and very drastic. In diseases of the lungs, 
 especially in inflammation, it acts with great force upon the 
 pulse, lowering it very rapidly. This proceeds from its pow- 
 erful restraining influences upon the heart, whose throbbing 
 will be stilled forever by a drachm or a drachm- and a half 
 of white hellebore. A half-drachm is a large dose, and onfe- 
 fourth of a drachm is as much as can be given without some 
 hazard. The practitioner should have recourse to this drug 
 only in very extreme cases. 
 
 The prominent symptoms of poisoning from this cause are 
 three : a rapid sinking of the pulse, hanging of the head, and 
 frothing at the mouth. 
 
 The antidote is half a pint of Cayenne pepper tea, with 
 half an ounce of laudanum, or a drachm and a half of 
 opium, in it. 
 
 Black Hellebore. — Like the white hellebore, this seldom 
 grows in our meadows and pastures, and, both being very 
 offensive to the horse, he is in little danger from either ; nor 
 are they often used by our farmers. The black hellebore is 
 not as poisonous as the white, but possesses no properties 
 which can justify its use internally. As an external applica- 
 tion, it has some valuable medicinal qualities, especially as a 
 liniment for old sores, or certain fistular ulcers. For this pur- 
 pose the thick syrup or extract should be taken and mixed 
 with grease, by which means a very active ointment will be 
 formed, of which but a small quantity need be used at once^ 
 
392 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 POISONS OP THE SKIN. 
 
 Corrosive Sublimate. — This is a very active, irritant poison, 
 and is not to be tampered with, except as its use is indicated 
 in this work. With certain other ingredients, enumerated 
 in the proper section of Chapter XXIV, it forms the invalu- 
 able corrosive liniment. 
 
 May-apple Root. — This is a poison to the horse, and when 
 given internally is one of the most drastic of medicines, after 
 occasioning severe and almost uncontrollable purging. In 
 this manner it should not be employed at all. As a liniment, 
 however, prepared by combining lard with it, it possesses 
 properties for curing fistula and poll-evil superior to any 
 other known remedy. The uncombined extract is a ver}'^ 
 active* poison to, the flesh of the horse, and must never be 
 used. • 
 
 Poison Oaky or Running Sumach.— The creeping plant 
 known by this name is most frequently found climbing old 
 stumps of trees, piles of stones, and the like. Although the 
 horse will eat this only occasionally, it often poisons his nose 
 and ears, and sometimes his feet, when they happen to come 
 into contact with it in grazing. It causes dreadful blister* 
 and scabby eruptions. 
 
 The treatment is as follows : Wash with the tea of golden 
 seal three or four times during the day, and at night rub in 
 some old grease over the poisonous surface. In the morning 
 wash off the grease with warm soap-suds, and apply the de- 
 coction of golden seal again. Continue this course as long 
 as may be necessary -to heal. 
 
 There are several other poisonous plants and vines com- 
 mon in various parts of the country, such as the meadow ivy, 
 the poison vine, the hemlock, the " sneeze- weed " of the South, 
 and some others. The weed last named is a great pest of 
 the pastures and woods of many portions of Middle Tennes- 
 
POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC. 393 
 
 see, where many colts and horses are almost ruined by it 
 during the months of August and September. 
 
 The treatment for all external poisons of this class is that 
 just prescribed for the poison oak — frequent washing with 
 the decoction of yellow-root, or golden seal, with nightly 
 anointments with grease. If, as sometimes happens in cases 
 of severe poisoning, the legs swell and the joints become 
 stiff, wash them repeatedly with hot salt and water, and rub 
 them well with the hand or a brush. 
 
 ANIMAL POISONS. 
 
 Snake Bites. — I^ature has populated the Weatern Continent 
 with many varieties of serpents and poisonous insects. Some 
 of the Western and South-western States, especially those 
 bordering upon the Mississippi River, are greatly infested 
 with them. In West Tennessee, where we formerly resided — 
 a land of thickets and underbrush — the rattlesnake abounds, 
 and is often found in the yard, sometimes under the very 
 door-step, and has been killed in the log out-houses and 
 stables. Besides this venomous creature, there are others on 
 all the tributaries of the great river ; and the whole country 
 on the lower portion of the latter's course are tenanted not 
 only with the rattlesnake, but also the spreading adder, the 
 moccasin, the cotton-mouth, and the black and water vipers. 
 
 It is not often that the horse is bitten by a snake, yet it 
 sometimes occurs. Four or five cases are all that we ever 
 met in a practice at the South of nearly twenty years 
 Nearly all serpents give warning to any animal approaching 
 them; and the horse, unless his hearing is impaired, never 
 fails to take the alarm and flee from danger. Of those that 
 are unquestionably poisonous, not all are equally so, the 
 venom of some being much more active than that of others. 
 Otherwise, the quality of the virus seems essentially the sam< 
 in each, and hence a uniform course of treatment is to be 
 practiced for counteracting their effects. 
 
 The common and most effectual antidote is large potations 
 of proof whiskey — half a pint, every hour, in warm water, 
 
# 
 
 894 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 with a little hartshorn — and continued washing of the wound 
 with hot salt and water. Half a pound of salt should be 
 given the patient at the outset. This method will cure when 
 the horse is first bitten ; but after great swellings have taken 
 place, no remedy can be depended on. Extensive suppura- 
 tion and gangrene will probably supervene, followed by de- 
 rangement, blindness, convulsions, and death. 
 
 If the bite is discovered immediately, the better plan 
 would be to cut out the entire wound with a sharp knife, 
 and apply some of the corrosive liniment ; or, in the absence 
 of this, a very small quantity of pulverized sublimate ; yet 
 the internal treatment, as above prescribed, should not be 
 neglected. By this means the virus will be effectually coun- 
 teracted. A thimble pressed forcibly upon the wound, and 
 bound fast, will often extract the poison and prevent swelling. 
 
 Venomous Spiders. — Spiders abound in every part of the 
 country, but only a .very few are poisonous, or ever bite. 
 There is a species of black spider, with a small white spot 
 upon the back, whose bite is nearly as deadly as that of the 
 rattlesnake. All of the large black spiders are more or less 
 poisonous, and will sometimes resent pressure by biting ; but 
 none show such a viciousness as the one just referred to, ex- 
 cept the terrible tarantula of the plains of Texas. This 
 latter monster, whose body sometimes attains to a length of 
 two inches, while his legs are twice that in length, will attack 
 both man and beast, and only the most prompt and energetic 
 treatment can save the victim's life. 
 
 Horses are sufferers from these insects more frequently than 
 is generally supposed. There is a swelling and soreness of 
 the nose or legs, for instance, and the owner is apt to attrib- 
 ute it uniformly to some contusion or strain, when, in many 
 cases, it is really caused by the sting of these detestable 
 creatures. The proper course is to examine all such swellings, 
 and see whether there is any appearance of a wound, or of a 
 nucleus that is fuller and harder than the surrounding skin. 
 If so, the case should be promptly treated as for poison. 
 
 I 
 
POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC. 395 
 
 The treatment is as follows : Give half a pint of proof 
 whisky in some warm water, with a tea-spoonful of harts- 
 horn in it. Wash the swelling with hot salt and water. If 
 the horse has been bitten by one of these spiders, a running 
 sore may be the result, in which case the corrosive liniment 
 should be applied every day for two or three days, and will 
 heal without fail. ^ 
 
 The Centipede. — This is a poisonous worm found in Texas, 
 where the people have corrupted the name to " Santa Fe." 
 It principally infests old, rotten logs and dark, hidden places. 
 Instead of possessing one hundred legs, as its name implies, 
 it has twenty-four, each of them pointed with a hollow thorn, 
 out of which exudes the poison from a little bag at its root. 
 The construction of these legs, in fact, is very much the same 
 as that of the fangs in the serpent. These venomous crea- 
 tures are not common, but very deadly. It is generally be- 
 lieved that their sting is necessarily fatal, death ensuing in a 
 few minutes. Horses and cattle are often killed by them. 
 
 We are of opinion, however, that life might probably be 
 saved by the immediate use of proof spirits, both very freely 
 as a drench and externally as a wash, mixed with equal parts 
 of hartshorn. 
 
 Stinging Scorpions. — These arfe strange creatures, inhabiting 
 the same regions as the centipede. They are every-where, 
 and infest every place — houses, stables, piles of plank and of 
 wood, and almost every hole and crevice. They dart from 
 their retreat with almost the swiftness of lightning, and, 
 dropping upon some person or animal, seek to hide under 
 the clothing or the thickest hair, and, if molested in any 
 manner, are sure to sting whatever they may be upon. Their 
 sting is not often fatal ; it is somewhat more severe than that 
 of a wasp or hornet, and, although hurting but little at first, 
 the pain becomes very acute in about half an hour afterward. 
 
 The symptoms are very peculiar. The first sensation of 
 pain is felt under the tongue, which organ remains nearly 
 
396 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 paralyzed for a considerable time. Swelling and heat pro 
 ceed from the region of the wound, with the accompani- 
 ments of nausea and giddiness. In the human being, these 
 symptoms sometimes terminate fatally, but to what precise 
 degree the sting affects the horse is not so well known. 
 That it is j)oisonou8 and exceedingly painful to horses and 
 cattle is undoubted ; but as stock runs at large in that country 
 of universal grass, opportunities to trace the effects of the 
 sting in their cases have not been very favorable. 
 
 In Texas, w^hisky is the antidote for all ills. When stung 
 by the scorpion, the people have recourse to the beverage at 
 once, using it bountifully both internally and externally, and 
 thus obtain relief in a short time. The treatment in the 
 case of the horse will be of the same character. 
 
 Hornets^ Wasps, etc. — These do not often sting the horse, 
 and are never very hurtful, so that a simple prescription to 
 relieve the pain will be all that is necessary. The first thing 
 to be done is to press the large end of a thimble around the 
 sting, so as to make a deep indentation in the skin, and then 
 to w^ash.the place with onion-juice, or with hartshorn and 
 oil, mixed in the proportions of three parts of hartshorn to 
 one of oil. Hot salt and water is equal to any thing ever 
 used as a wash after the sting of bees or wasps. 
 
 In a few instances, the potato- fly or bug has poisoned the 
 horse. For this, grease the surface aftected, dnd in two hours 
 wash off with soap-suds, and when dry apply the decoction 
 of yellow-root or golden seal. Continue alternating with 
 these applications until the horse is quite well. 
 
 Gadflies, Gnats, etc. — This will be the proper connection 
 in which to consider the ravages of certain insects not really 
 poisonous, but more dreaded by the stock-raisers of the 
 South-west than the reptiles, etc., that are. 
 
 Tobacco- smoke will keep away gnats, gadflies, and mos- 
 quitoes. Green pennyroyal placed on the. head, under the 
 top of the bridle, will also drive them away; or they may 
 
POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC. 397 
 
 be kept at bay by rubbing the body and legs with a handful 
 of the green herb. Any of the essential oils rubbed on the 
 parts which they especially infest will keep them away. 
 
 There is a species of large gnat, known as the " buffalo- 
 gnat," about one-third as large as the common house-fl}-, 
 that is a terror to the horse, mule, and deer of the regions 
 in the vicinity of the large river swamps of the lower Mis- 
 sissippi, but which does not often trouble other animals. It 
 makes its appearance on the first warm days of spring, and 
 comes in swarms of millions, which attack their victim with 
 a murderous ferocity. They cover his side, flanks, belly, 
 breast, head, and neck; the nostrils and ears are literally 
 filled with them ; and, unless prevented, they will even crawl 
 up into the nasal cavities, so as to fairly strangle the horse 
 to death. It is not at all uncommon for them to kill both 
 horses and mules. 
 
 Perhaps fifty times, while riding through the regions 
 named, have we been compelled to get a bush and brush 
 away at the gnats, while the horse went at the top of his 
 speed to the nearest house, there to receive a smearing of lard 
 and tar, the only thing that would keep his insatiate tor- 
 mentors at bay. 
 
 In 1862, a regiment of Confederate cavalry encamped in 
 Holmes County, Mississippi, near where the author was then 
 residing. Thirty-five mules, belonging to the wagon-train, 
 were destroyed by butfalo-gnats in one night — a fact of 
 which we had personal knowledge. 
 
 Hunters often build large fires, iyid set old trees and 
 stumps on fire, and the deer coming and standing in the 
 smoke to get rid of the gnats are often shot down by the 
 hunter from his ambush. In this way, numbers of unsus- 
 pecting animals are sometimes killed. The deer all leave 
 the swamps for the interior when the gnats are unusually 
 tormenting. The buflalo-gnat never attacks the human being. 
 The swarms in which it always moves come all at once, and go 
 the same way. They remain usually about six weeks, and in 
 one day's time will all be gone, so quick is their disappearance. 
 
398 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Every negro on the cotton plantations of the infested dis 
 tricts knows what to do when the gnats come, and there is 
 not one of those plantations on which a bucket of tar and 
 lard is not carried to the field, each morning, in the season 
 for gnats, nor a horse or mule but is thoroughly smeared 
 with them. The mixture is composed of one part of tar to 
 two parts of lard, and of this a very thin coat is spread upon 
 those parts of the animal where the gnats light to suck 
 his blood. Coal oil is very efficient in keeping the gnats at 
 bay, but its effects do not last like those of the tar mixture. 
 
 The Borer-worm. — This is the larva, or maggot, of a hairy 
 or wooly fly that infests the plains of Texas, and is the ter- 
 ror of the cattle and horses of the prairies, large numbers 
 of whom the borer- worm destroys annually. Woe be to the 
 unlucky cow or pony that has the misfortune to receive a 
 cut or puncture, or a wound of any kind, sufficient to draw 
 blood; for this fly is sure to be there, and to deposit its 
 eggs within the wound. From that moment the animal is 
 doomed. The worm is furnished with an augur-like fang, 
 with w^hich he penetrates into the flesh ; and this is the be- 
 ginning of the borer-worm's bunch. 
 
 The animals of the prairie all manifest an instinctive dread 
 otf these flies, and when the skin is cut or torn in any man- 
 ner, so that blood flows from it, they appear to be aware of 
 their danger. As the fly comes about, the alarmed creature 
 starts to run away. This is the sure means of collecting 
 hundreds of these flies, which dart with lightning-like veloc- 
 ity upon the warm and oozing blood and deposit their eggs, 
 and the work of destruction at once begins. The victim 
 stops when completely tired out, and begins to exert himself 
 to drive these terrible enemies away. Had he done so at 
 first, perhaps his chances would have been better. But now 
 the fearful work once commenced, the poor creature yields 
 to his dreadful fate, and thousands upon thousands of mag- 
 gots are soon busy within the wound. As the part inflames 
 it swells to an enormous size, the worms, meanwhile, contin- 
 
POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC. 399 
 
 uing. to bore deeper and deeper, and to imbed themselves 
 lower down in the flesh. While the first army of maggots 
 is thus ravenously seeking for new flesh and fresh blood, the 
 fly deposits new recruits, that soon follow^ the others in search 
 of untasted tissues, on which to feast themselves. The skin 
 forms a sack or bag to hold the perforated parts and keep 
 them from sloughing oft', and these parts become a fungous, 
 spongy mass of inflamed and rotten flesh, whence constantly 
 exudes a purulent, offensive matter, which constitutes the 
 food of the fly and the home of the ijiaggot, or borer- worm. 
 
 The head and shoulders are the parts most frequently at- 
 tacked, but no w^ounded member or surface escapes. The 
 magnitude of the borer- worm bunch, and the quantities of 
 these vampires that they often contain, are perfectly incred- 
 ible. The bunch has been seen upon the horses, cattle, buf- 
 falo, and deer, of all dimensions, from the size of a man's 
 hand up to that of a bushel-basket, and has been found to 
 contain not merely quarts, but absolutely bushels of the mag- 
 got-worm Of course, death soon comes to the relief of the 
 wretched animal, and mercifully puts an end to tortures in- 
 conceivable. 
 
 On the great plains of the West, the buffaloes, wald horses, 
 and deer often fall a prey to the fearful rapacity of the borer- 
 worm, bunches of which they have been seen carrying upon 
 their bodies of such enormous bulk that no one could be- 
 lieve the accounts given of them, unless his own eyes had 
 seen them. Droves of wolves follow these poor animals 
 night and day, hanging around them until they become so 
 weak as to be unable longer to defend themselves, when 
 they are devoured by the hungry pack. 
 
 A writer in the " Waverly Magazine," a few years since, 
 gave a most graphic, yet sickening, description of th^ rav- 
 ages of the borer- worm, under the caption of the " Mag^'oty 
 Buffalo." The author of this work, when in Texas in 1851, 
 saw cases of the kind above described, although none in their 
 most advanced stages, and often heard the people of that 
 region recount the horrible operations of this terrible scourge. 
 
400 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 It was considered a certain death for the borer-fly to be 
 gin depositing its eggs within any sore, unless the cattle 
 were herded in pens, and the worms destroyed by the free 
 use of turpentine ; and even this was not always effective. 
 When in the stable, the horse was not disturbed, and if he 
 happened to be wounded in any manner, could be more 
 easily caught and handled, and the injured surface readily 
 protected from the fly until it healed. 
 
 It was there conceded that turpentine was not a certain 
 means of destroying the worm in all cases, and, to be suc- 
 cessful, must be constantly and vigorously applied, the ani- 
 mal being kept in a lot or pen for this purpose until entirely 
 well. We believe that we have a remedy exactly adapted to 
 meet the requirements" of this case — one of which it needs 
 but one or two free applications to reach the bottom of the 
 deepest abscess, and one that is certain death to vermin of 
 all kinds. This is the corrosive liniment. Cut open the 
 bunch and expose the worms ; then pour into it a not stinted 
 quantity of the liniment, which will surely kill the worm as 
 soon as it touches him. 
 
 The corrosive liniment possesses the peculiarity of great 
 penetrating powers beyond all others we ever tried. Used 
 in the manner here laid down, it will be quickly carried to 
 every part of the abscess, and prove the swift destruction of 
 the horse's formidable enemy. Aside from its many other 
 highly important applications in veterinary practice, it will 
 be, in this respect alone, a boon of incalculable value to the 
 stock-raisers of Texas and the great prairies of the South- 
 west generally. 
 
 I 4- 
 
FOOD AND feENEKAL TREATMENT. 401 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 
 
 With this chapter we enter upon another division of our 
 work — the consideration of the horse's food, treatment, and 
 management generally. Here an interesting field of investi- 
 gation opens before us, and one of primary importance to 
 every owner of the horse. Possibly this department of our 
 subject should have had the precedence of all others, since, 
 upon a proper attention to and observance of the luws which 
 we here find in uniform operation, depends entirely the ani- 
 mal's health, and hardly less his good qualities. We are 
 of the opinion that t^ie matter of diet — its adaptation, espe- 
 cially, to the varying ages and conditions of the horse and 
 to the changing seasons of the year — has more to do with the 
 improvement of blood and the development of fine qualities 
 than any other consideration whatever. 
 
 Many farmers say that they " have an unvarying rule in 
 the treatment of their horses." I^ow, this is simply an 
 avowal that they have adopted a .course of most inconsistent 
 and ruinous management — a course that at one season of the 
 year will overfeed the horse and engorge his whole system, 
 and at another will starve and impoverish him ; a course that 
 may be advantageous so long as he remains in health, but 
 detrimental in the extreme when disease begins its insidious 
 approaches. 
 
 The system of the horse varies in its capabilities, its con- 
 ditions, and its needs as much as that of the human being. 
 Some horses can live and thrive upon certain kinds of food 
 that others can not eat without being greatly injured, and 
 the condition of the same horse may vary so much that what 
 is proper and healthful at one time ought to be absolutely 
 26 
 
402 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 prohibited at another; or it may be that the horse, from 
 the efiects of disease, can hardly be induced to eat any thing 
 at all. Therp is a similar difference in regard to tl\e chang- 
 ing seasons of the year. The farmer who pursues exactly 
 the same system of feeding and treatment in the summer 
 that he did in the winter, will find his team becoming fat at 
 one time and thin at another — lively at one time and stupid 
 at another; now in fine condition, and then in bad plight 
 and poor health. 
 
 A difference likewise exists between spring and fall, espe- 
 cially the close of the latter, toward winter — ^between the 
 shedding of the hair, which takes place in the former, and 
 its increased warmth and thickness in the latter. The case 
 is the same when We contrast the circumstances of work and 
 rest, or of hard labor and mild exercise. A horse regularly 
 and severely tasked needs more and stronger food than one 
 which stands most of the time in the stable, being exercised 
 but seldom, and then quite moderately. The food needful 
 for the one will kill the other, or, at least, occasion serious 
 disease. Many of the serious ailments of the horse arise 
 from an unreasonable adherence to one certain system of 
 keeping. Upon the farm, the animal works hard through 
 the spring season, and until after harvest ; then a time of 
 rest comes on, when he has but little or nothing to do ; and 
 still the ignorant owner gives the same full, strong diet as 
 ever. If such a horse does not fall off in flesh, his appear- 
 rance of fattening is pretty sure to be attended by the influ- 
 ence of some dire disease that is being generated in his 
 system. 
 
 Then the horse in low condition requires a different keep- 
 ing from the one in fine plight and spirits ; and so does the 
 colt from the old or mature horse. Seasons vary; age, con- 
 dition, health, and labor vary; and a rational and generous 
 management must vary its details, also, in a corresponding 
 degree. The rudiments of a proper, systematic knowledge 
 of the business of the farmer and breeder consist in a thor- 
 ^ ough acquaintance with the varying wants of the horse under 
 
POOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 403 
 
 all the modifications of his circumstances and suiroundings; 
 and to learn the laws bearing upon this subject should be the 
 study, as it certainly is the interest, of all owners of the 
 horse every- where. It will be our object, in this chapter, to 
 throw what light we can upon these important matters, and 
 to present a few plain and practical directions in regard to 
 the best methods to be pursued. 
 
 There are two conditions, already adverted to, in which the 
 horse demands stronger feed, and more of it, than any others — 
 hard service and cold weather. In the spring season, !N^a- 
 ture, that has wrapped herself for months in a covering of 
 snow to resist the severities of winter, now throws off her 
 mantle, and undergoes a change throughout her entire ma- 
 terial organism. Her law, in this regard, is universal, and 
 nothing is more plainly subject to and affected by it than 
 the horse. His coat is shed, his skin changed, his blood 
 thinned, and his digestion altered to some extent. His stom- 
 ach will not digest, neither does his body req^uire, the food 
 that was needed during the cold of winter. That season, 
 with itb; pressing demands upon the vital energies, has gone ; 
 the frame has now relaxed, and less food, and milder, will 
 meet all -the animal's wants, under the gentle influence of 
 spring. All Nature has been dead and dry for nearly half a 
 year ; and the body that has been fortifying itself with stimu- 
 lating food and warm clothing, with thickened skin and a 
 denser coat of hair, to meet the rigors and exactions of 
 winter, now needs no longer the concentrated substances of 
 the dry food and strong diet. 
 
 But while the body has thus been changing, in harmony 
 with Nature, so that it now requires other food, Nature has 
 been at work preparing for this very emergency. It is the 
 Creator's own beneficient provision, for the health and com- 
 fort of the brute creation, that he has clothed the fields with 
 verdure, and there is nothing so pleasant or healthful to the 
 horse as the pasture. 
 
 41 
 
404 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 PASTURING. 
 
 The horse that is not allowed a run on pasture in the 
 spring is pretty sure to suffer in consequence. His condition 
 will be likely to continue bad for months; yet, such is the 
 invulnerability of Nature to the impressions of the most un- 
 favorable external influences, that perhaps he may speedily 
 
 recover from the efi:ect8 of this de- 
 privation. But it can hardly fail to 
 come about that he will be more stu- 
 pid than otherwise, and he 9ften mani- 
 fests his desire for the open air and 
 sweet-scented grass by a restiveness 
 and whickering while in the stable, 
 and when out of doors by seizing 
 every lock of grass within his reach. 
 Pasture is the horse's natural food, as the open air is his 
 natural stable and home. The horse domesticated is a slave; 
 the stable is his prison ; the bridle and harness are his chains 
 and fetters; and much of his prepared food is unnatural, and 
 not to be really relished, except by an appetite depraved by 
 long habit. Even when pure, a great deal of his prepared 
 food is not healthy. Much of it is very heating to the blood, 
 
 and possesses a strong tendency to 
 produce disease, so that very few 
 horses fed exclusively upon it can 
 be said to be entirely well. 
 
 To all these evils pasture is an 
 antidote. It is both food and 
 medicine to the horse, and he is 
 hardly ever unwell when constantly at pasture. If he is cos- 
 tive, this will loosen his bowels ; if his digestion is bad, the 
 grass will regulate it ; if his coat is rough and staring, there 
 is the remedy ; if the skin is tight and the joints are stiff, the 
 grass will relax and loosen them — will cleanse the blood, open 
 the capillaries, send out the oily fluids to the surface, and 
 soon transform the poor jade into a fine horse, with glossy 
 coat and nimble limbs. 
 
 w 
 
FOOD AND GENERAL TEEATMENT. 405 
 
 Disease, except from accident, is but seldom a tenant of 
 the pasture. j^Tearly all the disorders of the horse are gen- 
 erated in the stable, and were 
 it not for the pasture in which 
 they are sometimes permitted 
 to run, hundreds and thou- 
 sands of horses would be sick 
 that are now in tolerable 
 health. It is well that pasture 
 is provided during one-half 
 the year, so that the damage 
 done in the stable during the 
 other half may be repaired. 
 There is no need that the latter should ever occur. And 
 this leads us to speak of the different kinds of • 
 
 GRASSES. 
 
 If more attention were paid to securing these for use 
 during the winter, there would be less sickness among the 
 farmer's horses. There is considerable diversity in the char- 
 acter and value of different grasses, some possessing a much 
 greater proportion of nutriment than .others. Others are 
 especially adapted for pasture in the spring season, as they 
 come up very quickly but do not last so well. They can not en- 
 dure the heat and drouth of summer, but wither and dry up* 
 
 Other kinds of grass are more hardy; so -that, although 
 fhe old straw may die in August and September, they spring 
 up again from the roots and seeds of the old stock. Such 
 are the clovers, the herd's-grass, and some others. They 
 drop their seed in the fall season, and these lie on the ground 
 until spring. Then they come up, very small at first, but 
 continue to grow, and become the fine, tender grass of the 
 fall pastures. The roots of these are what shoot up and 
 make the pastures of spring. Such grasses are termed jper- 
 ennials; that is, lasting more than two years. 
 
 There are many other species of the grasses that grow up 
 rankly in the spring, but live only one season, and these are 
 
406 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 the ones that constitute the class called annuals — coming 
 yearly. They come from the seed in spring, but by fall they 
 have withered and died. There are several varieties of them, 
 prominent among which are millet, and the Hungarian and 
 rescue grasses. The last of these is simply the cheat that is 
 so troublesome in the farmers wheat-fields. "When cultivated, 
 it grows very thickly and finely, and for both pasture and 
 hay is the most valuable among the annuals. It possesses 
 more substance than any of the others, and previous to 1860, 
 at least, was cultivated very extensively throughout the cot- 
 ton States, to whose climate and soil it seems particularly 
 adapted. 
 
 The perennial grasses do not thrive below the latitude of 
 thirty-five, or the Southern border of Tennessee. ^None of 
 the clovers succeed in the cotton States. The soil is gener- 
 ally sandy, and as it rains but seldom from June to I^ovem- 
 ber, the long summer drouths kill out the roots in most 
 localities. All the perennials, in fact, that have been tried 
 in those regions have proved to be failures, except on low, 
 damp grounds. The winter grasses can not be made to 
 flourish there. The only kind of grass that we have known 
 to really succeed in the cotton States was the herd^s-grass, 
 of which we have repeatedly seen some fine fields, although 
 rarely, if ever, except upon moist bottom lands, seeded when 
 first cleared. 
 
 ITorth of the thirty-fifth degree, the different perennials 
 are all grown and flourish, modified somewhat by latitude 
 and soil. 
 
 We will here enumerate the various kinds of grasses ordi- 
 narily cultivated throughout the West and South, specifying 
 the relative value of each for grazing purposes, as also the 
 latitude and soil best suited to them. 
 
 First among the many, and having a pre-eminence over 
 all others for pasturing, is the hlue-grass of Kentucky and 
 Tennessee. It is a small, fine grass, growing about a foot 
 high, with an abundance of small leaves at the bottom. The 
 top, or seed, resembles that of the herd's-grass, but it is 
 
FOOD AND GENEKAL TREATMENT. 407 
 
 smaller and has a brighter, greener, look ; and there is this 
 difference, also, between it and the herd's-grass, that it mats 
 the ground very thickly with bottom leaves. It lasts through 
 the winter, and, under favorable circumstances, the roots will 
 not die for years. It sheds an abundance of seed in the sum- 
 mer and fall, and on soils adapted to its growth, if it once 
 secures a hold, it will overrun the country far and wide ; 
 and fields, pastures, door-yards, and roadsides, all alike be- 
 come carpeted with its soft, green texture. It is the most 
 beautiful grass in field or yard that grows. 
 
 Blue-grass is also the most nutritious of the grasses, and 
 very sweet, so that stock of all kinds feed upon it with great 
 avidity, and thrive exceedingly. Upon limestone soils it 
 grows and spreads almost spontaneously, but upon others is 
 cultivated with considerable difiiculty. North of the latitude 
 of forty, or south of thirty-five, it does not flourish well. It 
 does not grow high enough to be of much value for any other 
 than grazing purposes, yet the tops may be easily cut off with 
 the scythe, and the seed saved, in the months of June and 
 July. 
 
 Next after the blue-grass, come the clovers — the white and 
 red — which are so well known 'every- where that they need 
 no description. To both of them there are some objections 
 for pasture grasses. They act upon the salivary glands, and 
 cause an excessive flow of saliva from the mouth, producing 
 that debilitating and disagreeable affection known as slaver- 
 ing, or slobbering. The white clover is decidedly more ob- 
 jectionable in this respect than the red, and neither of them^ 
 should be allowed the horse when he is at hard labor. 
 
 Although it is generally supposed to weaken the healthy 
 animal's strength, if the horse is diseased or in low condi-^ 
 tion, nothing will be of more benefit to him than a run upon 
 a good white clover-pasture. This increased action of thd 
 salivary glands, this slobbering, is not hurtful in his case, but 
 just the reverse. The red clover, while less nutritious than 
 the white, is more hardy, and in respect to quantity yields- 
 much better, whether of pasture or hay. 
 
 % 
 
408 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 The herdls-grass and the timothy are next in the list 
 Neither of them are of much value for grazing purposes. 
 The herd's-grass is the preferable of the two, from its more 
 abundant yield, yet the other is the most nutritious. Either 
 makes a very indifferent pasture, and one that does not last 
 well through the season. One acre of well-set blue-grass- is 
 worth three times as much as either of them, if their quali- 
 ties as pasture grasses are alone taken into consideration. 
 
 These are all the grasses that possess much merit for graz- 
 ing purposes. The clovers grow in all latitudes north of 
 thirty -five degrees, flourishing best on rich, dry uplands,' and 
 upon all soils about equally, excepting the sandy. This is 
 also the case with the timothy, but the herd's-grass is par- 
 ticularly partial to low and moist situations. 
 
 HAY AND FODDER. 
 
 The grasses which are best for pasture are not so for hay. 
 While the blue-grass stands at the head of the list, for the 
 former purpose, timothy ranks first in respect to the other. 
 It possesses more nutrition, and retains it better, when 
 properly harvested, than any other grass. The herd's-grass 
 comes next, but this has more juicy matter in its stalk, and 
 of this much evaporates, of course, in drying. The white 
 clover loses still more from this cause, and the red clover 
 most of all. Good, ripe timothy loses only about one-fifth 
 its weight in curing ; herd's-grass, two-fifths ; w^hite clover, 
 one-half, ■ and red clover about three-fifths. In substance, 
 they vary about the same, or in the proportions of from one 
 to three; and as to healthfulness, although their relative 
 values can not be determined with the same precision, they 
 are to be esteemed in the same order, the timothy being 
 much the best. 
 
 Many of the annuals make tolerable feed when well saved, 
 but are not near so valuable as the grasses. They are often 
 termed grasses in their green state, and when cured, hay ; 
 but we prefer to class them all as fodder. The rescue-grass 
 is the best, being fully equal, if not superior, to the red clover 
 
'*■•■ 
 FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 409 
 
 in substance, and decidedly excelling it on the score of health- 
 fulness. 'Next is the Hungarian grass, which requires a rich 
 soil and favorable season. The millet, which holds the third 
 place in the list, is little better than wheat or oat-straw, ex- 
 cept for the seed that it bears. A horse fed through a whole 
 winter on this kind of fodder would almost starve to death. 
 
 Another kind of fodder, and one much more extensivel}^ 
 used than any of the annual grasses, is the corn fodder, ob- 
 tain-ed by pulling the blades from the stalk, in the month of 
 August, and, after allowing them to dry, binding them in 
 bundles, and storing them for winter use. This possesses 
 considerable nutrition, or rather substance, but is, undoubt- 
 edly, injurious in its tendency upon the health and general 
 condition of the horse. It appears to dry up the blood in a 
 most remarkable manner, and from its great bi-ittleness — 
 causing it to chop up easily into a harsh, dry powder — it is 
 apt to harm the throat. It constitutes nearly the sole de- 
 pendence for foddfer in the cotton States, where all the Helds 
 of corn are regularly stripped of their blades, in August, for 
 this purpose. To the extensive use of corn fodder we at- 
 tribute much of the unhealthiness of the horse at the South ; 
 but this subject having been already discussed at some length, 
 in our descriptions of big head, it hardly seems necessary to 
 enlarge upon it here. 
 
 The different straws of wheat, rye, and oats possess a 
 limited amount of substance — about one-twentieth as much 
 as does good timothy hay; but they are so very dry that 
 they can not be regarded as of much value to the horse. 
 They may be used as chopped feed, with meal or provender ; 
 but the horse has such a disrelish for them in any other form, 
 that he will not eat them until driven to it by starvation. 
 
 All these varieties of fodder and straw seem much better 
 suited to the wants of other animals than the horse. For his 
 use they are too dry, and tax the salivary glands too much 
 in the process of mastication ; and so with those agencies of 
 the stomach which soften the food down into chyme. In 
 giving such feed to the horse, it should always be chopped, 
 
$ 
 
 410 AMEKICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 then moisteDed for an hour at least, and, finally, rolled in meal 
 or provender. By this course, all its injurious effects upon 
 the glands and throat will be entirely prevented. 
 
 Dry hay of all sorts should be prepared in the same way. 
 Time can not be better employed than in providing moist 
 feed for the horse to eat. To many the idea of chopping 
 hay for the regular feed may seem novel, and, perhaps, amus- 
 ing. But let the farmer try ii^ for one winter, and note the 
 improved condition of his horse, as well as the great saving 
 of feed, and he will fully indorse the opinion that time can 
 not be spent to better advantage. Corn-stalks and fodder, 
 though they may be greatly improved by chopping, can not 
 be made suitable food for the horse. 
 
 The condition in which the hay and fodder are secured is 
 of the first importance. The grass should be cut about the 
 time of maturity, or a little before, while still in bloom, and 
 before it becomes dead ripe. Its juices are then just right to 
 make the heaviest and best hay, which will keep better, re- 
 main sweeter, and be more palatable than if cut either earlier 
 or later. If cut when quite immature, there is a lack of 
 strength and sweetness, as well as a loss in weight ; and if 
 harvested after the period we have indicated, the hay is 
 tougher, more woody in its texture, and neither so nutritious 
 nor pleasant eating. 
 
 Another thing of essential importance, in regard to secur- 
 ing the hay and fodder, is to protect it from the weather, and 
 as soon as it is dry to put it in the barn. If the sun shines, 
 it is seldom that hay requires to remain out in the field 
 more than twenty-four hours, and then it should be carried 
 into the barn. " But," say some farmers, " what shall we do 
 who have no barns?" That farmer is to be pitied who can 
 not contrive some means of putting his horse's provisions 
 under proper shelter. He has no business to own a horse, 
 and ought to sell his stock to some better and more success- 
 ful manager. It is as important to have a barn as a horse, 
 and nearly as much so to keep the latter's provisions under 
 shelter as those of his master. The horse's food can not be 
 
FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 411 
 
 allowed to remain out in the storm and weather, there to rot 
 and spoil, without serious consequences to the animal's 
 health. Weather-beaten, moldy, and mow-burnt hay and 
 fodder are the sure instigators of disease; and in a large 
 majority of the cases of urinary affections among horses, the 
 trouble may be distinctly traced back to their use. 
 
 GRAIN. 
 
 It is necessary to feed the horse a proportion of grain. As 
 a general rule, one-half the food given him should be of this 
 character, but to this there are exceptions, of course. When 
 the horse is in low condition or bad health, or when he is 
 allowed but little exercise, the quantity of grain should be 
 reduced ; and, on the other hand, if his labor is severe and 
 continuous, he will need a larger proportion of it than that 
 here indicated. 
 
 There is even more difference in the quality and value of 
 grains as food for the horse than in the various grasses, and 
 the same is true in regard to the manner in which they are 
 fed. There are but two kinds of grain that are used to any 
 considerable extent in our country as food for the horse, and 
 these are oats and corn. The former is fed principally in 
 the l^orthern States, while in most of the Southern States 
 corn alone is employed. Both are well known to every 
 American farmer, and together they form the great staples 
 of the land for feeding stock of all kinds. 
 
 For the horse, oats are much preferable to corn, under all 
 circumstances. They are a milder, lighter diet, not so heat- 
 ing to the blood, and much more easily digested. They are 
 generally not much more than half as heavy as corn, and 
 possess less concentrated nutrition and substance. Although 
 they can be fed with impunity, in their natural unbroken 
 state, they are much better when ground into meal and used 
 as provender. In this way, too, they can be used much more 
 economically, one-third less sufficing to meet the wants of 
 the horse. When the oats are fed whole, one-half of them 
 are generally but imperfectly masticated in the mouth or 
 
412 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 digested in the stomach. Grinding into meul remedies this 
 difficulty entirely. 
 
 Corn is, in many ways, very objectionable as food for the 
 horse. It is a gross, heavy diet, very heating to the blood, 
 and having a strong^ tendency to the rapid creation of a 
 lymph and fat that is never sound and healthy. It is the 
 fruitful source of more diseases than all other kinds of un- 
 healthy diet combined. It generates a list of disorders quite 
 unknown in those countries where it is not fed to the horse 
 at all, and many others that are common to the horse of 
 all civilized countries manifest a malignity and fatality in 
 America characteristic of them in no other land. 
 
 The horse can hardly ever be well when under full feed- 
 ing of corn, which, however excellent for fattening hogs, is 
 not the diet for a horse. The horse's structure is dift'erent, 
 in many respects, from that of the hog, and the effects of 
 high feeding are not the same upon both. Suddenly-formed 
 flesh is never solid or healthy in the case of the horse ; and. 
 our experience has taught us to regard corn as the cause of 
 more difficulty and disease in veterinary practice, in some 
 parts of America, than all other circumstances combined. 
 Hundreds of young horses and colts, and many of them 
 splendid specimens of the stock- raiser's success and skill, 
 have we seen ruined by overfeeding with corn. 
 
 While writing' these pages, a case is before us showing 
 the evils of gorging a young horse with corn to put him in 
 condition for sale. It is but a few days since that we were 
 called upon to see a fine, young horse, in Petersburg, Boone 
 County, Kentucky, valued at three hundred and fifty dollars, 
 and actually sold for that sum, the animal to be delivered in 
 a few days. In one of his eyes the water had a cream-col- 
 ored appearance, and the other showed unmistakeable signs 
 of disease. We bled him ; but with a good fleam and a 
 heavy blow from an unusually large stick, barely succeeded 
 in penetrating the jugular vein. His skin was as hard and 
 thick as the hide of a bull. 
 
 This horse had been sufi:ering from a cataneous (skin) fever 
 
^?- 
 
 FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 413 ' 
 
 for a twelvemonth preceding, and now the disease was assum- 
 ing all the phases of hide-bound. His kidneys and urinary 
 organs were seriously affected ; his sheath had become foul ; 
 his pulse was about fifty, and yet he was very fat. Right 
 here was the trouble, in fact. He had been crowded with 
 corn every day to make him fatter, until, finally, his eyes had 
 fallen victims to the consuming fever of the blood and skin; 
 and we gave as the diagnosis of the case, "Destroyed by 
 corn." Thousands of similar sad instances have there been 
 in the history of American agriculture and stock-raising. 
 But perhaps some will suggest that the horse probably had 
 "naturally weak eyes." This was not the case, by any 
 means ; we never saw a finer formed eye than his. There was 
 no trouble there. The difliculty all proceeded from the in- 
 judicious feeding, which no horse of his age could bear with- 
 out contracting disease of some kind. If we had seen the 
 animal two months earlier, the mischief might have been 
 prevented. 
 
 Many will doubtless be ready to inquire whether they shall 
 not feed corn at all. We answer, " Yes — to your hogs and 
 cattle, which it suits very well, but not to your horse, if you 
 have any thing else to keep him upon ; and if you must use 
 it, the smaller the proportion of his feed which the corn 
 makes the better it will be for him." It may answer very 
 well to feed old horses on corn, at half feed, especially if the 
 precaution be taken to keep a good supply of wood ashes 
 always in the manger. Perhaps the chief difficulty consists 
 in biting the corn from the cob. In the case of young horses, 
 this keeps the teeth and gums sore, and develops the ten- 
 dency to fever, which is especially strong at that age, and 
 hence the greater extent to which ttey suffer than older 
 animals. 
 
 A great many horses do not sufficiently masticate the 
 grain, but swallow much of it barely cracked into pieces, 
 or sometimes not cracked at all. Such food it overtaxes 
 the stomach to digest; it heats and ferments, and then fol- 
 low all the evil consequences of colic. But few young horses 
 
k 
 
 414 AMERICAlSr FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 fed on com escape the ^-nnoyances, if they prove no worse, 
 of a sour stomach and constant distension ; nor do many 
 older ones come into their feed of corn at night, after a 
 hard day s work or a long drive, without suffering more or 
 less from frequent disturbances of the digestive process. 
 
 Doubtless much of the evil effect incident to the use of 
 corn might be obviated by having the corn ground, and 
 then used as provender, allowing it to lie wet for half an 
 hour before using to soak and swell. But this is too much 
 work and trouble for the majority of farmers in this fast and 
 busy age. These exemplify the proverb which speaks of 
 "throwing out more with the spoon than they can bring in 
 with the shovel." As we have repeatedly remarked, good 
 wood ashes will prove of great benefit in connection with a 
 regular diet of corn, since they tend to neutralize the acid 
 condition of the stomach, and carry digestion forward in a 
 healthful manner. 
 
 Barley may be used as half feed, but is nearly as objec- 
 tionable as corn. Wheat-bran and rye should be used spar- 
 ingly, as they act too powerfully upon the bowels to be used 
 freely. They do best when mixed with oat or corn -meal as 
 provender to go upon chopped feed. 
 
 . GREEN FEED FOR WINTER. 
 
 It is the work of economy, and highly conducive to the 
 horse's health, to provide for his use during the wiater as 
 much green feed as possible. He may be given carrots, tur- 
 nips, beets, pumpkins, and potatoes with decided advantage. 
 The first two of these are the best, but he will eat any green 
 feed, even to cabbages and apples, with greediness, and all 
 are excellent in their effects upon his health and general 
 condition. Throughout the winter, every horse that is kept 
 upon dry feed should have a green feed once a day. If this 
 course was in general practice, fewer diseases would visit our 
 stables, and fine, fat, lively horses and colts would multiply 
 greatly. 
 
 We feed both our cows and hogs upon slop, and with this 
 
FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 
 
 415 
 
 treatment they are generally kept healthy and fat. Give our 
 horses the benefits of a similar practice, and they will be as 
 plump and sleek as one could wish them. The Arab feeds 
 his horse upon the same substances that he eats himself; 
 beginning with the colt, he trains the animal to eat what- 
 ever is given him ; and we all know that the Arab has the 
 finest horse in the world. i 
 
 ^- •• ■\-.^c"^i. ;;> 
 
 THE QODOLPHIN AEABIAN. 
 
 Two gallons of slop — of grease and salt, and the extract 
 of vegetables which have been boiled in the liquid — will 
 form both food and medicine. Colts may not only be taught 
 when very young to relish such messes, but would partake 
 of them with great and certain benefit. 
 
 GENERAL STABLE MANAGEMENT. 
 
 ]N"o division of our subject is of more importance than 
 this. The fearful efi'ects of bad stables upon the health and 
 vigor of the horses of this country it would he almost im- 
 
I 
 
 41B AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 possible to compute. Many stables are but sinks of filth and 
 rottenness — perfect lazarettoes — haunts of disease and death. 
 The aggregate amount of disease and debility flowing from 
 this source is absolutely incalculable. 
 
 It is not so much the farmer's stables that are in fault as 
 some of those of the towns and cities. There, many a home 
 provided for the horse is located in some back alley, in some 
 low, damp, dark situation, where there is little room and 
 still less light and air, and where great piles of manure are 
 suffered to accumulate within and without, filling the whole 
 atmosphere with their reeking fumes. There are a great 
 many exceptions to this description, of course, and most of 
 our city livery stables, especially, must be exempted from 
 these charges. These are generally well built, conveniently 
 arranged, and managed with a judicious carefulness that at 
 once removes every thing ofi*ensive. 
 
 From the nuisance of the farmer's stables, his horse is 
 each year allowed a considerable respite in the pasture. A 
 great many stables in the country are neither built nor: man- 
 aged better than those pest-houses for the horse which we 
 described in the last paragraph ; but the surroundings are 
 much .more favorable. There are generally no other build- 
 ings close at hand to obstruct the free circulation of the air 
 outside of the stable, and thus the dung dries up rapidly, 
 while much of the unwholespme effluvia is carried away by 
 the wind. 
 
 The construction of the stable — its size, form, etc. — is a 
 matter of no small moment. Every ^prse should have his 
 stall, which should be sufficiently large for him to turn round 
 in it, and so arranged that he can lie down. INTot only is it 
 exceedingly tiresome to the horse to be compelled to stand 
 continually upon his feet, but it often proves very injurious. 
 Soreness and swelling of the joints often result from it, and 
 not unfrequently these are aggravated into permanent stiff- 
 ness. In many instances, a hurt of the leg or joint, received 
 in his daily labor, would pass away without serious conse- 
 quences were the animal allowed to rest his limbs by lying 
 
FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 417 
 
 down ; but by constantly standing, an obstinate, if not in- 
 curable, disease sets up — ^spavin, ring-bone, or the like. 
 
 One of the first questions in practical importance, to be 
 considered in the erection of a stable, is 
 
 LIGHT. 
 
 Light is essential to the growth and development of every 
 object in the world that has existence in an organized form. 
 Life of no kind, whether animal or vegetable, can prosper 
 without it. The tiniest ^pear of grass must have light, or it 
 loses its color and substance ; and the same law is true, with- 
 out variation, throughout all the higher types of organism 
 in the animal and vegetable kingdoms alike. 
 
 The importance of light to the material world can hardly 
 be conceived. "Without light there could be no he'at, so that 
 our world, under that deprivation, would not only be in per- 
 petual darkness blacker than midnight, but it would be a 
 frozen chaos. Light is the stimulating agent that causes 
 every thing upon the earth's surface to bud and spring 
 forth, clothing the valleys with verdure, the plains with 
 waving fields and ripening orchards, the hill-sides with tow- 
 ering forests, and making the whole face of Mature a pano- 
 rama of unceasing, yet ever-changing, beauty and gladness.. 
 Life is dependent upon it no less for preservation than for 
 creation and development. Nothing can continue to live 
 without it; and while it is true that animals and plants can. 
 not live upon it, it is equally true that they can not live with- 
 out it. All living creatures — the whole of animated Nature — 
 should be permitted to enjoy it freely at such times as the^ 
 beneficent Creator has arranged to furnish it to the world.. 
 To deprive any animal of light will be to materially injure 
 it, and prove the occasion of disease, if not of death. 
 
 What, then, must be the condition of that horse whom the 
 ignorance, the heedlessness, or the parsimony of his owner 
 condemns to dreary confinement, for a great part of his time,, 
 in a dark, close stable? How can the effect be otherwise than 
 highly detrimental ? Such we always find it to be. To say 
 27 
 
418 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK:. 
 
 nothing of other diseases either originating in this cause, ot 
 aggravated by it, the number of horses that have lost their 
 eyesight in dark stables is a matter almost incredible. To 
 ^this wretched defect in the care bestowed upon the animal, 
 '^^nearly all cases of moon-eyes may be referred in less or greater 
 degree. Ko horse can permanently retain unimpaired vision 
 if deprived of light during the day. The eye is naturally the 
 first and greatest sufferer from this deprivation, as this is the 
 organ especially adapted to the conditions and enjoyment of 
 light. When brought suddenly out into the glare of day, 
 the horse which has been kept in a dark stable is dazzled 
 and confused by the overpowering brightness, so that it is 
 some time before he is enabled to see as well as usual. Every 
 time this takes place, the trouble is apt to increase, and con- 
 tinue longer than before. By and by, when some fever arises, 
 it fixes its hold upon the eyes, which begin turning white; 
 and then the alarmed owner anxiously inquires, " What is 
 the matter with my horse's eyes? He seems to be going 
 blind." To such let us say, emphatically, "Your dark stables 
 have done it." 
 
 Ko special directions can be minutely prescribed concern- 
 ing the best means of admitting light into the stable. Upon 
 this point the intelligent owner must exercise his own judg- 
 ment and taste. No rule could be given, unless all stables 
 were built alike. But, in general terms, it may be laid down 
 that the light should be somewhat higher than the horse's 
 head — behind him rather than in front — and that, as to the 
 quantity admitted, the stable should bjp kept nearly as light 
 as it is out-doors. 'No stable, it may be added, should be 
 whitewashed inside, unless it is impossible to light it from 
 without. 
 
 VENTILATION AND TEMPERATURE. 
 
 Another matter of prime importance in the construction 
 of a home for the horse is an abundant provision for furnish- 
 ing it with pure air; yet, while ventilation is thus essen- 
 tial, some arrangement must be adopted for protecting the 
 horse from the cold in winter. Ventilators and windows, as 
 
FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 419 
 
 a rule, should be placed higher than the animars head. The 
 flooring and sides of the building should be air-tight, or, if 
 the sides can not be made so all the way up, this end should 
 be secured in their fitting together for at least several feet 
 from the floor. This is to prevent the cold winds from blow- 
 ing directly upon the horse. Many stables are so open that 
 the winds can blow through the large open cracks in the 
 sides and floors with stinging keenness, and then the horse, 
 fastened in his stall so as to have no exercise whatever, be- 
 comes chilled throughout his whole frame, and colds, with 
 most serious lung or constitutional afl:eetions, are frequently 
 brought on. The horse is probably more likely to take cold 
 upon any dry, cold night, when housed in such a stable, 
 than if he were running shelterless upon the common ; be- 
 cause in the lattet* case he would be pretty sure to avail him- 
 self of his freedom to move about, and this exercise would 
 help to keep him warm. 
 
 On the other hand, close, hot stables are most decidedly 
 objectionable. Except in very cold weather, the atmosphere 
 within the stable should not be kept more than ten or twelve 
 degrees above the temperature out of doors. It is not desir- 
 able to make the building warm, so much as to shut out the 
 cold currents of air. This extremely unhealthy. condition of 
 the stable is much more common in the city than in the coun- 
 try, and was formerly a still more prevalent evil than it is now. 
 
 A number of horses shut up in a narrow, close stable pro- 
 duce, by their breathing, a most deleterious change in the 
 character of the air. Each pair of lungs throws off' an im- 
 mense amount of carbonic acid gas, and with this the atmos- 
 phere in a small, tight apartment soon becomes so greatly 
 surcharged as to be absolutely poisonous. Yet how many 
 stables are there in the United States, as elsewhere through- 
 out the civilized world, in which a most disproportionate 
 number of horses are shut up all night, and much of the day 
 besides, with no aperture left open for the escape of the foul, 
 fetid air, or the admission from without of that which is 
 fresh and cool. 
 
420 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Says Youatt, in treating of this subject: "What is the 
 consequence of all this? Why, if one thought be bestowed 
 on the new and dangerous character which the air is assum- 
 ing, it will be too evident that sore throat, swelled legs, and 
 bad eyes, and inflamed lungs, and mange,* and grease, and 
 glanders will scarcely ever be* long out of that stable." 
 
 Taken out of one of these hot-houses into the open air, 
 often standing for hours in the streets fastened to some hitch- 
 ing-post, while his master, within doors, is comfortably toast- 
 ing his shins before a blazing fire, the horse will be almost 
 sure to take cold. The pores are open, the system is relaX:ed, 
 and altogether the animal is in a poor condition indeed to 
 withstand the cold and exposure. 
 
 In putting up a stable, the number of horses which it is 
 designed to accommodate should be taken into careful con- 
 sideration, and the building be made as commodious and airy 
 as possible. A stable for six horses should be about thirty- 
 six feet long, sixteen feet, wide, and twelve feet in height to 
 the loft, if there be any. The loft should not extend to the 
 side of the stable back of the horses, but a considerable space, 
 as much as three feet, should be left for the foul air of the stable 
 to ascend, and openings should be provided under the plates for 
 the escape of these gases. This is the most judicious plan of 
 building a stable, having it wide, so that there may be a row 
 of stalls upon each side, with abundant space for the passage 
 of all the foul air generated below up to and out under the 
 roof. 
 
 Another very important matter is the immediate removal 
 of all impure substances which may be found in and about 
 the stable, of what kind soever. The practice, common in 
 some sections, of throwing the manure under the stable 
 should be abandoned at once. When the building is situated 
 on the side of a hill, so that the back part is considerably 
 elevated above the ground, if will be very convenient to 
 throw out the manure behind. There can be no objection 
 to this procedure, if the manure be at once removed in carts, 
 as it should -be in all cases. 
 
FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 421 
 
 Give the horse plenty of light in his stable, with an abun- 
 dance of pure, fresh air, and one half of the diseases which 
 now infest the habitations of our horses will entirely disap- 
 pear " Of nothing are we more certain," says Youatt, " than 
 that the majority of the maladies of the horse, and those of * 
 the worst and most fatal character, are, directly or indirectly, 
 to be attributed to a deficient supply of air. Each of these 
 evils is to be dreaded — each is, in a manner, watching for its 
 prey; and when they are combined, more than half of the 
 inmates of the stables are often swept away." 
 
 While the entire system of the horse becomes impaired by 
 his confinement in close, damp, dark stables, some particular 
 organ or member generally suffers much more than the 
 others. In regard to the feet, a number of ailments may 
 thus be produced — hoof-rot, scratches, thrush, cracked heels, 
 swelled legs, and others of the same class; while on the skin 
 appear surfeit, mange, hide-bound, stift* complaint, and warts, - 
 with vermin innumerable. But perhaps the eyes are most 
 of all affected by the deprivation of light and the effects of 
 foul air, especially of those pungent fumes of ammonia which 
 are continually arising from the urine and the piles of hot 
 and steaming manure. We sincerely believe that three out 
 of every five cases of bad eyes which occur in our country > 
 proceed from these causes. Let this admonish our farmers 
 and stable-keepers generally to remedy these evils at once, if 
 such exist upon their premises. 
 
 FLOORING. 
 
 The kind of flooring upon which the horse stands, for 
 months or years together, is a consideration of some impor- 
 tance to every owner or keeper of a horse, who regards the 
 animal's health and comfort as well as his own convenience. 
 There are three kinds of floors in common use throughout 
 American stables, which we name in the order of our pref- 
 erence, as follows: The dirt or gravel floor, the wood or 
 plank floor, and the flagstone or pavement. 
 
 The horse prospers best on the dirt or gravel floor. It is 
 
 .A 
 
422 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 not so hard as the others, and is both cooler in summer 
 and warmer in winter. The only objection to it is the 
 loss of a great part of the urine, which, when mixed with 
 the dung and straw, forms the most valuable part of the 
 compost for manure. Earth floors should be raised five or 
 six inches above the level of the general surface, and are 
 best when made of sand or fine gravel. One of their man- 
 ifest advantages is the ease of the horse's legs and feet, on 
 account of their softness and coolness ; and another is their 
 economy, their cheapness. It is but iseldom that any other 
 floors are met with south of the Ohio and Potomac, and no 
 other kind is ever seen on the plantations of the cotton 
 States. At the South they are believed to be much more 
 conducive to health than any other. 
 
 The plank floor is in general use at the North. In a cold 
 climate it is regarded as a protection from the frost supposed 
 to gather on the top of the ground, which thus becomes cold 
 and damp. These considerations have no weight at the 
 South, where the cold is rarely severe enough to freeze the 
 dirt floors. Our experience at the North is top limited to 
 enable us to pass any judgment upon the correctness of these 
 views as an objection to the earth floor. Plank floors are 
 very hard for the horse to stand upon, and, unless made quite 
 tight, are apt to be cold in winter. Many of the barn-stables 
 in the Northern States are merely loose floors, quite un- 
 jointed, through whose chinks and cracks the cold winds 
 come up in piercing currents, and the horse sufiers not a little 
 in consequence. They are usually so high from the ground, 
 too, that in summer they are very warm. 
 
 The pavement floor, which is used only in cities, except 
 for its hardness, is quite unobjectionable. But this is not 
 felt as so serious a disadvantage where the horse spends 
 most of the day upon the hard pavements of the streets ; and 
 in many large stables floored in this manner, a coating of 
 saw-dust makes the surface soft and pleasant to tread upon. 
 Such floors are very cool in summer. 
 
 Whatever the kind of floor adopted, it should be laid 
 

 FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. .. - 423 
 
 entirely level, as otherwise the horse can not habitually stand 
 easy and comfortable. The construction of some floors, by 
 which they are made to slant backward from the manger, 
 is altogether wrong. Its unpleasant eftects upon the horse 
 may be understood from the simple experiment of standing 
 three or four hours with one's toes an inch or so higher than 
 his heels. 
 
 Let the floor, we repeat, be level, as dry as possible, and, 
 by frequent sweepings, kept perfectly clean, with litter and 
 bedding often changed. 
 
 BEDDING. 
 
 This is often called litter, but what is really needed is a 
 bed for the horse to lie down upon, in his stall. The latter 
 should not only be roomy enough, and so arranged that its 
 inmate can lie down in it, w^hen so disposed, but it should 
 always be spread with a good, clean bed of straw, or some 
 proper substitute, such as that most excellent one saw-dust. 
 1^0 matter what is used, however, the portions wet by the 
 urine, and all the manure, should be removed every morn- 
 ing, and if the horse stands in the stable during the day, at 
 evening also. The urine and the soaking straw decompose 
 very rapidly, and give ofl* large amounts of offensive vapors, 
 especially of the injurious fumes of ammonia, or hartshorn, 
 and hence they should be removed frequently. In many of 
 our best stables, this is done every few hours — an excellent 
 regulation, worthy of adoption every-where. 
 
 The bedding should not be too thick, or so as to cover the 
 feet of the horse, as this tends to heat them, and thus induce 
 inflammation and disease. Two inches of bedding, of what- 
 ever sort, will be ample for any season of the year. As an 
 act of humanity, it is due the horse that he be given a bed 
 to both stand and lie down upon in his stall. A percepti- 
 ble difference may be discovered between the condition of a 
 horse that stands continually upon a hard floor, and that of 
 another who has a good bed provided for his use at all times. 
 In winter a sufficiency of bedding will do much to counter- 
 
♦ 
 
 •t 
 
 > 
 
 424 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 act tlie evils of an open plank floor, between whose joints the 
 cold currents of air are always rushing up, not only to the 
 very great discomfort of the horse, but also to the material 
 detriment of his health. 
 
 CLEANSING AND CURRYING. 
 
 The proper use of the curr^^-comb and brush maybe called 
 the sheet-anchor of all good stable management. There is 
 never too much of it, and but seldom half enough. When 
 the horse is allowed his liberty in the pasture, he will curry 
 himself pretty well, against the fence-posts and trees, while 
 the water from the rain-cloud will wash him off. If we de- 
 prive him of his liberty, and shut him up in the stable, we 
 ought to do this much for him; and then, too, he needs this 
 attention more in the stable than when running in some dry 
 pasture. All horses kept constantly in stable, require con- 
 stant cleaning and currying, and this is still more necessary 
 in the case of those that are driven or ridden in the mud and 
 rain. It is a disgraceful act of inhumanity to push the faith- 
 ful horse over bad roads, then turn him into the stable, and 
 let him remain until morning, or perhaps still longer, with 
 not only his limbs covered with dirt, but his whole body be- 
 spattered with mud. ^N'o person has a right to treat the 
 horse in this manner. It will afford the poor animal nearly 
 as much satisfaction to be freed from these accumulations 
 of filth, as it does the negligent, unfeeling owner. 
 
 Cleanliness is also highly conducive to the health of the 
 horse. The darkness and confinement of the stable are not 
 favorable to the action of the pores of the skin. These little 
 vessels do not throw out their oily secretions to the surface 
 with the same readiness as when the horse lives in the open 
 air ; neither do the dead particles of the cuticle, or scarfskin, 
 detach themselves at the proper time with equal freedom. 
 Sunshine, breezes and showers have the effect to loosen the 
 scurf, and to soften the skin ; and for these reasons the horse 
 running regularly in pasture needs but little attention in 
 this line. In the stable, however, JSTature needs assistance, 
 
% 
 
 FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 425 
 
 and the curry-comb and brush, with the addition in summer- 
 time, of th^ tub of cold water and a good sponge, will be of 
 essential service, and in some degree ameliorate the animal's 
 prison-life. Many horses kept in stables suffer from a con- 
 stant fever of the skin, and for this trouble good currying is 
 a most excellent remedy. It acts as a counter-irritant and 
 affords great relief. 
 
 The difference between the appearance of a horse that is 
 habitually well rubbed down, and that of one in whose keep- 
 ing this is neglected will be very perceptible to the least ob- 
 servant, i^o intelligent keeper of the horse but is well 
 aware how greatly hand-rubbing excites the secretions of the 
 skin upon the legs, and causes the hair to shine with unusual 
 glossiness. The skin is warmed and made pliant by the rub- 
 bing, the unctuous fluid flows forth, and the whole surface is 
 oiled from E"ature's own fountain. In all diseases of the 
 skin, rubbing and currying is quite as essential a part of the 
 treatment as medication, and very often even more so. 
 
 This being so important a branch of stable management, 
 and the subject one of such universal applicability, we in- 
 troduce the remarks of Youatt, upon the same Jopic : 
 
 " Of grooming, there need not much be said to the agricul- 
 turist, since custom, and apparently without ill-effect, has 
 allotted so little of the comb and brush to the farmer's horse. 
 The animal that is worked all day, and turned out at night, 
 requires little more to be done to him than to have the dirt 
 brushed off his limbs. Regular grooming, by rendering his 
 skin more sensible to the alteration of temperature and the 
 inclemency of the weather, would be prejudicial. The horse 
 that is altogether turned out needs no grooming. The 
 dandrifl', or scurf, which accumulates at the roots of the hair, 
 is a provision of i^ature to defend him from the wind and 
 the cold. ' 
 
 "It is to the stabled horse, highly fed, and little or irregu- 
 larly worked, that grooming is of so much consequence. 
 Good rubbing with the brush or the curry-comb opens the 
 pores of the skin, circulates the blood to the extremities of 
 
426 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 the body, produces free and healthy perspiration, and stands 
 in the room of exercise. No horse will carry a fine coat 
 without either unnatural heat or dressing. They both eftect 
 the same purpose. They both increase the insensible perspi- 
 ration ; but the first does it at the expense of health and 
 strength; while the ^second, at the same time that it pro- 
 duces a glow on the skin, and a determination of blood to 
 it, rouses all the energies of the frame. It would be well for 
 the proprietor of the horse if he were to insist — and to see 
 that his orders are really obeyed — that the fine coat, in which 
 he and his groom so much delight, is produced by honest 
 rubbing, and not^by a heated stable and thick clothing, and, 
 most of all, not by stimulating or injurious spices. ' The horse 
 should be regularly dressed every day, in addition to the 
 grooming that is necessary after work. 
 
 " When the weather will permit the horse to be taken out, 
 he should never be groomed in the stable, unless he is an 
 animal of peculiar value, or placed for a time under peculiar 
 circumstances. Without dwelling on the want of cleanliness, 
 when the scurf and dust that are brushed from the horse 
 lodge in hi| manger, and mingle with his food, experience 
 teaches that, if the cold is not too great, the animal is braced 
 and invigorated to a degree that can not be attained in the 
 stable, from being dressed in the open air. There is no ne- 
 cessity, however, for half the punishment w^iich many a 
 groom inflicts upon the horse in the act of dressing; and 
 particularly on one whose skin is thin and sensible. The 
 curry-comb should, at all times, be lightly applied. With 
 many horses, its use may be almost dispensed with; and eV^en 
 the brush needs not to be so hard, nor the points of the bris- 
 tles so irregular, as they often are. A soft brush, with a little 
 more weight of the hand, will be equally effectual, and a 
 great deal more pleasant to the horse. A hair-cloth, while it 
 will seldom irritate and tease, will be almost suflicient with 
 horses that have a thin skin, and that have not been neglected. 
 After all, it is no slight task to dress a horse as it ought to 
 be done. It occupies no little time, and demands consider- 
 
FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 427 
 
 able patience, as well as dexterity. It will be readily ascer- 
 tained whether a horse has been well dressed by rubbing him 
 with one of the fingers. A greasy stain will detect the idle- 
 ness of the groom. "When, however, the horse is changing 
 his coat, both the curry-comb and the brush should be used 
 as lightly as possible. 
 
 " Whoever would be convinced of the benefit of friction to 
 the horse's skin, and to the horse generally, needs only to 
 observe the efiects produced by well hand-rubbing the legs 
 of a tired horse. While every enlargement subsides, and 
 the painful stiffness disappears, and the legs attain their 
 natural warmth, and become fine, the animal is evidently 
 and rapidly reviving; he attacks his food with appetite, and 
 then quietly lies down to rest." 
 
 CHANgES OF WEATHER AND TEMPERATURE. 
 
 Nature prepares the horse, as it does all the other members 
 of the animal creation, for the changes of the seasons — from 
 heat to cold, and from cold to heat. There is a wonderful 
 provision for this puipose, in the arrangement of the vary- 
 ing conditions of the skin — the opening of the pores as sum- 
 mer advances, and their closing upon the approach of winter. 
 Another admirable adaptation of conditions to surrounding 
 circumstances is exhibited by the growth of the hair in the 
 fall season, when it is soon to be needed for the protection of 
 the animal from the rigor of winter, and then by its gradual 
 shedding in the spring, when it is needed no longer. 
 
 These changes are rarely attended by any inconvenience 
 to the horse, much less any serious ills; but there are other 
 changes created by man, his master, that often very much 
 afiect his health and condition. Taking him out of a warm 
 stable into a cold, beating rain, or into a sharp atmosphere, 
 crisp with a biting frost, constitutes one of these unfavorable 
 changes. Another is driving him very hard and then hitch- 
 ing him to a post in the cold or storm, without any protection, 
 and thus allowing him to remain until his whole frame is 
 numb and chilled with the cold. Another is turning him 
 
.^ 
 
 428 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 into an open lot, to spend the night in the rain, sleet, mud, 
 or snow, after several hours or an entire day of severe exer- 
 cise. There are many more such dangerous transitions, most 
 of them downright abuses ; but we have room to specify only 
 one additional, and that is bringing the horse suddenly into 
 a hot stable from a wintry atmosphere without, so cold that 
 he has been half chilled to death. 
 
 To all these changes the horse is often exposed, and, in 
 consequence, often falls a victim to those diseases which they 
 have a tendency to produce, especially afiections of the lungs, 
 the skin, and the feet. If we are compelled or choose to 
 place our horses in such circumstances, we ought to aftbrd 
 them all the protection in our power. If the animal has 
 long to wait upon our necessity or our pleasure, it would be 
 much better to procure a stable for him to stand in mean- 
 while ; but if this can not be done, it would be an act of 
 both humanity and economy to aftbrd him the w^armth and 
 comfort of a good 
 
 BLANKETING. 
 
 No better investment can be made than the purchase of a 
 good, thick, and substantial blanket 
 for the horse's use during cold and 
 stormy weather. It should, of course, 
 be fitted with straps and buckles in 
 front, behind, and beneath, just back 
 of the fore-legs. 
 
 A gum-elastic blanket might be so 
 constructed as to be thrown over the horse and cover the entire 
 harness or saddle. This will protect the latter from the 
 weather as well as the animal himself. It 
 would be easy to arrange it so that the horse 
 could travel with this covering, leaving 
 but a small portion of the harness ex- 
 posed at all. ' ' , 
 In a state of E'ature, and upon ordinary 
 occasions, even in his domesticated condition, the horse is 
 sufficiently provided for by his natural clothing — the hair. 
 
 N V 
 
 •*••«' 
 
FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 429 
 
 It is only when his blood has become unusually heated 
 by severe exercise, or when he is suddenly plunged from 
 one extreme of temperature into the other, or when he has 
 become enfeebled by disease, that the horse needs any extra 
 covering, unless the weather is extraordinarily cold. Protec- 
 tion to the horse is only needed to modify his condition, and 
 to counteract the unhealthy influences of great and sudden 
 changes. 
 
 DISINFECTANTS. ',^ 
 
 Disinfectants should be used in all stables, more or less. 
 The larger ones, in which many horses are crowded together, 
 are those which, most of all, need systematic and frequent 
 repetitions of the disinfecting process. The livery stable is 
 never properly kept unless an intelligent, liberal use of dis- 
 infectants forms one feature of its management. "No horse 
 is entirely safe in a stable filled with strange horses unless 
 this course is pursued. It is of quite as much importance to 
 the farmer coming to town with his produce, or the traveler 
 of an}^ sort away from home, to know that his horse is not 
 to be infected with some terrible contagion, as it is to be sure 
 that he has plenty of food and proper attention. 
 
 Glanders, farcy, and distemper often take possession of a 
 stable covertly, weeks before the majority of hostlers can 
 detect the presence of any thing wrong. In stables where 
 strange horses are going and coming every hour, there is no 
 assurance that an infected animal has not been thrust in 
 among the rest. Perhaps a glandered horse, with the dis- 
 ease in its incipient stages, may come into a large stable full 
 of horses, and not more than two or three of the whole num- 
 ber take the dreadful malady from him. Yet whose horse 
 is safe in such company? If proper disinfectants have been 
 used, there will be little danger. 
 
 There are but three articles commonly employed as disin- 
 fectants that possess much value in the stable. We mention 
 them in the order in which we esteem them, thus : tobacco, 
 sulphur, and lime. 
 

 430 AMErTcAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 For stable purposes, we consider tobacco the bjest disinfec 
 tant known. It is the antidote of glanders, farcy, and dis- 
 temper; and if it be used in the manner prescribed elsewhere 
 for the treatment of those diseases, the spread of contagion 
 can be effectually prevented. Every contagious disease, in 
 either man or beast, has its particular disinfectant — that is, 
 one better adapted to counteract its peculiar influences than 
 any other substance. All disinfectants are not of equal 
 power, when applied to the disorders of man, that they possess 
 when used in veterinary practice, and vice versa ; but, in either 
 case, a perfect disinfectant is the best remedy for the disease. 
 Reversing this proposition, it may be said that the best 
 remedy for the disease is the only sure disinfectant. 
 
 Tobacco will cure glanders, in its first and second stages, 
 when other modes of treatment utterly fiiil ; and it is the only 
 substance that can be considered a certain disinfectant of this 
 fearful disease. A few stalks or leaves of ^''the weed " burned 
 in an old kettle in the stable, when the horse is attended in 
 the morning, will work wonders in improving the sanitary 
 condition of the building, if any infection either happens to 
 be lurking there undiscovered, or is already in full, fell play. 
 Unlike some disinfectants, tobacco does not materially change 
 the qualities of the infected atmosphere; but its virtue con- 
 sists mainly in its action upon the system of the animal 
 whence the infection proceeds, destroying, or at least neutral- 
 izing, the very source of danger, the poison of jiisease. 
 ^ Sulphur has been known to the author of this work for 
 more than fifteen years as a disinfectant of great value for 
 those types of malignant disease which generate foulness and 
 putridity within the system ; and this is one reason why its 
 free use internally has been so often and persistently pre- 
 scribed in many of the foregoing chapters. It has lately been 
 employed as a disinfectant by fumigation, also. "When it is 
 burned in the atmosphere, sulphurous gas is formed, which is 
 believed to be of great benefit in counteracting contagious 
 influences. But whether it will destroy the virus of glanders 
 or distemper yet remains to be tested. We are confident 
 
FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 431 
 
 that tobacco will do this, having used it repeatedly with the 
 greatest success ; for which reason tobacco is what we recom- 
 mend in all such cases. 
 
 Lime is a highly-esteemed disinfectant when employed to 
 nullify the noxious effluvia arising from the decomposition 
 of vegetable matter; for instance, in the vicinity of sewers, 
 stagnant pools, piles of manure, and heaps of rotting garbage. 
 Chloride of lime, or lime itself, placed in these localities will 
 disinfect them to a very great extent. Hence, the exhala- 
 tions from a box or kettle of the chloride will be of great 
 value in neutralizing the odors and injurious gases in the 
 stable proceeding from rotting manure and the like causes; 
 but it does not appear to have any power to destroy or break 
 up disease. 
 
 In a stable where any contagion is known to have lately 
 existed, tobacco may, perhaps, be regarded as the only real 
 safeguard; yet this remark must not be understood as pro- 
 nouncing against the use of either lime or sulphur in connec- 
 tion Avith it. They may be employed with benefit as medi- 
 cine, and probably as fumigators, also. Every part of the 
 stable near which the infection may possibly have been, should 
 be thoroughly washed with a decoction of tobacco. A dense 
 smoke of the same should form the fumigation, and tobacco- 
 feaves— the finer the better — should be kept for a time in all 
 the mangers of that- stable. 
 
 Other disinfectants, such as copperas, chloroform, assafetida, 
 etc., have had their advocates; but the three which we have^ 
 named are the principal agents of this character, and the 
 others are not^to be used, except in special cases. 
 
 EXERCISE. 
 
 If it be at all possible, horses should have regular, daily 
 exercise in some way. The farm-horse generally has enough 
 of this in the roufine of daily toil. It is only the horse that 
 is kept for pleasure which spends most of his time in the stable. 
 Such an animal has great need of set periods, at regular and 
 frequent intervals, for exercise; otherwise his legs are apt to 
 
432 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 become stiff, and swellings puff out the joints. Exercise 
 improves condition and spirits, and is often a preventive of 
 disease. It should be moderate ;" for the class of horses which 
 we have described are not capable of undergoing such fatigue 
 as would seem quite easy to the farm or wagon horse, not 
 having the same hardness of muscle nor equal powers of en- 
 durance. 
 
 Great care should be taken not to put horses that have 
 
 been idle for some time 
 to severe exercise too 
 suddenly. Great evils 
 have followed this in- 
 judicious course, and, in 
 many instances, the loss 
 of the horse too late has 
 opened the eyes of the owner to its folly. The remarkable 
 case of lock-jaw, described on page 203-205 of this work, oc- 
 curred while the author was engaged in preparing the first 
 draft of the present chapter, and fully illustrates what we 
 wish to say in this connection. 
 
 Many farmers pursue a course similar to the one described 
 in that narrative, in overworking horses unaccustomed to 
 hard service; and though lock-jaw may rarely follow, they 
 are lucky, indeed, if no other disease fastens itself upon their 
 abused and jaded animals. In consequence of such misman- 
 agement, not a few of the best horses ever bred have failed; 
 while, if they had been the subjects of a little consideration 
 and judgment, such as would have put them to work gard- 
 ually, and have increased the amount of labor exacted fron^ 
 them as they were able to bear it, they might have contin- 
 ued to do excellent service for a whole lifetime without any 
 suffering in becoming inured to protracted and severe toil. 
 
 In the case of lock-jaw referred to above, it was a great 
 mistake to put the young mare to such hard work in the 
 hottest days of August. More favorable results ought not 
 to have been anticipated. The best time for accustoming 
 the young draft-horse to the labor which is to be demanded 
 
FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 433 
 
 of him is in spring, beginning early in the season ; and next 
 to this period, the cool days of fall. Many a horse has been 
 brought from the stable or the pasture, either after a long 
 rest, or else having never worked at all, and then, being put 
 at once to hard service, has failed, upon which the owner 
 has been apt to think himself cheated in his bargain ; whereas 
 a more judicious management might have led to a full reali- 
 zation of all his expectations, and have secured him the labor 
 of a valuable animal for many years. 
 
 Our English author, (Youatt,) although mainly addressing 
 other classes of horse-owners than the farmer, is very clear 
 and satisfactory in his treatment of this subject. He says: 
 
 " Our observations on this important branch of stable-man- 
 agement must have only slight reference to the agricultural 
 horse. His work is usually regular, and not exhausting. He 
 is neither predisposed to disease by idleness, nor worn out by 
 excessive exertion. He, like his master, has enough to do to 
 keep in health, and not enough to distress or injure him ; on 
 the contrary, the regularity of his wor^ prolongs life to an 
 extent rarely witnessed in the stable of a gentleman. Our 
 remarks on exercise, then, must have a general bearing, or 
 have principal reference to those persons who are in the 
 middle stations of life, and /ho contrive to keep a horse for 
 business or pleasure, but can not aflbrd to maintain a servant 
 for the express purpose of looking after it. 
 
 " The first rule we would lay down is, that every horse 
 should have daily exercise. The animal that, with the usual 
 stable-feeding, stands idle for three or four days, as is the case 
 in many establishments, must suffer. He is predisposed to 
 fever, or to grease, or, most of all, to diseases of the foot; 
 and if, after three or four days of inactivity, he is ridden far 
 and fast, he is almost sure to have inflammation of the lungs 
 or of the feet. 
 
 "A gentleman's or tradesman's horse suffers a great deal 
 
 more from idleness than he does from work. A stable-fed 
 
 horse should have two hours' exercise every day, if he is to 
 
 be kept free from disease. JS'othing of extraordinary, or eveu 
 
 28 
 
434 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 of ordinary labor can be effected on the road or in the field with 
 out sufficient and regular exercise. It is this alone which can 
 give energy to the system, or develop the powers of any animal. 
 "How, then, is this exercise to be given? As much as 
 possible by, or under the superintendence of, the owner. The 
 exercise given by the groom is rarely to be depended upon. 
 It is inefficient or it is extreme. It is, in many cases, both 
 irregular and injurious. It is dependent upon the caprice of 
 him who is performing a task, and wjio will render that task 
 subservient to his own pleasure or purpose. 
 
 " ^N'othing is so common and so preposterous as for a per- 
 son* to buy a Iiorse from a dealer's stable, where he has been 
 idly fattening for sale for many a day, and immediately to 
 give him a long run after the hounds, and then to^ complain 
 bitterly that he has been imposed upon if the animal is ex- 
 hausted before the end of the chase, or is compelled to be led 
 home, suffering from violent inflammation. Regular and 
 gradually- increasing exercise would have made the same 
 horse appear a treasure to his owner. 
 
 " Exercise should be somewhat proportioned to the age of 
 the horse* A young horse requires more than an old one. 
 Nature has given to young animals of every kind a disposi- 
 tion to activity ; but the exercise must not be violent. . A 
 great deal depends upon the manner in which it is given. 
 To preserve the temper and to promote health, it should be 
 moderate at least at the beginning and the termination. The 
 rapid trot, or even the gallop, may be resorted to in the middle 
 of the exercise, but the horse should be brought iti cool. If 
 the owner would seldom intrust his horse to boys, and would 
 insist on the exercise being taken in sight or in the neighbor- 
 hood of his residence, many an accident and irreparable injury 
 would be avoided. It should be the owner's pleasure, and 
 it is his interest, personally to attend to all these things. He 
 manages every other part of his concern, and he may depend 
 on it he suffers when he neglects or is, in a manner, excluded 
 from his stables." 
 
^- 
 
 BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING ETC. 435 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC. 
 
 If the relative importance of the different branches of our 
 subject had alone decided the arrangement of this volume, 
 this chapter might properly have been placed at the very be- 
 ginning of our work. We have here to consider not merely 
 the birth of the young animal, but, likewise, all the circum- 
 stances having a bearing upon that event, and then to trace 
 the history of the colt onward to his years of strength and 
 maturity. 
 
 We enter upon this portion of our task not without some 
 misgivings. A mistake in this department would be more 
 fatal, would do more harm, than a blunder almost anywhere 
 else. Then, too, every novice in the business of stock-raising 
 is satisfied that he knows pretty nearly all that is to be known 
 concerning it, and can hardly be instructed in any particular. 
 IsText to politics, this subject is probably the most common 
 topic of discussion among the majority of our farmers. jN^or 
 is the importance which they attach to it by any means an 
 undue one. As a general rule, nothing can progress satisfac- 
 torily or end well that does not begin aright. 
 
 As man has taken this matter, as far as he can do it, out 
 of the hands of the Creator, and has assumed to direct and 
 control it, he should have the full benefit of all the light and 
 experience which is attainable in regard to it. Doubtless 
 our views will call forth some adverse criticism, and, in some 
 quarters, perhaps strenuous opposition. Nevertheless, we pro- 
 pose to state them fully and candidly, so that, while it is too 
 much to expect that all will be convinced, no one need mis- 
 understand upon what grounds our opinions are based. The 
 reason for the faith that is in us shall be given clearly, as it 
 has been deduced from long observation and experience. 
 
f 
 
 436 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 In regard to breeding, many things in the customary sys 
 tern of operations are objectionable in the extreme. The 
 manner of waiting upon the horse upon occasions of his 
 service to the mare, with a crowd of idle boys standing 
 about, and an attendant to direct the horse's movements, 
 merits the opprobrium of all right-thinking persons. It not 
 only shocks every sense of propriety, but it is unnatural and 
 injurious. The practice deserves universal execration. Other 
 portions of the brute creation are allowed to choose their 
 own times and seasons for copulation, and to conduct mat- 
 ters in their own way, as they are abundantly able to do 
 without any further guidance than the promptings of in- 
 stinct alone. Tlje horse should be privileged to enjoy the 
 same freecjom. 
 
 In precise terms, both the horse and mare should be al- 
 lowed to run together in the same field. This, of course, 
 should be retired from the highway, in some pasture which 
 may easily be selected, away from the usual routes of the pass- 
 ers-by. Here the mare may be affbrded the pleasure of the 
 horse's society for several days — a circumstance which will 
 be greatly to the advantage of both of them, and still more 
 to their future progeny. 
 
 There is a radical error in the prevalent mode of conduct- 
 ing all these proceedings. We lay it down as an almost in- 
 variable rule, that the foal will partake chiefly of the con- 
 stitution and disposition of the sire, while his form and size 
 is mainly derived from the dam. It is the operation of this 
 law which indicates the necessity of other treatment in re- 
 gard to the horse. There are, by far, too few horses kept as 
 breeders, and they are taxed beyond all reason and decency. 
 
 The horse is injured by being kept too close in a dark 
 ' stable, without sufficient exercise in the open air and the 
 range of the pasture ; and then, too, his stable-feed has a 
 tendency to heat the blood, which is a condition that often 
 affects the genital organs materially. Constant confinement 
 renders his disposition fierce and intractable, and the depriva- 
 tion of the daily society of the mare makes the matter still 
 
BREEDINa, STOCK-RAIIblNG, ETC. 437 
 
 worse, so that when he is led out to meet her he is all of a 
 frenzy and fever, and can hardly be controlled. This is all 
 wrong, and would not occur were he in constant association 
 with the other sex. He would, in that case, l)p much more 
 docile, quiet, and manageable. As it is, he is^y no means 
 manifesting such a disposition as is desirable for the ordi- 
 nary purposes for which a horse is needed; yet this is the 
 disposition that will be imparted to the foal. 
 
 Another most serious error in the general practice at 
 the present day has been already adverted to, and that is 
 compelling the horse to serve too many mares. Kot a few 
 stallions in this country are forced to serve from sixty to 
 seventy mares during the season of about three months, 
 often being led out two or three times in the same day. No 
 horse can be thus excessively taxed without manifest injury 
 resulting therefrom. To discharge this duty regularly once 
 a day is more than should be exacted from him. Every 
 other day is as often as any horse is competent to meet 
 these continuous demands. 
 
 Here comes in the rule that every writer upon the horse reit- 
 erates, and nearly every petty breeder thinks he knows all 
 about, that " like produces like." It is unquestionably estab- 
 lished that conception is the result of the mingling of cer- 
 tain elements to which both animals contribute. It is prob- 
 able that the seminal fluid of the horse forms the first sub- 
 stance of the foetus, while a smaU particle of blood with the 
 ovum of the mare communicates the principle of life. This 
 is considered to be the case with all red blooded animals. 
 
 It is a correct rule that to end well, any process must begin 
 well; and no one will dispute the statement that the su- 
 perstructure can not be firm and strong unless the founda- 
 tions upon which it rests have first been made the same. 
 With ordinary prudence and management a good begin- 
 ning may reasonably be expected to make a good ending, 
 but a bad beginning it will be exceedingly difficult so to re- 
 construct as to maiie it eventuate in success. Upon these 
 principles, we repeat, do we base our objections to the un- 
 
438 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 natural and absurd practices which characterize the system 
 commonly pursued by stock-raisers in relation to breeding. 
 That system we regard as utterly ruinous to all prospects 
 of future improvement ; nay, more than this, as the actual 
 cause of great deterioration, from one generation to another, 
 of the American horse. 
 
 We say, without fear of successful contradiction, that three 
 times a week, or every -other day, is as often as any horse 
 should be permitted to serve a mare. Oftener than this, 
 coition may be eitected, it is true, but the seminal fluid of 
 the horse in such cases is thin and immature; and if a colt 
 is produced at all, he will be almost sure to be big-boned, 
 loose-jointed, of flabby, uncompact muscle, and with a feeble 
 constitution. This is one main reason why only a few of 
 the'colts gotten by fine stallions are equally fine, some par- 
 taking r)f his qualities scarcely at all, and the large ma- 
 jority falling far below the standard of his own excellence. 
 No matter how favorable the condition of the mare may 
 be, the foal gotten under such circumstances can not be 
 expected to prove otherwise than a weak and feeble little 
 creature. The condition of the dam will, doubtless, modify 
 the application of these principles to some extent, but by 
 no means sufiicient to disprove their general correctness. 
 The few fine colts which the horse sires are the result of 
 procreation when his vital and reproductive powers were 
 mature and vigorous. 
 
 Were proper attention paid to this matter, failure to im- 
 pregnate would occur much less frequently than it now does 
 in the ordinary experience of stock-raisers; the object of 
 copulation would be accomplished three times where, under 
 the reverse circumstances, it is efiected once. 
 
 The great obstacle to improvement in this department 
 consists in the fact that, with few exceptions, the stallions 
 kept for breeding purposes are in the hands of men whose 
 sole object is to make money, and whose interest it is, there- 
 fore, to have their horses serve as manj' mares as possible 
 during the season. To most men of this class the future 
 
BREEDINa, STOCK-RAISINa, ETC. 439 
 
 race of horses in general is a matter of small consideration. 
 They are quite satisfied if they can find two or three colts 
 with fine parts to parade before the public as specimens of 
 the foal-getting qualities of their stock; and how industri- 
 ously are all such colts hunted up and decked off for exhi- 
 bition at the county fairs ! What does many a groveling 
 fellow, who has adopted the profession of a horse-keeper, 
 care for the general improvement of the race if he can, by 
 any means, no matter how unfairly, keep up the reputation 
 of his horse sufiiciently to secure a liberal patronage the 
 next season ! What cares he so long as he can scrape to- 
 gether a few more of the almighty dollars, notwithstanding 
 the community be imposed upon, and the next generation 
 of horse-flesh be ever so much cursed by these excesses ! 
 The system is wrong from first to last — a blight and mildew 
 upon one of the most important interests of agriculturists 
 and the public generally. 
 
 But what shall be done to get rid of this nuisance — this 
 imposition? Customs so firmly rooted are not easily broken 
 up, and yet these pernicious practices may be done away with, 
 if the mass of farmers were firm in their determination upon 
 this point. Let neighborhood meetings be called, and reso- 
 lutions be passed, fixing a rule in regard to this matter, and 
 a committee appointed to see that it is carried out as faith- 
 fully as possible ; or the same action may be taken at the 
 meetings of farmers' clubs, where such exist. There ought 
 to be a State enactment to prevent the abuses referred to ; 
 but this is not to be hoped for. 
 
 We have conversed wnth large numbers of the successful 
 stock-raisers of Kentucky and Middle Tennessee, and have 
 found a general coincidence in the views here expressed. 
 Many of them, indeed, have condemned the unnatural prac- ^ 
 tice of exacting from the horse such excessive services with 
 the utmost severity. Among this intelligent class it is not 
 uncommon for a gentleman to keep a horse of his own to 
 serve his own mares and, perhaps, a few others. Sometimes, 
 a few farmers club together, and raise a joint fund for the 
 
440 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 purchase of a first-class horse. This is a very excellonl 
 plan, deserving a much wider adoption than at present. 
 
 In dismissing this subject, we wish to impress upon the 
 minds of all interested in it the importance of this general 
 rule : that no horse should be compelled to repeat his service 
 more than twenty times during the season, and never oftener 
 than every other day. Every farmer is doing an injury to 
 his stock and to his own pecuniary interests, when he per- 
 mits any serious departure from this regulation. The adop- 
 tion of the rule here specified would make it perfectly proper 
 to charge increased rates for the season or by insurance. It 
 would be greatly to the advantage of the farmer to pay even 
 double the rate now asked, and get a colt worth double the 
 common run. 
 
 THE HORSE AND HIS QUALITIES. 
 
 The qualities of the sire, of more importance than all others, 
 are his capabilities of endurance and kindliness of disposi- 
 tion. The former depend mainly upon soundness of wind, 
 compactness of muscle, and proper form. His limbs should 
 not be too long, but trim and clean, and his joints round and 
 well set. The hips are the most essential points to be looked 
 at in regard to the horse, as in them and in his hind limbs 
 lies his great power. But the shoulders must not be neg- 
 lected ; they should be broad, not high and sharp, but round 
 over the top. 
 
 For the average farm horse of this country, about sixteen 
 hands is the most desirable height. Much above or below 
 this standard is objectionable. A horse, with full form and 
 well-developed muscle, it is preferable to have below rather 
 than above sixteen hands high. The' color of the hair is an 
 indication of some importance. A deep dark bay is the best 
 color for strength and endurance, and- generally the most 
 desirable qualities as regards disposition. The iron-gray is 
 the next, then the black, and, as the shades grow more and 
 more light, they become increasingly objectionable. What- 
 ever the color of the horse, the mane and tail should be 
 darker than the hair of the body. Beware of that horse 
 
BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC. 441 
 
 with dark half and light mane and tail. Fine, short hair 
 betokens fine blood, and coarse, long hair the reverse; yet 
 there are some breeds of horses with long hair and totally- 
 lacking any signs of fine blood, that undoubtedly possess 
 great powers of endurance. 
 
 ]^o stall) Dn should be regularly used for breeding purposes 
 until he is four years old. At the age of three, two or three 
 mares may be put to him for the purpose of testing his qual- 
 ities as a foal-getter; but not more than. this number, since 
 very few horses will pass inspection when so young. If his 
 stock is passable at this age, he will do to keep as a stallion. 
 His colts will improve until six, and then remain good until 
 he is ten, after which, in the majority of cases, he begins to 
 deteriorate as a foal-getter. A horse that has served but 
 twenty mares each season will ordinarily last until he is 
 twenty quite as well as will another, of whom treble this 
 amount of duty has been exacted, until he is ten or twelve. 
 Excessive service in this line will impair the powers of the 
 horse sooner than any other circumstances. 
 
 It is the true policy of every large stock-raiser to have a 
 stallion of his own. If this is too expensive, let several join 
 together, and either select one of their best colts or purchase 
 one for this purpose. One or two of their best mares may 
 be put to a choice horse under favorable circumstances, and 
 the colt reared for this especial service. Such combinations 
 would greatly improve the stock in any neighborhood, in 
 the course of a few years, and do away with the impositions 
 now so common. 
 
 In our country the stallions are generally very good. The 
 selection is usually made from the best colts, and nearly all 
 of tbem, when not abused by excessive service, produce very 
 good foals. There is no fault here, but in the ignorant and 
 destructive policy of their owners. 
 
 Except in the way of general directions, not much can be 
 said in regard to the selection of a particular horse from 
 which to breed. The owner of an entire horse generally has 
 the pedigree and qualities of the animal published, and, in 
 
442 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC. 
 
 443 
 
 most ca§ee, quite truthfully. Most horses breed best for some 
 especial service. If the colt is designed for farm use, it is 
 advisable to put the mare to a farm horse; if for. the car- 
 riage or saddle, she should be bred to a stallion of superior 
 adaptation for one or the other purpose. A horse for rapid 
 motion should possess very different parts from the farm 
 
 THE BYEBLY TUEK. 
 
 horse. The saddle and carriage horse should be of the same 
 mold — light and free of limb, with a height of not more than 
 fifteen hands and a half. The farm horses may be of idrger 
 limb, heavier build, and stand somewhat higher. 
 
 THE MARE — HER QUALITIES AND TREATMENT. 
 
 Of no less importance is it to understand the qualities and 
 capabilities of the mare than those of the horse. Difficulties 
 exist in 'her case no less than in his, and practical directions 
 
444 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 are needed in both. A proper understanding of the faults 
 and deficiencies of the mare, which vary very much from 
 those of the stallion, is of vital consequence to the breeder. 
 
 Every farmer* knows that one of the prerequisites of a 
 good crop is a fertile, productive soil. Now, the mare may 
 be compared to the soil in which the seed is cast, and it is 
 nearly as reasonable to expect a poor soil to produce a full, 
 prolific crop, as a poor, worn-out mare to bring a large, 
 plump, and healthy colt. * 
 
 Two principal characteristics are required to constitute the 
 mare a good breeder. The first is body, form — especially 
 length between the hips and shoulders, to give room for the 
 growth of the foetus without crowding the intestines, and also 
 breadth, which may be determined by the width of the back 
 and hips. A little, short mare, with a peaked back and hips, 
 and narrow, tucked-up belly, can never make a good breeder. 
 
 The second essential is vitality. Many large mares are 
 found to be deficient in this particular. A small mare often 
 possesses more spirit and activity, a greater share of vital 
 energy and endurance, than one that is larger. Some mares 
 are very dull and stupid, and sluggish in all their motions. 
 This may be remedied, to some extent, by securing the op- 
 posite qualities in the horse, selecting one that has more 
 than an average degree of life and action. On the other 
 hand, if the dam is full of animation, the sire should be one 
 remarkable for mildness and docility rather than otherwise. 
 
 As regards form and size, opposite qualities should be 
 paired, as a general rule. If the mare is small, the horse 
 should be of full size. If the former is of large or medium 
 size, the latter may be somewhat less. But in no case shoiild 
 the mare of any size be bred to a very small horse, unless it 
 is desired to perpetuate the pony breed. 
 
 Mention has already been made of the benefit to be derived 
 from permitting the association of the mare with the horse 
 for several days. It is of more advantage, in fact, to the 
 dam than to the sire. The instincts of Nature will decide 
 the proper period for coition, which will be that most favor- 
 
BEEEDINa, STOCK-RAISINa, ETC. 445 
 
 able for developing the germ of the new life. As matters 
 are usuall}^ managed, the case is often far otherwise. One 
 time of the mare's meeting the horse, or once in nine days 
 for a few weeks, is not what Nature designed, and the cus- 
 tomary hurry is really detrimental to her. The wistful look 
 which she casts behind her as she is led away, indicates 
 plainly enough her pining for a little further companion- 
 ship. 
 
 If well grown, the mare may commence breeding at three 
 years of age; but if she is still immature, it will be much 
 better to wait a year longer. Some persons are accustomed 
 to put the two-year old filly to a horse. This is wholly 
 wrong, for at thig age she is not qualified to breed at all 
 satisfactorily. It seriously retards her own growth, and may 
 greatly mar her form and beauty, while the effect "upon her 
 spirits is still worse. She will always be dull and heavy. 
 
 As a general rule, it is not best to continue breeding from 
 the mare after she is ten or twelve years of age. Some will 
 breed successfully a few years longer, while others at that 
 age have already past their best days. Those that bring a 
 colt every year fail the most rapidly, they which possess but 
 little apparent vitality breaking down early. It requires a 
 nice discrimination to determine exactly when to cease breed- 
 ing from the mare ; but it will be better to stop a year too 
 soon than to continue too long. 
 
 The question of feeding the mare while with foal is one 
 of the first importance. Here, emphatically, does the axiom 
 apply that " like produces like." The soil must be rich, 
 proper supplies of nutrition must be afforded the growing 
 crop, and judicious care and cultivation must be bestowed, 
 or a bountiful harvest can not be expected. ' The mare must 
 receive the feed and attention which her condition demands, 
 oi; it IS unreasonable to look for a fine colt. We make or 
 mar the latter by the treatment extended the mother. Many 
 a fine mare, bred to a horse equally good, has produced but 
 an inferior offspring, owing to bad management during the 
 period of gestation ; and, on the other hadd, many a common 
 
446 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 filly has raised a fine colt when she has heen well fed and 
 attended to. 
 
 A poor, half-starved mare will bring a puny weakling into 
 the world. The physical* condition of the colt depends upon 
 that of the mother. Not only does he derive from her the 
 principle of life, but the conduct of the vital processes in 
 her constitute the agencies which mold his entire bodily or- 
 ganism — bone, sinew, tendon, muscle, and all. The health 
 of the mother can not be affected without corresponding 
 detriment to the foetus, it is through the medium of her 
 digestion and circulation that the latter is nourished and ma- 
 tured. If she is well fed, the colt receives his share of the 
 benefit, and if she is impoverished, the colt will be the same. 
 
 To feed the mare with foal upon strong, heating diet is a 
 great mistake. What she needs is moist, nutritious food, 
 such as can be easily digested and will keep the bowels loose. 
 In winter-time, or at any other season when she is steadily 
 worked, chopped feed, with provender, is the best. In no 
 case let her be gorged with corn ; but it will be no harm 
 to give her sparingly of corn-meal, as provender, made moist 
 and thoroughly soaked. If it is in time of pasture, she will 
 need no other feed. In the latter months of gestation the 
 food may be increased. She requires more at this period, 
 having both the foal and herself to support, and the former 
 now draws heavily upon the mother for his sustenance; yet, 
 while she should never be allowed to fall off and become 
 poor, a very full, plethoric condition is decidedly objectionable. 
 In fact, it is still more hazardous to her than the reverse. 
 
 Concerning the qualities of the feed, too great care is im- 
 possible. At this time, of all others, the food should be 
 pure, nutritious, and wholesome. Moldy hay or fodder, or 
 injured grain, should be scrupulously excluded from her diet. 
 Possibly the mother might resist its injurious effects, but the 
 foal must inevitably suffer, and might be ruined entirely. 
 Thousands of colts are brought into the world in a diseased 
 condition, induced by the unhealthy food upon which the 
 mother has been ccfmpelled to sustain the lives of both. 
 
' . BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC. 447 
 
 Another consideration of importance is the amount of 
 labor the mare may perform. It is better for her to do light 
 work, at least up to within seven or eight weeks of foaling, 
 at which time she should be relieved of all service, unless it 
 be some occasional mild exercise. She should, also, about 
 this time, be removed from other animals, that she may not 
 be injured by them. At no period should she be assigned 
 any very hard labor, or be subjected to severe strains. As 
 she nears the time of foaling, she should be kept where she 
 can be easily watched, so that if any difficulty arises during 
 parturition assistance may be rendered promptly. 
 
 During the time of suckling, the mare should receive the 
 best of attention. Her food should be 
 generous, wholesome, and abundant. 
 It should never escape the mind of her 
 keeper that she now has two lives to 
 support^ and the tax upon her which 
 the colt's necessities occasion is very 
 great. Occasionally, a bran- mash may 
 be given — rye-bran, if it can be obtained ; and at all times 
 plenty of chopped feed, good sweet hay, and oats will be 
 just .the diet for her. But abstain from feeding her any 
 corn. If pasture can be procured, she will do better on this 
 than upon any thing else. As feeding the mare is feeding 
 the colt also, nothing should be allowed her that can injure 
 the latter, as some articles of food or medicine may do 
 without seriously affecting the stronger organism of the 
 mother. 
 
 After thirty days, if she is again in season, the mare may 
 once more be put to the horse, if the owner is determined 
 to have her bring a colt every year. But to this there is 
 a grave objection. In all of the animal creation, a state 
 of pregnancy injuriously affects the character of the milk 
 afforded the suckling offspring. Better colts can be raised 
 by breeding the mare only every second year. 
 
 The labor of the mother should be quite light, beginning 
 not before a month or six weeks after foaling. Except for 
 
448 AMEEICAN FAKMER'S HORSE BOOK; * 
 
 specially urgent reasons, the colt should never be prevented 
 from running with the mother. 
 
 THE COLT AND HIS TREATMENT. 
 
 If the foal is sound and healthy, he will need no especial 
 attention until the time of weaning, which will generally be 
 at the end of about six months. But upon this point no 
 arbitrary limitation can be established. The condition and 
 developments of the colt must determine this matter. If the 
 youngster is thin and weakly, he should be allowed to re- 
 main with the dam for a month or two longer, and in 
 extreme cases even more than this. Fall colts should always 
 be allowed the mother's milk till the grass comes in the 
 spring. Many fall colts are weaned too soon, and they nearly 
 perish during the barrenness and inclemency of winter. This 
 mistaken practice seems to be the real origin of the common 
 belief that the fall colt is not so good as the one foaled in 
 spring. It is impossible that he should be, under such mis- 
 management ; for the rigor of winter is more than the young 
 creature is able to bear when left to shift for himself. Let 
 him be allowed the help of the mother's milk until the young 
 grass of spring affords him a suitable substitute. If this is 
 done, he will often be found in advance of the yearling that 
 has been fed during the winter. 
 
 At weaning-time the colt should be entirely removed from 
 the sight and hearing of the mare. By this course she will 
 soon become reconciled to her loss, whereas, if he is allowed 
 to remain near her, she will continue to fret under the sepa- 
 ration, and will be troublesome. 
 
 Now comes the important matter of feeding and rearing 
 the colt, second not even to that of the care of the dam be- 
 fore his birth. The young animal will be pretty much what 
 we choose to make him by our treatment. Fewer ordinary 
 colts, by far, would be found if all of them received proper 
 attention, which is not generally the case in our country. 
 Too often the young creature is the victim of cruel neglect 
 and hardships — compelled to stand out in the open field, by 
 
BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC. 449 
 
 feome hay-stack or straw-rick ; or, perhaps, without any shel- 
 ter whatever to protect him from the biting frosts, the bleak 
 winds, the driving sleet, and the deep snows of winter ; and 
 frequently with nothing to support life but corn-stalk fodder, 
 or the scanty amount of food pulled from the hay-stack. 
 Under such usage he barely survives the winter, and starts 
 with the spring a poor, emaciated, broken-down starveling, 
 destitute of all spirit and vigor. His vital energies have re- 
 ceived a shock from which they will never wholly recover. 
 
 Such is the history of thousands of colts all over the land. 
 In many sections the farmer seems to know no better than 
 to believe that colts and calves require no housing during 
 the winter, when the fact is that they are the ones most of 
 all among the farmer's stock that need such shelter. The 
 strong, ha¥dy horse could bear these exposures much better; 
 but it is not he that is turned out to the weather — ^it is the 
 young, tender colt, inured to no hardships, and quite unfitted 
 to brave the storm and cold, that is compelled to undergo 
 this unfeeling treatment. If stable-room is deficient, make 
 a shelter of. some kind for some of the other stock, and let 
 the colt have the vacated stall. One winter's severe exposure 
 is equivalent to the loss of a year's growth. The colt be- 
 comes unthrifty and in bad plight, and shows want of spirit 
 and activity; whereupon the farmer complains that he has 
 been disappointed in that colt ; that the stock is not what he 
 supposed it to be, with more language of the same sort ; and 
 all the while the colt is good enough, the stock all that he 
 ever imagined it to be, and the fault lies wholly with him- 
 self. He seems to have forgotten that the limit of the en- 
 durance belonging to colt-flesh is soon reached, and really 
 ought to wonder that the poor thing has lived at all. 
 
 It is all-important that the colt "get no backset" after 
 weaning-time. l^othing will pay the owner better than kind, 
 generous attention to his growing stock. The young animal 
 needs it now; his flesh an^ skin are tender; his bones and 
 joints are still soft and unformed, and exposure at this 
 period often works irreparable mischief. The joints are af- 
 29 
 
450 AMEEICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 fected, growing unnaturally large and stiff, so that be moves 
 heavily, and with lack of suppleness. What he loses at this 
 time no subsequent care can entirely make up, while with 
 the treatment he is likely to receive from such an owner he 
 can never be other than an inferior animal. Many of the 
 diseases that develop in after years to the horse's ruin have 
 their foundations laid by mismanagement during colthood. 
 There are vastly more horses with stiff limbs and spiritless, 
 heavy movement, whose condition is referable to this cause 
 alone, than one farmer in fifty is willing to believe. It will 
 cost less to put up a stable sufficient to accommodate six 
 coUs, than the loss, in a single winter, upon one good colt 
 that is left out in the weather to shift for himself. 
 
 Along with housing comes another consideration of the 
 highest importance — feeding the colt. The pasture is em- 
 phatically the home for him, so that while it lasts there need 
 be no further trouble upon this head. But in winter let 
 every colt have his separate stall in a dry, warm stable, with 
 good bedding and all the attention, in respect to rubbing and 
 currying, that is bestowed upon the full-grown horse. His 
 diet should be a mild and generous one, suited to his young 
 and tender state. Let the owner be chary of giving much 
 dry food. Chopped feed, moistened, is more necessary for 
 the colt than for even the mature horse. A bran -mash should 
 be given him as often as once or twice a week regularly. 
 
 This seems to be an appropriate place for considering the 
 question of "inherited diseases," concerning which so much 
 has been said and written. English veterinarians have pa- 
 raded this subject before the public to an extent that, to our 
 thinking, is absolutely ridiculous. According to them, every 
 disease of the parents will be transmitted to the colt, who 
 will be afflicted with the infirmities of both. Says Youatt, 
 judicious an author as he generally ig : " There is scarcely 
 a disease by which either of the parents is affected that the 
 foal does not inherit, or at least show a predisposition to. 
 Even the consequences of ill-usage or hard work will descend 
 
BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC. 451 
 
 to the progeny. There has been proof upon proof that blind- 
 ness, roaring, thick wind, broken wind, spavin, curb, ring- 
 bone, and founder have been bequeathed to their offspring 
 both by the sire and the dam." 
 
 "Whatever may be the case in England it is not thus in our 
 country. Rarely, indeed, do American farmers attempt to 
 breed from such stock, although they may, perhaps, do so in 
 exceptional instances, where it is the mare that is diseased — 
 not once in a thousand times, however, from an unsound 
 horse ; and even were this end sought, it is our opinipn that 
 few American horses, of either sex, would breed when dis- 
 eased to such an extent as to transmit their maladies to their 
 offspring. 
 
 Nor do we*believe that hereditary disease is of nearly so 
 frequent occurrence in England as the books would persuade 
 us. The disorders called such are, for the most part, such as 
 the low, damp, dark stables of their great cities, in which 
 they are often built under ground, would naturally give rise 
 to; and here, in all probability, Is one great source of mis- 
 chief in the large majority of cases. Then the mistreatment 
 of the mare while, with foal, together with the unkind and 
 irrational neglect of the colt after weaning, is a prolific cause 
 of those ailments and infirmities to which the first years of 
 the horse's life are subject, and many of which cling to him 
 until the day of his death. Few foals make their advent 
 into the world otherwise thati in at least a tolerably sound 
 condition, unless abuse of the mare during gestation has be- 
 gotten some innate weakness or other, when neglect, expos- 
 ure and abuse will rapidly do the rest in dev^eloping disease 
 in the young animal. 
 
 Even the hereditary character of certain disorders in the 
 human being is, perhaps, less firmly established than is com- 
 monly asserted; but, however this may be, the so-called 
 law has so many exceptions when attempted to be applied 
 to the horse, that one can hardly help pronouncing it in- 
 operative, in his case. Some of the finest colts we ever knew 
 
452 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 have been raised by feeble mares, although such can scarcely 
 be considered the rule. 
 
 Highly as we esteem many of the authorities that upon 
 this point are against us, still we are -compelled to dissent 
 from the sweeping assertions that most of them put forth in 
 regard to the dangers of transmitting disease from one gen- 
 eration of the horse to another. Our concern for the future 
 of his race in America is, we confess, by no means an anx- 
 ious one, so far as this subject bears upon it. 
 
 CROSSING. 
 
 A judicious and restricted system of crossing may be of 
 great advantage to our future stock of horses; but a promis- 
 cuous, unguarded one will prove its ruin. The practice of 
 breeding in-and-in, using the term in its most restricted sense, 
 has been proven, by the past history of the horse, to be detri- 
 mental to such an extent as to prove absolutely ruinous. 
 What we mean, in this connection, by breeding in-and-in, is 
 to continue breeding together members of the same family — 
 blood relations, in fact. There may be many families of the 
 same race, and still no known blood connection exist between 
 them. Our strictures must not be understood to mean that 
 Andalusian may not be bred with Andalusian, Arabian with 
 Arabian, or the pony with the pony; but they do mean to 
 condemn, most emphatically, the practice of breeding within 
 the limits of near relationship — ;such as mother and 8©n, 
 brother and sister, and the like. Where such relationships 
 are known to exist, the intelligent breeder will carefully 
 avoid permitting any connection. 
 
 Any race of horses may be perpetuated in its purity, and 
 even improved, by bringing together remote families of that 
 race, and then practicing a judicious system of crossing among 
 them. These are the means by which the Arabs of the des- 
 ert maintain the wonderful superiority of their steeds ; and 
 the instincts of Nature have performed a similar service for 
 the wild horse of the plains, which is of Spanish origin, and 
 for the ponies of the Indians. We must enter our protest 
 
BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC. 453 
 
 against the crossing of races very dissimilar in forn., size, and 
 habits. The Indian pony may be bred to the finest horse in 
 the country, even the imported Arabian, and the colt will be 
 but a scrub, having few or none of the good qualities of 
 either sire or dam. All subsequent combinations of the same 
 sort will sink below the standard of even the first cross. 
 
 The art of successful crossing consists, mainly, in bringing 
 together distinct families of the same race, but of some- 
 what contrasted forms and sizes. The mare elevates or de- 
 presses the race above or below the standard of the horse 
 according as her qualities are superior to his or the reverse. 
 The nearer the mare is to the horse in all essentiaPqualities, 
 the nearer will be the colt. If she is superior to the horse, 
 she will generally produce offspring of the same relative char- 
 acter, though more or less inferior to herself. On the other 
 hand, if the horse be the superior animal, the foal will be 
 also, iDut not so good as his sire. 
 
 This is the general rule, which only holds good, however, 
 when the horse breeds his own stock and qualities. Some- 
 times he breeds back to several generations previous, and 
 this may occur when the older stock is either better or worse 
 than himself. Where the mingled qualities of several races 
 exist in the horse, one of them often greatly predominates in 
 the foal. There can be no certainty in breeding from a horse 
 of this character, unless some particular blood is known to 
 predominate in his case to begin with. In regard to the 
 mare, we may judge with more accuracy; her size, form, 
 plight, etc., will indicate pretty clearly the kind of a colt we 
 are going to obtain. 
 
 The law of compensation, so much dwelt upon by many 
 Writers, we regard as of but doubtful, or, at least, partial, 
 application in respect to the horse. It is from this rule, so- 
 called, that the practice is derived of meeting the deficient 
 parts or qualities of either parent by superior excellence in 
 the same points in the other. For instance, if the mare be 
 faulty as to breadth of chest, the horse, it is said, should be 
 particularly well-developed in that regard; if the horse be 
 
454 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 coarse-limbed, the mare should be clean of limb aud supple 
 jointed; and so with other points in the structure of either. 
 'No doubt this notion is correct to some extent, but the 
 limits of those conditions within which it may be acted upon 
 with definite certainty as to results are exceedingly circum- 
 scribed. ]^o seriously defective mare will bring a fine colt, 
 let the excellence of the horse be what it may. It is only 
 the fine mare, of superior size, mold, and condition, that can 
 be expected to bring a first-class colt. Such mares, and no 
 others, should be selected for the purpose of raising colts ;• 
 and if any others are permitted to breed at all, they should 
 be put t^ the jack, in which case they may do pretty well in 
 keeping up the stock-raiser's supply of mule colts. 
 
 CASTRATING. 
 
 In relation to the age of the colt at which this operation 
 should be performed there is a great diversity of opinion, 
 even among experienced horsemen. The limits range all 
 the way between the age of four months and two years, both 
 which extremes, as well as all intermediate periods, have 
 been advised in different cases. These differences are ar- 
 ranged with reference to certain physical developments of 
 the colt, which are deemed essential to qualify him for the 
 duties to which he is to be assigned at maturity. Thus, some 
 writers tell us that the colt designed for the carriage or 
 heavy draught should not be cut until he is two or three 
 times older than his companion that is destined to the com- 
 mon purposes of the farm. 
 
 Our own opinion is that castration should always be per- 
 formed very early ; in fact, that it should very rarely be de- 
 ferred to even the age of four months, the minimum limit as 
 now usually established. We are satisfied that, in the case 
 of pigs, lambs, and calves, at least, this operation can hardly 
 be attended to too early, and analogy would seem to indicate 
 the propriety of the same course with the colt. With the 
 beginning of the latter's second year, his pubescence is at- 
 tained. Often before the close of the first year his actions 
 
BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC. 455 
 
 manifest the effects of the growth of the genital organs, and 
 the longer their removal is deferred the greater becomes the 
 danger. 
 
 During the months of suckling, these parts, as well as the 
 arteries that supply them with blood, are quite diminutive, 
 the vessels will bleed but little when severed, and the sensi- 
 bility to pain will be comparatively small. At this period, 
 then, castration will not cause much suffering ; it will be at- 
 tended with but little loss of blood, and no clamps or searing 
 will be needed. The application of a little fine salt and tur- 
 pentine will remedy the evil effects of the operation ; and 
 any one that is competent to undertake the castration of a 
 lamb or pig can be safely trusted to geld the young colt. 
 At this age, too, the latter can be handled with perfect ease, 
 and without running those risks of injuring him that ac- 
 company the act of throwing the larger animal, preparatory 
 to castration. 
 
 Those who oppose the practice of cutting so early base 
 their objections chiefly upon the statements that the colts 
 gelded so young do not make as well-developed and fine, 
 spirited horses as if they were allowed to remain entire some 
 time longer. But if the objector is asked to specify to what 
 extent his own experience and observation as a stock-raiser 
 corroborate these views, he is generally at a loss for any sat- 
 isfactory answer. He will tell you that such is the prevail- 
 ing opinion among most of his acquaintances ; but they derive 
 their belief from the opinions of others still; and so it runs 
 back like a confused tradition, having its origin no one 
 knows where. So far as the question of spirit is concerned, 
 the entire horse shows no great excess of that quality save 
 as he is prompted by his amorous propensities. When brought 
 down to ordinary work, or used under the saddle, an old 
 stallion is one of the most stupid, spiritless creatures in the 
 world. 
 
 Another objection sometimes urged against the course we 
 have recommended is the difficulty of selecting from the very 
 young colts those which it would be best to retain for stall- 
 
456 AMERICAN FARMER'S ITORSE BOOK 
 
 ions. Many persons seem to think that this is a question which 
 can not be decided until the colts are so well grown that 
 their size and form are fully determined, whereas it is one 
 that ought, in great measure, at least, to have been settled 
 before the foal was born, by such considerations as the blood 
 and qualities of the parents of each. 
 
 The teachings of our own observation, though it is some- 
 what limited, are decidedly in favor of very early castration. 
 We can recall a number of cases in which it formed no draw- 
 back to a perfect physical development and the possession of 
 a rare combination of excellence in the mature horse. In 
 these views we are sustained by the opinions of many most 
 judicious and highly-successful breeders, with whom we have 
 discussed the Subject. English veterinarians seem more and 
 more inclined to favor the same practice, some of them ex- 
 pressing the opinion quite emphatically that in no case should 
 castration be deferred beyond the weaning-time of the colt, 
 as the mother's milk acts as a great preventive of inflamma- 
 tion and fever. 
 
 Much perplexity and some trouble is often encountered 
 by inexperienced operators in castrating young colts, from 
 the difficulty of finding the testicle, which has not yet de- 
 scended into the scrotum from within the abdomen, where 
 its place is during the foetal life, and for some time after- 
 ward. In some colts they always remain there, but usually 
 drop down into the scrotum between the ages of one and 
 two years. ITo embarrassment need be caused hy not finding 
 the testicle just where it was expected to be. Let the operator 
 find the orifice just in front, through the lining of the belly, 
 and trace back the clue thus obtained to the testicle itself, 
 as he can readily do. This orifice is already sufficiently large 
 to allow of his bringing down the testicle, which is about two 
 inches within the orifice, either with the two fore-fingers or 
 by using an iron spoon, bent forward near the handle and 
 wrapped around with cloth. After the precise location of 
 the testicle has been discovered, this instrument will readily 
 scoop it out. 
 
BREEDING, STOCK-RAlSINa, ETC. 457 
 
 Castration is not only more difficult but is also more dan- 
 gerous as the colt grows older, and especially after the tes- 
 ticles, having descended into the scrotum, have attained a 
 considerable size. The weight of the bowels, combined with 
 the struggles of the animal, and his springing about after- 
 ward, is often sufficient to produce hernia^ or rupture, thus 
 ruining him forever, if not putting an end to his life at once. 
 The dangers of hemorrhage and inflammation are also greatly 
 increased. 
 
 The latter part of April or the beginning of May, when 
 there is plenty of fresh young grass to be had, is the best 
 time for attending to this matter. Fall colts should remain 
 till the early part of October, or until the hot season is past. 
 If there is any danger of the fly, a little turpentine may be 
 mixed with fine salt and applied to the wound, which will 
 efiectually deliver him from those torments, and cau«e no 
 great amount of suflering. It will also tend to heal the parts 
 rather than otherwise. If cold rains come on while the colt is 
 still sore, both he and the dam should be comfortably stabled. 
 
 In all parts of the country there are persons who follow 
 this business,' and whose services may readily be procured 
 if the farmer desires them. This will be the best and safest 
 course when the operation has been deferred until late. 
 
 The operation hy torsion, as it is called, introduced into 
 England rather more than one-third .of a century ago, prob- 
 ably forms the mode of castration preferable to any other, 
 especially if the colt has attained many months' growth. It 
 is thus described by Youatt : 
 
 "An incision is made into the scrotum as in the other 
 modes of operation, and the vas deferens is exposed and di- 
 vided. The artery is then seized by a pair of forceps con- 
 trived for the purpose, and twisted six or seven times round. 
 It retracts as soon as the hold on it is quitted, the coils are 
 not untwisted, and all bleeding has ceased. The testicle is 
 removed, and there is no sloughing or danger. The most 
 painful part of the operation — the application of the firing- 
 iron or the clams — is avoided, and the wound readily heals." 
 
458 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE !B00K:. 
 
 The practice of twitching, resorted to by some as a means 
 of shirking a disagreeable job, is an outrage and barbarity. 
 It consists in tying a small cord around the bag, so as to de- 
 stroy the circulation, tightening it, if necessary, and letting it 
 remain thus until the scrotum, with all its contents, drops 
 off. !N'ot only are the sufferings occasioned by this disgrace- 
 ful and slovenly method extremely severe, but inflammation 
 and death often ensue. 
 
 THE MULE. jk 
 
 The business of raising mules has become an extensive 
 and important interest in our country. In Kentucky and 
 
 Tennessee immense numbers 
 are reared every year for 
 the Southern market. They 
 have been found much better 
 suited to the requirements of 
 the cotton plantations than 
 horses. They work freer and 
 with less trouble, are more 
 hardy, stand the climate bet- 
 ter, ^nd are not so easily af- 
 fected by the neglect and cruelty of the negroes and others 
 
BREEDING, STOCK-RAISINa, ETC. 459 
 
 who use them. On the score of economy, also, they deserve 
 all the favor that has been awarded them in those sections, 
 and vastly more than they commonly receive at the North. 
 , The mule does not eat more than from one-half to three- 
 fifths as much as the horse, which, when feed is high, is an 
 item of importance. 
 
 Though not wholly exempt from disease, the mule is in- 
 comparably a healthier animal than the horse, particularly 
 on the Southern plantations, where most of the latter race 
 were originally brought from other latitudes. As to his ca- 
 pabilities for service, not only is he the equivalent of horse- 
 power, but he will last more than double the number of 
 years that his more pretentious congener will. The aver- 
 age period of service of the horse is about ten years, begin- 
 ning at the age of three, and, although some -horses last 
 considerably longer than this, there are quite as many that 
 fail before completing their thirteenth year. The average 
 period of service of th6 mule is nearly, or quite, twenty-five 
 years. He sometimes begins to fail at twenty years old, and 
 in other cases remains as good as ever until nearly thirty. 
 Few of his race are worth much after that age. One mule, 
 then, in his lifetime, will ordinarily do the work of more 
 than two horses, at an expense each year of from thirty-five 
 to fifty per cent, less in keeping. 
 
 Another important consideration is, that the mule thrives 
 best on dry feed and grain unground. How far otherwise 
 it is with the horse our reiterations have already acquainted 
 the reader in the preceding chapters. The horse's feed should 
 be all chopped or ground ; his diet should be light and moist ; 
 and corn is unquestionably injurious to him, especially when 
 he has to bite it from the cob. Just the reverse of all this 
 suits the mule best. Corn, which is his favorite food, never 
 appears to have any ill-eflects upon his system, and nothing 
 is better adapted to his needs than dry hay, if it be good 
 and sweet. This is an item of some consequence when the 
 saving of the miller's toll — never less than one-eighth — and 
 the time and labor of going to mill are all reckoned up. It 
 
460 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 will make the aggregate difference between the, horse's keep- 
 ing and that of the mule hardly ever less than one-half. 
 
 The cost of wintering a mule in 1860 was computed to be 
 ten dollars less than that of a horse. In 1866 this must cer- 
 tainly be increased to not less than fifteen dollars. In the 
 former year there were about half a million of mules in the 
 United States, whose employment, instead of horses, thus 
 formed an aggregate saving to the country of five millions 
 of dollars in the cost of wintering alone. This greatly su- 
 perior economy attending the use of the mule, taken in con- 
 nection with his readiness to labor, his comparative freedom 
 from disease, and his double longevity, makes the calcula- 
 tion largely in his favor as a trusty and valuable servant. 
 
 There is also more certainty in breeding mules than horses. 
 The mare is more likely to become with foal by a jack than 
 by a horse, and the same proportion of 
 accidents do not occur in her foaling. 
 Every breeder knows how much less 
 trouble it is to raise a mule colt than a 
 horse. Another consideration of some 
 weight is, that almost any scrub of a 
 mare will bring nearly as good a mule 
 colt as will one with the very best blood. The offspring 
 may be small and compact, but he is none the less valuable 
 on that account; and, in fact, some reasons really make him 
 more desirable than many a larger animal — especially his 
 greater hardiness and less expensiveness in keeping, from 
 the fact that he eats so much less. 
 
 A mare that has once brought a mule colt, should never 
 afterward breed to the horse, as her progeny in the latter 
 case will be noticeably inferior. By precisely what physiolo- 
 gical laws this matter is governed can not be easily ex- 
 plained, but the fact is indisputable. Fine blooded mares, of 
 superior size and form, should always be bred to the horse, 
 and all others that are bred from at all should be reserved 
 for the purposes of mule-raising. 
 
 Not only is the mule much better adapted than the horse 
 
BREEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC. 461 
 
 to the performance of the ordinary labors of the farm, but 
 he does better in heavily-loaded wagons upon the road, and 
 is especially preferable for the movement of machinery. Here 
 his superior powers of endurance give him such an advantage, 
 that in these services he will often last nearly as many years 
 as the horse will months. 
 
 One idea that used to be quite prevalent,' and is still enter- 
 tained by some, in regard to the 'mule, is very erroneous, and 
 that is that he is never diseased. But that he is much less 
 liable to disease than the horse is undeniably true, and a fact 
 to which we are fully prepared to add our corroborative tes- 
 timony, from a long experience with both. Yet we have 
 known the mule to be afflicted with a large majority of the 
 ailments to which horse-flesh is heir, and have had occasion 
 to treat him for them. AVhen the ravages of big head were 
 at their highest in Western Tennessee and Northern Missis- 
 sippi, during the years from 1848 to 1850, inclusive, thou- 
 sands of mules in that region were numbered among its 
 victims, and many similar cases occurred in other sections of 
 the Southern States. We have repeatedly seen them suffer- 
 ing from spavin, ring-bone, narrow heel, founder, fistula, 
 colic; diseases of the lungs, of the skin, of the glands of 
 the throat, of the urinary organs, etc. Perhaps they are not 
 much less subject than the horse to certain constitutional 
 diseases, such as distemper, farcy, and glanders. But even 
 here one striking advantage remains with the mule — disease 
 yields much more readily to treatment than when it attacks 
 the horse. 
 
 A very unjust prejudice against the mule exists in the 
 minds of many,^having its origin in the incorrect notion that 
 the mingling of the blood of the horse and ass is prohibited 
 in the Bible, in support of which view they quote the in- 
 junction to the Jews, " Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender 
 with a diverse kind." This precept is but a written inter- 
 pretation of one of I^ature's fundamental laws, yet it is by 
 no means clear that these two animals are of types so dis- 
 similar as to come within its limitation. The gendering of 
 
462 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 totally diverse kinds, wherever attempted, has either heen 
 wholly unproductive or has resulted in some monstrosity for 
 a progeny. Such is not the case with the mule, though 
 himself incapable of breeding,, and this circumstance alone 
 is a great argument in favor of his legitimacy in the animal 
 creation. Judged by the test of usefulness and adaptability, 
 the mule may claim a high rank among the domestic animals. 
 
 That the Divine interdiction was not construed by the 
 Jews in this restricted sense appears plainly from several 
 references to the mule throughout the historical books of 
 the Old Testament. For instance, when David, in the zenith 
 of his power and glory, as king of Israel, commanded cer- 
 tain of his attendants to " take with you the servants of 
 your Lord, and cause Solomon, my son, to ride upon mine 
 own mule, and bring him down to Gihon," it is evident that 
 he intended a compliment and honor to the\royal heir. And 
 Solomon, in the height of his almost unexampled prosperity 
 and glory, received "horses and mules" as tribute, among 
 such costly articles as " vessels of silver, vessels of gold, gar- 
 ments, spices," etc. It seems little likely that the inspired 
 record would have such facts to recount had the ancient 
 people of God understood that the very existence of the 
 mule was due to the violation of an express command of the 
 Divine law-giver. 
 
 It is none of our business to enter upon a thorough dis- 
 cussion of what was really intended by this prohibition. Our 
 object is simply to exonerate and defend the much-abused 
 and ui^ustly-despised mule, and to relieve the minds of the 
 scrupulously conscientious of the fear that in breeding that 
 useful servitor of man they are coming in cpuflict with the 
 revealed will of the Creator. To our mode of thinking there 
 can be no valid objection to breeding together the mare and 
 jack, if it suits the interest and convenience of the farmer 
 to do so. 
 
 STOCK FARMS. 
 
 Under this head we wish to embody a few general but 
 highly-important directions in regard to the management 
 
463 
 
 of those farms devoted principally, or partially, to the rear- 
 ing of stock, so far as this subject relates to the horse and 
 mule. 
 
 It is a great fault on many farms of this character that 
 there are no suitable buildings, or at least no sufficiency of 
 them, for the shelter of stock, and especially of the young 
 and growing colts. Such negligence is a great mistake, and 
 one for which the farmer has to pay dearly in a pecuniary 
 sense. It is almost as needful that his stock should be af- 
 forded proper shelter from the storm and cold as that the 
 hay and grain they eat should be well secured. The subject 
 of stabling was considered in the last chapter at sufficient 
 length for all the purposes necessary in this volume. 
 
 But, in addition to dry and commodious stables for winter 
 use, shelter should be provided sufficiently large 4;o accom- 
 modate all the young horses and mules during the cold rains 
 and storms of the spring and fall season ; and these should 
 be either in the pasture itself or accessible from it. The 
 size of the shelter should be proportioned, of course, to the 
 number of animals to be accommodated. A shelter of 
 twenty feet square will be large enough for twenty colts, 
 if there be a partition run down the middle, as there al- 
 ways should be. On each side of this ten can stand very 
 comfortably. The construction of such a shelter is very 
 simple, and need not be expensive. All that is required, in 
 addition to a roof, set on posts eight feet high, and resting 
 on large flat stones to keep them from the ground, will be 
 an inclosure of the north and west sides with boards. A 
 cheap substitute for the latter, and one that will last for sev- 
 eral months, is a compact wall of good wheat or rye straw, 
 straight and strong, bound up in long, continuous sheaves or 
 layers, set perpendicularly, and secured within two or three 
 boards placed horizontally and fastened to the posts. The 
 division through the center should consist of a rack to hold 
 hay or straw, and when the grass begins to fail late in the fall, 
 or before it has grown much in early spring, a supply of these 
 articles of fodder should be kept in it, so that the colts may 
 
464 AMEKICAN FAEMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 be fed here as well as sheltered. Troughs should be arranged 
 under the racks, to put other feed in when the colts may re- 
 quire it. 
 
 It will here be proper again to call the attention of the 
 practical stock-raiser to the diseased condition that so often 
 characterizes the colt's mouth, as a consequence of teething. 
 Perhaps the best place to give the young animal the rem- 
 edies that will correct this state will be right here in these 
 feeding-troughs. The shabby plight of many a colt proceeds 
 from indigestion, caused and kept up by the soreness and in- 
 flammation of the mouth and gums. Good wood ashes, with 
 plenty of salt, kept constantly in the feeding-troughs, will 
 have the happiest eftect in abating the evils referred to, and 
 in mitigating the sufferings of colthood. Sulphur, also, may 
 be used in the same way with very marked benefit. Kot only 
 is it worth a thousand times its cost, as a preventive of dis- 
 ease, but it will effectually destroy and keep away vermin of 
 every description. 
 
 On many farms there exists a great lack of shade-trees, 
 not a few pastures being totally destitute of them, and this 
 is another most weighty reason for the erection of such 
 shelters as we have described. It is absolutely essential to 
 the comfort and well-being of stock, especially of the colts, 
 that they have some cool retreat under which to retire from 
 the burning rays of our midsummer and dog-day suns ; and 
 where there are no trees to afford a natural shade, an arti- 
 ficial substitute for them becomes a necessary appendage 
 upon every well-regulated stock farm. 
 
 Shade-trees are the beauty and blessing of the pasture, 
 and there will be a very perceptible difierence in the fall 
 between the appearance of a colt that runs in a well-shaded 
 pasture and that of another which has no shelter from the 
 noon-day heats. The young animal can not be continually 
 exposed to the down-pouring of the sun's fierce rays, through 
 the hottest months of the year, without suffering plainly 
 from debility and depression. One of the first things to be 
 done in a new pasture, if shade is unfortunately lacking in 
 
BREEDING, STOCK-RAISINa, ETC. 465 
 
 it, is to take measures at once to supply the deficiency. Trees 
 should be set out in different parts of the field, reference be- 
 ing had to convenience of location, character of the soil, and 
 other circumstances that the intelligent farmer will not be 
 likely to overlook. The preferable tree for the pasture is- the 
 black locust. It will grow very thrifty on even a poor, rocky 
 point ^' it bears a large sweet blossom, which, as well as the 
 leaves^is very healthful for stock; and the grass that comes 
 under it will be of more luxuriant growth, and prove more 
 palatable than the pasturing under any other tree. On some 
 rich flat the sugar-maple may be planted ; and beside the 
 creek or branch, if there be one, the willow, slip may be set 
 out and will grow with surprising rapidity. The locust also 
 grows rapidly, and all these trees make a fine shade and are 
 valuable for wood, rails, and timber. For making rails and 
 fence-posts, the locust is almost unequaled. Locust rails 
 will last a century. 
 
 Shrubbery is a desirable feature in any pasture, and there 
 are special reasons why even the briars may profitably be 
 retained on poor, thin, or stony knobs, and along the gullies 
 and ravines. The blackberry bush will enrich a poor soil 
 almost as fast as any other known appliance, while the roots 
 will effectually prevent any washing away during heavy 
 rains. It is excellent, also, as a preventive of disease in some 
 cases, as well as a remedy. Instinct teaches the h^rse, and 
 other animals, ma^y facts that concern his health and pros- 
 perity, and thus the leaves of several trees and weeds, and 
 even those of the bramble-bush become the medication to 
 which ligature bids them resort. The principal value of the 
 blackberry in the pastures arises from its astringent qual- 
 ities, which make it of the greatest service in relieving the 
 "scours" that is so common among young colts in the early 
 spring, and which keep many of them thin and poor for . 
 nearly the whole season. This trouble generally disappears 
 when patches of briars can be got at, since both horses and 
 cattle eat of the leaves freely. Of course the briars should 
 not be permitted to overspread the whole field, or to occupy 
 30 
 
466 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 the choice parts, but only such locations as we have specified. 
 When we consider that they bear a most delicious fruit for 
 table use, it seems still more unwise to destroy them al- 
 together. 
 
 Small fields are better than large ones, in the division of 
 the pasture lands upon the farm. Frequent changes from 
 one field to another will be beneficial to the stock, and like- 
 wise to the pastures. " A change of pasture makes fat 
 calves." The saying is old and trite, but it states a truth, 
 nevertheless, and applies equally to the colt. By this course, 
 too, the field will afibrd considerably more grazing, taking 
 the season throughout. 
 
 If it can be so arranged, colts of different ages should be 
 kept in separate fields ; or, rather, the older horses, unless it 
 be some old mother mares, should not be allowed to run 
 with the colts. If any of the latter do not thrive well, but 
 remain in bad plight, let the farmer separate them from the 
 rest and try to learn what the matter is, and then set to work 
 to remedy the evil. When a number of colts are running to- 
 gether, the weaker and smaller ones are sometimes greatly 
 abused by those that are larger and stronger. This should 
 be seen to in all cases, and such arrangements made as will 
 insure the feebler stock a fair chance. 
 
 The question of water is a very important one. Dead 
 ponds and mud-holes are not what is needed on a stock farm. 
 They are hardly any better suited to the horse's uses than 
 they are to those of the human being, and many colts are 
 enfeebled and often diseased by having only such water af- 
 forded them to drink. Fortunate, indeed, is that farmer 
 who has a spring or a running stream within his pasture. 
 In the absence of such a blessing to his stock a good well 
 is the next resource, and should be immediately sunk and 
 fitted up with a good chain-pump, and a large trough to l\old 
 the water. Artificial ponds deserve universal condemnation ; 
 they are cess-pools of filth and disease. It is much easier, 
 we know, to let btock run to the mud-hole, and help them- 
 selves to such dirty water as they can find there, than it is 
 
BKEEDING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC. 467 
 
 to pump from the well, once or twice a day, the supply of 
 drink that they need ; but it will not pay to save labor in 
 any such manner as this. Any running water, or the pools 
 in the hed of a rocky-bottomed creek, will do for stock. If 
 it can be avoided, no water should be given the horse, ex- 
 cept such as we are willing to use ourselves. Upon this 
 point most farmers are very heedless generally, perhaps, be- 
 cause they do not know to what extent their inattention or 
 indolence may injure the horse. 
 
468 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 MARKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 
 
 The appearance and shape of the teeth constitute what is 
 most generally relied upon as a means of determining the 
 age of a horse ; and, in connection with other circumstances, 
 concerning which the experienced horseman will always as- 
 
 THE MOUTH OF A THEEK-YEAR OLD. 
 
 B, Anterior maxillary bone. 
 
 1 1, Central permanent nippers, nearly full-grown. 
 
 2 2, Milk teeth, worn down. 
 
 3 3, Corner milk teeth, still showing central mark, or kerneL 
 
 4 4, Tushes concealed within the jaw. 
 
MAKKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 
 
 469 
 
 certain full particulars, if it be possible to do so, they leally 
 form a quite accurate mark of age, until the animal is some- 
 what past his prime. The anatomy and names of the three 
 kinds of teeth found in the horse's mouth have been given as 
 fully as the practical farmer and breeder will care about Know- 
 ing, in Chapters II and X. All that now remains to be done 
 
 MOUTH OF THE COLT AT POCR AND A HALF YEARS. 
 
 A, Anterior maxillary bone. 
 
 1 1, Central nippers, considerably worn down. 
 
 2 2, The next pair, fully developed, with their edges slightly worn. . 
 
 3 3, Corner permanent nippers, in a state of growth, with the edges of the 
 
 cavity sharp, and the mark very plain. 
 
 4 4, The tushes showing themselves through the gums, but not full-grown. 
 
 is to point out the peculiarities which generally characterize 
 the teeth at different periods of the horse's life, and by which 
 bis age may be determined with considerable exactness. 
 
470 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 At birth, or within two or three days afterward, the moutli 
 of the foal shows two grinders on each side, above and below — 
 eight altogether — and this is all. When four front teeth, or 
 nippers, have fairly come through, two in each jaw, he is ten 
 
 UPPER NIPPEB8 AND TUSHES AT FIVE YEABS OLD. 
 
 1 1, Central nippers, with mark still unobliterated. 
 
 2 2, Next nippers, with mark still plainer. 
 
 3 3, Corner nippers, with the edges very slightly worn. 
 
 4 4, Tushes, well-developed, and still plainly showing the groove on the out- 
 
 side. 
 
 or twelve days old; and when the next four appear, one 
 upon each side of the others in both jaws, he is nearing the 
 close of his first month. The protrusion of the corner teeth — 
 that is, the third pair of nippers in each jaw — indicates an 
 
MARKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 
 
 471 
 
 age of about eight months. At one year old, the central and 
 the second pairs of nippers are worn nearly level, and the 
 corner tooth, which is now of the same length as its neigh- 
 bors, is rapidly becoming so. 
 
 The two-year old colt has the mark, or kernel — the dark, 
 hard substance in the middle of the crown of the tooth — 
 ground quite out of all the front teeth, or nippers. So far 
 
 LOWER NIPPEBS AND TUSHES OP A FIYE-YEAB OLD HORSE. 
 
 1 1, Central nippers, with their marks almost entirely worn out. 
 
 2 2, Next nippers, showing marks partially worn. 
 
 3 3, Corner nippers, with the marks plainly seen, but the edges giving evi- 
 
 dence of wear. 
 
 4 4, Tushes, with the groove inside aln\ost obliterated. 
 
 the young animal has got along very well with his milk teeth, 
 but now he begins to need others, not merely larger, but also 
 of a firmer, more durable composition and setting ; and this 
 necessity Nature meets by commencing the replacement of 
 the first set by the 'permanent teeth. This operation begins 
 
472 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 with the first grinder — the forward one; but as the grinders 
 are all of them too far back in the mouth to be easily in- 
 spected, we must continue to depend mainly upon what we 
 can discover in connection with the nippers. 
 
 During the third year the central nippers are being shed — 
 or shifted, as it is often called — and by the time it is com- 
 
 LOWER NIPPBBS AND TUSHES OF A SIX-YEAR OLD HORSE. 
 
 B, The lower jaw. 
 
 1 1, The central nippers, with the marks worn out. 
 
 2 2, The next nippers, with the marks disappearing. 
 
 3 3, The corner nippers, showing the mark plainly enough, but with the 
 
 edges of the cavity considerably worn. 
 
 4 4, The tushes, standing up three-quarters of an inch, with their points only 
 
 slightly blunted. 
 
 pleted, the permanent pair have become nearly full-grown. 
 (See cut of the mouth of a three-year old.) In the fourth 
 year, the same changes occur in the second pair of nippers ; 
 
MARKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 
 
 473 
 
 and about the time oj entering upon the fifth year, the tushes, 
 
 or bridle teeth, are generally in plain sight. 
 
 \ At the age of five years, the mouth is complete in the 
 
 dumber of its teeth, and is now said to be " a full mouth." 
 
 six years, the central nippers of the lower jaw are so 
 
 UPPER NIPPERS IN T^eIGHT-TEAR OLD HORSE. 
 
 A, Anterior maxillary bone. 
 
 1 1, Central nippers, worn to a plane ^face, or nearly so. 
 
 2 2, Next pair, still showing some remny of the cavity. 
 
 3 3, Corner nippers, showing the mark plV^iy enough. 
 
 4 4, Tushes, worn down more than in the \o\j. jaw of the six-year old mouth. 
 
 much worn down that the kernel \^ obliterated, and the 
 tushes have attained their full growth\ 
 
 At seven years, a hook has been form6(^on the corner teeth 
 of the upper jaw, the kernel of the seconVpair of nippers in 
 the lower jaw is no longer visible, and t^e tushes plainly 
 
 # 
 
474 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 show the effects of wear. At eight y^rs, the kernel is worn 
 away from all the nippers of the lower .jaw, and is becoming 
 much less conspicuous in the central pair of the upper jaw, 
 or in the wholly stable-fed horse has disappeared altogether. 
 During the ninth year, what remains of the kernel, if aay 
 thing, in the central pair of nippers in the upper jaw, is ^rn 
 
 LOWER NIPPKES, ETC. ^^ ^ VERY OLD HORSE. 
 
 away, the hook on the cori^r teeth increases in size, and the 
 tushes lose their points. ^^^ tenth year witnesses the dis- 
 appearance of the kernf ^^om the second pair of nippers in 
 the upper jaw, and th eleventh from the corner teeth also. 
 At twelve years old *^® crowns of all the front teeth in the 
 lower jaw have bee^^^ triangular, and the tushes are much 
 worn down. 
 
 As the horse ^^ntinues to grow older, the gums, in conse- 
 quence of a grM^al process of absorption, shrink away from 
 
MlRKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 4J^ 
 
 the teeth, which from this circumstance acquire a long, nar- 
 row shape. The engraving on the preceding page is a faith- 
 ful copy from nature of the lower nippers and left tush in a 
 very old horse. It will be perceived that the right tush has 
 fallen out. 
 
 After the horse is eight years old, his age can not be told 
 with any thing more than simply an approximation to ac- 
 curacy, although an experienced horseman will not very often 
 err during the next four years. After the age of twelve, we 
 know of no reliable guide further than this, that very long, 
 smooth teeth indicate extreme old age. A few horses ex- 
 hibit only slight changes in the appearance of their teeth 
 after attaining their ninth year. We have met with several 
 that, at the ages of twelve or fifteen, had the marks of only 
 eight or nine, and quite a number whose corner teeth never 
 had any hooks. 
 
 The appearance of the teeth will be considerably modified 
 by the kind of food which the horse eats, the soil and climate 
 of the country in which he lives, and the like circumstances. 
 Horses that run a great deal upon pasture, in sandy countries, 
 have their teeth worn smooth unusually early. The sand, 
 lodging upon the grass, is being continually ground between 
 the animal's teeth, and by this means the distinctive marks 
 of age, relied upon by horse dealers and jockeys, are often 
 brought on prematurely, so far as the teeth are concerned. 
 Judged solely by this indication, many a horse of five or six 
 would pass for ten. 
 
 Along the Mississippi River, and many of its tributaries, 
 hundreds of horses and colts live nearly the whole year upon 
 the cane growing in the river and creek bottoms, and in their 
 case the nippers generally become broken ofl:* in such a man- 
 ner that no reliable marks of age remain. Like those horses 
 mentioned in the last paragraph, that live mainly by gracing 
 on sandy soils, they seldom have any hooks upon the corner 
 teeth. 
 
 In some breeds the marks of the teeth vary materially from 
 those which are found in most horses. The pony, for ex- 
 
 
476 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 ample, seldom has any hooks on the coiner teeth, nor do his 
 incisors wear off and change with the usual rapidity. In 
 his case, too, the shrinking away of the gums, by age, is so 
 much less as oftentimes to be hardly perceptible. As his 
 life is much beyond the average of horse-flesh, so his teeth 
 last longer in proportion. To some extent, these remarks 
 will apply also to horses of different mold and frame. Tall, 
 bony animals generally have much older-looking teeth than 
 those of small size and compact build. So have those horses 
 that are kept constantly in stable, than their fellows which 
 run most of the time on pasture. 
 
 Artificial marks are sometimes made in the lower nippers, 
 by a rascally class of jockeys, in order to deceive the pur- 
 chaser in regard to the animal's age. This swindling opera- 
 tion is of English origin, and is thus described by Youatt : 
 
 " It is called bishoping, from the name of the scoundrel who 
 invented it. The horse of eight or nme years old i% thrown, 
 and with an engraver's tool a hole is dug in the now almost 
 plain surface of the corner teeth, and in shape and depth re- 
 sembling the mark in a seven-years-old horse. The hole is 
 then burned with a heated iron, and a permanent black stain 
 is left. The next pair of nippers are sometimes lightly 
 touched. An ignorant man- would be very easily imposed 
 on by this trick; but the irregular appearance of the cavity — . 
 the diffusion of the black stain around the tushes, the 
 sharpened edges and concave inner surface of which can 
 never be given again — the marks on the upper nippers, to- 
 gether with the general conformation of the horse, can never 
 deceive the careful examiner." 
 
 In relation to the means of determining the age of a horse, 
 after passing into his ninth year, the same author has the 
 following remarks : 
 
 "The tushes are exposed to but little wear and tear. The 
 friction against them must be slight, proceeding only from 
 the passage of the food over them, and from the motion of 
 the tongue, or from the bit ; and their alteration of form, al- 
 though generally as we have described it, is frequently un- 
 
MARKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 477 
 
 certain. The tush will sometimes be blunt at eight; at other 
 times it will remain pointed at eighteen. The upper tush, 
 although the latest in appearing,. is soonest worn away. 
 
 "Are there any circumstances to guide our judgment after 
 this? There are those which will prepare us to guess at the 
 age of the horse, or to approach within a few years of it, until 
 he becomes very old ; but there are none which will enable 
 us accurately to determine the question, and the indica- 
 tions of age must now be taken from the shape of the upper 
 surface of the nippers. At eight, they are all oval, the 
 length of the oval running across from tooth to tooth ; but 
 as the horse gets older, the teeth diminish in size, and this 
 commencing in their width, and not in their thickness. They 
 become a little apart from each other, and their surfaces are 
 rounded. At nine, the center nippers are evidently so; at 
 ten, the others begin to have the oval shortened. At eleven, 
 the second pair of nippers are quite rounded; and at thir- 
 teen, the oorner ones .have that appearance. At fourteen, 
 the faces of the central nippers become somewhat triangular. 
 At seventeen, they are all so. At nineteen, the angles begin 
 to wear oft*, and the central teeth are again oval, but in a re- 
 versed direction, viz., from outward, inw^ard ; and at twenty- 
 one they all wear this form. This is the opinion of some 
 Continental veterinary surgeons, and Mr. Percivall first pre- 
 sented them to us in an English dress. 
 
 " It would be folly to expect perfect accuracy at this ad- 
 vanced age of the horse, when we are bound to confess that 
 the rules which we hi^e laid down for determining this mat- 
 ter at an earlier period, although they are recognized by 
 horsemen generally, and referred to in courts of justice, will 
 not guide us in any case. Stabled horses have the mark 
 sooner worn out than those that are at grass ; and the crib- 
 biter mav deceive the best judge by one or two years. The 
 age of the horse, likewise, being formerly calculated from 
 the first of May, it was exceedingly difficult, or almost im- 
 possible, to determine whether the animal was a late foal of 
 one year, or an early one of the next. At nine or ten, the 
 
478 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 bars of the mouth becomes less prominent, and their regular 
 ,diminution will designate increasing age. At eleven or 
 twelve, the loWer nippers change their original upright di- 
 rection, and project forward or horizontally, and become of 
 a yellow color. They are yellow, because the teeth must 
 grow, in order to answer their wear and tear; but the 
 enamel which covered their surface when they were first pro- 
 duced, can not be repaired ; and that which wears this yellow 
 color in old age is the part which in youth was in the 
 socket, and, therefore, destitute of enamel." 
 
 •THE LIPS. 
 
 The lips do not afford a precise index of any particular 
 age ; but as the horse advances beyond eight or nine years, 
 the upper lip begins to contract or shorten, while the under 
 one commences to lengthen and drop down. The latter 
 often pods out much in the form of half a cocoanut-shell, 
 and increasingly so each year. At fifteen, the lips have gen- 
 erally become much wrinkled and shriveled, and as the horse 
 advances in age this indication becomes more and more 
 marked. 
 
 THE HAIR. 
 
 There are several appearances of the hair that betoken 
 age. Perhaps the most conspicuous of them consists in the 
 hair over the eyes, and upon the forehead, turning gray. 
 Thip color generally begins to show when the horse is be- 
 tween ten and twelve years old, and, continuing to grow 
 lighter, as well as to encroach gradually upon the adjacent 
 surfaces, at fifteen it has become a decided mark of age. 
 After the animal has passed his twelfth year, and between 
 that and the sixteenth, a gray horse becomes speckled with 
 innumerable little black spots, giving rise to the peculiar ap- 
 pearance commonly designated as flea-bitten. This singu- 
 larity is very seldom seen in a horse under twelve years of 
 age, frequently not until after he is fifteen. These dark 
 shades increase as long as he lives. 
 
 :ii 
 
MARKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 479 
 
 THE CHIN. 
 
 When the horse is about ten years old, the chin or lower 
 jaw-bone begins to be pointed, its lower edge becoming quite 
 sharp and angular. Like the other signs of old age, this 
 change of form increases from year to year. At the same 
 time, also, the skin over the jaw-bone becomes more loose ; 
 the flesh shrinks away, until, instead of the fullness and 
 roundness which was found at the age of five and six, there 
 now seems a hollow or depression, and the outer edges or 
 lower angles of the jaw-bone appears to bend out more 
 and more. 
 
 THE EYES. 
 
 The eyes give indications of old age, in their loss of brill- 
 iancy, the flattening of the ball, from the partial absorption 
 of some of the humors, and in the deepening of the hollow 
 over them. 
 
 Wrinkles commence coming on the under lid of the eye 
 at a very early age. By many these are considered a more 
 correct criterion of age than even the teeth, and nearly as 
 infallible as the wrinkles upon the horn of a cow. It is as- 
 serted by them that these wrinkles make their first appear- 
 ance at the age of three years, and- that all one needs to do, 
 to ascertain how many years old any horse is, is to count 
 these wrinkles and then add three to their aggregate number. 
 Of the correctness of this rule we have serious doubts; yet 
 it is certainly true that numerous wrinkles are a mark of 
 old age. 
 
 THE ABUSES OF THE HORSE. 
 
 A great many persons use the horse as if they really be- 
 lieved him to be made of iron. It is perfectly astonishing 
 what a Jack of mercy, and how much brutality, there is in 
 the world — ^how utterly devoid some persons seem to be of 
 the commonest instincts of humanity in their treatment of 
 the brute creation — how little regard is paid by thousands 
 to those lessons of the Divine Word that inculcate the beau- 
 tiful virtue of mercy. The injury which the horse sustains 
 
480 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 by maltreatment depreciates his value, in many cases, fully 
 one-third in the present generation, and is the cause of untold 
 evils in the next. Here lies one great obstruction in the way 
 of the improvement of the American horse ; while, if we may 
 judge by the accounts of foreign veterinarians, the case is 
 still worse in Europe. 
 
 In many farming communities, perhaps nearly all of them, 
 it is seldom that either the mare with foal or the young 
 colt receives such treatment as is essential to' perfect health, 
 or such as is conducive to the best interests of the owner. 
 The aggregate amount of debility, suffering, and disease, oc- 
 casioned by the ill-usage of horse-flesh, in all its hideous 
 forms, is greater than can adequately find expression in words. 
 Perhaps seven -tenths of all the ailments which befall the 
 horse, in civilized communities, is either directly or indirectly 
 the legitimate fruits of the negligence and brutality of man. 
 Many a scrub of a colt would have been foaled plump, healthy, , 
 and admirably developed, if the mother had been properly 
 cared for during the months preceding his birth. How many 
 fine colts there are, too, whose future is ruined, or whose 
 prospects are, at least, greatly marred, by mistreatment of 
 themselves or the dams, or of both; and how many good 
 horses has every observant farmer seen thrown into a bad 
 condition, from which they very slowly or never recovered, 
 by the same agencies. 
 
 Did the evil extend no further than the animal which be- 
 comes the victim of these abuses, we might forbear some of 
 our words of reprobation ; but such is not the case, and we 
 must often see it carried, not merely into the future of the 
 original sufferer, but into that of his or her progeny. If the 
 mother is sadly abused during gestation, the foal will come 
 into the world feeble and, perhaps, ill-grown, and can hardly be 
 brought up by any subsequent treatment to the fair standard 
 of his race. The race, instead of having been improved, is 
 thus actually thrown back, and years or generations will be 
 required, under the most favorable circumstances, to repair 
 the mischief done. 
 
MARKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 481 
 
 We invite the reader's attention to a number of the most 
 common abuses of the horse, and shall freely express our 
 views concerning them, together with our reasons for enter- 
 taining them. 
 
 ovEii-woRKma. 
 
 It is strange how little attention is paid by the majority 
 of farmers and teamsters to the equal distribution of labor 
 among their working stock. IN'early as often as otherwise, 
 we find horses unequally paired to do the same amount of 
 work. For instance, a small horse with a large one, or one 
 that is thin and feeble with another that is in good condi- 
 tion and of unimpaired strength. 
 
 Then, too, not half the time is there any reasonable ac- 
 count taken of the weight of the load and the character of 
 the road to be gone over. Is the load made suitable to the 
 animal's physical strength, or must he draw as much as else- 
 where over a bad or hilly road, a quagmire, or a plowed 
 field, and nearly tug his life out in pulling beyond his strength ? 
 The philosophy of light loads and quick trips seems to have 
 been almost forgotten. Many horses have been ruined by 
 severe strainings, either manifesting great lameness or other 
 injury at once, or gradually failing afterward, until they be- 
 came nearly worthless. 
 
 So of overwork in the plow. Hundreds of times have we 
 seen one small horse before a large 
 ^R plow in heavy land, where, to do the 
 work well, was enough for two horses 
 to accomplish. Such exhibitions are 
 very common at the South, as nearly 
 all the land in that section is broken 
 up with one horse. 
 Young horses are often 4)ut to work too early, before the 
 bones are properly hardened and the joints sufficiently strong. 
 In this immature condition, the young animal is not able to 
 bear constant and severe exertion, and if it is exacted of 
 him, the owner must expect that the least serious injury 
 which the horse can sustain will be limbs and joints enlarged 
 31 
 
482 AMEKICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 and stiff throughout his whole life. Moderate exercise should 
 be begun quite early, but full service of no kind should be 
 required until the fourth year. 
 
 But the greatest abuse in this way is the overworking of 
 mares with foal, as mentioned in the preceding section. In- 
 juring two lives at once, it is a shameful outrage. 
 
 Horses that have been idle for some time, either in the 
 stable or pasture, should not be returned to hard labor all 
 at once, but with judicious caution. Upon this point, how- 
 ever, we have dwelt so explicitly in the section on Exercise, 
 in Chapter XV II, that we need do nothing more here than 
 refer the reader to those pages. 
 
 WHIPPING AND BEATING. 
 
 One would think that the horse had hardships enough, in 
 his daily drudgery, without being made the innocent victim 
 of the crabbedness and ill-nature of those who happen to be 
 in charge of him. ^NTevertheless, it is amazing how much 
 thoughtless, and often purposed, wickedness there is exhibited 
 in his maltreatment. Some men have a practice, whenever 
 their affairs do not go just to sUit them, of getting up a row 
 with their teams, and venting their spleen upon their poor, 
 unresisting brutes. Many appear to find one of their dearest 
 delights in the torture of dumb animals, and can have noth- 
 ing to do with the horse without expending upon him some 
 of the malice and cruelty of which their ugly natures are full, 
 in the form of kicks, blows, and other brutalities. 
 
 Even many a man of better disposition knows no other 
 possible means of reducing a fractious horse to submis- 
 sion, or of quieting a restive one, than the unstinted ap- 
 plication of the whip; and when such monsters as those 
 referred to above imagine they have found some pretext for 
 their outrages, there is hardly any telling to what length 
 they may carry their abuses. We have seen such lashings 
 and beatings inflicted upon the horse as would make the 
 blood run chill in the veins of any person not utterly lost to 
 the feelings of humanity. 
 
MARKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 483 
 
 About the time we began writing this volume, we saw a 
 case of this character. A young mare had been hitched to 
 the plow, a labor to which she had never been accustomed, 
 by the side of a very slow old horse, while she was of un- 
 usually rapid motion. She would start quite freely and 
 quickly, pull the large two-horse plow through the unbroken 
 soil, until her strength gave out, and then, forced to stop 
 from mere exhaustion, would refuse, for some time, to go for- 
 ward. At this one of the men would take her out of the 
 plow, and, with a great club six or seven feet in length, 
 would beat the poor creature with all his might. Not content 
 with giving her at least a hundred blows in this way, he 
 kicked her fifty times or more with his heavy boots. The 
 mare was in that peculiar condition called " in season," and 
 was probably more than ordinarily fractious, as all mares are 
 apt to be at such times; but these brutal wretches did not 
 know her state, neither did they care. She was doing the 
 best she could, the trouble being simply that she was in the 
 wrong place and at the wrong time ; for it would have been 
 wise to exempt her from labor at that time, or, at least, to have 
 put her beside some horse having the same life and activity 
 as herself. That dreadful beating nearly ruined her for the 
 whole season, if not forever. For some months now she has 
 been on a visible decline. 
 
 Such scenes as that here described are by. no means un- 
 common ; they happen every year by thousands. From abuses 
 like these few horses ever entirely recover. We remember 
 the case of a fine young sorrel mare in Tennessee, that was 
 unmercifully whipped because she failed to pull a very heavy 
 load up a very steep hill. The great welts made by the whip 
 stood up all over her body as large as a man's finger. She 
 was made very sick, and gradually declined, until she became 
 almost worthless. Just before this time she had been sold 
 for one hundred and fifty dollars ; but six months afterward 
 she would not bring fifty. 
 
 « Many a horse has been killed by a sudden blow upon some 
 vital part. In our memory there now rises an occurrence 
 
 ,i# 
 
484 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 we witnessed some years ago — a fine, large horse struck vio- 
 lently upon the neck, just back of the ear, and falling in- 
 stantly dead. His offense was refusing to work in a cart. 
 The spine was undoubtedly broken — a sad result which maybe 
 easily brought about by a blow upon the first joint of the neck. 
 
 In chastising a mare with foal, hundreds of men have so 
 little sense or consideration as to kick her about the body. 
 If the foal is not killed outright by this barbarous proceed- 
 ing, it is likely to receive more or les3 injury, which will be 
 permanent. 
 
 It would probably surprise every one, if it could be known 
 how many horses are ruined every year in the United States 
 by overworking and cruel punishments. The annual loss to 
 the country in this way would be counted by many hundreds 
 of thousands of dollars. 
 
 CUTTINa AND SLITTING THE EARS. 
 
 This senseless and cruel practice is happily very much on 
 the wane. The time once was 
 when nearly every small horse or 
 pony could be seen with his ears 
 cropped, or showing great slits in 
 them. Now, however, one sees 
 such an animal but seldom. 
 
 The avowed object of this heart- 
 less custom was nothing less ab- 
 surd than the improvement of the horse's looks. What a 
 perverter of tastes capricious fashion can become! Some 
 farmers have a most outlandish fancy for cropping the ears 
 of all the domestic animals on their estates. The ears of the 
 dog must come off or be cropped close, and so must those of 
 poor old brindle, or the patient yoke of working oxen ; while 
 the pigs are predestined to the same mutilation from the mo- 
 ment of birth, so that they have nothing to keep the dirt 
 and mud from their heads when they seek to indulge in the 
 swinish luxury of a wallow in the puddle, or of sunning them- 
 selves on a dirty bank. 
 
MAEKS OF AGE, ANB ABUSES 
 
 485 
 
 All this is ridiculous, 
 no less than inhuman. 
 Mature has given these 
 organs to the lower ani- 
 mals to protect the in- 
 ternal parts of the ear, 
 and to keep out dust 
 and flies; but, what, is 
 even of more conse- 
 quence than this, the 
 external ear performs a 
 most important function 
 
 in catching the undulations of sound, which produce the sense 
 of hearing. To deprive any of these dumb servants of the 
 ears, or to mutilate those members, is to impair the hearing ; 
 to leave the tympanum — that is, the sensitive membrane within 
 the ear which is commonly called its drum — more or less ex- 
 posed to cold, wet, dust, flies, etc., and to occasion suffering 
 that is wholly unnecessary. 
 
 In the case of the horse, the practice is especially repug- 
 nant to all notions of correct taste, to say nothing of its 
 cruelt}^ The ears consti- .^ 
 
 tute one of his chief orna- 
 ments. Their various po- 
 sitions and changing mo- 
 tions indicate his temper 
 and feelings most perfect- 
 ly. When pitched forward, 
 they betray surprise or 
 alarm ; when drawn partly 
 back, dislike or timidity ; 
 when thrown entirely back, so that they lie on the neck, 
 danger and intention to do mischief; when raised and moving 
 loosely back and forth, they indicate gentleness and docility; 
 and when they droop away from the head, the horse is sleepy 
 or very ill. What true lover of the horse has failed to rec- 
 ognize and admire this beautiful play of the ears? How 
 
 ii 
 
486 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 foolish and wanton, therefore, to injure or destroy them, 
 either in the manner here reprobated or as mentioned in the 
 section on Deafness, etc., in Chapter YIII. 
 
 NICKING AND DOCKING. 
 
 Fashion is, indeed, a tyrant with no mercy, no heart ; and 
 this is equally true whether the victim of its whims hap- 
 pens to be a human being or one of the dumb brutes. A 
 certain class of exquisites still linger in our country that 
 have such an excessive refinement of tastes, that every thing 
 they use must differ, in some way or other, from the same 
 thing in the possession of the vulgar ^rd of humanity. To 
 their notions, the Creator has made nothing just right — 
 nothing to suit their choice, at any rate. Their morbid 
 fancy can suggest improvements upon the most perfect speci- 
 mens of I^ature's handiwork ; and thus they are continually 
 torturing the poor animals which are so unfortunate as to 
 fall into their hands. 
 
 The Almighty has not seen fit to provide a race of pigs 
 and dogs without ears, nor of horses with short tails, for the 
 
 especial gratification of 
 this superior order of be- 
 ings. Nothing daunted, 
 however, they set to work 
 to supply the deficiency, 
 and here the detestable 
 practice of nicking and 
 docking have their origin, 
 the poor horse becoming 
 the subject of shocking cruelties. Not only is he deprived 
 of part of his tail — a member of the highest usefulness and 
 great beauty — ^but the remainder is so cut, at different places, 
 that the muscles by which it is erected and depressed are 
 permanently destroyed. He must, also, stand with his tail 
 drawn upward by a cord tied to the hair, and then passed 
 over a pulley at the opposite end, where a weight is attached, 
 which stretches the sore and inflamed member as much as 
 
 1*. 
 
MAKKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 4^ 
 
 the bones will bear without breaking, or, perhaps, not less 
 than even that. In this condition of extreme suffering he 
 must remain for two or three weeks, without any change. 
 
 Thanks to a better state of public sentiment, these out- 
 rages have greatly fallen into disuse. Not only have sensible 
 men and men of feeling been disgusted with these barbari- 
 ties, but they are now rarely demanded by even our city ex- 
 quisites. Neither nicking nor docking is now 
 practiced upon country horses, and we hope the 
 time is not far distant when both will be remem- 
 bered only as the dim recollection of a past bar- 
 barism. The ears, fq|jftpck, mane, tail, and hair are all 
 among the natural adornments of the horse, and none of 
 them can the capritee of man successfully attempt to improve 
 upon. 
 
 RACING. 
 
 Many of our readers will probably be surprised to see this 
 subject introduced under the head of abuses of the horse, when 
 not a few other authors have placed it almost at the head of 
 their list of essentials in a complete veterinary treatise. Our 
 classification, howeve^^is not the result of any straining after 
 originality, or of any mere freak of the fancy, but originates 
 in the deliberate conviction that racing is one of the greatest, 
 and most injurious of the abuses that falls to the lot of horse- 
 flesh in this our day and generation. 
 
 The great plea for the sports of the turf is nothing less 
 than a specious fallacy. It is that they tend to improve the 
 breed of horses throughout the land by making known su- 
 perior merit, and stimulating breeders and horsemen to 
 greater efforts in their various departments. With this state- 
 ment, it is designed to couple the inference — rather implied 
 than expressed, however — that the same ends can not be 
 attained by any other means, or, at least, not to an equal 
 extent ; and by such sophistry is it sought to cover up and 
 palliate those enormous evils — at whose head stands the most 
 corrupting vice of gambling — which are the invariable con- 
 comitants of racing. 
 
 ^% 
 
 r 
 
488 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 The argument is but an assumption, and can not be sus- 
 tained* by any demonstrable facts. We hold that racing is 
 not the best means of improving our stock of horses, nor the 
 most extensive, and that, as to the general character of its 
 operations, they deserve the condemnation of every thought- 
 ful and pure-minded individual. 
 
 But sportsmen, says the advocate of racing, have imported 
 some splendid stock. Granted, if you choose to have it so ; 
 but where one superior animal has been brought into this 
 country by that class, ten are imported by men who have no 
 identification with the turf, and most of them men who 
 ignore and despise it altogether. J|i fact, this latter class 
 have either imported or bred two-thirds of the horses kept 
 expressly for racing purposes. Sportsmen have a wonderfully 
 keen scent for discovering any animal of unusual fleetness; 
 and wherever they find one, no matter where or how origi- 
 nating, they are sure to buy him up and train him for the 
 race-track; and the "Turf Register ".has many famous names 
 upon its pages, as bred by this or that breeder, while that 
 gentlemen has not felt at all complimented by having his 
 name paraded before the public in anj'- such connection. 
 
 Like all gamblers, sportsmen generally have plenty of 
 money and leisure, and ar^ extremely fond of pleasure. They 
 are great excursionists, and travel extensively. Many of them 
 are employed by wealthy men, of the same fraternity, to visit 
 the farms of the best breeders in the country and inspect 
 their stock of horses ; and if any young animal is lighted 
 upon that gives extraordinary promise of success upon the 
 turf, he is purchased at once, and his training begun. 
 
 We have met too many of this class of gentry, during the 
 last twenty years, not to be fully apprized of their character 
 and practices. It is but a miserable subterfuge, put forth to 
 cover the iniquities of the race-track, that the chief object 
 of the sport is to improve the breed of horses in the country, 
 l^ot one in a hundred of these men ever had such an emotion 
 or purpose in their lives; neither are they capable of so 
 doing. "What care the}^ for the interests of the community, 
 
 * '• 
 
MAEKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 489 
 
 or for elevating the average standard of our stock, if they 
 can get a good horse to run and bet upon? The race be- 
 comes, in their hands, only an extraordinarily exciting species 
 of gambling, where the horse is used instead of the game- 
 cock, the cards, the roulette-ball, or the dice. Money is the 
 object, betting is the mania, and gambling the great attrac- 
 tion. This is the center, the soul, the all-in-all of the affair; 
 and if this stimulus were removed from it, the dear people 
 and their fine breeds of horses might go to — destruction, so 
 far as these philanthropic gentlemen are concerned. 
 
 The very character of the men engaged in the pursuits of 
 racing — their lives and their habits — condemn any such as- 
 sumption on behalf of the turf Who is it that attends such 
 places? Who is it that keeps up the races? The way in 
 which the thing is managed, as we have seen it scores of 
 times, is about as follows : Some man, of horse-racing re- 
 spectability and notoriety, sends a challenge to some other 
 equally noted man of the same kind of respectability, and 
 who also keeps a race-horse, and backs his challenge by the 
 exceedingly disinterested offer of contributing his share to- 
 ward a purse of a few hundreds or thousands of dollars, to 
 be given the owner of the winner. These fine gentlemen, 
 be it known, are very enterprising, genteel, and benevolent — 
 gamblers by profession, now devoting themselves to the laud- 
 able object of improving the breeds of horses in the country. 
 What a praiseworthy exhibition of public spirit and gener- 
 osity ! But the winner is to have the purse of money, and 
 both may, perhaps, make a snug sum by betting. Ah ! here 
 we have the incitement — ^the full measure — of their benevo- 
 lence. The purse lays off the race-course and organizes all 
 its appliances — nothing else in the world. 
 
 These gentlemen, about to engage in their worthy mission 
 of giving an impetus to the improvement of the stock of 
 horse-fiesh, call together an immense number of their con- 
 freres to enjoy with them the edifying opportunities of the 
 race. The sport is, accordingly, witnessed by an immense 
 crowd of excited spectators. Some burly old judge, who has, 
 
490 AMERICAN FARMEE'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 for an hour or two, torn himself away from his whist and 
 champagne, presides on this important occasion. It is his 
 yearly turn-out from his pipe and his gout. It is vacation- 
 time, also, in the gambling dens of the adjoining cities, and 
 every blackguard that is accustomed to frequent them is sure 
 to be found at the races. There betting goes on briskly, of 
 course, from the clean-shaven gambler that can bluster out 
 his offer of hundreds to tens downward in the scale of human 
 respectability, to the boys and negroes, whose sole resources 
 consist in coats, hats, dogs, and jack-knives. 
 
 But the professional gamblers comprise but a small propor- 
 tion of the vast concourse there assembled. Every sink of 
 iniquity of the region round about has a full delegation at 
 the races. Every house of ill-fame, every rum-hole, every 
 hot-bed of vice and crime is here represented. Gamblers, 
 prostitutes, pimps, pickpockets, confidence-men, and swind- 
 lers of all sorts, thieves, robbers, burglars, and the like, are 
 all here. And for what? Many of them to ply their dis- 
 honest callings, or to advertise their degrading vocations; 
 while the least corrupt spectator has no other motive than 
 to see two or more dumb animals forced at the top of their 
 speed — no matter at what cost of suffering and injury — for 
 one, two, or three miles, as the case may be, and to learn 
 how one grand scoundrel fleeces another grand scoundrel out 
 of the money that the latter, in turn, had swindled some 
 other grand scoundrel out of not quite so sharp as he. 
 
 The excitement goes on, and many a successful better wins 
 only to swell the gains of the pickpocket. But another ex- 
 citement follows, or, perhaps, attends. A festive board is 
 spread, at which King Alcohol presides, and his votaries are 
 many. Here the jolly crowd jest, and laugh, and tipple, the 
 bottles pop, the wine flows, and the foaming cups run over. 
 Here they forget " all their troubles, while money flies, and 
 whiskey bubbles," until at last some chivalric reveller begins 
 a row, ending, perchance, in murder, and so the curtain drops. 
 The great convocation, assembled from the purlieus and the 
 gaudier haunts of vice in the neighboring cities in the inter- 
 
MAEKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 491 
 
 ests of equine improvement closes its session, and pandemo- 
 nium breaks up, to herald, through the newspapers, far and 
 wide, the wonderful achievements of the race-course. Was 
 it not of such a class, and of such ungodly practices, that the 
 prophet denounced in this fearful language : " The harp and 
 the viol and the tabret are in their feasts, but they regard not 
 the work of the Lord, neither the operations of his hands. 
 Therefore, hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth 
 without measure ; and their glory, and their multitude, and 
 their pomp, and he that rejoiceth therein, shall descend 
 into it." 
 
 Perhaps this picture is characterized by a more vivid col- 
 oring than is just in all cases ; and yet we must express our 
 unqualified condemnation of the whole system of horse- 
 racing as evil, and only evil, and that continually. It is a 
 gambling institution from first to last. We believe that the 
 great plea put forth in its defense is essentially false, and 
 that if more efficient measures were not employed to accom- 
 plish the same ends, there would be but very few fine horses 
 in the country to-day. 
 
 Kace-horses are not the stock the farmer needs. He has 
 no interest in the turf whatever. There are better bloods 
 in the country than those commonly represented on the 
 race-track. How is it with the other domestic animals? 
 They have improved vastly more than the horse, and that 
 without any such extraordinary incitements as the turf 
 is claimed to afford the horse-breeder. Intelligent, enter- 
 prising gentlemen have been found, in considerable numbers, 
 to import fine breeds of cattle, sheep, and hogs, and to-day 
 these animals unquestionably stand in advance of the Amer- 
 ican horse in all the essentials of fine forms and desirable 
 qualities. Indeed, it may well be questioned whether our 
 horses are not slowly but surely deteriorating from year to 
 year ; and, while it would be too much to charge the whole 
 mischief upon the abuses of the race-course, there can be no 
 shifting of much of the responsibility from those causes. 
 
 'No horse, put to the top of his speed for two or three miles, 
 
492 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 can ever be relied upon as a good foal-getter afterward. The 
 great strain in racing is upon the loins — the sacral vertebrcB — 
 which is the weakest part of the back, covering the genital 
 organs. These are impaired to some extent, perhaps, at 
 every race the horse is forced to run, and his colts show 
 plainly the effects of the seminal disturbances of the sire. 
 As a rule, the most objectionable of all the horses within 
 our knowledge as a breeder is the champion stallion of the 
 race-track. He may come of ever so fine blood, yet his 
 progeny will seldom be equal to himself, and, in nine cases 
 out of ten, will fall considerably below his standard. The 
 number of weak, flabby, loose-jointed colts gotten from such 
 sires will astonish any one who chooses to investigate the 
 matter for himself. 
 
 The correction of these evils would be retarded, but need 
 by no means be prevented, by one difficulty, and that is the 
 assumption and parade of the turfmen themselves. The 
 whole subject pertaining to the relative value, etc., of differ- 
 ent breeds, has been given up into their hands to an extent 
 that is most unreasonable and hurtful. Unworthy and in- 
 competent hands they are, in truth, not at all meeting the 
 requirements of the case. Had not this class stood in the 
 way, other and better men would have come forward, with 
 different motives, and vastly more would have been accom- 
 plished in elevating the average standard of the American 
 horse than has yet been done. 
 
 Much, however, has already been effected, and is still be- 
 ing accomplished, in a legitimate and honorable way, to en- 
 courage the breeding of fine horses, by liberal premiums 
 at the various fairs — institutions which deserve the counten- 
 ance of every intelligent agriculturist, and are almost invari- 
 ably well attended, as they should be. Racing is less repu- 
 table than it once was, and we are glad to note such changes 
 in the direction of public sentiment that one may reasonably 
 indulge the hope that racing, if not entirely abandoned, will 
 soon be left solely to the patronage of such classes as are 
 entitled to no regard at the hands of respectable society. 
 
,*^ 
 
 MAEKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 493 
 
 The practice originally came to us from England, and re- 
 mains as the relic of an early and corrupt age in the mother 
 country. Even there it is losing much of its former interest 
 and prestige. ]N"o English author now speaks of it except 
 as belonging to sportsmen alone ; and, although all appear 
 to be somewhat fastidious not to offend that peculiar species 
 of gentry, they do bear outspoken testimony to the degener- 
 acy of the horse throughout the United Kingdom, and in- 
 directly hint at racing as one of the prominent causes of 
 this sorrowful phenomenon. Their views find expression in 
 such language as this : 
 
 " There can not be a severer satire on the English nation 
 than this, from the absurd practice of running our race-horses 
 at two or three years, and working others in various ways 
 long before their limbs are knit, or their strength .is devel- 
 oped, and cruelly exacting from them services far beyond 
 their powers, their age does not average a sixth part of 
 that of the last named horse," — (which was sixty-two years.) 
 
 In our country nearly all race-horses are run too young. 
 !N'one of them ever possess qualities that can save them from 
 being injured, for breeding purposes, by such violent over- 
 exertion. That the case is the same^in England, we infer 
 from such statements as the following, by the author of the 
 "Animal Kingdom," who seems to hesitate, however, about 
 tracing out the causes of the declension of which he speaks : 
 "It may be safely asserted that more horses die consumed 
 in England, in every ten years, than in any other country 
 in the world in ten times that period, except those that per- 
 ish in war." [N'ow, the English horse is not worse abused 
 than his fellows upon the continent — perhaps not so badly, 
 indeed — in respect to care and keeping ; and there seems to 
 be no good reason why such a state of things should exist 
 in Great Britain, unless it is the great and long-time prev- 
 alence of racing and hunting there. And that is the coun- 
 try to which we might naturally turn to find the practical 
 demonstration of the benefits of horse-racing, if such a thing 
 were not a mere fiction ! 
 
494- AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 Another well-known English veterinarian says, in refer- 
 ence to the deterioration of the horse in his own country : 
 " Any one, during the last twenty or twenty-five years, must 
 be struck with the sad falling off there is every-where to 
 be remarked in the quality of one-half and three-parts-bred 
 horses exhibited for sale." Yet this class of animals em- 
 brace the first edition from the racer's stock that pass into 
 the hands of the farmer. This is certainly improvement 
 backwards. 
 
 "If horse-breeders, possessed of good judgment, would 
 pay the same attention to breed and shape that Mr. Bake- 
 well did with his sheep, they would probably attain their 
 wishes in an equal degree." Is not this the work that 
 racers claim to be doing as belonging to their especial de- 
 partment ? and then, in spite of all the stimulus of eques- 
 trian exercise, to be outdone by a sheep-man ! 
 
 " Our running-horses," says Youatt, " still maintain their 
 speed, although their endurance, generally speaking, is greatly 
 diminished." Can not the races keep up their own running- 
 stock? If they can, what mean such expressions as the 
 above? Is it not clear that the whole system of racing, so 
 far as the pretences that it improves stock are concerned, is 
 a miserable failure and a gross imposition on the public — 
 such a sham, in fact, as no man of right feeling and princi- 
 ple would willingly be identified with ? 
 
 One more reference, and we dismiss the subject. Youatt 
 lays it down as an axiom in breeding " that like will pro- 
 duce like," adding that "the progeny will inherit the general 
 or mingled qualities of the parent." The reader is already 
 aware of our qualified dissent from so sweeping a state- 
 ment; but, applying it as we fairly may, in the present argu- 
 ment, what conclusion are we forced to arrive at when we 
 find the same author making such positive assertions as 
 those? "Our running-horses are considerably diminished;" 
 and, " Our hunters and hackneys are not what they used to 
 be ; " and, " Our draught and carriage horses are, perhaps, 
 improved in value." The racers and their offspring degen- 
 
MAKES OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 495 
 
 erating — " falling off" — " not what they used to be," while 
 horses bred from other sources — those that the racer discards 
 and leaves entirely to the farmer — are " improved in value." 
 
 Here we have an epitome of the history of racing upon 
 both sides of the Atlantic — the whole thing in a nutshell. 
 The race-horses are failing; the farmers' horses are im- 
 proving. 
 
 We sincerely believe that the farmers of our country are 
 the only men possessing the intelligence, the enterprise, the 
 moral character, and the standing necessary to successfully 
 conduct the great work of reform and progress in respect 
 to the horse. It behooves them, as men of this character, to 
 frown down the system of racing as an unqualified abuse of 
 the horse and a potent agency of iniquity and vice. 
 
 
496 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 GENTLING, BREAKING, AND TRAINING. 
 
 GENTLING. 
 
 The time to begin the work of gentling is seldom improved 
 by stock- raisers. They have so much else to do that they 
 L can not devote the requisite time and attention to this mat- 
 
 ter; and, in fact, not a few of them neglect this important 
 I • department of their business entirely, committing it alto- 
 gether to other hands. In many cases, professional stock- 
 raisers do not so much as superintend the feeding and salt- 
 ing of any of their own stock, much less gentling and breaking 
 their colts. Such men must be but poorly qualified for the 
 important vocation which they do indeed* follow — afar off— 
 and many serious evils result from their negligence. 
 
 In relation to the subject-matter of this entire chapter, 
 . there is a deplorable ignorance and lack of interest among 
 ,^^ the masses of our farmers. It is quite as much as thousands 
 ^ of them care about, if they can provide some sort of food 
 for their colts, and salt once a week. JS'o further pains are 
 bestowed upon the young animal until he is old enough to 
 m be put to work; and then, • instead of being gentled and 
 
 ■ trained for the duties he is to perform, he is very probably 
 
 disposed of at a sacrifice of twenty or thirty dollars, or even 
 more, in consequence of his being unbroken. The market 
 value of a good colt is lessened by from twenty "to fifty dol- 
 lars, or even more, by this circumstance ; and, as a rule, the 
 * young horse trained for service, for either the saddle or har- 
 ness, is worth fifty per cent, more upon that account than he 
 was before. Thousands of our stock-raisers submit to this 
 # • pecuniary loss every year, rather than undertake the labor 
 of breaking, which their timidity or indolence shrinks from. 
 
V ''^ 
 
 GENTLING, BREAKING, AND TRAINING. 497 
 
 It is comparatively a rare thing in this country to meet 
 ^"ith a man that has taken pains to inform himself thor- 
 oughly concerning the best modes of gentling the horse and 
 training him for the different uses. The common-*r-we had 
 almost said the nearly universal — practice is to let the colt 
 run unbroken until he is considered of suitable age to be 
 put to work, and then to harness him forthwith beside some 
 sedate old horse in a large wagon, and reduce him to sub- 
 mission at once. This is a very injudicious process, to say 
 the least of it, often proving dangerous to the other horse, 
 or the manager of the team, and still more frequently ending 
 in sad injury to the colt. Nor is it a successful method. 
 Few colts can be said to be well-broken, or safe, when brought 
 into service in so rapid and abrupt a manner. How many 
 horses there are spoiled in breaking, so that they are always 
 unreliable to work, or else can not be worked at all ! Such 
 will continue to be the case until a better and niore judicious 
 system prevails in regard to these matters. One horse out 
 of every Rve will be spoiled in breaking, either for the har- 
 ness or the saddle, or for both. The terrible case of lock- 
 jaw described in Chapter YII might be cited as an example 
 of the evils which flow from the unthoughtful management 
 so common among our farmers. 
 
 The public mind does not seem to be educated up to the 
 level necessary for a proper understanding of this subject; 
 but probably this proceeds more from a lack of popular in- 
 formation concerning it than from any other circumstance. 
 It is certainly no small source of the difficulty that there is 
 so inconsiderable an amount of reading matter upon it ac- 
 cessible to the mass of farmers. We have no American 
 work on the horse treating of these topics at all, and but one 
 from abroad that has attained any respectable circulation in 
 our country ; and, although this is an invaluable authority, 
 in many respects, it is, upon the whole, illy adapted to the 
 peculiar wants of the horseman in America. The conse- 
 quence of this is, that here almost every man has his own 
 way, differing from that of all his neighbors, and no sys- 
 32 
 
 .i^- 
 
498 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 tematic mode is to be found in general practice anywhere. 
 Yet, there is much less to be said concerning the defects 
 of the multiform and diverse modes existing in the United 
 States tBan of the almost entire neglect of all modes. So 
 many hundreds have we seen in our time who gave the sub- 
 ject no attention whatever, and, when spoken to in regard 
 to the advantages of a SA'stematic course of training for 
 young colts, would reply, with all the self-satisfaction char- 
 acteristic of ingrained stupidity, "Well, the old plan is good 
 enough for me ; it is the way I used to see it done when I 
 was a boy, and suits me very well." 
 
 So far as the general management of the horse is con- 
 cerned, there has been but little improvement in many parts 
 of the land within the memory of even that fabulous indi- 
 vidual, " the oldest inhabitant." In some sections, it is true, 
 enterprising men have taken hold of the matter and pushed 
 forward the good work, greatly to their own advantage and 
 that, also, of the communities among whom they reside. 
 But, as exceedingly few, or perhaps none, of these gentlemen 
 have ever enlightened the general public, to any great ex- 
 tent, through the medium of the press, the benefits of their 
 improved methods have been restricted to quite circumscribed 
 territorial limits. 
 
 There (fan be no doubt that the loss to the total wealth 
 of the country resulting from the inferior training of our 
 horses would reach a startling aggregate, if it could only be 
 put into figures. We have few thoroughly-trained horses 
 for either the harness or saddle. The great fault lies in neg- 
 lecting to begin the work at the proper time. The colt 
 may be educated as well as the child — not to the same ex- 
 tent, of course, but with an equal degree of certainty. In 
 the main, the rules which govern in one case are applicable 
 in the other, also. As more than one wise man has said that 
 childhood is the most favorable time for education, and that 
 it is never too early to begin, so the wisest of veterinarians 
 will agree that the best time to commence training the horse 
 is before he has outgrown the condition of 
 
GENTLING, BEEAKING, AND TRAINIifG. 499 
 
 THE YOUNG COLT. 
 
 Take him in hand at once, and gentle him. Bo not let 
 ^ve days pass after he is foaled until you begin to handle 
 him. Never let the colt know what fear is, and yet you 
 must control him. Be certain to hold him fast before he 
 becomes strong enough to break away from you. There 
 never should be a time when the colt do.es not recognize the 
 mastery of his keeper, and the necessity for obedience. Never- 
 theless, every attention bestowed upon the little fellow should 
 be gentle and kind. No one should be permitted to frighten 
 him oi> to strike him with a whip ; he will alwa^'s remember 
 if, and will probably shy from the latter as long as he lives. 
 In after years the use of the whip may sometimes be neces- 
 sary, but at this tender age the colt should not know that 
 such a thing exists. 
 
 The foal should be handled every day until he is perfectly 
 gentle, and all timidity and shyness have vanished. By a 
 little habitual patting and caressing, he will become very 
 strongly attached to his master. The colt that is allowed to 
 run until he is six months old, or more, and has no other 
 knowledge of his master except as a terrible monster to be 
 feared, or is in the habit of shying away from him, will sel- 
 dom get over this feeling entirely. It is at this early age 
 that most of the vices of the mature horses are begotten. 
 
 An important truth, which stock-raisers and owners of 
 young colts seem nearly always to overlook, is that the colt 
 left to himself, without proper training, will just as certainly 
 run into bad habits, and those vices which so much detract 
 from the value of many horses, as that the child will go to 
 ruin when he is left to himself. The instructions of the Di- 
 vine "Word are to " train up a child in the way he should go, 
 and when he is old he will not depart from it." The same 
 fundamental law of education applies to the colt ; and as " a 
 child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame," so a colt 
 left to himself bringeth his master into trouble, and it may 
 be very serious trouble. 
 
500 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. • , . 
 
 The colt must be kept from the vices which curse and ruin 
 so many horses ; or, if he has unfortunately fallen into any 
 of them, he must be broken of them^now in his tender 
 years, before his habits become strengthened and inveterate 
 through long continuance in them. The man who, having 
 much to do with horses or colts, has not learned that they are 
 the creatures of habit, has studied his business to but very 
 little purpose, if he has studied it all. Bad habits must be 
 either broken or prevented, and here, most emphatically, the 
 stock-raiser will find it true that "an ounce of prevention is 
 worth a pound of cure." It is much easier to keep the colt 
 from ever acquiring ugly tricks than it is to break the mature 
 horse of any settled vice. 
 
 If the work of educating the young colt be neglected, no 
 subsequent pains will be likely to liiake good the deficiency. 
 As "youth is the seed-time of life," and the favorable time 
 for improvement, so is the colt's age the proper time for be- 
 ginning the instructions to be imparted to the horse. The. 
 colt of three or four years, unbroken and untamed, is like the 
 youth who has never known parental control. What igno- 
 rance do we find in both — what indolence, what obstinacy, 
 what impatience of restraint, what rebellion against govern- 
 ment, no matter how mild and judicious ! Is not this the 
 history of many horses and of their vices, such as backing, 
 shying, kicking, rearing, running away, breaking the halter, 
 continued restiveness, and others of similar character ? The 
 farmer does, indeed, pay dearly for his neglect in regard to 
 training his young stock. 
 
 Every farmer should likewise consider within himself what 
 each of his colts is best suited for, what place the young ani- 
 mal shall be destined to fill ; and, as soon as this point is set- 
 tled, he should go to work at once and conduct the whole 
 process of training with a view to the especial purpose se- 
 lected. All this, too,, can be done at a very early age better 
 than later. It may be laid down as a rule that the colt is 
 susceptible of training for whatever service is desired of him, 
 and that no failures would occur if his peculiar adaptedness 
 
BREAKING, GENTLING, AND TRAINING. 501 
 
 were properly studied and understood. We may mold and 
 fashion His disposition, control his actions, teach him obedi- 
 ence and submission, and Imbituate him to the performance 
 of whatever duty is deemed best for him. If properly 
 trained, he will be safe and true, and utterly free from vice, 
 in almost every instance. 
 
 The process of gentling should be carried on as opportunity 
 offers — ^by lifting his legs and feeling of them frequently, 
 handling his head and ears, stroking his neck and body, and 
 occasionally by opening his mouth. ]N'ot only should all this 
 take place before weaning-time, while the colt is still with . 
 his mother, but a great deal more besides. The bridle may 
 be shortened and the bit^put into his mouth. The bit should 
 be a very small one, and handled carefully, so as not to hurt 
 his mouth. He may be allowed to champ it for a* time, but 
 should never be hitched or led about with the bridle upon 
 the first occasion of its use. After he has become somewhat 
 accustomed to wearing it, as he will when it has been put 
 on three or four times, he may be led about with it, a little 
 longer and further each time. The first few times this is 
 done it should be by the side of his mother, and while she is 
 being led along ; then he may follow at a little distance be- . 
 hind her, and presently he may be taken a few paces in ad- 
 vance of her. 
 
 It should be some time before he as tied. When ready for 
 this part of his training, especially if he is to be made stand . 
 by himself, it would be best to have a good, strong halter^ 
 so as not to hurt his mouth. Be as kind and gentle toward 
 him as possible, but always continuing the attitude of a mas- 
 ter. He must be made to understand that the keeper's will 
 is his highest law, and that no alternative is open to his 
 choice, but obedience alone is possible. Do not suffer him, 
 at any time, to obtain any advantage in pulling about by the 
 halter or bridle, or in running away. One time of the latter 
 occurrence may nearly ruin him. It will take months of 
 careful management to correct its evil effects, and often it 
 forms the beginning of a series of bad habits. As he be- 
 
 
502 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 comes familiarized to standing hitched by the bridle, Lo 
 should be left thus somewhat longer, from time to time. 
 
 The next thing in order is to accustom him to the saddle. 
 A small one should be procured, laid gently on his back, and 
 then removed without the girth having been buckled. This 
 course may be continued until all fear of the strange weight 
 is removed, when the girths may be fastened about him. K 
 a saddle of small size; such as will fit his back, can not be 
 procured, a bag or blanket may be used, and similarlj^ fast- 
 ened, and thus will answer nearly the same purpose. 
 
 The person who feeds the colt is the one to gentle and 
 train him. It will be of great benefit, in this process, to se- 
 lect such bits of food as the colt cai^ eat, and give it to him 
 from the hand. By this course he learns from whom it is 
 that he receives his food, and his friendship is readily secured. 
 The work of gentling is well done only when the colt is 'per- 
 fectly gentle, all his fears of man are removed, and he will 
 allow himself to be handled with the utmost freedom. The 
 great objects to be accomplished are to gain his entire confi- 
 dence, and to accustom him to the most implicit obedience, 
 both at once. When this is the case, his training becomes 
 an easy matter, and his future usefulness is assured. These 
 ends can best be attained, in all cases, by kindness and mod- 
 eration. The many failures that attend the labor of break- 
 ing are generally the consequence of a neglected colthood, 
 and of harsh, rough usage subsequently. " There is no fault," 
 says Youatt, ** for which a breeder should so invariably dis- 
 charge his servant as cruelty, or even harshness, toward the 
 rising stock; for the principle on which their after useful- 
 ness is founded is early attachment to and confidence in man, 
 and obedience, implicit obedience, resulting principally from 
 this." 
 
 THE OKE-YEAR OLD COLT. 
 
 At one-year old, the colt should be perfectly gentle, and 
 familiar with the halter, bridle, saddle, and the different parts 
 of the harness, and should be accustomed to follow readily 
 when led by either the halter or bridle, and to stand tied 
 
BEEAKING, GENTLINa, AND TEAINING. 503 
 
 either in company with other horses or alone. A good 
 beginning will now have been made, a foundation laid upon 
 correct principles, and what remains to be done, though it 
 is a great deal and very important, will come almost in the 
 natural order of things. 
 
 The colt should be tied occasionally by the side of some 
 old and steady horse in the shafts, at first walking along the 
 road in this way for half a mile or so. When this has been 
 done a few times, so that he has become used to the shaking 
 of the harness and the motion of the wheels, the pair may be 
 put to a slow trot on some level piece of road. Under such 
 discipline, he will soon learn that he is not to be hurt, while 
 his former experience will not leave him in any doubt as to 
 the necessity of submitting to what is required of him, and 
 thus he will soon learn to regard these new movements as 
 quite in the line of his duty. 
 
 Before he is quite ready to change places with the old 
 horse, and step into the shafts, he must be taught the use 
 and guidance of the lines. The old horse should not now be 
 hitched to the shafts at all, but the harness, including the 
 lines, be transferred to his young companion ; and then, with 
 some one to lead, let them be driven around a few times in 
 company. The old horse may next be unfastened, and the colt 
 driven with the lines by himself, some one walking by his 
 head. This exercise should be continued until he becomes 
 thoroughly accustomed to it, and especially to being guided 
 by the lines. When sufficiently trained in this way, he may 
 be put into the shafts, which should be gently lowered upon 
 his sides several times in succession, until he understands 
 what they are, and how little he has to fear from their touch. 
 
 A light buggy or gig may be pulled along after him, at 
 this stage of the proceedings, but for no great distance, with 
 the colt between the shafts, yet not fastened to them. After 
 a little while, the traces may be made fast, and then, with 
 the old horse by his side, he may take his first lessons iu 
 drawing the buggy, which are to be commenced slowly and 
 carefully. First move the old horse along, when the colt 
 
 -^t 
 
504 AMEKICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 will naturally moV'e off also, and ought not to be allowed to 
 stop until he becomes evidently tired. The old horse, through- 
 out this exercise, should have a saddle on and the bridle over 
 his neck, ready for riding. If the colt moves off freely and 
 kindly, after a few minutes let the person at the head lead 
 the old horse a little way in advance, gradually increasing 
 the distance until he is several lengths ahead of the colt in 
 the shafts. Without stopping the old horse, let the assistant 
 now spring into the saddle, and keep lengthening the interval 
 between himself and the buggy, until, at length, the old horse 
 is taken entirely out of sight of the colt. 
 
 All this should be attended to on level ground, and with 
 a very light vehicle. If carried out with ^are and kindness, 
 this method will never fail of success. We can not too 
 strongly insist upon the happy mingling of gentleness and 
 firmness, which should characterize the young animal's 
 treatment throughout, or censure too severely harshness or 
 irresolution. If the colt stops, let him stand for a time, and 
 then, with gentle urgings, he will start on again. This he 
 should be taught to do, in fact, before being separated from 
 the old horse; and not only this, but even to back a little, 
 which is likely to prove one of his hardest lessons. Very 
 slight efforts should be used at first to make him back, as he 
 will resist them with considerable obstinacy. It will be suf- 
 ficient to induce him to take two or three steps backward, 
 adding another step each time the exercise is repeated, until 
 he becomes used to it. 
 
 All of these performances are designed to accustom the 
 colt to the bridle, the saddle, the harness, the shafts of the 
 buggy, and the guidance of the lines, and to complete the 
 work of gentling before he has strength or inclination to dis- 
 obey. To these ends, he should be exercised frequently, but 
 without requiring from him any real labor while so young 
 and tender. 
 
 THE COLT AT TWO YEARS OLD. 
 
 During his third year, the colt should be continued in the 
 same training as before, and occasionally he may make short 
 
 ^ • 
 
BREAKINa, GENTLING, AND TRAINING. 505 
 
 tripa in the buggy or other light vehicle, but should never 
 be driven more than three or four miles at a time. If there 
 be any considerable hill, the wheel should be locked going 
 down it, and when ascending it the driver should walk 
 alongside, so that the colt may have nothing but the vehicle 
 to pull. 
 
 This is the time to train him for the saddle also. A small 
 boy — say one of ten or twelve years old — may get on his back, 
 and, after sitting there a short time, should get off again. 
 The first time he is mounted there should be no attempt to 
 ride him around ; he is to be gradually taught this lesson, as 
 every other. He should be exercised in this way as often as 
 convenient; the oftener the better. But in no case should 
 any one be allowed to jum'p on his back. The boy that 
 mounts him should either be assisted to do so, or should stand 
 upon some elevation, and then get on as easily and lightly as 
 possible. Great injury has resulted from a violation of these 
 rules. The bones of the back have not yet the strength and 
 solidity belonging to the full-grown horse, and, if persons 
 are in the habit of jumping suddenly upon him, there is great 
 danger that he may be disfigured for life, from that unsightly 
 appearance called sway-back. (See Chapter III.) The colt 
 should be ridden often, not merely for the purpose of gent- 
 ling him, but to accustom him to the road and the different 
 objects to be met with along the way. 
 
 BREAKING. 
 
 If the judicious course recommended in the preceding sec- 
 tions of this chapter has been systematically carried out, the 
 farmer will find the great bugbear of " breaking," as it new 
 is to so many, well-nigh disposed of already, so that all which 
 now remains is to put the young animal at work, when the 
 proper time comes, and gradually habituate him to regular, 
 continuous labor. It is much to be regretted, however, that 
 all farmers who own colts do not appreciate the importance 
 of attending to the work of gentling and training during 
 the susceptible years of the colt age. Such is the case, un- 
 
506 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 fortnnately, with the great majority of them in the United 
 States. The loss sustained in consequence of this negligence 
 is tenfold greater than thej are aware. 
 
 To what we have already said upon these important topics, 
 we may here add the emphatic testimony of Youatt. He says : 
 " The process of breaking-in should commence from the very 
 period of weaning ;" and, again, " The foal should be early 
 handled, * * * accustomed to the halter when led about, 
 and even tied up. The tractability and good temper and 
 value of the horse depend a great deal more upon this than 
 breeders are aware." 
 
 As it is, the colt is generally left until he is old enough 
 to be put to work, and then taken up, wild and vicious, at 
 the age of three years or more, to be broken to service. 
 Such a horse will but seldom be perfectly gentle, and, in 
 consequence, some of his best capabilities will remain only 
 partially developed. The most favorable opportunities, by far, 
 have been lost, yet the wild colt must not be neglected and 
 given over as untamable and useless. From a former age 
 there has been handed down to our farmers a rough, dan- 
 gerous, and seldom wholly successful method of breaking — 
 that of thrusting the wild colt into the harness, and before 
 the wagon, by the side of some large horse, and simply 
 enduring his kicking, rearing, and plunging, until, from 
 sheer exhaustion, the animal, blowing and all afoara, is re- 
 duced to some degree of sullen obedience. Happily, this is 
 being superseded, among the more intelligent and better-in- 
 formed class of stock-raisers, by other modes more rational 
 and generous. The most famous and, without doubt, the 
 most successful of them all, is that known as 
 
 THB RAREY METHOD. 
 
 This derives its name from the fact that it was first car- 
 ried to perfection and given a world-wide celebrity by the 
 late Mr. John S. Rarey, of Groveport, Franklin County, 
 Ohio, although it was not wholly original with him. That 
 gentleman's experience in training young colts and in tam- 
 
 4: 
 
BREAKING, GENTLING, AND TRAINING. 
 
 507 
 
 ing the -^cious of a larger growth was quite extensive and 
 very successful in ^ur own country. In 1858 he went to 
 England, and created such a. furore there that, it is said, the 
 gross proceeds of his exhibitions, lessons, etc., amounted to 
 the snug sum of £25,000, or about $120,000. 
 
 The annexed engrav- 
 ing represents the halter 
 recommended by Mr. 
 Rarey for all purposes, 
 with the addition of his 
 ordinary breaking-bit. 
 The halter is of leather, 
 and made like an or- 
 dinary head-stall, but 
 rather lighter. A lead- 
 ing-strap being buckled 
 to the nose-band, either 
 before or behind, any 
 thing may be done with 
 the colt short of mount- 
 ing. The inethod by 
 which this halter is con- 
 verted into a very use- 
 ful breaking-bridle is 
 quite simple, conisting 
 merely in attaching any 
 bit which may be se- 
 lected to the rings con- 
 necting the check-pieces 
 to the nose-band. The 
 attachment is made by 
 means of two small billets and buckles, as shown in the cut. 
 
 The "Earey mode" consists in conquering the animal by 
 depriving him of the use of his limbs, and making him feel 
 that he is utterly powerless in the hands of the operator, and 
 must submit to whatever is required of him. In other words, 
 it carries the unbroken horse or colt through a rapid and vig- 
 
 ME. RAREY'S HALTER, OR BRIDLE, FOR COLTS. 
 
508 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 orous course of training, which is both systematic aiid severe, 
 and embraces, in a short space of time,^^!! the essential les- 
 sons that are to be taught him — all that has been neglected 
 in a previous lifetime. As a means of taming wild and vi- 
 cious horses, it is, beyond question, the best method known ; 
 and its ease, rapidity, and almost invariable success renders 
 it a most important step forward in the science of horse- 
 breaking. No person who thoroughly understands it would 
 now think of going back to any of the older practices. 
 
 THE EARET KNEE-STRAP. 
 
 The first step, of course, is to halter the animal, which it 
 is by no means an easy matter to do in many cases. To 
 effect this purpose, Mr. Rarey and his pupils are said to 
 have resorted occasionally to the use of certain drugs. Their 
 method of procedure, it is stated, was in accordance with 
 the following directions: "Rub a little of the oil of cum- 
 min upon your hands, and approach the horse upon the 
 windward side, so that he will smell the cummin. The 
 horse will permit you to come up to him without any 
 trouble. Rub your hand gently over the nose, so as to get 
 a little of the oil on it, and you can lead him anywhere. 
 Put eight drops of the oil of rhodium into a silver thimble ; 
 very gently open the horse's mouth, and turn the oil in the 
 thimble upon his tongue, and he will follow 3^ou like a pet 
 dog,' and is your pupil and your friend." The use of any 
 sort of drugs or essences, in connection with horse -training, 
 is of doubtful propriety in any case, yet is, perhaps, admis- 
 sible when employed to catch a brute that is otherwise unap- 
 proachable. It may well be questioned whether such agen- 
 cies do not prove injurious to the horse ; and even if this be 
 not so, their good effects are of too transient a nature to 
 
BREAKING, GENTLING, AND TRAINING. 
 
 509 
 
 endow tHem with any great value. The owner should be- 
 ware of confiding too much in their supposed benefits, or 
 he may suddenly get into danger from his vicious animal. 
 
 After the horse is bridled, the next step is to throw him 
 upon his side, which may be done quite easily and without 
 
 THE USB OF THE KNBE-STBAP. 
 
 any risk by means of two straps. The first of these should 
 be a strong strap of thick leather, two feet long, and at least 
 an inch in width. It is so well represented in the accom- 
 panying cut that any further description is unnecessary. 
 The end without the buckle should be fastened to the buckle, 
 about twenty inches from the latter. The left foot is lifted 
 up to the bod}^ an assistant, meanwhile, managing the bridle, 
 and the strap is slipped over the knee, and pushed up over 
 the lower pastern joint over the ankle and close to the body 
 of the arm ; or, if the strap is furnished with the large loop 
 
6i0 . ' AMEKICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 shown in the engraving, it will be necessary to lift the leg- 
 first, and then buckle the strap. The animal now stands on 
 three legs, and is utterly incapable of doing any mischief, 
 unless it be with the teeth. Let him remain thus for five 
 or ten minutes. If the knee-strap does not hold the foot 
 pretty close to the body, draw the buckle a little tighter. 
 If he "sp rings and jumps about, let him have bridle-room, 
 and satisfy himself that he is securely fastened and can not 
 get his foot down. The annexed engraving, which is a 
 sketch of " Cruiser," Mr. Rarey's most celebrated conquest, 
 at the second stage of the preparations for his taming, well 
 indicates the application of this strap. 
 
 The second strap should be six feet long, and furnished 
 with an inch-and-a-half ring at one end, securedly sewed 
 fast. When used in connection with the surcingle, as Mr. 
 
 THE BABEY LEG-STBAP. 
 
 Rarey's practice was, it need not be so long; and, in any 
 case, a good, stout leather loop, such as is shown in the sub- 
 joined cut, will be better than the iron ring. The strap is 
 to be noosed around the ankle of the right fore-foot, the end 
 extending over the animal's shoulders, and held firmly in the 
 right hand of the operator, who stands abreast the left shoul- 
 der, and jerks up the right fore-foot, when the horse falls, 
 of course, upon his knees. Here he must remain, if the as- 
 sistant, who manages the bridle, does his duty, and the oper- 
 ator himself keeps the strap around the right foot drawn 
 tightly over the top of the shoulders. He may struggle vio- 
 lently, and try to get up from his kneeling posture, but, by 
 
 # 
 4ii 
 
BKEAKINa, GENTLING, AND TRAINING. 
 
 511 
 
 keeping his head down and his right foot well up, he will 
 soon grow tired of this, and, before long, show a dispo- 
 sition to lie down. The operator should encourage him to 
 do so by kind, soothing words, and, with one hand in the 
 mangle, try to pull him over on the left side, while with the 
 other hand he should be rubbed and carressed. The assist- 
 
 MB. BABET'S APPABATUS ABBANGED FOB THE FINAL STBUGGLE. 
 
 ant, holding the bridle, should turn the head toward the right 
 side, to facilitate the movement, and to compel him to fall, 
 when he finally concludes to do, so, upon the left side, so 
 that his back will ^ be toward the operator. His struggles 
 may now begin again, but if his head is held firmly to the 
 ground, and his left foot firmly kept back, he will soon give 
 over. 
 
 "We have described these operations as the work of two 
 men, because, in this way, the process becomes so simple and 
 
512 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 easy that no intelligent farmer or farm-hand, of ordinary 
 strength and activity, need be afraid to subject his powers 
 to the experimental test of the Rarey method. But in Mr. 
 Rarey's own practice and instructions no assistant was al- 
 lowed the operator — a limitation which was compensated in 
 a slight degree, however, by the addition of a surcingle, 
 buckled on as represented in the portrait of " Cruiser," page 
 509, and also in that on page 511, which shows the whole 
 apparatus arranged for the final struggle between the horse 
 and his tamer. Here it will be seen that the leg-strap is 
 passed through the surcingle, under the belly. It is grasped 
 by the right hand, well gloved, just back of the surcingle, 
 while the left hand manages the bridle-reins. The horse is 
 urged to move a little, which he can only do by hopping, 
 when suddenly the left leg is drawn up to the surcingle and 
 there kept. At this,. he falls on his knees, of course; but, 
 if possessed of any spirit, he will soon begin bounding into 
 the air upon his hind legs; and then the operator must be 
 active and on the alert, using both hands, as above directed, 
 to the best possible advantage, and never getting so far for- 
 ward as to expose himself to the danger of being caught 
 under the horse when he falls upon his knees. Sooner or 
 later the animal will become exhausted, whether he resists 
 by violent plunges or sulkily remains on his knees, and 
 when this takes place he will be glad to lie down of his 
 own accord. The right rein must be kept tight, so as to 
 keep his head turned away toward the off-side, and, if need 
 be, the operator may use the further argument of a little 
 pressure, exerted to pull the horse toward himself. A man 
 of nerve and activity, especially after he has had a little ex- 
 perience, is likely to prefer carrying the process through with- 
 out the aid of an assistant. * 
 
 Once fairly subdued by these means, and lying upon his 
 side, the horse will be indisposed to get up for the present, 
 and now comes the golden opportunity for profiting by all 
 that is past. The animal must be treated with the utmost 
 gentleness, and every effort made to quiet his fears and 
 
BREAKING, GENTLING, AND TRAINING. 
 
 mt 
 
 soothe h'is terrible excitement, wliicli often causes him to 
 tremble exceedingly. He must be convinced that, although 
 completely mastered, he is in no way to be hurt. Confidence 
 must replace terror, and docility his stubborn or vicious way- 
 wardness. Let the operator stroke his hair with the hand; 
 pat his body, neck, and head ; handle his feet, legs, and ears, 
 and, in fact, all parts of his body, accompanying all this 
 with kind and reassuring words. The man may now sit 
 down upon him, turn around from side to side, lie down 
 upon 'him, etc. The more motions and changes that can be 
 gone through with the better. 
 
 THE HOKSE TAMED BY KARET'S METHOD, 
 
 The saddle should be brought and gently laid upon him, 
 the stirrups hanging on each side of his body; likewise all 
 parts of the harness, piece by piece, and the chains, if they 
 are to be used, laid across the prostrate form. After these 
 maneuvers have been carried forward for half an hour, or 
 thereabouts, and all signs of fear =3eem to have departed, the 
 33 
 
514 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK- 
 
 straps (and surcingle, if one has been employed) may be re- 
 moved, the head liberated, and the horse encouraged to rise 
 to his feet. Many persons make the animals undergoing 
 this process lie down in this way a number of times, until 
 they readily submit to the operation, and fall first upon their 
 knees and then upon their sides, almost at the word of com- 
 mand, and until the last vestiges of fear of saddle, harness, 
 chains, and even shafts, have vanished. It is astonishing how 
 quickly this will follow when once the horse is conquered. 
 He may be taught obedience in almost every particular. But 
 this requires constant, close attention, and great patience, 
 and sometimes the work of breaking is not completed short 
 of some days. 
 
 Some persons bring the buggy and lay the shafts on the 
 horse while he is down, and let the wheels pass around him 
 near his body. After he is on his feet again, the saddle may 
 be brought and laid carefully on his back. If he submits to 
 this, well ; if not, he must be taken through another course 
 of exercise on his side, and this must be continued until- he 
 is willing to allow not only the saddle to be put on him but 
 every portion of the harness as well. Only one piece of the 
 gearing should be tried on him at a time, and, if he scares 
 or jumps at any of these, remove them and lay him down 
 again, and take him through another course of exercise. 
 
 The first time that he is ridden, it should be in the stable, 
 where he has been laid on his side ; and here he may be 
 mounted by some lad, just as he has risen from his recum- 
 bent position, and led around the stable several times with 
 the young rider on his bare back. This operation must be 
 frequently repeated, until he becomes accustomed to the bur- 
 den. He should not be hitched up in the shafts until he has 
 become peifectly familiar with them, and all traces of fear 
 have disappeared. He may be prepared for hitching up by 
 being led into the shafts frequently, when they may be lifted 
 by his side, raised Up and down, etc., until he is satisfied they 
 will not harm him. If he jumps about and shows any 
 timidity, continue the lesson till he submits, and will permit 
 
BKEAKING, GENTLINa, A:fTD TKAININa 515 
 
 the shafts to be laid upon his back or neck, or by his side., 
 If he is obstinately fractious or scary, lock up his fore-feet, 
 etc., again. Under such discipline he can not long hold 
 out. 
 
 Whatever you undertake to teach him, persevere in the 
 instructions until you succeed. If the horse has been thor- 
 oughly worn-out and conquered at the outset, there will not 
 be much trouble subsequently; but,, unless that has been 
 done, it will be a somewhat prolonged course before he is 
 brought under proper subjection. But always remain kind, 
 though firm. Allow no harsh words or measures of any 
 kind. Let all your handling of him be gentle and soothing, 
 remembering that the law of kindness is always more potent 
 than that of force. After the harness has been put on, an. 
 assistant may go behind him, and, taking the traces in his 
 hands, pull back, so that a gentle pressure will be brought to 
 bear upon his shoulders; and when he has kindly submitted 
 to this, he may be hitched up in the buggy, and gently started 
 ofl' in it. 
 
 Another plan, besides that here indicated, for familiarizing 
 him with the shafts is the method laid down in a preceding 
 section of this chapter for the training of the one-year-old 
 colt ; namely, to hitch him by the side of another very gentle 
 horse, harnessed in the buggy, and, with their heads tied 
 quite close together, to drive them around until the un- 
 broken one will lead kindly beside the other. When this is 
 accomplished, the two may change places, and the exercise 
 resumed as before. Still another mode, which is in prac- 
 tice to some extent, is to hitch the unbroken horse in a cart, 
 and put in a very strong though gentle horse before him, 
 the two thus forming a ''tandem." The management of 
 the hinder one, by either leading or driving, will be work 
 enough for one person. After a time the forward horse 
 may be unhitched, and led in advance of the colt, the dis- 
 tance being gradually increased until the novice finds he 
 can go alone, when the old horse may be taken oft* the fi.eld 
 entirely. 
 
516 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 "When the process of breaking is commenced, it should be 
 pursued vigorously every day, until the wild horse is thor- 
 oughly and completely broken ; and when put in the shafts 
 he should be driven freely. "With such an animal energetic 
 measures are necessary to teach him that you are his master, 
 and that he must submit to your control. Do not begin the 
 arduous task of breaking him until you have the harness, 
 and every thing else that you expect to use, ready at hand, 
 and strong ; and then keep him going until he is conquered, 
 broken, and trained. The directions given in the case of the 
 young colt for starting, backing, and holding back in going 
 down hill will apply none the less here, and ought to be fully 
 followed, observing only this difference, that the stronger 
 the animal, the more he can bear. There will be much less 
 need of favoring him, of course, than the young and tender 
 colt. 
 
 SADDLE HORSES. 
 
 It is not 80 much our purpose to enter into detailed direc- 
 ^tions for training the horse for the saddle 
 as it is to point out natural adaptedness of 
 form and gait for this purpose. Some horses 
 are naturally so well suited for this use that 
 they travel lightly, and with ease, from the 
 first time they are ever put to it, and such only need control 
 and a little traininor to make most excellent saddle-horses. 
 
 A particular form or build of 
 the horse generally brings 
 about this result. Light, clean 
 limbs; a quick, ready step, 
 high and free ; the hips drop- 
 ping from the top downward 
 to the roots of the tail; the 
 tail low, and well-set in the 
 hips. These are the qualities 
 indicative of a good saddle-horse, and of which none being 
 present it is useless to attempt to make the horse a desirable 
 hackney. Many horses exceedingly valuable in other capaci- 
 
BREAKING, GENTLING AND TRAINING. 
 
 517 
 
 ties are of no account in this one. Their feet are large and 
 coarse ; they lack quickness and suppleness ; their motions 
 are dull and heavy,, and they drag their hind limbs along in 
 a most awkward, sluggish manner. High, sharp shoulders 
 and hips, with the tail set high — almost on a level, in fact, 
 with the top of the hips — never belong to a good saddle- 
 horse. 
 
 There is a breed of pacing horses in our country that almost 
 invariably make excellent saddle-horses. These are natural 
 pacers, taking to this move- 
 ment almost from their births 
 and having no other travel- 
 ing gait. Horses not natu- 
 rally pacers are often broken 
 to the gait by tying a short 
 side-line to the right side of 
 the bit, and then to the stir- 
 rup, so that the head will be 
 pulled to the right every 
 time a step is taken. The 
 same end will be answered 
 by holding the right rein 
 closely drawn with the hand, 
 thus giving the horse in his forward progress a rocking mo- 
 tion. Other means have occasionally been practiced to break 
 the horse to this gait. The horse that is not naturally a 
 pacer is seldom a very desirable animal under the saddle 
 when made such by artificial means. 
 
 Another exceedingly pleasant and easy gait is the "fox- 
 trot," as it is called, which may be taught almost any horse 
 of small, clean limbs and feet, and a quick, active step. This 
 is done by gradually forcing the animal into a movement 
 faster than a walk, but never allowing him to strike a trot. 
 Continued careful practice will make this motion a confirmed 
 habit. 
 
 In the army, officers' and cavalry horses are preferably 
 chosen from natural trotters, their gait being one consistent 
 
•♦ t 
 
 518 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 with the severe exercise of long inarches and great endurance. 
 Those men, whether in civilized or other lands, who spend 
 
 most of their lives in the 
 saddle, seldom practice 
 their horses in more than 
 two movements faster than 
 a walk — the trot and the 
 gallop. A sustained, rapid 
 trot is a hard gait for the 
 inexperienced rider; but, 
 when oile is inured to it, 
 no other seems comparable 
 with it for long journeys. 
 General Sheridan's famous 
 black stallion, which bore him to the field of Opequan Creek 
 from Winchester, *^ twenty miles away" — an occasion already 
 celebrated irt history and song — is said to have been one of 
 the hardest-gaited horses that man ever bestrode — one which 
 it would be a sore task for many a professional jockey to have 
 to ride. 
 
 y^j 
 
 HORSES FOR THE BUGGY AND CARRIAGE. 
 
 TTsually, the horse of the American farmer must be some- 
 what accustomed to almost every variety of exercise — to the 
 
 saddle, the buggy, and the car- 
 riage as well as the plow and the 
 wagon. Hard labor, on the road 
 or in the field, impairs the quali- 
 ties for use under the saddle, and 
 the farm-horse is not generally 
 well suited to the carriage. Yet, 
 a horse of fine form and limb 
 will always be more active in the shafts of any vehicle than 
 one that is coarse and raw-boned. 
 
 The best carriage-horses are not those of largest size^ 
 They should have height and length, but the body should be 
 light and compact, with small, clean limbs, and a hard mus- 
 
BKEAKING, GENTLING, AND TRAINING. 
 
 519 
 
 cle. Let this be the mold from which all selections are made 
 of horses for the buggy and carriage. It is the most beauti- 
 ful, no less than the most serviceable. Directions have al- 
 ready been given in the 'preceding section of this chapter for 
 breaking the colt and the horse for these uses. Constant ex- 
 ercise in the carriage is essential to perfection of training. 
 Horses that are matched, or those that habitually work to- 
 gether, should be often changed from side to side. This will 
 prevent or break up certain bad habits that such horses are 
 apt to contract when always placed on the same side. 
 
 DRAUGHT HORSES. 
 
 These embrace the heaviest and strongest breeds of horses. 
 Large feet and legs are quite in place here, with powerful 
 
 joints and muscles; but, of course, it is utterly out of the 
 question to expect rapidity of motion from a draught horse. 
 
 * 
 
 .'^^T*" 
 
520 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 ^- 
 
BREAKING, GENTLING, AND TRAINING. 521 
 
 The Dutch horse, originally from Pennsylvania, is the one 
 most used in this country for the constant wear and tear of 
 heavy wagoning, and similar labors, and for these purposes 
 possesses a peculiar adaptedness. 
 
 In the draught horse it is desirable that there be a much 
 less slanting direction of the shoulder — that is, of the scapula 
 (see 13, in cut on page 24) — than in the horse designed for 
 rapid motion, in order that there may be more weight thrown 
 into the collar, and that the burden of the draught may be 
 more equally distributed along the whole length of the 
 shoulder. Such a conformation, however, always indicates 
 the capabilities of a slow, steady plodder merely. In regard 
 to this particular, the artist who executed the full-page illus- 
 tration opposite could hardly have had a fair specimen of 
 the class for a model. An oblique shoulder is ah essential 
 prerequisite to speed, and especially to a maintenance of it. 
 The engraving on page 519 shows the relative situations of 
 the bones of the tore and hind extremities, and will doubt- 
 less assist our readers to understand the subject more clearly. 
 
 ROADSTERS 
 
 Under this designation may be classed the stage and om- 
 nibus horses, those for passenger carriages, saddle horses used 
 habitually for long journeys, etc. The draught horse is by 
 no means suited for tbese purposes, being too heavy and slow, 
 and soon breaking down. The horse of small body and good 
 length, with light, active limbs, is best adapted to the road. 
 There is no better stock known for these employments than | 
 a cross with the Arabian or the Andalusian. The roadster 
 should have no surplus flesh; his mi||cles must be hard and 
 compact, his limbs well-shaped^nd trim, his joints full and 
 round, and his foot and ankle sloping backward at an angle 
 of forty-five degrees from the point of the toe. 
 
 There are some horses with long bodies and quite short 
 legs, and these make the worst roadsters in the world. The 
 length of the body and that of the limbs should correspond. 
 Some long legs, also, are very objectionable — too small, yet 
 
522 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 '.^4 
 
BREAKING, GENTLING, AND TRAINING. 523 
 
 nearly as large at the ankle as they are next the body ; the joints 
 are too small and flat, and the ankles too straight, while the 
 foot is round and " clumped." Horses no better limbed than 
 this can possess no endurance on the road, and are very apt 
 to be stumblers. 
 
 The friendly-looking old customer opposite has 'evidently 
 seen a considerable share of hard service in his day, but is 
 still quite willing to do his part again whenever called upon. 
 He is one of the stoutest built animals of his class. 
 
 MULE BREAKING, TRAINING, ETC. ^V^*^ 
 
 On these heads not much need be said. The mule requires 
 but little breaking or training, taking to work almost as 
 though it was natural to him. He should be handled while 
 a colt, and broken to the halter, and also to the* saddle, if 
 desired. Further than this not much is required until he is 
 three years old, which is the proper age for the mule colt to 
 begin to work. Then, if already halter-broken, he may at 
 once be hitched up in the plow or wagon, by the side of 
 another steady mule or horse, and at the end of the first day 
 he will be as well broken as many a horse-colt will be at the 
 end of a fortnight or a month. 
 
 There are two classes of mules — the large and the small. 
 The former are safest and most gentle. They are excellent 
 for draught, while some of them make very fine matches for 
 the carriage, in which they work well. In the buggy, also, 
 they look finely. We hardly think a finer span can be turned 
 out anywhere thai! a pair of large, well-formed black mules, 
 with tail-hairs clipped and mane roached, well caparisoned, 
 and before a nice carriage. In such capacities they are much 
 in use in many parts of the South, where ihej are great fa- 
 vorites. They are much 'safer than horses. Some of them 
 make splendid animals under the saddle ; and, in fact, the 
 finest pacer we ever saw was a large, light bay mule, in Gib- 
 son County, Tennessee. 
 
 Small mules are more hardy than large ones, but not so 
 reliable, and sometimes they are a little vicious and in- 
 
524 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 tractable, especially in respect to kicking. Nor are they very 
 safe or pleasant to ride. For ordinary farm-work, however, 
 they are the most valuable animals in the world. A small, 
 compactly-built mule will do more work in the plow or 
 before the wagon than the best substitute the farmer can 
 find. • 
 
FRACTURES. 525 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 FRACTURES. 
 
 It is not often that any of the bones in the horse's frame 
 are broken ; but decidedly the most common occurrences of 
 this kind take place at the hip and the hock, as described 
 in appropriate sections of Chapter III. Fractures are of 
 two kinds — simple and compound. In' the former but one 
 bone is broken, and does not protrude through the skin ; in 
 the latter either one or two bones are broken, and the sur- 
 rounding ligaments are lacerated, so that the bone protrudes 
 to or through the skin. 
 
 FRACTURE OF THE SKULL. 
 
 Occasionally the bones of the skull are fractured. Such 
 cases nearly always terminate in death, sooner or later. 
 Sometimes the sufferer seems greatly better — so much so, 
 indeed, as to be returned to his customary duties; but there 
 .is danger of his falling dead upon any occasion of unusual 
 exertion, or else apoplexy may set in and end his days. An 
 injury of this character will be accompanied by slight con- 
 vulsive motions of the entire body, by a hard, laborious 
 breathing, and by a staggering gait. The eyes will be nearly 
 Mosed, or sometimes quite so, the head carried hanging 
 down, the lips pendent, and the saliva often flowing freely 
 from the mouth. There is no remedy for a fractured skull. 
 
 More injuries of this kind happen than farmers are aware 
 of. The cause is generally the infliction of a severe blow 
 upon the head by an enraged teamster, costing the owner 
 the life of a valuable animal. If such blows do not fracture 
 the cranium, and thus kill the horse, they are extremely apt 
 to produce concussion of the brain, which results in mate- . 
 
■if • 
 526 AMEKICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 rial injury of a permanent nature. Especially is there danger 
 of its destroying the sight or hearing of the poor creature. 
 "We have been the unwilling spectator of several cases of 
 beating over the head, until the water ran from the horse's 
 eyes ; and then, within a few months subsequently ,'have seen 
 the eyes of the same horse become milky, the case terminat- 
 ing presently in confirmed moon-blindness, as it is incor- 
 rectly called. The instances of stupid, doltish horses re- 
 duced to this condition by such brutal violence are not a 
 few. The greatest misfortune, oftentimes, is, that the owner 
 is kept in ignorance of what has transpired. He soon dis- 
 covers the sad effects of the brutality, but never learns the 
 true cause. 
 
 FRACTURE OP THE NASAL BONES. 
 
 It IS strange how unobservant some men are in regard to 
 their horses. We have seen the bones of the nose fractured 
 so badly as quite to disfigure the animal, and all the while 
 the owner seemed wholly ignorant that any thing was 
 wrong. These cases generally get well of themselves, un- 
 less the bones are bent inward considerably, in which case 
 it will require the instruments of the surgeon to replace 
 them. If they protrude outward, however, tliey may be re- 
 stored to their proper position by the pressure of the hand. 
 An application of hot salt water will remove much of the 
 fever and soreness. 
 
 FRACTURE OF THE RIBS. 
 
 The ribs are sometimes broken by severe falls upon th« 
 side, or against some hard, upright object, as a post or rock. 
 These cases are rare, however, and are never discovered, 
 perhaps, unless accompanied by vertebral fracture. A few 
 cases are recorded by English veterinarians. I^othing can 
 be done for them, except to give the horse rest, when, if not 
 injured internally, he may get well. If the locality of the 
 fracture can be discovered, the parts should be well bathed 
 with hot salt water, having a strong infusion of golden seal. 
 
FRACTUKES. 527 
 
 SIMPLE FRACTURE OF THE LIMBS. 
 
 The legs are occasionally broken, either in consequence 
 of a blow or a fall, or from the horse getting them hung in 
 some fast place. It matter^ not so much to know what 
 caused the fracture, as it does to understand what to do for 
 it, and how to do it. A broken leg is a serious affair, and 
 needs immediate attention ; while an accurate knowledge of 
 the course proper to be pursued is indispensable. The lack 
 of such knowledge, on the part of the farmers of our coun- 
 try, nearly always consigns the horse to death at once, with- 
 out a single effort having been made to save him. This sad 
 state of affairs proceeds mainly from the unfrequency of these 
 accidents. The very large majority of Americaus have never 
 seen a horse with a broken limb, although accustomed to 
 horses all their lives; and should this casualty befall one of 
 their own stock, at least four-fifths of them would give up 
 the case in utter discouragement, and suffer the animal to 
 be killed 'forthwith. It is a great mistake to suppose that 
 nothing can be done for such a horse. If the proper meas- 
 ures are adopted promptly, he may, generally, be saved. 
 They involve considerable labor, it is true, and draw some- 
 what on the farmer's time and patience ; yet this is a much 
 greater bugbear with most than there is any reason for; and 
 even were the trouble as much as is imagined, we know of 
 no more profitable way of spending the same amount of 
 time. 
 
 In simple fracture of the leg there is but one bone broken, 
 and there is no displacement. The horse is, commonly, able 
 to walk about, but is terribly lame, of course. The treat- 
 ment of such' a case is not difi&cult. The leg should be 
 bandaged with strong strips of starched cloth. Pads of 
 cotton should be laid upon the leg, at the point of fracture, 
 and the bandages wound over them. In most instances of 
 simple fracture, the horse does not, at first, get down at all, 
 but remains standing upon his three feet for several days. 
 Ultimately he becomes so wearied, however, that he will lie 
 
*#» 
 
 528 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 down, if he can. This is never to be permitted, but the 
 owner should, as soon as possible after the accident is dis- 
 covered, make arrangements to furnish him support, or he 
 may lie down upon the fractured limb and break it worse 
 than before. The salt and water, made strong with the 
 golden seal, and as hot as he can bear it, should be applied 
 to the entire limb, from the body to the foot, wetting the 
 bandages thoroughly. This should be done four or five times 
 a day, during the first four or five days, and then gradually 
 slackened, until it is not used at all. The bandages must be 
 taken off and re-applied, every other day ; and if the wound 
 appears to swell, and the horse shows signs of pain, (which 
 will be indicated bj^ his restlessness,) the bandages should 
 remain only a few hours, and then be loosened ; and when 
 the bandage is off, let the hot bathing be well applied. 
 * In the case of compound fractures, th« horse will gener- 
 ally get down on his side, and must be raised to his feet. 
 It will take some time to make the necessary preparations 
 for this, and they will be attended with some little trouble 
 and expense. 
 
 As this is the first and most important step, a clear de- 
 scription of the different arrangements for raising the horse 
 will be necessary. The first and best is the Sling. This may 
 be used in either simple or compound fracture. If the horse 
 is still on his feet, and near the stable, he may be led into 
 it, and a couple of very stong hooks put into the beam 
 above, or into the sides of his stall, if strong enough, and 
 the sling suspended to those on either side. 
 
 The cut on next page conveys a good idea of a sling (Com- 
 plete in all its parts; but one of simpler construction will 
 answer the purpose when one so elaborate can not be had. 
 It may be made of either bagging or sail cloth. Four yards 
 of the cloth will be sufficient. Sew the ends of the cloth 
 together very strongly. This, when doubled, will be about 
 six feet in length. Two round sticks of very hard, strong 
 wood to put through the cloth ; to these attach strong ropes, 
 fastened to each end of the sticks, so that they will each 
 
FKACTURES. 
 
 52a 
 
 have a rope extending from one end to the other. Each 
 rope should be about six feet in the loop between the ends 
 of the stick, and so tied that it can not slide either way. 
 Let the sling thus arranged be put under the horse, and then 
 another rope be carried through the one attached to the ends 
 of the stick, and through a ring on the hook at the sides 
 of the stable ; let the rope be carried around twice, and first 
 drawn up and fastened on one side, and then on the other, 
 
 HORSE WITH FBACTUEED LEG. 
 
 until it raises the horse's body about two inches, and yet so- 
 that he can stand on his feet. He will very soon learn to rest 
 his body on the sling when his fore-Jeg becomes very tired. 
 He must be hitched to the front by a good, strong halter^ 
 so that he can not pull back, and throw himself out of the 
 sling. He can not have room to do so forward for the 
 manger. If it is his fore-leg that is fractured, he will try 
 to throw himself backward; but if the hind oney he will 
 34 
 
680 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 incline forward. In either case he must be prevented. It 
 may be that such an accident may occur at some distance 
 from the stable, in which case resort must be had to the 
 
 FRAME. 
 
 A kind of gallows may be constructed very readily by 
 locking rails or poles together, after the manner of fixing a 
 quick gallows upon which to hang slaughtered hogs, with 
 which every farmer is well acquainted. It will take eight 
 poles and four chains. These must be so arranged as to 
 stand on both sides of the horse, and in each of these couples 
 large heavy poles should be laid, which should be about 
 fourteen feet long, and elevated about eight feet above the 
 ground. When this frame is ready, which can be erected in 
 some two or three hours, the assistance of five or six men 
 will be required to raise the hoptse. 
 
 ITow let the slibg be brought, . prepared as already de- 
 scribed, and be placed under the horse's bod}^ and the ropes 
 carried over the poles, Avhich should be about six feet apart, 
 and so braced with other poles, lashed across the ends, that 
 they can not be drawn together. Let one man stand at his 
 head and another at his tail, and at least two on each side, 
 to lift, and one at the end of each rope to hold all that is 
 gained. It will require heavy lifting to raise him, and strong 
 efforts on the part of the men at his head and tail to keep 
 him from pitching. When he is raised part way up, and can 
 begin to use his feet, he will try to raise himself, and a strong 
 pull at the rope will quite easily bring him to a standing 
 position. He will, in all probability, be a little restive for a 
 time, and try to get away from his fastenings, but must be 
 held and made fast by a strong halter in front, and a bar 
 firmly fixed behind. ^ roof must be made to protect him 
 from the weather, and a stand fixed in front, with a box on 
 it for him to feed in. Ditches should be dug around to 
 carry the water away from his place of standing, and keep it 
 dry. 
 
 .Another arrangement can be made when the frame and 
 
FKACTUKES. 581 
 
 sling can not easily be procured and made. It is what we 
 shall call the 
 
 PEN. (See Colt Founder.) 
 
 When all these arrangements are completed, we are now 
 ready for the operation of 
 
 SETTING THE BONES. 
 
 When the fracture is a compound one, and the bones are 
 displaced, the setting should take place before he is raised to 
 his feet. The leg should be wet for some time previous in 
 hot, soapy water. Cloths applied in the hot water may be 
 wrapped around the wound, and the water then turned on 
 for twenty minutes. A rope must be fastened to his foot and 
 carried around a post or some fast body, and the leg gradu- 
 ally pulled until the bones come in place again. This can be 
 told by a gentle pressure of the hand. The wet cloths should 
 now be removed, and if the bones are all right, the leg may 
 be rubbed with the hand until it is dry. This may be done 
 by one person while ihe others are preparing the bandages. 
 These should be strips of strong cloth three inches wide, and 
 dipped in a warm adhesive mixture, made by melting equal 
 parts of burgundy pitch, beeswax, and tallow. Begin to 
 wind the strips some distance below the fracture, letting the 
 end turn up the leg four or five inches, and then wind over 
 this with the bandage to hold the end fast. Place some cot- 
 ton padding over the fracture, and wind the bandage tightly 
 over this. Let the strips lap about an inch in each winding, 
 and extend as far above the fracture as below. If the frac- 
 ture is a very bad one, splints of green wood, bent to suit the 
 shape of the leg, and so as not to press heavily upon the 
 wound, may be bound on with some more of the adhesive 
 bandages. Two pieces of soft wood, of consideiable thick- 
 ness, may be hollowed out so as not to press upon the wound, 
 and the ends shaved down thin to fit the leg, and then wound 
 with the adhesive strips. All this should be done as soon as 
 possible, and the leg relieved from the ropes. 
 
 ''> 
 
68^ AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 TREATMENT OF THE WOUND. 
 
 The leg should be bathed with the hot golden seal and 
 salt and water mixture, every few hours, during the first two 
 or three days, and occasionally afterward. 
 
 If the fracture is above the knee or hock-joint, or if both 
 bones are broken below either of these joints, we should ad- 
 vise, if the situation of the horse can be made at all pleasant, 
 to let him remain on his side for two weeks. The frame may 
 be erected to raise him ; and, by all means, a shelter should be 
 made over him to keep off the sun and rain. But it may be 
 dangerous to raise the horse with a badly broken leg ; and 
 then it can not be set as well while standing as when he is 
 on his side. If, in his lying position, the broken leg is the 
 upper one, not much need be done to fix a support. Some 
 bundles of straw may be laid so that the foot can rest upon 
 them. If it is the under leg, the ground should be hol- 
 lowed out under the fracture, and some straw placed under 
 the wounded part for it to rest upon. Examinations should 
 be made to ascertain if the leg is swelling so as not to make 
 the bandages too tight. If too tight, they must be loosened. 
 This should be done only in extreme cases, and will readily 
 be discovered by the indications of suffering that the patient 
 exhibits. If proper attention has been paid to bathing his 
 leg, this will not be necessary. If the accident should hap- 
 pen in the winter, by all means get the horse into the barn 
 or stable. His fractured leg may be temporarily bandaged 
 and splinted, and then the animal gently moved on to a low 
 sled, and thus drawn into the barn or stable, where he will 
 be warm and comfortable. If he is still on his feet, he may 
 be led into his stall, and all the operations of setting and after 
 attentions be better paid him here than anywhere else. 
 
 If the bones are not displaced, and the leg is not bent, the 
 simple adhesive bandage is all that will be needed. In cases 
 of this kind, the bandages may be taken off on the third day, 
 and re-dipped in the adhesive mixture and bound on again. 
 
 Attention should also be given to his feed. He will want 
 
FRACTUKES. 533 
 
 something to eat, of course, and if he is lying down he will 
 require some assistance to hold his head up. His usual feed 
 may be given him — chopped feed, hay, or oats, but not any 
 corn. A bran-mash occasionally would be excellent. 
 
 THE TIME TO HEAL. • 
 
 This will vary in different cases, and be influenced much 
 by the previous condition of the horse. If he is in low con- 
 dition and feverish, he will most probably die. The fever in 
 the system will settle in the wound and produce death. If in 
 good health at the time of the accident, the time of his re- 
 covery will be in proportion to the badness of the fracture. 
 If the bone of either leg be broken above the knee or hock- 
 joint it will take a month longer for it to heal than if below ; 
 and a compound fracture, where the bone is brokeh entirely 
 off and displaced, will require three times the length of time 
 to heal as simple fracture. It will take from one to three 
 months for either case to heal, and sometimes longer before 
 the horse is able to go to work. He will use his limb just 
 as soon as he is able to do so, and he is the best judge of 
 his ability to use it. 
 
I 
 
 534 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 » CHAPTER XXn. 
 
 SHOEING. 
 
 The horse was subject to a sad necessity when shoes were 
 first put on his feet, which was probably not done previous 
 • to the twelfth or thirteenth century. 
 
 Before this he had no protection for 
 his feet, as he needed none, except that 
 which the all-wise Creator had given — 
 the hard, horny hoof. This, in a nat- 
 ural age of the world, answered every 
 purpose; but now, in this artificial age 
 of unyielding, fiinty roads, an artificial protection seems in- 
 dispensable. 
 
 Perhaps no greater curse has ever been inflicted upon the 
 horse than this of shoeing. His feet are injured — often 
 ruined — by it. Moreover, it frequently causes diseases which 
 ruin not only the foot, but other and more vital parts. But 
 although the evils of shoeing are many, and the sufierings 
 of the horse often great in consequence, the world's advan- 
 tage obviously requires this submission of the brute to the 
 use of man. Horses, if used at all on our present roads, 
 must be shod. All that we hope to do, in writing on this 
 subject, is to prevent, as far as possible, the unnecessary in- 
 fliction of these evils upon the horse, by pointing out wherein 
 they exist, and recommending a better practice than is usual 
 in the art of shoeing. 
 
 The subject, horse-shoeing, has been discussed for ages, 
 and hundreds have been the inventions for the improvement 
 of the shoe ; yet but little progress has been made, and the 
 subject is scarcely better understood than it was a century 
 ago. But, indeed, the prevalent evils in the practice of 
 
SHOEING. 535 
 
 shoeing arise not so much from want of knowledge, as from 
 carelessness and indifference on the part of workmen. In a 
 work like this, a few practical suggestions as to the best 
 mode of preparing the foot and putting on the shoe may 
 not be out of place. We shall introduce the subject by a 
 quotation from Youatt, as we could give nothing better, and 
 our views would necessarily run somewhat in the same chan- 
 nel, but shall afterward give such practical directions as are 
 adapted to our own country and the conditions and require- 
 ments of the horse with us. 
 
 " The period when the shoe began to be nailed to the foot 
 of the horse is uncertain. William the Conqueror introduced 
 the custom into our country. 
 
 "We have seen, in the progress of our inquiry, that while 
 it affords the foot of the horse that defense, which seems 
 now to be necessary, against the destructive effects of our 
 artificial and flinty roads, it has entailed upon the animal 
 some evils. It has limited or destroyed the beautiful ex- 
 pansibility of the lower part of the foot ; it has led to con- 
 traction, although that contraction has not always been ac- 
 companied by lameness. In the most careful fixing of the 
 best shoe, and in the careless manufacture and setting on of 
 the bad one, irreparable injury has occasionally been done to 
 the horse. 
 
 " We will first attend to the preparation of the foot for the 
 shoe, for more than is generally imagined of its comfort to 
 the horse and its safety to the rider depends on this. If the 
 master would generally accompany the horse to the forge, 
 more expense to himself and punishment to the horse would 
 be spared than, perhaps, he would think possible — provided 
 he will take the pains to understand the matter himself; 
 otherwise, he had better not interfere. 
 
 "The old shoe must first be taken off*. We have some- 
 thing to observe even here. The shoe was retained on the 
 foot by the ends of the nails being twisted off", turned down, 
 and clenched. These clenches should be first raised — which 
 the smith seldom takes the trouble thoroughly to do ; but, 
 
536 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 after looking carelessly round the crust, and loosening one 
 or two of the clenches, he takes hold first of one heel of the 
 shoe and then of the other, and by a violent wrench, sep- 
 arates them from the foot; then, by means of a third wrench, 
 applied to the middle of the shoe, he tears it off. By these 
 means he must enlarge every nail-hole, and weaken the 
 future stead}^ hold of the shoe, and sometimes tear off 
 pieces of the crust and otherwise injure the foot. The horse 
 generally shows by his flinching that he suffers from the 
 violence with which this preliminary operation too often is 
 performed. The clenches should always be raised or filed 
 off'; and where the foot is tender, or the horse is to be ex- 
 amined for lameness, each nail should partly be punched out. 
 According to the common system of procedure, many a stub 
 is left in the crust— the source of future annoyance. 
 
 " The shoe having been removed, the smith proceeds to rasp 
 the edges of the crust. Let not the bystander object to the 
 apparent violence which he uses, or fear that the foot will 
 suffer. It is the only means that he has to detect whether 
 any stubs remain in the nail-holes, and it is the most con- 
 venient method of removing that portion of the crust into 
 which dust and gravel have insinuated themselves. 
 
 "Next comes the important process of paring out, with 
 regard to which it is almost impossible to lay down any 
 specific rules. This, however, is undoubted, that far more 
 injury has been done by the neglect of paring than by car- 
 rying it to too great an extent. The art of paring is a work 
 of much more labor than the proprietor of a horse often 
 imagines. The smith, except he is overlooked, will fre- 
 quently give himself as little trouble about it as he can ; and 
 that portion of the horn which, in the unshod foot, would 
 be worn away by contact with the ground, is suffered to ac- 
 cumulate month after month, until the elasticity of the sole 
 is destroyed, and it can no longer descend; and its other 
 functions are impeded, and foundation is laid for corn and 
 contraction, and navicular disease and inflammation. That 
 portion of the horn should be left on the foot, which will 
 
SHOEING. 537 
 
 defend the internal parts from being bruised, and yet saft'er 
 the external sole to descend. How is this to be ascertained? 
 The strong pressure of the thumb of the smith will be the 
 best guide. The butteris, that most destructive of all instru- 
 ments, being, except on very particular occasions, banished 
 from every respectable forge, the smith sets to work with 
 his drawing-knife, and removes t^ie growth of horn, until 
 the sole will yield, although in the slightest possible degree, 
 to the strong pressure of the thumbs. The proper thickness 
 of horn will then remain. 
 
 *' If the foot has been previously neglected, and the horn is 
 become very hard, the owner must not object if the smith 
 resorts to other means to soften it a little, and takes one of 
 his flat irons, and, having heated it, draws it over the sole, 
 and keeps it a little while in contact with the foot. When 
 the sole is really thick, this rude and apparently barbarous 
 method can do no harm ; but it should never be permitted 
 with the sole that is regularly pared out. The quantity of 
 horn to be removed, in order to leave the proper degree of 
 thickness, will vary with difterent feet. From the strong foot 
 a great deal must be taken ; from the concave foot the horn 
 may be removed, until the sole will yield to a moderate 
 pressure ; from the flat> foot little needs to be pared ; while 
 the pummiced foot should be deprived of nothing but the 
 ragged parts. 
 
 " The paring being nearly completed, the knife and the rasp 
 of the smith must be a little watched, or he will reduce the 
 crust to a level with the sole, and thus endanger the bruis- 
 ing of it by its pressure on the edge of the seating. The 
 crust should be reduced to a perfect level all around, but 
 left a little higher than the sole. 
 
 "The heels will require considerable attention. From the 
 stress which is thrown on the inner heel, and from the 
 weakness of the quarter there, the horn usually wears away 
 considerably faster than it would on the outer one ; and if 
 an equal portion of horn were pared from it, it would be 
 left lower than the outer heel. The smith should, therefore, 
 
538 AMEEICAN FARMEE'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 accommodate his paring to the comparative wear o. the 
 heels, and be exceedingly careful to leave them precisely 
 level. 
 
 " If the reader will recollect what has been said of the in- 
 tention and action of the bars, he will readily perceive that 
 the smith should be checked in his almost universal fond- 
 ness for opening the hqels, or, more truly, removing that 
 which is the main impediment to contraction. The portion 
 of the heels between the inflexion of the bar and the frog 
 should scarcely be touched — at least the ragged and detached 
 parts alone should be cut away. The foot may not look so 
 fair and open, but it will last longer without contraction. 
 
 "The bar, likewise, should be left fully prominent, not only 
 at its first inflexion, but as it runs down the side of the frog. 
 The heel of the shoe is designed to rest partly on the heel of 
 the foot and partly on the bar, for reasons that have already 
 been stated. If the bar is weak, the growth of it should be 
 encouraged; and it should be scarcely touched when the 
 horse is shod, unless it has attained a level with the crust. 
 The reader will recollect the observation which has already 
 been made, that the destruction of the bars not only leads 
 to contraction by removing the grand impediment to it, but 
 by adding a still more powerful cause in the slanting di- 
 rection which is given to the bearing of the heels when the 
 bar does not contribute to the support of the weight. 
 
 " It will also be apparent that the horn between the crust 
 and the bar should be carefully pared out. Every horseman 
 has observed tlie relief which is given to the animal lame 
 with corns when this angle is well thinned! This relief, 
 however, is often but temporary, for when the horn grows 
 again, and the shoe presses upon it, the torture of the horse 
 is renewed. 
 
 "The degree of paring to which the frog must be subjected 
 will depend on its prominence and on the shape of the foot. 
 The principle has already been stated that it must be left so 
 far projecting and prominent that it shall be just within and 
 above the lower surface of the shoe; it will then descend 
 
SHOEING. 539 
 
 with the sole sufficiently to discharge the functions that 
 have been attributed to it. If it is lower, it will be bruised 
 and injured ; if it is higher, it can not come in contact with 
 the ground, and thus be enabled to do its duty. The rag- 
 ged parts must be removed, and especially those occasioned 
 by thrush, but the degree of paring must depend entirely on 
 the principle just stated. 
 
 " It appears, then, that the office of the smith requires some 
 skill and judgment, in order to be properly discharged; and 
 the proprietor of horses will find it to his interest to occa- 
 sionally visit the forge, and complain of the careless, or idle, 
 or obstinate fellow, while he rewards, by some trifling gra- 
 tuity, the expert and diligent workman. He should like- 
 wise remember that a great deal more depends on the par- 
 ing out of the foot than on the construction of -the shoe ; 
 that few shoes, except they press upon the sole or are made 
 outrageously bad, will lame the horse ; but that he may be 
 very easily lamed from ignorant and improper paring out 
 of the foot. 
 
 THE PUTTING ON THE SHOE. 
 
 " The foot being thus prepared, the smith looks about for a 
 shoe. He should select one that as nearly fits the foot as 
 possible, or may be easily altered to the foot. He will some- 
 times, and especially if he is an idle, reckless fellow, care 
 very little about this, for he can easily alter the foot to the 
 shoe. The toe-knife is a very convenient instrument for 
 him, and plenty of horn can be struck off with it, or removed 
 by the rasp, in order to make the foot as small as the shoe ; 
 while he cares little, although by this destructive method the 
 crust is materially thinned where it should receive the nail, 
 and the danger of puncture and of pressure upon the sole is 
 increased; and a foot so artificially diminished in size will 
 soon grow over the shoe, to the hazard of considerable or 
 permanent lameness. 
 
 " While the horse is traveling, dirt and gravel are apt to 
 insinuate themselves between the web of the foot and the 
 sole. If the shoe were flat, they would be permanently re- 
 
540 AMEEICAN FAEMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 tained there, and would bruise the sole and be productive 
 of injury; but when the shoe is properly beveled off, it is 
 scarcely possible for them to remain. They must be shaken 
 out almost every time that the foot comes in contact with 
 the ground. 
 
 " The web of the shoe is likewise of that thickness that 
 when the foot is properly pared, the prominent part of the 
 frog shall lie just within and above its ground surface, so that 
 in the descent of the sole the frog shall come sufficiently on 
 the ground to enable it to act as a wedge, and so expand the 
 quarters, while it is defended from the wear and injury it 
 would receive if it come on the ground with the first and 
 full shock of the weight. \ 
 
 " The nail-holes are, on the ground side, placed so near the 
 outer edge of the shoe as they can safely be, and brought 
 out near the inner edge of the seating. The nails thus take 
 the direction inward, resembling that of the crust itself, and 
 have firmer hold, while the strain upon them in the common 
 shoe is altogether prevented ; and the weight of the horse 
 being thrown on a flat surface, contraction is not so likely 
 to be produced. 
 
 " The smith sometimes objects to the use of this shoe on 
 account of its not being so easily formed as one composed 
 of a bar of iron, either flat or a little beveled. It likewise 
 occupies more time in forging ; but these objections would 
 vanish when the owner of the horse declared that he would 
 have him shod elsewhere, or when he consented — as in justice 
 he should — to pay somewhat more for a shoe that required 
 better workmanship and a longer time in construction. 
 
 " It is expedient not only that the foot and ground surface 
 of the shoe should be most accurately level, but that the crust 
 should be exactly smoothed and fitted to the shoe. Much 
 skill and time are necessary to do this perfectly with the 
 drawing-knife. The smith has adopted a method of more 
 quickly and more accurately adapting the shoe to the foot. 
 He pares the crust as level as he can, and then he brings the 
 shoe to a heat, somewhat below a red heat, and applies it to 
 
SHOEING. 541 
 
 the foot, and detects any little elevations by the deep color 
 of the burned horn. This practice has been much inveighed 
 against, but it is the abuse and not the use of the thing 
 which is to be condemned. If the shoe is not too hot, nor 
 held too long on the foot, an accuracy of adjustment is thus 
 obtained which the knife would be long in producing, or 
 would not produce at all. If, however, the shoe is made to 
 burn its way to its seat, with little or no previous prepara- 
 tion of the foot, the heat must be injurious both to the sen- 
 sible and insensible parts of the foot. 
 
 "The heels of the shoe should be examined as to their 
 proper width. Whatever is the custom of shoeing the horses 
 of dealers, and the too prevalent practice in the metropolis 
 of giving the foot an open appearance, although the poste- 
 rior part of it is thereby exposed to injury, nothing is more 
 certain than that, in the horse destined for road-work, the 
 heels, and particularly the seat of corns, can scarcely be too 
 well covered. Part of the shoe projecting externally can be 
 of no possible good, but will prove an occasional source of 
 mischief, and especially in a heavy country. A shoe the web 
 of which projects inward so far as it can without touching the 
 frog, affords protection to the angle between the bars and crust. 
 
 " Of the manner of attaching the shoe to the foot the own^r 
 can scarcely be a competent judge ; he can only take care that 
 the shoe itself shall not be heavier than the work requires; 
 that for work a little hard the shoe shall still be light, with 
 a bit of steel welded into the toe ; that the nails shall be as 
 small and as few and as far from the heels as may be con- 
 sistent with the security of the shoe ; and that for light work, 
 at least, the shoe shall not be driven on so closely and firmly 
 as is often done, nor the points of the nails be brought out 
 so high up as is generally practiced. 
 
 CALKINS. 
 
 " There are few cases in which the use of calkins (a turning 
 up or elevation of the heel) can be admissible in the fore-feet, 
 except in frosty weather, when it may, in some degree, pre- 
 
 'H-' 
 
542 AMEEICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 vent unpleasant or dangerous slipping. If, however, calking 
 are used, the}^ should be placed on both sides. If the outer 
 heel only is raised with the calkin, as is too often the case, 
 the weight can not be thrown evenly on the foot, and undue 
 straining and injury of some part of the foot or leg must be 
 the necessary consequence. Few things deserve more the 
 attention of the horseman than this most absurd and inju- 
 rious of all the practices of the forge. One quarter of an 
 hour's walking, with one side of the shoe or boot raised con- 
 siderably above the other, will painfully convince us of what 
 the horse must suffer from this too common method of shoe- 
 ing. It can not be excused even in the hunting shoe. If 
 the horse is ridden far to cover, or galloped over hard and 
 flinty ground, he will inevitably suffer from this unequal dis- 
 tribution of the weight. If the calkin is put on the outer 
 heel, in order to prevent the horse from slipping, either the 
 horn of that heel should be lowered to a corresponding de- 
 gree, or the other heel of the shoe should be raised to the 
 same level by a gradual thickening. Of the use of the calk- 
 ins in the hinder foot we shall presently speak. 
 
 CLIPS. 
 
 .*' These are portions of the upper edge of the shoe ham- 
 mered out and turned up so as to embrace the lower part 
 of the crust, and which is usually pared out a little in order 
 to receive the clip. They are very useful, as more securely 
 attaching the shoe to the foot, and relieving the crust from 
 that stress upon the nails which would otherwise be injuri- 
 ous. A clip at the toe is almost necessary in every draught 
 horse, and absolutely so in the horse of heavy draught, in 
 order to prevent the shoe from being loosened or torn off" by 
 the pressure which is thrown upon the toe in the act of 
 standing. A clip on the outside of each shoe, at the begin- 
 ning of the quarters, will give security to it. Clips are like- 
 wise necessary on the shoes of all heavy horses, and of all 
 others who are disposed to stamp or violently paw with their 
 feet, and thus incur the danger of displacing the shoe ; but 
 
SHOEING. 643 
 
 they are evils, inasmuch as they press upon the crust as it 
 grows down, and they should only be used when circum- 
 stances absolutely require them. In the hunter's shoe they 
 are not required at the sides. One at the toe is sufficient. 
 
 THE HINDER SHOE. 
 
 ** In forming the hinder shoes, it should be remembered that 
 the hind limbs are the principal instruments in progression, 
 and that in every act of progression, except the walk, the 
 toe is the point on which the whole frame of the animal 
 turns, and from which it is propelled. This part, then, 
 should be strengthened as much as possible, and, therefore, 
 the hinder shoes are made broader at the toe than the fore 
 ones. Another good effect is produced by this, that the 
 hinder foot being shortened, there is less ^ danger of over- 
 reaching or forging, and especially if the shoe is wider on the 
 foot surface than on the ground one. The shoe is thus made 
 to slope inward, and is a little within the toe of the crust. 
 
 The shape of^the hinder foot is somewhat different from 
 that of the fore- foot. It is straighter in the quarter, and the 
 shoe must have the same form. For carriage and draught 
 horses, generally, calkins may be put on the heels, because 
 the animal will thus be enabled to dig his toe more firmly 
 into the ground and urge himself forward, and throw his 
 weight into the collar with greater advantage ; but the calk- 
 ins must not be too high, and they must be of an equal 
 height on each heel; otherwise, as has been stated with re- 
 gard to the fore-feet, the weight will not be fairly distrib- 
 uted over the foot, and some part of the foot will materially 
 suffer. The nails in the hinder shoe may be placed nearer 
 to the heel than in the fore shoe, because, from the compar- 
 atively little weight and concussion thrown on the hinder 
 feet, there is not so much danger of contraction. 
 
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHOES. . ^^ 
 
 The following cut represente the proper form of shoe for 
 the off fore-foot, showing both the upper and under surfaces : 
 
544 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 A 
 
 CONCAVE SEATED ENGLISH SHOE FOB OFF FOBE-FOOT, SHOWING BOTH SUBFACE3 
 
. SHOEING. 545 
 
 In Fig. 1, A is the clip at the toe; B^, the outer .quarter; ^2 ^he inner quarter; 
 C*, the outer heel ; (7^, the inner heel. The dark shade represents the con- 
 cave surface to lighten the shoe and keep off pressure from the sole; and 
 the lighter shading the flat surface for the crust of the hoof to bear upon. 
 
 In Fig. 2, A is the toe turned up out of the line of wear; B^, the outer, and B^, 
 the inner quarter ; C^ the out^r, and C*, the inner heel ; the light shade 
 representing the ground surface of the web, as wide at the heels as it is 
 at the toe; the dark line representing the fuller carried back no further 
 than is required by the nails, so that the shoe may not be weakened un- 
 necessarily. 
 
 This should never be made wider at the heels than the 
 foot it is intended for, but should curve inward exactly to 
 correspond on the internal surface with the crust of the hoof. 
 The inner half should be forged of concave shape, making 
 the inner edge much thinner than the outer, so as to keep 
 all pressure off the sole of the foot, and prevent pieces of 
 gravel, which get under the shoe, from doing injury to the 
 foot. The web of the shoe for an ordinary sized horse 
 should be about an inch wide, but varying to the conforma- 
 tion of the foot and use of the horse — always narrower, 
 however, at the heel than at the quarter. The shoe should 
 be attached by a few nails and near the toe.- Three holes 
 on the inside toe and four on the outside quarter, as shown 
 in the cut, are usually sufficient to secure the shoe ; and for 
 light horses, one or two can be dispensed with if the shoe is 
 not too long at the heel and allowed to overlap it. The toe 
 of the shoe should be turned up in a clip, but not enough 
 to interfere with the nail -holes there. Of course calks 
 should be added when the roads are slippery, and they 
 should be of uniform height at heel and toe. The one at the 
 toe should be made of steel and welded into the shoe. 
 
 The following cut represents the bar shoe, of which 
 Walsh says in his highly scientific work : " It is never used 
 in this country (England) for sound feet, but it is a great 
 pity that some modification of it can not be introduced, so 
 as to obviate all the objections which apply to the ordinary 
 shoe. It consists of a complete jing of iron, similar in shape 
 to the ordinary shoe, so far as the back of the quarters, but 
 35 
 
1^ 
 
 546 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 from that part bending inward to meet the wob of the op- 
 posite side with which.it is welded. 
 
 BAR 8H0K FOR OFF FORE-FOOT-FITTED, BUT NOT NAILED ON. 
 
 "It is now used for the purposes exactly the reverse of 
 each other. In the one case, the foot is so prepared that the 
 frog shall touch the shoe, while the heels are quite free, and 
 are, thereby, relieved from all pressure. In the other, the frog 
 does not come in contact with the shoe, which is solely sup- 
 ported by the crust and the bars. It may thus be made to 
 defend either the frog or the heels, whichever may be in 
 fault, and it is one of the most invaluable aids to veterinary 
 surgery. Should the frog be more prominent than the crust, 
 the shoe may be made thin in proportion, at the part where 
 it covers the former, and by this means it may be made ex- 
 actly to fit the two when it is desired to divide the weight 
 between them. There are many weak-heeled harness horses 
 which would do their work. much better if they were per- 
 
SHOEING. 547 
 
 manentlj^ shod in this way, and but for the danger of pulling 
 these shoes off, and the little hold which they take of the 
 ground, hacks might also sometimes be shod advantageously 
 with the bar shoe. It is unsightly, certainly, and at pres- 
 ent marks the existence of some disorder, and for these 
 reasons it is now seldom employed, except on compulsion." 
 
 We will now conclude our extract from Youatt, and then 
 proceed with our own comments. 
 
 " The shoe must vary in substance and weight with the 
 kind of foot and the nature of the work. A weak foot 
 should never wear a heavy shoe, nor any foot a shoe that 
 will last longer than a month. Here, perhaps, we may be 
 permitted to caution the horse proprietor against having his. 
 cattle shod by contract, unless he binds down his farrier or 
 veterinary surgeon to remove the shoes once at leacst in every 
 month ; for if the contractor, by a he^vy shoe and a little 
 steel, can cause five or six weeks to intervene between the 
 shoeings he will do so, although the feet of the horse must 
 necessarily suffer. The shoe should never be heavier than 
 the work requires, for an ounce or two in the weight of the 
 shoe will sadly tell at the end of a hard day's work. This 
 is acknowleged in the hunting shoe, which is narrower and 
 lighter than that of the hackney, although the foot of the 
 hackney is smaller than that of the hunter. It is more de- 
 cidedly acknowledged in the racer, who wears a shoe only 
 sufficiently thick to prevent it from bending when it is used." 
 
 The above directions are applicable to any country, and can 
 not be well improved upon in the main, but we must differ 
 in some respects with their author, as will hereafter appear. 
 ^Smiths are generally more careful, and understand their 
 business . better in. this country than is above represented. 
 There has been a comniendable spirit of improvement among 
 our smiths of late years in the art of good shoeing. Some 
 of them make mistakes, but not oftenel" than is common in 
 other departments of business. Some do not understand 
 their business, but of these there are not many. 
 
 To shoe a horse well is a very nice operation. There is 
 
 :*9' 
 
 .• 
 
548 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 much care to be used in observing the quality of different feet 
 or hoofs. Every horse that comes to the shop has a foot of 
 peculiar texture and shape. The shoe should be adapted to 
 these varying qualities, and also to the size, weight, habit, 
 etc., of the horse. The size of the horse must be taken into 
 special consideration — small, light animals by no means re- 
 quiring the thick and heavy shoes suited to the large draught 
 horse. 
 
 A hard, flinty hoof does not require so wide a shoe as a 
 soft, pumiced one. It is a fault prevalent among smiths of 
 leaving too much space between the nails in the front part 
 or toe of the shoe. Shoes stay on much better when the 
 space here is small, as this is the strongest part of the hoof. 
 
 Winter shoes may have calks, but summer shoes should 
 not. The summer shoe should have a large groove for the 
 nails to imbed their heads in, and the heel of the shoe may 
 be made somewhat thicker, so as to rest upon the ground 
 when the foot is elevated by the nails. Horses that have 
 tender or sore feet from the effect of corns or hoof-rot, or 
 both, or whose hoofs are worn down on turnpike roads, 
 should have a strip of felt cut in the shape of the shoe and 
 laid under it before nailing. This will greatly relieve the 
 pressure of the shoe. 
 
 PARINO THE HOOFS. 
 
 The usual fault in paring is in taking off too much at the 
 heel and not enough at the toe, thus throwing the foot too 
 far back and causing a dangerous strain upon the coffin 
 joint; and from this bad practice ring-bone, foot-evil, and 
 navicular disease often arise. As a rule, one-third more 
 should be pared off from the toe than from the heel, as the 
 pressure of the shoe wears the heel much faster than the toe. 
 We must differ somewhat from the high authority of our 
 English author in relation to paring the frog. It should be 
 pared at least a third of an inch lower than the sides of the 
 foot. The bars which hold it to the sides of the heel should 
 not be cut. The shuttle-bone lies immediately upon the frog, 
 
SHOEING. 549 
 
 ♦ 
 and when the latter is allowed to grow down so as to rest 
 upon the ground an injurious pressure is brought to bear 
 upon this bone, and its connection with the other bones and 
 the large flexor tendon of the joint. From this cause serious 
 diseases have. arisen, baffling the skill of the best veterinary 
 physicians to detect and remedy. 
 
 • CHANGING THE SHOES. 
 
 The great fault in all this matter of shoeing is one for* 
 which the farmer is chiefly to blame; namely, neglect to 
 change the shoes. This neglect more seriously affects young 
 horses than older ones, as the feet of the former grow faster, 
 and are more soft and tender; but any horse's hoof soon 
 grows too large for the shoe, and after a time extends so 
 much that the nails of the shoe begin to draw the hoof to- 
 gether, and from this cause arises a majority of cases of con- 
 traction of the hoof, or narrow heel. Besides, the water so 
 constantly between the shoe and the hoof causes the shoe to 
 rust, and the action of the iron-rust, thus confined, is very 
 destructive to the hoof, and produces a species of decay 
 known as the hoof-rot and pumiced feet, already described 
 in this chapter. 
 
 THE TIME OF WEARING. 
 
 The length of time that shoes may be worn without in- 
 jury varies with different horses. Horses with soft or pum- 
 iced feet should not wear them longer than forty or forty-five 
 days ; those of six or seven years of age, when their feet are 
 good, may wear them for sixty or seventy days; and old 
 horses, if their feet have never been injured, may keep them 
 on for three months — the extreme length of time in any 
 case. Young horses with their first shoes should not wear 
 them longer than forty days. • 
 
 The injuries incurred by wearing the shoes before the feet 
 have become fully formed, or have attained their full size 
 and hardness, are many. Colts should have on shoes but a 
 little part of the year. Nor should the colt be shod at all 
 until he is at least three years old, and even this- is earlier 
 
550 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 than is advisable. Shoes may be put on the three years' colt 
 at the beginning of winter, and remain until spring, when 
 they are to be removed and left off until the following 
 autumn. 
 
 All horses, and especially all young horses, should spend 
 as much of their time bare-footed as possible. The shoes 
 should be taken from the farm-horse in the spring, his feet 
 pared, and the edges of the hoof trimmed ; and if the bot- 
 toms have begun to decay they should be wetted with tur- 
 pentine, which must be thoroughly dried in by holding a 
 hot iron under the bottom of the hoof as long as the horse 
 will bear the heat. The corrosive liniment may be used in- 
 stead of turpentine. This will preserve the hoof from the 
 evil effects of shoeing, and destroy any tendency to disease. 
 Feet that have long been shod will always be tender, and 
 they are often injured when the shoes are removed, and after- 
 ward much hurt by contact with the hard ground. More- 
 over, when shoes are not properly trimmed, the hoofs break 
 in such a manner as to let the bottom of the foot down 
 upon the ground, and the horse is given pain by every step 
 he takes, from the soreness of the soles of the hoof. 
 
 The corrosive liniment, used as directed in the chapter on 
 medicines, will readily heal and harden the hoof. Indeed, 
 this invaluable liniment might well be applied to the hoof 
 on many occasions, and thus certainly prevent such diseases 
 as hoof-rot, corns, grease, and thrush. 
 
VICES AND UNSOUNDNESS OF THE HORSE. 551 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 VICES AND UNSOUNDNESS OF THE HORSE. 
 I. VICES. 
 
 The horse, like man, his master, is a compound of defects 
 and excellent qualities. Confessedly among the noblest, if 
 not the noblest, of the lower animals, he yet has his full share 
 of vices.- Most of these are common to the species, though 
 a few seem to belong exclusively to particular breeds. They 
 are sometimes traceable to natural disposition, but more fre- 
 quently to the result of improper training, of neglect or abuse. 
 False education, in the horse as well as the human creature, 
 is necessarily a cause of untold evil. The horse seems read- 
 ily to fall into bad ways, and should be curbed, controlled, 
 and directed properly from the very first. The value of a 
 horse is, of course, diminished in proportion to the number 
 of his "vices," and purchasers are often cheated through.! 
 ignorance of the means of detecting them. Many persons 
 are deceived by an opinion that prevails largely in the coun- 
 try that a horse can easily be cured of a bad habit. This is 
 a great mistake. It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks, 
 but still harder to break an old horse of bad tricks. It is, 
 indeed, so difficult as to be very rarely accomplished. The 
 colt age is the time for training ; and if it is not done then 
 it is almost worse than useless to try to do it afterward, 
 Rarey to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 We will now proceed to take up and consider in order 
 Bome of the chief " Vices of the Horse." 
 
 KICKING. 
 
 Kicking is probably the worst habit that the horse is ever 
 addicted to, for it is very dangerous. It may be induced in 
 
552 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 the colt by pinching, teasing, and otherwise annoying, as 
 boys and . hostlers often do. The grown horse is not likely 
 to kick, unless this habit has been acquired early. Still, 
 there are colts that seem naturally vicious in this particular. 
 They will kick, when very young, at every body and every 
 thing that comes near them. But by far the larger num- 
 ber, as above intimated, acquire the habit through the ig- 
 norance or carelessness of attendants. From very small be- 
 ginnings grow the very worst evils. A habit of kicking 
 once acquired will increase, until it becomes quite unsafe 
 to approach the animal addicted to it. All can remember 
 the startling warning, so often heard, " Take care — that 
 horse may kick you I " It is perilous to enter the stall of 
 a kicking horse, or to attempt to clean him, or to hitch 
 him, or even touch him with harness. Some horses will 
 kick at other horses, but not at persons; some at chains 
 rattling about them, but not at other parts of the harness. 
 Some will permit one person to ride them, but decidedly 
 object to two, and will kick violently if two attempt to 
 mount them. The most dangerous of all kicking is that 
 done in harness. Says Youatt,- *' From the least annoyance 
 ^bout the rump or quarters, some horses will kick at a most 
 violent rate, and destroy the bottom of the chaise and en- 
 danger the limbs of the driver. Those that are fidgety in 
 the stable are most apt to do this. If the reins should per- 
 chance get under his tail, the violence of the kicker is most 
 outrageous ; and while the animal presses down his tail so 
 tightly that it is almost impossible to extricate the reins, he 
 continues to plunge until he has demolished every thing be- 
 hind him." 
 
 It is not only imprudent to keep a horse addicted to such 
 practices as above described, but it is criminal. It amounts 
 to a species of insanity. 
 
 The best remedy for kicking is to tie a small, hard rope 
 to the hair of the tail; pass the rope along the belly and 
 between the legs, and fasten it very tightly to the collar, or 
 to another rope tied round the neck. When the animal thus 
 
VICES AND UNSOUNDNESS OF THE HORSE. 553 
 
 fettered attempts to kick, the motion of his hind legs will 
 bring such a strain on the rope, and hurt his tail and the 
 skin of his belly so much, that he will be deterred from an 
 exercise that costs him so dearly. 
 
 BITING. 
 
 This vicious habit generally arises from a natural disposi- 
 tion to ferocity, but is made worse by the meanness of boys 
 and stable attendants. Few horses would ever become biters 
 were it not for the annoyances to which they have been sub- 
 ject, and some horses can scarcely be induced to bite. Bit- 
 ing horses are very vexing, and often dangerous. It is im- 
 possible to enter their stall with safety, or to curry, saddle, 
 harness, or even feed them without fear of mischief. The 
 biter's worst fault is, that he gives no warning of his inten- 
 tion. He appears as docile and quiet as usual, but as soon 
 as the incautious person approaches within his reach, he 
 seizes him with his teeth, often inflicting serious injury. 
 
 A biting stallion is an exceedingly dangerous auimal; he 
 not only bites, but is apt to strike with his fore-feet. A 
 gentleman in Middle Tennessee, who owned a very valuable 
 stallion that was in the habit of biting, went to the stable, 
 one evening, to feed him, but as he did not return, his fam- 
 ily, going to look for him, found him dead under the horse's 
 feet. 
 
 There is no cure for this propensity, except to knock out 
 one of the front teeth of the vicious animal every time he 
 bites a person. This is a dreadful remedy, but it is better 
 than to be continually in danger. It is an eflectual remedy. 
 Few horses will need to have more than two teeth removed — 
 one above and one below. 
 
 Professor Stewart, in his "Stable Economy," pronounces 
 the worst form of biting to be a " species of insanity." 
 
 The habit of biting can be remedied or prevented in the 
 colt, and it is the interest and duty of every horse -owner to 
 see that it is remedied or prevented. It is of no use to pun- 
 ish the colt for this or any other bad habit. Kindness will 
 
5»H AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 do more good than punishment. See to it that all teasing 
 and vexing of your colt be promptly and entirely broken up. 
 
 REARING. 
 
 This habit is often induced by bad treatment, such as jerk- 
 ing the mouth with the bridle, etc. Whatever may be the 
 cause of it, it is a very troublesome and dangerous fault. 
 By it riders are most frequently thrown, with what sad re- 
 sults is well known. If a horse rears in the harness, he is 
 almost sure to fall, and get himself entangled in the gear, 
 breaking it, oftentimes, and injuring -himself. If beside 
 another horse, this, if not hurt, is generally made scary by 
 example. Some horses will not back without rearing. Per- 
 sons purchasing horses should be sure to try them at backing. 
 
 The remedy recommended for kicking will also apply to 
 rearing. 
 
 SCARING. 
 
 Scaring is a common defect among horses. Some of them 
 will take fright at almost any thing, and sometimes appar- 
 ently at nothing. In many cases it is occasioned by a defect 
 of vision. Some horses are near-sighted, and, in consequence, 
 do not see objects until the}^ are alarmingly near. But, like 
 the other vices we have been considering, scaring is gener- 
 ally a habit brought on by bad training. Inconsiderate boys 
 and irresponsible hostlers often have a habit of frightening 
 colts whenever they come near them. A habit of scaring 
 contracted in colthood generally remains through life. There 
 is no radical remedy for it. Gentle and kind treatment may 
 effect much, and nothing else will. 
 
 Since the miserable old blind-bridles have gone out of use, 
 there are not so many scary horses as there used to be. 
 
 A horse generally gives evidence of fright either by jump- 
 ing forward or sidewise, or by shying. Jumping is the most 
 dangerous, as it is usually the signal for running. 'Nor is. the 
 horse likely to delay long. He is off in an instant — either 
 to one side, upsetting or endangering the vehicle he draVs, 
 
 # . 
 

 VICES AND UNSOUNDNESS OF THE HORSE. 555 
 
 or straight ahead, with a force and rapidity that it strongly 
 taxes a driver's strength to restrain. Shying is not so seri- 
 ous, but it is very annoying. Many horses that start, shy, 
 and jump will not run away, but this is not generally the 
 case. 
 
 RUNNING AWAY. A 
 
 There is no trust to be put in a horse that has once run 
 away ; and a horse having run when harnessed to a vehicle 
 ought never again to be driven to the same vehicle. Nor 
 will it be safe, in most cases, to drive him singly, unless to 
 the plow. He may be ridden or worked beside some old, 
 steady horse in the wagon, but this is as far as it is safe to 
 trust him. It is to be remembered that scaring is the nat- 
 ural antecedent to running away. No horse will run away 
 that will not scare. 
 
 BALKING AND BACKING. 
 
 The habit of balking and backing is one of the worst and 
 most insufferable that a horse is ever addicted to, and one 
 which renders " horse-flesh " next to worthless. It is a habit 
 we are again compelled to attribute not so much to' the nat- 
 ural disposition of the horse as to faulty training and abuse 
 in colt-breaking. It is often the result of overloading the 
 young animal before he has been trained to hard pulling, 
 and before he has become strong enough to bear the strain 
 of drawing heavy loads. The overtaxed and weary beast, 
 perhaps midway up a long hill, gifes out from sheer ex- 
 haustion ; and then the wagon runs back, pulling him with 
 it, and in this way the practice of backing and balking is 
 begun, and at first a necessity, becomes in time a confirmed 
 habit. 
 
 A horse that is not broken before the age of three years 
 is more liable to run into this practice than one broken 
 earlier. 
 
 Of course there is no dependence to be put on a balky 
 horse. When you most need his services, he is most likely, 
 to disappoint you. Numbers of accidents are continually 
 
656 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 occurring from the imprudence of driving balkj beasts, and 
 yet many persons will persist in a practice fraught with im- 
 minent ^danger to property and life. Indeed, there is hardly 
 any matter in which men display more foolhardiness than in 
 their dealings with horses. 
 
 There is no cure for a balky horse. We have seen nearly 
 all means tried, and have seen them fail, and have no con- 
 fidence in any plan for breaking up the detestable habit. 
 Many secret rules for the cure of it have been circulated in 
 the country, the chief effect of which has been to deceive 
 credulous persons, and to extract a few dollars from their 
 pockets. A class of secret-rule-selling impostors may tame 
 and control a very lazy horse^ so that he will stand still and 
 let you handle him, if you will scratch his itching hide and 
 breathe into his nostrils — an operation very grateful to him — 
 but none of them has ever succeeded in making an obstinate, 
 old, balky horse pull up a steep hill ; and, furthermore, they 
 never will do it. 
 
 The horse can be trained from a colt to be true and steady 
 in harness, and kept from bad tricks, and broken of some 
 vices, but not of habitual balking. 
 
 CHEWING THE REINS. 
 
 This pernicious habit is mostly confined to young colts 
 and mules. The old horse is but seldom guilty of it, but 
 mules often continue it all their lives. 
 
 It may be prevented and the animal effectually cured by 
 soaking the hitch-rein of the halter in a strong decoction 
 of Cayenne pepper. In the absence of Cayenne pepper to- 
 bacco may be employed. 
 
 PULLING AT THE HALTER AND BREAKING AWAY. 
 
 Some horses will never stand hitched by the halter,, but 
 are always restive and pulling, and frequently break away. 
 This is, in nearly all cases, a defect of early training — of 
 mismanagement of the colt while quite young. Boys are 
 apt to be continually scaring the colt, which, if tied with a 
 
VICES AND UNSOUNDNESS OF THE HORSE. 557 
 
 weak cord, will sometimes break away ; and when once he 
 has learned that he can do this, he will ever afterward be 
 trying his halter, and two or three times breaking will con- 
 firm the habit. The only remedy is to provide a halter too 
 strong to be broken. 
 
 . . OVEREEACHING AND INTERFERING. 
 
 Overreaching and interfering are perhaps not so properly 
 classed under the head of vices as under that of infirmities. 
 The first results in consequence of the horse's having more 
 power and nervous action in his hind than in his fore-legs. 
 The toe of his hind foot strikes against the heel of the fore- 
 foot, and, wh.en the horse is shod, there is a peculiar, disa- 
 greeable sound of the iron shoes hitting together. Besides 
 the unpleasantness of this defect to a rider or driver, "a horse 
 afflicted by it is constantly injuring himself by cutting the 
 heel of the fore-foot, often laming himself seriously. 
 
 When the horse strikes the fore-foot on one side against 
 the ankle of the other, in the act of stepping, he is said to 
 interfere. Such a horse will nearly always have the inside of 
 one or both ankle-joints cut ajid bleeding, and be continally 
 halting and limping from the effects of these bruises. Horses 
 that are very narrow in the chest, and whose legs are not 
 very closely together, are obviously more liable to this 
 trouble than others. 
 
 Much may be done to remedy interference by paring the 
 hoof close and round on the inside, and keeping the shoe- 
 nails from projecting outward ; but nothing will entirely cure 
 a bad case of interference. Plenty of good, wholesome food, 
 to make the horse fat, will spread his legs somewhat further 
 apart, and partially remedy the defect, which, in fact, is often 
 an effect of leanness and hunger. 
 
 STUMBLING. 
 
 Stumbling is also rather an infirmity than a vice. It re- 
 sults from a natural fault in the shape of the hoof and foot, 
 and also from a stiffness of the knee. The legs of stumbling 
 
558 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 horses are set too straight down in the hoof, like a post in 
 the ground. A stumbler, however, is generally an old stiff - 
 jointed, worn-out animal, fit for nothing but the wagon or 
 the plow. There is no cure for a stumbler, and woe to the 
 man who attempts to ride one. He had better have his neck 
 insured before he mounts. 
 
 II. UNSOUNDNESS. 
 
 The horse can not tell his ailment, and sometimes fine- 
 looking animals possess defects that the best of judges fail 
 to discern. It is our present object to point out some of 
 the more important marks of unsoundness, to guard, the 
 reader against imposition, for jockeys are very skillful in 
 concealing the blemishes of their horses, and buyers are 
 often deceived and cheated. 
 
 DEFECTS OF THE EYE. 
 
 It is difficult to detect a bad eye. It can be done best in 
 the bright sunshine. The head of the horse should be held 
 in such a position as to let the sun's rays fall as directly as 
 possible upon the ball of the eye. If it is not perfectly clear, 
 the sun shining into it will reveal this. Another mode of 
 judging of the condition of the eye is by examining the 
 nose of the Horse, and looking for the little opening in the 
 back lining of the nostril, (described in the chapter on the 
 eye and blind staggers,) which is the outlet of the lachrymal 
 duct that drains the water from the eye. This little opening 
 will be discovered to be of different sizes in different horsea, 
 varying from the size of a pin*s head to an eighth or even 
 a third of an inch in diameter. The size of this opening is 
 directly indicative of the strength of the eye ; and in all cases 
 of disease of the eye, (except from blows or injuries,) and in 
 all cases of blindness caused by disease, the little opening has 
 been found to be very small ; and in a majority of eases that 
 we have examined — numbering nearly five hundred — the.se 
 openings were not larger than a pin's head; and in Jour 
 
VICES AND UNSOUNDNESS OF THE HORSE. 559 
 
 cases of bad eyes examined by us during the past month, 
 August, 1866, in Petersburg, Ky., the lachrymal openings 
 were very small indeed. Ou the contrary, in almost ever}^ 
 case of large, full, clear eyes, these openings are proportion- , 
 ably large. This is an almost unvarying rule, that the ' 
 strength of the eye to resist disease, and its liability to go 
 out, will be indicated by the size of these openings. 
 
 DEFECTS OF THE TEET. ' V 
 
 There are more horses unsound from defects of the feet 
 than from all other causes together. Many of these* defects 
 arise from bad shoeing, but more of them from bad stabling, 
 which compels the horse to stand in wet and filth. Plank 
 floors are very hurtful to horses' feet, especially in summer. 
 The diseases most likely to attack the feet first are hoof-rot, 
 corns, thrush, grease, scratches, and these are the exciting 
 cause of many others. Hoof-rot is a condition of the foot 
 that has excited but little attention, and yet it lies at the 
 foundation of almost all the other foot difiiculties. Hoof-rot, 
 also called pumice feet, has already been described. It is in- 
 dicated by a soft, rotten state of the bottom, of the hoof, 
 permitting its substance to be easily dug or cut out with a 
 knife or a chisel. The soft matter will be thickest at the 
 back part of the foot, and has a white, chalky, scaly appear- *. J|% 
 
 ance. When the feet are in this condition, the horse will be 
 what is called tender- footed, a condition indicated by his pe- 
 culiar manner of stepping. The joints^will swell, and many 
 troublesome if not incurable diseases ensue, l^ever forget 
 that hoof-rot is a serious disease, and, consequently, a positive 
 and deplorable condition of unsoundneag. 
 
 DEFECTS OF THE SKIN. 
 
 Many horses are afflicted by a scurviness of the skin which 
 fills the hair with a brownish dust. Such horses can never 
 be kept clean. You can hardly rub your hand over one of 
 them without its becoming smeared with this gummy scurf. 
 K you curry out all you can in the morning, it wiU be just 
 
 ^ 
 
560 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 as bad again at night. This condition continues sometimes 
 for months and years. Few persons ever think that this in- 
 dicates any thing specially wrong, but they are sadly mis- 
 taken. It is caused by a disease of the skin, a continued 
 fever which is drying up the scarf or cuticle, and thickening 
 the hide all over the body. It may be located in the skin 
 alone, yet often is caused by a general unhealthy state of 
 the system. It is the beginning of other serious diseases, 
 and is especially injurious to the eye. It is unsoundness of 
 the most dangerous character. 
 
 DEFECTS OP THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 
 
 The respiratory organs are often diseased, and even when 
 apparently sound the eftects of previous disease may remain, 
 though in a latent form, and render a horse much less val- 
 uable than he would otherwise be. Purchasers are in danger 
 of being cheated by having a horse thus unsound imposed 
 upon them. Some of the chronic complaints resulting from 
 diseased respiratory organs are coughs, broken wind, wheez- 
 ing, thumps, etc. These complaints can best be detected by 
 driving or riding the animal for some distance at a rapid 
 rate. If any thing is the matter with these organs, he will 
 show it in his breathing. Dry, dusty feed will, in most 
 cases, bring to light a hidden chronic cough. Examine well 
 your horse before yau buy him or trade for him. 
 
 DEFECTS OF STOMACH AND BOWELS. 
 
 Indigestion and intestinal disturbances are common to the 
 horse, but these, or at least their more violent symptoms, 
 soon pass away. I^t so their effects; a diseased ^nd weak- 
 ened condition of the digestive organs often remains. Many 
 horses are subject to frequent attacks of colic, the conse- 
 quence, of imperfect functions of weakened organs. Others 
 are constantly troubled with looseness of the bowels. In some 
 cases the food is voided but partially digested, portions of hay 
 and grain passing whole. These may be but temporary affec- 
 tions of the bowels, but in some cases remain constant. 
 
VICES AND UNSOUNDNESS OF THE HpRSE. 561 
 
 THE URINARY ORGANS. 
 
 The urinary organs are more subject to disease than any- 
 other parts of the horse. Inflammation of any of these 
 organs can not last long. It must soon be cured or it will 
 soon kill. Even when cured, it nearly alwa3"s leaves evil 
 effects in the form of stricture of some of the passages — of a 
 constant tendency to fullness of the sheath, or of a disordered 
 state of the urine, known under the names of thick or albu- 
 minous urine, white or briny urine, bloody urine, profuse 
 stalling, and suppressage or stoppage of the urine. In some 
 cases these affections are only temporary, and pass away with 
 the disease that caused them, but in many others they be- 
 come permanent. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 There are many other species of defect to which the horse 
 is liable besides those we have mentioned. It has been our 
 purpose only to mention such important defects as seriously 
 impair the soundness of the horse, and are not generally un- 
 derstood. The reader needs no warning against defects easily 
 to be discovered, but against those of a more hidden and in- 
 tricate nature he may find a word of caution beneficial. Cer- 
 tain diseases have their marks so prominent that they can be 
 detected at once ; such are ring-bone, spavin, splint, wind- 
 galls, narrow heel, swelled legs, big head, etc. These all 
 constitute unsoundness in a greater or less degree, but are 
 so well known that no description of them is needed. 
 36 
 
562 AMERKJAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 MEDICAL PREPARATIONS RECOMMENDED IN THIS WORK. 
 
 But few persons are to be found in our country capable 
 of treating properly tbe diseases of the horse; but there is 
 no lack of quacks, the presumption and ignorance of whom 
 have thoroughly disgusted the people. Occasionally, how- 
 ever, we are favored by the presence of a veterinary practi- 
 tioner of knowledge, skill, and experience. The cities are, 
 in this respect, better supplied than the country; yet even 
 in the city the old treatment and exploded theories of dis- 
 eases generally prevail,- and the medicines in common use 
 are too often ineffectual. In practice it will frequently be 
 found that medicines are applied to destroy the effects rather 
 than to remove the causes of disease. A case in point : We 
 have under treatment a horse in Petersburg, Kentucky, that 
 had been doctored for the "swelled leg" by a professedly 
 " scientilic practitioner." Medicine had been applied to the 
 leg to abate the swelling, while the foot was dreadfuly dis- 
 eased with hoof-rot, corns, and incipient greasy heel. This 
 condition of the foot had been the cause of the swelling of 
 the leg, but nothing had been done for it, if it had even been 
 discovered at all. 
 
 The farmer must necessarily, as a rule, be his own horse- 
 doctor, or go without any. It is, therefore, very important 
 that he and all horse-owners should make themselves ac- 
 quainted not only with the ordinary diseases, but with the 
 medicines most likely to cure them. The practice now in 
 vogue is to use preparations unfamiliar to the farmer, and 
 not easily procured. This ought not to be so. The essen- 
 tial remedies usually employed with most benefit are simple, 
 and obtained without difficulty ; nor are they dangerous to use. 
 
MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. ' 66B 
 
 The medicines described in these pages are few and fa- 
 miliar; yet they, singly or in combination, have been proven 
 by experience to be efficacious. We shall briefly give their 
 constitution, properties, mode of preparation, and use. Par- 
 ticular attention should be paid to the directions given for 
 their preparation ; and the manner of using here recom- 
 mended should be strictly followed. 
 
 CORROSIVE LINIMENT. 
 I. 
 
 Take half a pint of turpentine, wh||h put in a good, strong 
 bottle, adding an ounce of finely-pulverized corrosiye sublimate 
 and an ounce of gum camphor. Shake well, ^nd let the mix- 
 ture stand for twenty-four hours, when it will be fit for use. 
 
 The value of this liniment depends greatly upon, the fine- 
 ness to which the corrosive sublimate is pulverized. Grind 
 it as fine as possible in a druggist's mortar ; pounding with 
 a hammer will not answer. The object of this pulverization 
 is to get the substance in such a form that it will be read- 
 ily dissolved by the turpentine. There are comparatively 
 few liquids which will dissolve corrosive sublimate, and we 
 claim to have discovered that turpentine is one of these. 
 Corrosive sublimate is well known as one of the most vio- 
 lent poisons. Its combination with turpentine constitutes 
 one of the most powerful of n^edicines, increasing in its 
 active properties by keeping. We believe it to be the most 
 penetrating liniment in the world. It reaches the seat of 
 disease through any and all obstacles. It destroys all in- 
 fection, putridity, ulceration, old running-sores, proud flesh, 
 and all skin and bone diseases of -the horse. It will cure 
 big head ^d jaw, grease, thrush, scratches, swelled legs, hoof- 
 rot, foot-evil, corns, ulceration of the foot, (navicular disease,) 
 fistula, poll- evil, ring-bone, and spavin, in their first stages. 
 
 In the human subject this liniment has been known to 
 cure repeatedly those troublesome affections known as tetter 
 and scald-head; but it is to be used with great caution in 
 these cases, and not at all unless at least ten days old. 
 
^4 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Method of using. — Always shake the hottle well before tak- 
 ing out the stopper. Pour the liquid into an earthen vessel, 
 as it corrodes vessels of metal. Apply with a little mop of 
 soft rasr. In all bone affections the liniment is to be thor- 
 oughly dried in by means of a hot iron, held close to the 
 medicated spot, but not close enough to burn the animal. 
 Particular directions are given, in connection with the de- 
 scription of diseases, how to proceed in reference to quantity 
 and manner of using the liniment. 
 
 Cautions. — ^Keep the materials for making this preparation 
 and the medicine itself out of the way of children. Taken 
 internally it is a violent poison, but may be antidoted by the 
 white of eggs. , It will not hurt the hands provided the skin 
 is whole and sound. It is so corrosive that persons unac- 
 quainted with its use are sometimes alarmed at the severity 
 with which it acts upon the skin of the horse. Nothing 
 more strikingly shows the difference between the constitu- 
 tion of the horse and that of the human being than the ac- 
 tion of this medicine, which, while it dreadfully inflames, 
 corrodes, and puffs out the skin o5f the former, harms that 
 of the latter not at all. 
 
 MAY-APPLE LINIMENT. 
 II. 
 
 Make a strong decoction from about a gallon of May-apple 
 roots, continuing to boil until you obtain a thick syrup — tak- 
 ing care not to burn it. While still boiling, add one-fourth as 
 much old bacon or lard as you have syrup, remembering to 
 stir all the time ; remove from the fire, and preserve for use. 
 
 Use. — We use this liniment in cases of ulcers and tumors 
 where matter has formed. It is also employed in cases of 
 fistula and poll-evil in their second stage ; that is, when sup- 
 puration or festering has set in. In this stage of those dis- 
 eases this remedy never fails to cure. It is slow in its action, 
 but very certain if properly used. It inflames the skin, puff- 
 ing it out like a honey-comb, and draws the fever and mat- 
 ter all to the surface. 
 
 
MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 565 
 
 To find the May-apple. — The May-apple (podophyllum pel- 
 tatum) is common in the Middle and Western States of the 
 Union. It grows in nearly all rich upland where the birch 
 and the sugar-tree is found, and in most creek and river 
 bottoms. It is about a foot in height, with a rounded stem, 
 sometimes dividing at the top into two branches, between 
 which is the flower. When not divided, the leaf at the top 
 looks somewhat like a little umbrella. The roots are brittle, 
 whitish-brown in color, and begin to branch within about an 
 inch of the top of the ground, forming a dense bunch. The 
 May-apple comes up early in the spring, and the stem dies 
 down about June. The roots should not be dug up and 
 dried, as drying destroys much of its medical efficacy. It 
 can nearly always be found. 
 
 MAGIC NERVE LINIMENT. 
 III. 
 
 Get a strong bottle, capable of holding eight ounces, into 
 which put 
 
 Spirits of hartshorn 1^ oz. 
 
 Sulphuric ether 1 J oz. 
 
 Spirits turpentine ^ oz. 
 
 Sweet oil » f oz. 
 
 Oil of cloves ^ oz. 
 
 Chloroform 1 oz. 
 
 Shake well and your liniment is ready for use. The bottle 
 should be kept well closed, with a ground glass stopper, if 
 possible, as several of the ingredients of the mixture are 
 highly volatile. It should be kept in a dark place, or else 
 closely wrapped in thick paper or cloth, as light tends to 
 destroy its power. 
 
 Use. — This liniment, as its name implies, is applied for 
 nervous affections, and is very soothing in its effects. It 
 allays the pain in cases of string-halt,, cramps, contraction of 
 the skin, sprains, and swelled legs and joints. It is used as 
 a counter-irritant to rub over the region of the throat in 
 colds, coughs, swelled throat, etc.; the lungs in bronchitis, 
 
566 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 pneumonia, and pleurisy ; the stomach and bowels in colic 
 and enteritis ; the back and loins in all affections of the kid- 
 neys and urinary organs. It is also excellent to apply to the 
 region of the brain in all cerebral disturbances. If applied 
 early enough it will cure tumors and other swellings. 
 
 This liniment will* be found of exceeding value to the hu- 
 man subject in various nervous affections, especially in head- 
 ache and toothache. 
 
 MERCURIAL SALVE. 
 IV. 
 
 Take of metallic mercury (quicksilver; a quantity equal 
 in size to a pea; of iodine, the same amount ; of corrosive 
 sublimate, one ounce, finely pulverized. Mix these with two 
 table-spoonfuls of lard until thoroughly combined. 
 
 Use. — This salve will cure thrush, scratches, and foot-evil, 
 but will not cure the other diseases of the foot. It will cure 
 nearly ;all cutaneous diseaifes, such as mange, surfeit, etc., 
 and all eruptions. It is not so powerful as the corrosive 
 liniment, and, therefore, better than this in cases requiring 
 mild treatment. It should be well rubbed into the skin 
 with the end of the finger, or a rough rag or brush. Care 
 should be taken in using this salve to keep it from the finger 
 nails, as it corrodes and sometimes destroys them entirely. 
 
 • 
 
 SULPHUR OINTMENT. 
 V. 
 
 Take half an ounce of red precipitate, one ounce of sul- 
 phur, and four ounces of lard ; mix well together and pre- 
 serve for use. 
 
 Use. — This ointment is used to kill vermin on the horse, 
 and to anoint the skin in such diseases as surfeit, mange, 
 and all dryness and eruptions of the skin. It is a disinfect- 
 ant for these diseases, as well as for all diseases of the feet 
 and legs, such as thrush, grease, scratches, and foot-evil. It 
 is good for slight galls on the back and shoulders. It is, on 
 the whole, an invaluable remedy, and should be kept in 
 every stable. 
 
 % 
 
MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 567 
 
 CAUSTIC SALVE AND WASH. 
 VI. 
 
 These are made of the common caustic potash of com- 
 merce. The wash is simply a strong solution of lye of pot- 
 ash and water. 
 
 Use. — For the cure of warts of different kinds, the lye 
 is to be applied in the morning, then washed off in the even- 
 ing, and the application repeated. This is to be continued 
 until the wart is driven away. In the treatment of a blood 
 wart, the corrosive liniment should follow the use of the pot- 
 ash, to destroy the roots of the wart and heal the sore. If a 
 seed wart, grease the place after using the potash, and let it 
 go. Care must be taken, in using caustic potash, not to let 
 it run on other parts of the skin than that under tteatment, 
 as it will invariably remove the hair and cause a sore. This 
 may be prevented by spreading a coat of grease below the 
 wart on the skin. 
 
 The caustic salve is made by mixing finely-pulverized 
 charcoal with the lye. This is used in the same manner as 
 the wash, but it is to be preferred, because there is no danger 
 of its running. 
 
 PROP. DALE S PERSIAN HORSE AND CATTLE POWDERS. 
 VII. 
 
 A very excellent tonic and alterative, to be used according 
 to directions given in different parts of this work. 
 
 NITRIC ACID. 
 VIII. 
 
 Nitric acid is also used to destroy warts, but must be 
 handled with extreme caution. A piece of leather or thick 
 pasteboard, with a hole cut in it large enough to allow the 
 top or crown of the wart to pass through, is first placed over 
 the wart, and then a very little of the acid carefully applied 
 with a very small brush or a little mop. The parts below 
 the wart should be well greased with tallow to prevent the 
 corrosive action of the acid which might trickle down. The 
 application of the acid should be made every twelve hours, 
 
 » 
 
568 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 until the wart is destroyed. The use of the corrosive lini- 
 ment should invariably follow the last application of the 
 acid. 
 
 Caution. — !N"itric acid is a violent poison, and, if dropped 
 upon the human skin, stains if it does not blister and pro- 
 duce malignant sores. 
 
 DISTEMPER MIXTURE. 
 IX, 
 
 Take one table-spoonful of gunpowder, one of hog's lard, 
 one of soft soap, two of tar, one of gum myrrh ; mix well 
 together, and the quantity will suffice for six doses for a 
 grown horse or ten for a colt. Its daily use will keep the 
 glands open and running during attacks of distemper. Di- 
 rections for its use have been given in the section on distem- 
 per. No danger is to be apprehended from using it freely. 
 
 EYE WASH. 
 X. 
 
 Take three hen's eggs and break them into a quart of 
 clear, cold rain-water. Stir until a thorough mixture is 
 effected. Boil over a slow fire, stirring every few minutes. 
 Add half an ounce of sulphate of zinc (white vitriol); con- 
 tinue the boiling a short time, and the compound is ready 
 for use. In this preparation a solid substance or curd is pre- 
 cipitated or thrown down, and a liquid solution rests upon 
 the top. This liquid is the best wash for the sore eyes of 
 either man or beast that was ever made. 
 
 The curd applied to the inflamed eye at night will draw 
 the fever and soreness nearly' all out by morning. It may 
 be applied to the eye of the horse by fixing a hood over the 
 head, leaving a hole for the accommodation of the sound 
 eye, but fitting tight over the sore, so as to confine the curd 
 to it. About a table-spoonful of the curd should be con- 
 fined in a thin piece of muslin, and laid upon the lids, wet 
 and dripping from the water, and bound fast. After two or 
 three days, the water should be strained from the curd and 
 put . into a bottle for future use. It is well to strain the 
 
MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 569 
 
 water two or three times, so that it may be entirely clear 
 and free of the egg ointment, and then it will keep perfectly 
 good. The curd is of no future use. This eye-wash is in- 
 valuable, '^o physician or druggist has ever discovered a 
 medicine of the kind equal to it, and it is claimed by the 
 author of this work as his exclusive invention. When ap- 
 plied to the human eye it should be diluted. The curd may 
 be used by the human subject with great efficacy. 
 
 JIMSON-SEBD. 
 XI. 
 
 The Datura Stramonium, familiarly known as the jimson- 
 weed, or thorn-apple, is a well-known poisonous plant, grow- 
 ing in rubbish in waste places. Its seed is used as a horse 
 medicine; for, though poisonous to man, it is often beneficial 
 to beasts. The only danger in giving it to the horse is, that 
 it may injuriously affect his eyes; and yet horses have al- 
 most lived upon it for weeks and months, and no harm has 
 followed. Cattle, sheep, and goats feed upon it with impun- 
 ity. For the horse it is a most powerful alterative. It is 
 cathartic, diaphoretic, and diuretic. It acts upon the stom- 
 ach and bowels, producing a healthy condition of those or- 
 gans. It enters the blood rapidly, finds its way through the 
 capillaries to the surface, producing energetic and healthy cu- 
 taneous evacuations. Nothing that can be given the horse 
 will so quickly regulate and allay urinary obstructions and 
 inflammation. It is the great horse medicine. In cases of 
 big head, hide-bound, stiff complaint, mange, farcy, glanders, 
 distemper, and chronic founder it is unsurpassed. In all cases 
 of impure and disordered and impaired digestion it is the med- 
 icine of all medicines. Nothing that we have ever used acts 
 so promptly and beneficially. The big head can not be suc- 
 cessfully cured without it; neither can bad cases of hide- 
 bound and stiff complaint. Perhaps there is nothing that 
 will relieve rheumatism as speedily as this seed. It should 
 be gathered during the months of October and November 
 and laid up for use. 
 
570 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Dose — ^From one to two ounces, or table- spoonfuls, every 
 second or third day, according to the severity of the disease, 
 until four doses have been given ; after a lapse of a few days, 
 repeat the operation. In extreme cases, a dose may be given 
 every day. 
 
 SULPHUR. 
 
 xn. 
 Sulphur, as a horse medicine, has peculiar and valuable 
 properties. It is alterative, mildly cathartic, and disinfect- 
 ant. It destroys putridity of the bowels sooner than any 
 other medicine, and acts very finely upon the absorbents. 
 It is somewhat sedative, and most certainly diuretic. But 
 it is most valuable in its action upon the skin and hair. It 
 opens the pores and stimulates the oily secretions to press to 
 the surface. It may be given in any quantity without injury 
 to the horse. The usual dose is two ounces every day, or 
 four ounces every other day. We use sulphur in the form 
 of flowers. 
 
 ROSIN. 
 
 xni. 
 
 Rosin, or resin, is a mild diuretic, and on that account is 
 very valuable, as there are so many diuretics that are injuri- 
 ous to the horse from their energy of operation. Two table- 
 spoonfuls is a dose. We always give it finely pulverized, and 
 in connection with sulphur. It acts upon the kidneys and 
 bladder, and cleanses the urine more safely and efiectually 
 than any other medicine we know of, but is very slow in 
 its operation. 
 
 SCAB FROM THE HORSB'S LEG. 
 
 xrv. 
 The scab" which grows upon the outside of both fore and 
 hind legs of the horse has some very strange properties that 
 have not heretofore been pointed out. It certainly has a 
 very stupefying efiect upon the horse when its odor is in- 
 haled by him — when it is taken into his stomach or even 
 put into his ears. The strange efiect continues for an hour 
 or two. If the substance mentioned be taken into the stom- 
 
MEDICAL PREPARATIONS. 671 
 
 ach in quantity of a tea-spoonful it relaxes the entire system 
 in a few minutes, and is of great value in cases of lock-jaw. 
 Its operation is perfectly astonishing. A tea-spoonful pul- 
 verized is a dose, and is to be given in connection with a 
 large dose of salts. This scab has a peculiarly strong and 
 somewhat ofiensive smell; but the horse appears to be fond 
 of it; and if the hands be rubbed with it, and held under 
 his nose, he will stand perfectly still, in seeming quiet en- 
 joyment. He often puts his head down and rubs his nose 
 against the scab, which, no doubt, has some pleasant and ben- 
 eficial eftect upon him. N'ature has probably provided this 
 substance to meet some of his wants or to relieve some of 
 his sufferings. We are of the opinion that its use as a med- 
 icine in any quantity is decidedly injurious, and should be 
 sparingly indulged. It has been used by some in breaking 
 wild horses, in the first steps in catching and gentling. We 
 have tried it for this purpose, and would most earnestly dis- 
 courage its use. .^ 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 OP 
 
 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL TERMS 
 
 USED IN THIS WORK. 
 
 Abate — To lessen, to diminish. 
 
 Abdomen — The belly ; that part of the body which contains the stomach and in- 
 testines. 
 
 Abnormal — Unnatural, irregular. 
 
 Abortion — A premature birth ; miscarriage ; an incomplete formation. 
 
 Abrasion — A tearing or rubbing oflF, as of a piece of skin. 
 
 Abscess — A cavity containing pus, or the pus in such cavity. 
 
 Abscission — A cutting away or removal. 
 
 Accretion — A growing or increase. 
 
 AcBNi — Small stones in the liver resembling berries of the same name. 
 
 Acme — The height of a disease. 
 
 Acrid — Pungent, irritating. 
 
 Acute — Sharp, severe ; applied to diseases that soon come to an end as opposed 
 to chronic diseases. 
 
 Adhesion — A union of parts ; sticking together. 
 
 Adipose — Belonging to, or consisting of fat. 
 
 Affection — Disease. 
 
 Albumen — A substance found in animals and vegetables, of which the white of 
 an egg is an example. 
 
 Aliment — Any kind of food. 
 
 Alimentary Canal — The whole passage through which the food passes from the 
 mouth to the anus. 
 
 Alkali — A substance which neutralizes acids, as soda, potash, ammonia, etc. 
 
 Alterative — A medicine which gradually produces a ciiange in the constitution. 
 
 Anatomy — The science which teaches the structure of animals and plants, as 
 learned by dissection. 
 
 Amomaly — Irregularity ; something out of the usual way. 
 
 Antidote — A remedy to counteract poisons or any thing noxious. 
 
 (573) 
 
 # 
 
574 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Amus — The fundament or lower extremity of the bowel. 
 Aperient — Opening, laxative. 
 
 Aqueous — Watery; consisting of, or having the properties of water. 
 Aetert — The name of blood-vessels which carry blood from the heart. 
 Articulate — To join together. Applied to the bones. 
 Asthenopia — Weakness of vision. 
 Astringent — Binding or contracting. 
 Attenuate — To make thin. 
 
 Auricle — The external part of the ear; also a part on each side of the heart, bo 
 called from resembling the ears of animals. 
 
 Bisect — To divide into two equal parts. 
 
 Bronchial — Belonging to the divisions of the windpipe. 
 
 Biliary — Belonging to, or containing bile. 
 
 Caloareous — Like lime. 
 
 Callus — A hard deposit; excess of bony matter. 
 
 Capillary — Hair-like. Applied to the extreme ramifications of the blood-vesaek. 
 
 Capsule — A membranous bag inclosing an organ. 
 
 Caries — Ulceration of the substance of bones. 
 
 Cartilage— Gristle. 
 
 Catarrh — A cold, attended with running of the nose. 
 
 Castrate — To emasculate ; to deprive of the testicles. 
 
 Cathartic — Purgative. 
 
 Caustic — Burning, as potash. 
 
 Cauterize— To destroy animal tissues by heat, as with a hot iron. 
 
 Cephalic — Pertaining to the head. 
 
 Cervical — Belonging to the neck. 
 
 Cerebral — Pertaining to the brain. 
 
 Chirurgical — Pertaining to surgery. * 
 
 Chronic — Seated ; of long continuance. 
 
 Chyle — The milky liquid prepared from the food, to be absorbed by the lacteal 
 
 vessels, and supplied to the blood for nutriment 
 Chyme — The pulpy mass formed by digestion of the food in the stomach. 
 Cicatrise — To heal a wound, or induce the formation of a scar. 
 Clyster — A liquid substance injected into the lower intestine. 
 Coagulate — To turn from a fluid to a thick state. 
 Coffin-bone — The lower bone of the leg incased in its hoof. 
 Coition — Copulation; sexual commerce. 
 Colic — A painful disorder of the intestines. 
 Collapse — A falling together. 
 Colon — One of the large intestines. 
 Congenital — Born with; belonging to from birth. 
 Congestion — An accumulation of blood or other fluid in the vessels. 
 Constrictor — A binder or drawer together. Applied to the muscles. 
 Contagious — Capable of being communicated by touch. 
 
GLOSSARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL TERMS. 575 
 
 Contorted — Twisted. 
 
 Contusion — A bruise ; the act of beating or braising. 
 
 Corrosive — Having the power of gradually eating or wearing away. 
 
 Cranial— Pertaining to the skull. 
 
 Crucial — Like a cross. 
 
 Crural — Of, or belonging to the leg. 
 
 Cul-de-sac — A passage closed at one end. 
 
 Cutaneous — Pertaining to the skin. 
 
 Cuticle — The outer or scarf skin. 
 
 Ctst — A small bladder or bag. 
 
 Decoction — A fluid impregnated with any substance by boiling. 
 
 Deglutition — The act of swallowing. 
 
 Degenerate — To grow worse or inferior. 
 
 Decarbonize — To free from carbon. 
 
 Deleterious — Destructive, injurious, poisonous. 
 
 Depletion — Emptying ; diminishing the quantity contained. 
 
 Dermal — Belonging to the skin. 
 
 Dbssicate — To make dry. 
 
 Detergent — Cleansing. 
 
 Diabetes — An inordinate flow of urine. 
 
 Diagnosis — The distinction of one disease from another. 
 
 Diaphoretic — Increasing the flow of perspiration. 
 
 Diaphragm — The midriflF, or membranous and muscular partition which divides 
 
 the thorax, or chest, from the abdomen. 
 Diarrhea — An excessive discharge from the bowels. 
 Disinfect — To purify from infection. 
 Diuretic — Increasing the flow of urine. 
 Dorsal — Pertaining to the back. 
 Drastic — Acting powerfully. 
 
 Duct — A tube or vessel for conveying a fluid, especially a secretion from a gland. 
 Duodenum — The first portion of the small intestine. 
 Dysphagia — Difficulty of swallowing. 
 Dtspngsa — Difficulty of breathing. 
 
 Ecchtmosis — An efi'usion of blood nnder the skin; a bruise. 
 
 Ejection — A casting out. 
 
 Elastic — Having the property of springing back to its original form after this 
 has been altered. 
 
 Emetic — Producing the act of vomiting. 
 
 Emollient — Softening or relaxing. 
 
 Enema — A medicine injected into the lower bowel. 
 
 Enteric — Belonging to the bowels. 
 
 Epiglottis — A tongue-shaped projection lying over the entrance of the wind- 
 pipe, and preventing the entrance of food or drink. 
 
 Eruption — A breaking forth ; a rash on the skin. 
 
576 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Esophagus— The gullet or tube which conveys food to the stomach. 
 
 Evacuate — To empty or free from. 
 
 Excoriate — To strip oflF the skin. 
 
 Excrement — Refuse matter. 
 
 Excrescence — An unnatural or superfluous growth. 
 
 Excretion — A separation of fluids from the body by means of glands. 
 
 Exhalant — Breathing out or evaporating. 
 
 Exostosis — An unnatural growth of or projection from a bone. 
 
 Exude — To discharge through pores. 
 
 Facial — Pertaining to the face. 
 
 FffiCES — Excrement, or refuse matter. 
 
 Farcy — A disease of the lymphatics of the skin of the horse. 
 
 Feculent — Containing dregs or sediment. 
 
 Femur — The thigh bone. 
 
 Fermentation — Commotion owing to decomposition of vegetable substances 1 
 
 souring. 1 
 
 Fetus, or F<btus — The young unborn animal, in which all the parts of the body | 
 
 are formed. | 
 
 Fibrin — An organic substance found in the blood; and composing a great part j 
 
 of the tissues of the body. 
 Fibula — The small or splinter bone of the hind leg above the hock. 
 Fistula — A deep, narrow, callous ulcer. 
 Fistulous — Like a pipe. 
 
 Flatulency — A generation of gases in the stomach and intestines. 
 Flexible — Capable of being bent. 
 
 Flexor — A bender. Applied to the muscles which bend the limbs. 
 Fumigate — To apply smoke or vapor. 
 Fungous — Resembling mushrooms. 
 
 Gangrene — Death of a limited portion of the body or of any of its tissues. 
 
 Gas — A fluid in the form of air. 
 
 Gastric — Pertaining to the stomach. 
 
 Gelatine — Animal jelly. 
 
 Genital — Relating to reproduction or generation. 
 
 Gland— A structure for the purpose of secreting or separating some particular 
 
 • material. 
 Glottis — The narrow opening at the top of the windpipe. 
 
 Habitat — The natural abode or locality of an animaL - 
 
 H^MAL — Relating to blood. 
 
 H^matin — The coloring matter of blood. 
 
 Hemorrhage — An escape of blood from the vessels. 
 
 Haw — An organ in the eye of the horse that throws the washer over the eye. 
 
 Haunch — The hip ; the upper part of the thigh bone. 
 
 Hepatic — Belonging to the liver. 
 
GLOSSARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL TERMS. 577 
 
 Hepatized — Turned into a substance resembling liver. 
 
 Hereditary — Acquired from ancestors; transmitted from parent to ofFspring. 
 
 Humerus — The upper bone of the fore-leg. 
 
 Ileum — The lower portion of the small intestine. 
 Incision — A cutting into; a cut. 
 
 Infection — The communication of disease by means of the miasma or emana- 
 tion from a diseased body. 
 Ingested — Things taken in. Applied to food. 
 Inject — .To throw in. " 
 
 Induration — Hardening. 
 
 Interstice — A small space between the particles of a body. 
 Intestines — The alimentary canal from the stomach to its termination. 
 
 Jejunum — A part of the small intestine. , 
 
 Lachrymal — ^Pertaining to tears. 
 
 Lacteal — Conveying milk, or a fluid like milk. Applied to the vessels which 
 take up the chyle from the alimentary canal and convey it to the thoracic 
 duct. 
 
 Laryngitis — Inflammation of the larynx. 
 
 Larynx — The enlarged upper part of the windpipe extending into the throat. 
 
 Laxative — Loosening; mildly purgative. 
 
 Lesion — Any hurt or injury; disease of structure. 
 
 Ligament — That which bends together; a fibrous structure connecting bones. 
 
 Ligature — A band; the act of binding; a cord or string used for tying blood- 
 vessels. 
 
 Lobe — A part or division of an organ, as of the brain, lungs, or liver. 
 
 Lymph — A transparent and nearly colorless fluid which is conveyed into the 
 blood by the lymphatic vessels. 
 
 Malady — Disease, distemper, ailment. 
 Malar — Pertaining to the cheek bone. 
 Mediastinum — The partition formed by the meeting of the pleura dividing the 
 
 chest into two lateral parts. 
 Membrane — An animal tissue expanded into a thin layer. 
 Mesentery — The fold, or membrane, which attaches the intestines to the spine. 
 Metastasis — A transference of diseases from one place to another. 
 Molar — Grinding. Applied to the large double-teeth with which the food is 
 
 ground. 
 Morbid — Relating to disease ; diseased. 
 Mucus — The slimy substance eff'used on the surface of the membranes covering 
 
 the inner surface of the body. 
 Muscle — An organ by which the active movements of the body are produced; 
 
 the lean meat 
 
 37 
 
 "/^, 
 
578 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Nasal — Belonging to the nose. 
 
 Nausea — A disgust for food, with inclination to vomit. 
 
 Navicular — A bone in the foot shaped like a boat. 
 
 Nephritis — Pain or inflammation in the kidneys. 
 
 Nerve — A bundle of white fibers, whose ofl&ce it is to convey sensations to the 
 
 brain. 
 Normal— According to rule ; regular. 
 Nutrition — The process by which animals appropriate to their repair or growth 
 
 materials taken from external substances. 
 
 Obesity — Excessive fatness. 
 
 Ocular — Relating to the eyes. 
 
 Omentum — The caul ; a fold of the peritoneal membrane covering the intestines 
 
 in front. 
 Optic — Relating to the eye, to sight, or to the laws of vision. 
 Organ — A natural instrument by which some process or function is carried on. 
 Osseous — Formed of, or resembling bone. 
 Ossify — To form bone; to become bone. 
 
 Pabulum — Food. 
 
 Pachydermata — Thick-skinned animals, as the horse. 
 
 Palate — The roof of the mouth. 
 
 Panacea — A medicine supposed to cure all diseases. 
 
 Pancreas — A narrow, flat gland extending across the abdomen, known familiarly 
 
 as the callet, or sweet bread. 
 Paroxysji — A fit of any disease coming on after a period of intermission. 
 Parturition — The act of bringing forth young. 
 Patella — The knee-pan. 
 Pathology — The branch of medical knowledge which treats of the nature and 
 
 constitution qf disease. 
 Pectoral —Relating or belonging to the breast 
 Peptic — Promoting digestion. 
 
 Pericardium — The serous membrane around the heart. 
 Perichondrium — The membrane covering the cartilages. I 
 Pericranium — The membrane lining the bones of the skull. 
 Periosteum — The fibrous membrane which invests a bone. 
 Peritoneum — The serous membrane which lines the cavity of the abdomen. 
 Permeate — To pass through without rupture or apparent displacement. 
 Pharynx — The muscular tube at the back part of the mouth which leads to the 
 
 gullet. 
 Phlebotomy — The act or art of blood-letting. 
 Plasma — The colorless part of the blood. 
 Plethoric — Having a full habit of body. 
 Pleura — The serous membrane which lines the interior of the chest and covers 
 
 the lungs. 
 Plsxus — A net- work of vessels. 
 
GLOSSARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL TERMS. 579 
 
 Process — A prominence, or projecting part. 
 
 PROGNOSis-^The art of judging of the course ana event of a disease by the 
 
 symptoms. 
 Prolapsus Uteri — A falling of the womb. 
 Prolapsus Recti — A falling of the rectum. 
 Pulmonary — Relating to the lungs. 
 Pulsate — To beat, or throb. 
 Purgative — Having the power of cleansing. 
 
 Pus — A peculiar fluid yielded from the blood in conseqence of inflammatiDn. 
 Pylorus — The part of the stomach through which the food passes to the intestine. 
 
 Quiescent — Reing at rest ; having no sound. 
 
 Rabies — The disease known as hydrophobia. 
 
 Rachitis — Inflammation of the spine ; rickets. 
 
 Ramify — To make branches. 
 
 Raphe — A term applied to parts that look as if sewed together. 
 
 Rarefy — To make or become thin. 
 
 Receptacle — 1 hat which receives or contains. 
 
 Rectum — The last part of the large intestine. 
 
 Remittent — Ceasing for a time. 
 
 Reproduction — The art or process of producing again. 
 
 Respiration — Breathing. 
 
 Retina — The part of the eye upon which the image is formed in the act of vision. 
 
 Rickets— Diseased state of the bones. 
 
 Sacral — Belonging to the os sacrum. 
 
 Saline — Salty. 
 
 Saliva — The spittle or secretion of the salivary glands. 
 
 Sanguification — The making of blood; the process by which blood is produced 
 
 from chyle. 
 Sanitary — Relating or conducing to the preservation of health. 
 Sciatica — A painful rheumatic aff'ection of the hip. 
 
 Sclerotic — Hard ; a name given to the thick, white, outer coat of the eye. 
 Secrete — To separate some peculiar substance from the blood. 
 Sensorium — The seat of sensation ; the organ which receives the impressions. 
 SEPTic-ir-Promotiug putrefaction. 
 
 Serum — The yellowish fluid which is left after the coagulation of blood. 
 Shank — The bone of the leg from the knee to the ankle. 
 Slough — To fall ofi"; to separate by disease. 
 Spinal — Belonging to the spine, or back-bone. 
 
 Splint — A hard excrescence on the shank-bone — one of the bones of the hind leg. 
 Sporadic — Separate; scattered. 
 Sternum — The breast-bone. 
 
 Strangulated — Choked; having the circulation stopped in any part. 
 Styptic — Astringents; having the property of restraining bleeding. 
 
580 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 Sudorific — Causing sweat, or perspiration. 
 
 Suppuration — The process of the formation of pus as a result of inflammatioii 
 Synovia — A fluid resembling the white of an egg, secreted in the cavity of joints 
 for the purpose of moistening them. 
 
 Tegument — A cover or covering — usually the skin. 
 
 Tendon — The dense, fibrous structure in which a muscle ends, and by which it 
 
 is fastened to the bone. 
 Tenuity— Thinness. 
 Tk&qal — Belonging to the back. 
 
 Testicle — The glands which contain the seminal fluid. 
 Therapeutic — Healing ; pertaining to the art of healing. 
 Thorax — The chest, or part of the body between the neck and the abdomen. 
 Tibia — The largest bone of the hind leg. 
 Tonsil — An oblong gland situated on each side of the fauces, or posterior part 
 
 of the mouth. * 
 
 ToRTiON — Twisting. 
 Trachea — The windpipe. 
 Tractile — Capable of being drawn out. 
 Tuber — A rounded projection of a bone. 
 Tumor — A permanent swelling or enlargement. 
 
 Ulna — The upper bone of the fore-leg. 
 Urinary— Pertaining to the urine. 
 
 Vascular — Belonging to or consisting of vessels. ^ 
 
 Venesection — The operation of letting blood by opening a vein. 
 Ventral — Pertaining to the belly. 
 Venous — Pertaining to the veins. 
 
 Vertebra — A divison or separate bone of the spinal column. 
 Vesicle — A small blister; any small membranous cavity. 
 Virulent — Very poisonous. 
 
 Virus — Poison ; the essential matter of a disease that is capable of communica- 
 tion. 
 Viscera — The organs contained in the cavities of the body. 
 Viscid — Gluey, glutinous, sticky. 
 Vulnerary — Useful in healing wounds. 
 
^::^ 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 A PAGES 
 
 Albumen, eiftect on muscles.. 31 
 
 do. color of 32 
 
 Arteries 355 
 
 do. anatomy of 44, 356 
 
 Esophagus 59 
 
 Absorbents 63 
 
 Anus 65 
 
 do. soreness and itching of. 326 
 
 do. treatment 327 
 
 Amaurosis -. 178 
 
 Apoplexy 247 
 
 do. horse subject to 247 
 
 do. symptoms of..... 248, 250, 251 
 
 do. cause of 248 
 
 do. blindness caused by 249 
 
 do. treatment of 249 
 
 Abuses of the horse, 479; overwork- 
 ing, 481; beating, 482; cut- 
 ting and slitting the ears of 484 
 Age of the horse indicated by the 
 
 teeth 470-475 
 
 do. means of determining when 
 
 more than nine years 476 
 
 do. as indicated by the lips 478 
 
 do. do. by the hair 478 
 
 do. do. by the chin and 
 
 eyes 479 
 
 Acids 388 
 
 Alkalies 388 
 
 Arachnoid membrane 55 
 
 B 
 
 Bedding for horses 425 
 
 Bronchitis 296 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Belladonna 390 
 
 Black hellebore 392 
 
 Bites of snakes 323 
 
 Buffalo gnat 397 
 
 do. terrors of 397 
 
 do. protection against 398 
 
 Borer worm. 398 
 
 do. terrors of 398, 399 
 
 do. bunch caused by 398, 399 
 
 do. treatment of 400 
 
 Beach horses 17, 18 
 
 Bowels, anatomy of 316 
 
 do., inflammation of 317 
 
 do. diagnosis of 317 
 
 do. treatment of 319 
 
 Bones, description of 25-28 
 
 do. of the head 27 
 
 do. of fore leg 26 
 
 do. of hind leg 26,27 
 
 Big head — (See Exostosis.) 
 
 Bile, flow of 328 
 
 Bloody urine, treatment of. 335 
 
 Blood, diseases of 352 
 
 do. elements of 42 
 
 Bleeding, defense of 366-7-8-9 
 
 do. effects of in horse differ- 
 ent from those in man 368 
 
 do. Youatt on 369, 370 
 
 do. rules concerning 370 
 
 do. amount of 371 
 
 do. proper place and man- 
 ner of 371 
 
 do. directions for 372 
 
 Bladder, inflammation of. 340 
 
 (581) 
 
582 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Bladder, stones in 337 
 
 Breathing, difficulty of 290 
 
 Bellows, or broken wind 291 
 
 do. treatment of 292 
 
 Brain, anatomy of 51, 62, 53 
 
 do. comparative size of 52 
 
 do, diseases of 246 
 
 do. water on 246 
 
 do. inflammation of 263 
 
 Blindness, caused by apoplexy 249 
 
 Blind teeth 265 
 
 Blind staggers * 118 
 
 do. prevalence of 118 
 
 do. ignorance regarding 
 
 118,119 
 
 do. absurd theories re- 
 garding 119 
 
 do. real cau^e of.... 120, 121 
 do. symptoms of.... 122, 123 
 do. old modes of treat- 
 ment 124 
 
 do. proper treatment 
 
 127-129 
 
 Blue beef and sticky beef 32 
 
 Bronchial tubes 57 
 
 Bog and blood spavin, location of 193 
 
 do. treatment 194 
 
 Blanketing... 428 
 
 Breeding, common method execra- 
 ble 436 
 
 do. horse should have more 
 exercise and be taxed 
 less frequently... 436, 437 
 do. how to secure improve- 
 ment in 439 
 
 Breaking, common method. 496 
 
 do. best time for 498 
 
 . do. best way of 499 
 
 do. Rarey method of. 506 
 
 do. Rarey halter for 607 
 
 do. Rarey knee-strap for 608 
 
 do. use of drugs in 508 
 
 do. Rarey leg-strap for 610 
 
 Biting 553 
 
 Balking and backing 555 
 
 C PAGES 
 
 Corns.... 109 
 
 do. ignorance regarding 109 
 
 do. treatment of 110 
 
 do. cases of 110, 111 
 
 Contractions of the hoof Ill 
 
 do. indications of 111, 112 
 
 do. treatment of. 112 
 
 Calkins 441 
 
 Clips 442 
 
 Corrosive liniment 663 
 
 do. caut'n regard'g 564 
 
 Colt, the one-year-old A 502 
 
 do. should be trained for the serv- 
 ice to be required of him. ,. 500 
 
 do. time of weaning 448 
 
 do. treatment after weaning 448 
 
 do. diseases of 349 
 
 do. treatment of diseases 350-852 
 
 do. founder 843 
 
 do. should be well housed in 
 
 winter 449 
 
 do. proper food of 450 
 
 do. hereditary diseases of. 450 
 
 Crossing 453 
 
 Castrating, proper age for 445 
 
 do. method of... 466 
 
 do. best time for 457 
 
 do. practice of twitching 458 
 
 Caecum 322, 64 
 
 Cutis 36 
 
 do. situation of, use, and color.... 36 
 
 Cuticle, function of 36 
 
 Cuticular lining of the stomach 61, 62 
 
 Chewing the reins 566 
 
 Circulation of blood 43, 44, 355 
 
 Caustic salve and wash 567 
 
 Coagulum 42 
 
 Cerebrum 51 
 
 Cerebellum 51 
 
 Colon 64 
 
 do. inflammation and rupture of 325 
 
 do. treatment of 322, 326 
 
 Capillaries 43 
 
 Caul 65 
 
 Cardiac orifice 60 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 583 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Cataract 177 
 
 Catarrh 137 
 
 Cantharides 386 
 
 Cardiac sac 61 
 
 Caul. 65 
 
 Cellular tissue of legs... 223, 224 
 
 Centipede, sting of 395 
 
 Chest, diseases of. 295, 296 
 
 Chloroform 320 
 
 Cleaning and currying the horse, 
 
 necessity of 424 
 
 do. Youatt on 425 
 
 do. should be done out of 
 
 doors, if possible... 426 
 
 Clyster, usefulness of 381 
 
 do. administering 381 
 
 Colds 277 
 
 do. cause of 279,280,281 
 
 do. prevention of. 281 
 
 Colic 310 
 
 do. diagnosis of 312, 317 
 
 Consumption 301 
 
 Contraction of the hoof. Ill 
 
 do. do. symptoms 
 
 of... Ill, 112 
 do. do. treatment 
 
 of 112 
 
 Copperas 387 
 
 Corn as horse feed 412, 413 
 
 do. bad effgcts from use of... 413, 414 
 
 Corns 109 
 
 do. ignorance regarding 109 
 
 do. treatment of. 110 
 
 do. cases of 110,111 
 
 Corrosive sublimate 388 
 
 Coughs, cause of 285, 286, 287 
 
 do. treatment of 287, 288, 289 
 
 Cracked heels 104, 219-223 
 
 do. cause of. 104, 105 
 
 do. treatment of 105, 106, 107 
 
 do. time to cure 107 
 
 Cramps 205, 206 
 
 Creosote 388 
 
 Crib-sucking 270 
 
 Crotonoil 389 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Curb 197 
 
 D 
 
 Deadly nightshade 390 
 
 Decay of teeth 266 
 
 Defects of the eye 558 
 
 do. do. best modes to 
 
 detect 658 
 
 Defects of the feet 559 
 
 Defects of the respiratory organs 560 
 
 Defects of stomach and bowels 560 
 
 Diabetes, its nature and treatment 334 
 
 Diet 32 
 
 Difficulty of breathing 290 
 
 Dimness of vision 181 
 
 Diseased eyes, and treatment of... 173 
 Diseases of the liver and urinary 
 
 organs '. 328 
 
 do. of young colts 349 
 
 do. of the heart and blood 349 
 
 do. of the teeth and mouth... 260 
 
 do. of the throat 277 
 
 do. of the chest and lungs... 295 
 
 do. of the skin 216-242 
 
 do. of the stomach and bowels 307 
 
 Disinfectants 429 
 
 Distemper 158 
 
 do. symptoms of 159,160 
 
 do. contagiousness of 160 
 
 do. treatment of... 160, 161, 162 
 
 Distemper mixture 568 
 
 Docking 488 
 
 Drench, rule for preparation of..^. 379 
 
 do. compared with pills 379 
 
 do. improper use of 378 
 
 do. best method of using 379 
 
 Duodenum 63 
 
 Dura mater 65 
 
 E 
 Ears, injuries to 242 
 
 do. do. results of..... 242-248 
 
 do. sore 243,244 
 
 do. indication of mental state... 485 
 Englishman, the, and the Yankee. 148 
 
584 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Enlarged glands 282 
 
 Epilepsy 253 
 
 Epidermis 35 
 
 Epiglottis 57 
 
 Excretion 58 
 
 Exercise, necessity of 431 
 
 do. cautions regarding 431 
 
 do. Youatton 433 
 
 Exhortation to the owners of horses 
 
 150, 151 
 Exostosis, history and prevalence 
 
 of 69 
 
 do. ignorance regarding.... 70 
 
 do. causes of. 70-75 
 
 do. symptoms of 77 
 
 do. treatment of. 78-81 
 
 do. former modes of treat- 
 ment of. V 81-83 
 
 Eyes, anatomy of 165-167 
 
 do. weakness of 150, 151 
 
 Eye-wash 568 
 
 Eyelids, sore 174 
 
 \ 
 
 V 
 
 Farcy 152 
 
 do. Youatt's account of. 153-157 
 
 do. cause of 157 
 
 do. treatment of 458 
 
 Fattening does not increase ani- 
 mal's strength 30 
 
 do. effects of, on skin and 
 
 hair 31 
 
 Feet, anatomy of 41 
 
 do. defects of 559 
 
 Fever, cause and prevention of. 360, 361 
 
 do treatment of 363 
 
 Fibrine 31 
 
 Fistula, cause of 184 
 
 do. treatment of 185-187 
 
 do. remarkable cases of. 187-189 
 do. former modes of treatment 
 
 of 189,190 
 
 Fits — (See Epilepsy) 
 
 Flatulent colic 323 
 
 do. treatment of 324 
 
 PAOKH 
 
 Flexor tendon 41 
 
 Flooring of stables 421 
 
 Fodder, best grasses for 408-410 
 
 do. manner of securing 410 
 
 Food, observations on 401-414 
 
 Food should be apportioned ac- 
 cording to work, season, 
 and general condition. 402, 403 
 
 do. objectioijs to corn as 412, 413 
 
 Food-balls, administration of 381 
 
 do. composition of 382 
 
 Foul sheath 341 
 
 Founder, common theory regard- 
 ing, erroneous 113 
 
 Fracture of the skull 525 
 
 do. of the nasal bones 526 
 
 do. of the ribs 526 
 
 do. of the limbs 527 
 
 « 
 
 do. setting bones in case of. 531 
 do. treatment of wound in 
 
 case of. 582 
 
 Frog, injuries to 112 
 
 6 
 
 Gadflies 896 
 
 Ganglia 54 
 
 Gastric fluid 62 
 
 General stable management 415 
 
 Gentling 496-501 
 
 Glanders, cause of 130-140 
 
 do. stages of. 132-136 
 
 do. different from strangles. 137 
 do. do. from catarrh... 137 
 
 do. hereditary 144 
 
 do. contagious 144 
 
 do. cleanliness a prevention 
 
 of 148 
 
 Glanders in human beings 148 
 
 do. antidote for 149 
 
 do. ventilation a prevention 
 
 of 141-150 
 
 do. treatment of 149 
 
 do. remarkable case of. 151, 152 
 
 Glands, general remarks on 58 
 
 do. enlargement of 282 
 
GENERAL INDEX 
 
 585 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Glass eye 178 
 
 Gleet~-(See Nasal Gleet.) 
 
 Gnats .'..,. 396 
 
 Grain, quantity to, be fed to horses. 411 
 
 do. comparative value of oats 
 
 and corn 411 
 
 Grasses, remarks on 405-406 
 
 do. relative value of. 406-408 
 
 Gravel, origin of. 337 
 
 do, symptoms of 337 
 
 do. treatment of 338 
 
 Grease 158 
 
 do. (See Cracked Heels.) 
 
 Green feed for winter 414, 415 
 
 Grub 313 
 
 Gutta Serena *. 178 
 
 H 
 
 Haematurea 335 
 
 Hair, remarks on the.... 35, 39, 40, 478 
 
 Haw 179 
 
 do. inflammation of 180 
 
 do. treatment of. 181 
 
 Hay and fodder, grasses best for... 408 
 
 Heart, location of. 47 
 
 do. function of. 47 
 
 do. diseases of. 353-355 
 
 Heaves 291 
 
 Hide-bound 233 
 
 do. cause and treatment of. 234 
 
 Hock-joint 26 
 
 Hoofs 25 
 
 do. color of, in health 107 
 
 do. paring of 548 
 
 Hoof-rot 107 
 
 do. cause of. 107 
 
 » do. results of. 108 
 
 do. symptoms of 108 
 
 do. treatment of - 108 
 
 Hooks 179 
 
 Hornets, stinging of. 396 
 
 Horse, nativity of, preliminary re- 
 marks on the 11-14 
 
 do. diseases of the 14 
 
 do. deterioration of the 16 
 
 38 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Horse, longevity of the 19 
 
 do. description of the proper, for 
 
 breeding 441 
 
 do. hints concerning the se- 
 lection of the 443 
 
 do. saddle 517 
 
 do. carriage 518 
 
 do. draught 519 
 
 do. roadster : 521 
 
 do. vices of the 551 
 
 do. unsoundnesses of the 551 
 
 Hydrophobia — (See Rabies.) 
 
 Hypertrophy 354 
 
 I 
 
 In-and-in breeding 18, 19 
 
 Infection, means of. 131 
 
 Inflammation of bowels 66 
 
 do. do. lungs 298 
 
 do. do. blood, 369 
 
 do. do. brain 257-259 
 
 do. do. bladder ,.... 340 
 
 ,do. do. do. treatment 
 
 of. 332 
 
 do. do. feet 113 
 
 do. do. do. c a u s e and 
 
 symptoms 
 of... 113-115 
 do. do. kidneys, cause of. 332 
 
 do. do. do. sympt's 
 
 of. 333 
 
 do. do. dp. treatm't 
 
 of. 333 
 
 Inflammation and rupture of colon. 325 
 do. and bleeding of the 
 
 rectum 326 
 
 Injuries to the ears 242 
 
 Insanity 269 
 
 Intestines, anatomy of 62 
 
 Involuntary motion, nerves of. 63 
 
 Itching of anus 326 
 
 J 
 
 Jaundice, symptoms of. 330 
 
 do. treatment of 331 
 
AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Jimson seed, use of 79, 569 
 
 Jejunum 64 
 
 E 
 
 Kicking 551 
 
 do. how learned 552 
 
 do. danger from 552 
 
 do. in the saddle and in har- 
 ness 552 
 
 do. remedy for 552 
 
 Kidneys 67 
 
 do. function of. 67 
 
 do. inflammation of. 332 
 
 I, » 
 
 Lampas, cause and symptoms of... 274 
 do. treatment of. 275 
 
 Laryngitis 283 
 
 do. to discover 284 
 
 do. treattnent of 284 
 
 Larynx 56 
 
 Light, importance of, in stable 417 
 
 do. degree of. 418 
 
 Lips 478 
 
 Liver, situation of. 65 
 
 do. function of 66,328 
 
 do. liability of, to disease 66 
 
 do. condition of, as shown in 
 
 post-mortem examination. 329 
 
 Looked-jaw — (See Tetanus.) 
 
 Lungs. 46 
 
 do. anatomy of. 55 
 
 do. diseases of. 259,295 
 
 M 
 
 Madness — (See Rabies.) 
 
 Magic nerve liniment, preparation 
 
 of 565 
 
 do. do. use of. 565 
 
 Malignant epidemic 289 
 
 do. do. symptoms of.. 289 
 
 do. do. case of. 290 
 
 Mange, iature of. 229 
 
 do. cause and symptoms of. 230,231 
 do. contagion from 230 
 
 PAQE» 
 
 Mange, time required to cure 231 
 
 do. treatment of 231, 232 
 
 do. ho^.to prevent infection 
 
 from 233 
 
 Mare, proper form of 444 
 
 do. vitality a requisite in the... 444 
 do. opposite qualities should be 
 
 paired 444 
 
 do. proper age for breeding 445 
 
 do. management of, when with 
 
 foal 445 
 
 do. proper food and labor for, 
 
 when suckling 447 
 
 do. should not breed to a horse 
 
 after having bred to a jack. 460 
 
 Marks of age.. 468 
 
 May-apple liniment, use of.... 41,42,564 
 do. do. preparation of. 564 
 
 May-apple root 392 
 
 Medical preparations used in this 
 
 work 562-571 
 
 Medicine, in the food 380 
 
 do. modes of giving 378 
 
 Membranes, distribution of. 34 
 
 do. use of 35 
 
 do. serous 35 
 
 do. medullary 52 
 
 do. mediastinum..: 35 
 
 do. dura mater 55 
 
 do. arachnoid 55 
 
 do. pia mater 55 
 
 do. pleura 55 
 
 Mercurial salve, preparation of..... 666 
 
 do. do. use of 566 
 
 Mesenteric artery and veins 65 
 
 Moon-eyes, symptoms, etc., of 75 
 
 Mouth, diseases of the 260 
 
 Mule, the, superiority of, for South- 
 em use 458 
 
 do. health and capacity of, 
 for service compared 
 with the horse.... 459, 461 
 
 do. economy in feeding 459 
 
 do. comparative certainty in 
 
 breeding 460 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 587 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Mule, the, prejudice regarding 461 
 
 do. breaking of. 623 
 
 Muscles, anatomy of. 29 
 
 do. sensibility and quality of 
 
 the 30 
 
 N 
 Narrow heel — (See contraction of 
 hoof.) 
 
 Nasal gleet, symptoms of. 162 
 
 do. treatment of 163 
 
 Naturally weak eyes 169 
 
 Nephritis 332 
 
 Nerves of voluntary motion 63 
 
 do. sympathetic 64 
 
 Nervous system, diseases of 246 
 
 Nicking 486 
 
 Nitric acid 667 
 
 do. caution regarding 668 
 
 Nostrils, function of the 66 
 
 Nux vomica 386 
 
 
 
 Oil sacks of hock-joint..., 192 
 
 do. rupture of. 193 
 
 Omentum 65 
 
 Ophthalmia... 176, 177 
 
 Overreaching and interfering 657 
 
 facing mare 16-18 
 
 Palsy, cause of. 266 
 
 do. treatment of. 267 
 
 Pancreas 66, 67 
 
 Panniculous carnosus 37 
 
 Pasturing, remarks on 404 
 
 do. the best medicine 404 
 
 Perspiration 38 
 
 Phrenitis — (See Inflammation of 
 the brain.) 
 
 Pill 380 
 
 Pleurisy , 306 
 
 Pneumonia 298 
 
 Poisons, poisonous snakes, insects, 
 
 etc 383 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Poisons, comparative effects of, on 
 
 horse and man 383 
 
 do. as medicines 383-391 
 
 do. external 392 
 
 do. animal 393-400 
 
 Poison oak 392 
 
 Pores 36, 48 
 
 do. function of the 49 
 
 Profuse stalling 334 
 
 Pulling at the halter and breaking 
 
 away 656 
 
 Pulmonary circulation 46 
 
 Pulse 60 
 
 do. importance of attention to 
 
 the 374 
 
 do. most convenient place to feel 
 
 the 175 
 
 do. natural standard for the 375 
 
 do. variation in the 376 
 
 do. indications of, concerning 
 
 bleeding 376 
 
 Pylorus, orifice and sacV^r. 61 
 
 R 
 
 Rabies 262 
 
 Racing, remarks on 487 
 
 Radius 26 
 
 Rearing... 664 
 
 Rectum 65 
 
 do. inflammation and bleeding 
 
 of the 326 
 
 do. treatment of the 326 
 
 Resin .*. 670 
 
 Respiration 67 
 
 Respiratory organs, defects of the. 660 
 
 Rete mucosum 36 
 
 Rheumatism, cause of. 206, 207 
 
 do. remarkable cases of. 
 
 207-210 
 
 do. treatment of. 211 
 
 Ribs 28 
 
 Roaring 293, 294 
 
 Running away 555 
 
 Running sumach 393 
 
588 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 S PAGES 
 
 Saddle-galls 240 
 
 do. treatment for 241 
 
 Saddle-horse, what best suited for. 516 
 
 Sand-crack 104 
 
 Scab from the horse's leg 570 
 
 Scarf-skin 35 
 
 Scaring 654 
 
 Scratches, symptoms and treatment 
 
 of. 217 
 
 Scrofula 358, 369 
 
 Scurvy of the teeth ^ 268 
 
 Secretion defined 58 
 
 Serum 42 
 
 Shedding 260-263 
 
 do. treatment during 264 
 
 Shoeing, its origin 534 
 
 do. a necessary evil 534 
 
 do. Youatt's directions for. 
 
 535, 547 
 do. preparation of the foot for. 535 
 do. preparing the hoof for.... 536 
 
 do. putting on the shoe 639 
 
 do. the hinder shoe 543 
 
 do. different kinds of shoes... 543 
 
 do. bar shoe 545 
 
 do. changing the shoes, and 
 
 time of wearing them... 649 
 
 Sit-fasts 240 
 
 Skin, function of 35 
 
 do. diseases of 216-242 
 
 do. of the heel ^ 220 
 
 do. oil glands of the 37, 40 
 
 Small intestine 63 
 
 Snake bites 394 
 
 Sore eyelids 174 
 
 Sore nose, cause of 239 
 
 do. treatment of 240 
 
 Spanish flies 386 
 
 Spasms, frequency of '. 211 
 
 do. of the nerves, skin, and 
 
 muscles 211 
 
 do. treatment of. 212 
 
 Spider bites 394 
 
 Spinal column 53 
 
 Spleen 67 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Spleen, enlargement of the 331 
 
 Spurious cataract 177 
 
 Stable management 415, 416 
 
 Stallion, desirable qualities of, for 
 
 breeding 440 
 
 Stinging scorpions 395 
 
 StiflF complaint 234 
 
 Siock farms, fault of 468 
 
 do. trees in pastures of, 
 and stable accom- 
 modations on 465 
 
 do. blackberry bushes in 
 
 the pastures of. 466 
 
 do. small fields are better 
 
 than large ones.... 466 
 do. colts of different ages 
 
 should be kept in 
 
 separate fields 466 
 
 do. water in 466 
 
 Stock-raising 435 
 
 Stomach, anatomy of. 60, 61 
 
 do. diseases of. 307 
 
 do. size and capacity of. 307 
 
 do. oflBce of the 308 
 
 do. defects of the 560 
 
 Stone-bruise, evidence of. 112 
 
 Stones in the bladder 337 
 
 Strangles 137 
 
 String-halt, or spring-halt. 212 
 
 do. seat of 212 
 
 do. symptoms of. 213 
 
 do. effects of as ascer- 
 tained by dissection. 
 
 213, 214 
 
 Stump-sucking 271, 2T2 
 
 do. case of. 272 
 
 do. treatment for 278 
 
 Sulphate of iron 387 
 
 Sulphur 670 
 
 Sulphur ointment, preparation of... 566 
 
 do. do. use of. 566 
 
 Suppression of urine 339 
 
 Surfeit 228 
 
 do. cause and symptoms of. 228, 229 
 do. treatment of. 229 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 S89 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Swelled ankles, symptoms of. 226, 227 
 
 do. do. result of. 227 
 
 do. do. treatment for 227 
 
 Swelled legs 223 
 
 do. do. symptoms of 224 
 
 do. do. the cause and effect of 
 
 other diseases 224 
 
 do. do. primary cause of. 225 
 
 do. do. treatment of 225 
 
 do. do. case of. 226 
 
 Swelled throat 282 
 
 Sympathetic system of ganglia 55 
 
 T 
 
 Tar 389 
 
 Tartar emetic 389 
 
 Teeth, diseases of the 260 
 
 do. appearance of, at different 
 
 ages 468-478 
 
 do. appearance of, modified by 
 
 art 478 
 
 ' do. decay of. 266 
 
 do. scurvy of. 268-270 
 
 Teething 260-263, 464 
 
 Temperature of stables 418 
 
 do. changes of. 427 
 
 Tender feet— (See Hoof-rot) 107 
 
 Tendons, function and anatomy 
 
 of. 33 
 
 Tetanus 198 
 
 do. cause of. 199, 200 
 
 do. treatment of. 201 
 
 do. remarkable case of. 203 
 
 Thick blood, cause of 364 
 
 Thick wind 291, 293 
 
 Thin blood 365 
 
 Thorough-pin....'. 197 
 
 Throat 68 
 
 do. diseases of. 277 
 
 do. swelled 282 
 
 Thrush 218 
 
 do. prevention of. 219 
 
 do. treatment of. 219 
 
 Thumps 385 
 
 do. case of. 386 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Thumps, treatment of 387 
 
 Tibia 26 
 
 Tissues, pulmonary 166 
 
 Tobacco 888 
 
 Toothache 366 
 
 Trachea 157 
 
 Turk 172 
 
 Turpentine 389 
 
 Twitching 457 
 
 U 
 
 Unsoundness 561, 598 
 
 Urinary organs 66, 561 
 
 Urine, bloody " 335 
 
 do. thick or albuminous 335 
 
 do. limy 336 
 
 do. suppression of , 339 
 
 V 
 Veins 43, 44 
 
 Venomous spiders, bites of. 394 
 
 Ventilation of stables 418 
 
 Vermin, cause and treatment of... 244 
 
 Vices 551 
 
 do. learned in colthood 500 
 
 W 
 
 Warbles 240 
 
 Warts 236 
 
 do. description of. 236 
 
 do. treatment of. 237-239 
 
 Wasps, stings of 396 
 
 Water, office of, in nutrition 11 
 
 do. on the brain 246 
 
 Weak eyes not hereditary 171 
 
 Wheezing 298 
 
 Whitleather, inflammation of the. 
 
 (See Fistula)... 184, 185 
 do remarkable cases 
 
 of. 187 
 
 do* former modes of 
 
 treatment 189 
 
 White hellebore 391 
 
 Wind-galhs 194 
 
590 
 
 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Wind-galls, cause and treatment 
 
 of. 196,196 
 
 Windpipe 57 
 
 Wind-sucking 271 
 
 , PAGES 
 
 Y 
 
 Yellows * : 330 
 
 Young horses most liable to take 
 
 diseases 171 
 
TABLE OF SYMPTOMS 
 
 " FACILITATE THE DETECTION OF DISEASE. 
 
 The subjoined table presents a classified view of the prin- 
 cipal diseases to which the horse is subject, together with 
 brief summaries of the symptoms of those disorders the 
 nature of which is not clearly expressed in the name. The 
 symptoms are arranged in the order in which they usually 
 manifest themselves in the patient, and thus indicate the 
 different stages of the disease. The numbers indicate the 
 pages upon which the various diseases are flilly discussed : 
 
 DISEASES OP THE BONES. 
 
 (Page 69—99.) 
 
 Big Head — Swelling of under jaw and nasal bone, and afterward of other 
 bones of the head; skin and muscles of the head become fixed, and will not 
 move by pulling the lips; constant sleepiness while standing; gaunt appear- 
 ance, drooping of head, placing hind and fore-feet near together, watery eyes, 
 %rect hair, stiff joints, dry skin; excrement hard and dry 69 
 
 SwiNNET, OR Inflammation of the Shoulder. — Inflammation, heat, lameness 
 in the shoulder ; step, short and limping ; flesh, hard ; skin, closely adherent to 
 the bone; shoulder becomes shrunken and shriveled; patient reluctant to lie 
 down; finally, shoulder-blade descends, humerus joint swells, and the disease 
 becomes incurable. Swinney is usually accompanied by diseased feet, espe- 
 cially hoof-rot 84 
 
 (691) 
 
592 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 Big Shouxdkr.— Aggravated Swinney. (See preceding paragraph.) 87 
 
 SWINNBY OF THE HiP 88 
 
 Slipped oe Broken Hip 88 
 
 Bone Spavin.— Enlargement upon the inside of the hock, just below the 
 joint 89 
 
 Enlarged Hock 93 
 
 Broken Hock....; .-. - 94 
 
 Ring-bone. — Bony enlargement around the lower joint of the hock where the 
 hoof and hide join. Ring-bone in its worst form becomes club-foot 94 
 
 Stifle. — Swelling at the stifle-joint, producing lameness... 95 
 
 Splint. — Enlargement of the inner splinUbone, like Spavin 96 
 
 Broken Knkbs 97 
 
 Swat Back 98 
 
 DISEASES OF THE FEET. 
 
 (Page 100—117.) 
 
 Ulceration op the Foot, or Navicular Joint Disease. — Occasional limping, 
 as if pricked by a nail; ulceration of Navicular bone, or else slow decay; hoof 
 shrinks; portions toward the back of the foot drawn together; bone enlarge^, 
 as in Spavin and Ring-bone; Navicular bone adheres to lower pastern and 
 coffin-bone, the three finally uniting and swelling inordinately .^ 100 
 
 Cracked Hoof « 104 
 
 HooF-ROT. — Tenderness of foot; dry, chalky-looking substance formed in 
 bottom of foot; frog, diminished in size; ankle-joint, swollen; step, short and 
 limping 107 
 
 Corns 109 
 
 Contraction of Hoof, or Narrow Heel Ill 
 
 Injuries of the Frog .' 112 
 
 Founder. — Restlessness and firequent shifbings of the fore-feet; pulse, quick 
 
TABLE OF SYMPTOMS. *- 593 
 
 and strong; nostrils red and florid; expression, anxious and wo-begone; grunt- 
 ing and restlessness; frequent lying down and getting up; fretful change of 
 position; rising upon the haunches; placing the nose upon the feet.... 113 
 
 DISEASES OF THE GLANDS AND NASAL MEMBRANES. 
 
 (Page 118—163.) 
 
 Blind Staggers. — Real or apparent blindness, generally of one eye, some- 
 times of both; running constantly round and round in a circle, the circum- 
 ference of which is about sixty feet; deafness; occasional fits of staggering, 
 pitching, and reeling, lasting from twenty minutes to an hour, spasms increas- 
 ing in frequency and violence; rearing, plunging, groaning, convulsions, and 
 mad plunges of indescribable violence .• 118 
 
 Glanders. — Running of the nostrils, usually beginning with the left; the 
 secretion aqueous and somewhat sticky, increasing in quantity and stickiness 
 with the progress of the disease, and growing yellowish white instead of trans- 
 parent; long, stringy clots hanging and dripping from the nose; nasal mem- 
 brane pallid or of a leaden hue; ulcers form in the nostrils; secretions become 
 darker, and are flecked with blood; loss of flesh and hair; cough, diflficult 
 breathing, tenderness about the forehead; tumors, first about the head and 
 face, and then over the body generally 129 
 
 Farcy. — Similar to last stages of glanders, above described. Ulcers on the 
 skin, discharging a fluid, at first watery and yellow, afteward purulent, bloody^ 
 and very oflFensive. These ulcers first appear upon the legs, neck, and shoul- 
 ders, and often extend till they cover the entire body... 152 
 
 Distemper. — Dry, hacking cough; running of the nose, the discharge being 
 first watery, afterward thick, purulent, and whitish in color; swelling under 
 the throat; abscess often formed in the throat; high fever; hard pulse; loss 
 of appetite and flesh; occasional abscess on the belly, near the sheath 158 
 
 Nasal Gleet 162 ^ 
 
 DISEASES OF THE EYE. 
 
 (Page 164—183.) 
 Weak Eyes ^. 169 
 
 Sore Eyelids 174 
 
 39 
 
594 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 MOON-ETES 176 
 
 Cataract 177 
 
 Glass Etbs 178 
 
 ! 
 
 Hooks 178 
 
 DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 
 
 (Page 184—216.) 
 
 Fistula. — Swelling of the serratus major, forming an abscess ; blood, thick 
 and black; pulse, very full; sometimes caries of cartilages and sinking of the 
 tissues 184 
 
 Poll Evil 190 
 
 Boo AND Blood SpIvin. — Puffy swelling under the skin, and cellular tissue 
 of the hock-joint 192 
 
 Wikd-oalls. — Puffy swelling below the knee and hock and on the ankle. 194 
 
 Curb. — Enlargement on back of leg 197 
 
 Thorouuh-pin. — A watery enlargement on the back of the hock-joint, 
 inside the o$ ealeis 197 
 
 Tetanus, or Lock-jaw. — Rigidity of muscles; stiffness of joints; protrusion 
 of muzile; immobility of ears; dilatation of nostrils, with little or no play ; 
 ey6 withdrawn deeply in socket; haggard, horror-struck expression of coun- 
 tenance; tucking up of belly; straddling posture of legs; and jaws firmly 
 closed , 198 
 
 Crakps. — Twitching of muscles of the legs, etc...' 205 
 
 Rheumatism. — Inflammation of tendons and joints, especially of the hips and 
 shoulders.. 206 
 
 Spasks — Of the muscles — Violent contraction of muscles, causing sudden 
 
 jerks 211 
 
 do. Of the neryes — Agitation, trembling, and a wild and frightened 
 look 211 
 
 Strino-halt, or Spring-halt. — Whenever the horse lifts his legs, it is caught 
 op much higher than usual, with a sudden, spasmodic jerk 212 
 
TABLE OF SYMPTOMS. 595 
 
 DISEASES OP THE SKIN AND EARS. 
 
 (Page 216—245.) 
 
 ScEATCHES. — Thick, dry, scabby covering of the skin, coming in little patches 
 on the heel, which spread until they become one solid mass of scab and mat- 
 ted hair; itching of the parts 216 
 
 Thrush. — Discharge of very oflFensive matter from frog and heel 218 
 
 Cracked Heel, or Grease.— Symptoms like those of Thrush, but confined 
 to the heel 219 
 
 Swelled Legs. — Inflammation of cellular tissue of legs, causing swelling; 
 pufl&ng out of the skin; lameness; stiffness of the joints; after a time cracks 
 appear, from which exudes a whitish-yellow, watery matter 223 
 
 Swelled Ankles. — Swelling of ankle-joints 226 
 
 Surfeit. — ^Pustules on the skin, from the top of which exudes a thin, whit- 
 ish, oily matter, forming scabs on the shoulders, neck, sides, and back part of 
 fore-leg 228 
 
 Mange. — Falling off of the hair; skin dirty brown, loose, and flabby; scabby 
 eruptions on skin; peeling off of cuticle, leaving the parts beneath raw and 
 bleeding; burning and itching 229 
 
 Hidebound 233 
 
 Stiff Complaint. — Skin dry and contracted; joints stiff; muscles and ten- 
 dons of legs become stiff, and fairly seem to contract 234 
 
 Warts. — Seed warts are small tumors on the eyelids, the nose, the sheath, 
 and adjoining portions of the belly, having little hard points, or grains. Blood 
 warts are spongy tumors, from which blood exudes on every slight irritation, 
 usually on hock and knee-joints, and the pasterns. They have great tendency 
 to spread; sometimes are very sore, raw, and bleeding 236 
 
 Sorb Nose 239 
 
 Saddle Galls. — Back of horse chafed and raw. Sometimes tumors form, 
 which discharge matter 240 
 
596 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Sore Ears, — Scabby or mangy eruptions on the tips of the ears, which spread 
 downward 243 
 
 DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 (Page 246—259.) 
 Water on the Brain 246 
 
 Apoplexy. — Giddiness and wildness of motion, and a staggering gait; profuse 
 sweating; trembling, especially of the knees; a wild and wistful look; twitching 
 of the skin and jerking of the ears 247 
 
 Babies (Htdrophobia, or Madness) 252 
 
 Fits, or Epilepsy.— A wild, fierce look; rearing and pitching; nervous 
 twitching and convulsions... 253 
 
 Phrenitis, or Inflammation of thn Brain. — Patient drowsy, stupid; his 
 eye closes ; he sleeps while in the act of eating, and dozes until he falls ; pulse, 
 slow; breathing, laborious 253 
 
 Palsy. — Hips and thighs partially or entirely paralyzed 256 
 
 Insanity. — A stupid manner; wandering expression of countenance; uncon- 
 trollable alarm at sudden noises, colors, etc 257 
 
 DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 
 
 (Page 260 -276.) 
 
 Teething, or Dentition. — Indicated by feverishness of the gums and 
 
 mouth 262 
 
 * 
 Shedding. — Attended by soreness and inflammation of the mouth, and loss of 
 
 appetite 263 
 
 Decay of Teeth. — Toothache, indicated by the sudden dropping of the corn 
 from the horse's mouth. Stump-sucking, crib-biting, and wind-sucking may be 
 referred to this cause 266 
 
 Scurvy of the Teeth.— Front teeth covered with ridges of white scurf, which 
 inflame the jaws 268 
 
 Stump-sucking, Crib-biting, and Wind-suckinq 270 
 
TABLE OF SYMPTOMS. 597 
 
 » 
 
 Lampas.— Swelling of muscles of front part of the mouth; the muscle next to 
 the front teeth swells until it extends below them, and is very sore. Lampas 
 usually accompanies teething 274 
 
 DISEASES OF THE THROAT. 
 (Page 277—294.) 
 Colds 277 
 
 Enlarged Glands 282 
 
 t Swelled Throat 282 
 
 Laryngitis. — Violent coughing, attended by gurgling; breathing, short and 
 quick ; membrane of nose red ; horse shrinks when the larynx is pressed upon ; 
 paroxysms of coughing become more frequent; head projected; neck stiffened; 
 considerable swelling in throat, and difficulty of swallowing ; -as inflammation 
 increases, the cough becomes hoarse and feeble 283 
 
 Cough '. 285 
 
 Malignant Epidemic. — Inflammation of mucous membranes of respiratory 
 organs ; diarrhea ; acute fever, followed by great prostration ; loss of appetite ; 
 staring coat; wandering look; staggering; continual lying down and rising 
 again ; gazing alternately at each flank ; twitching of the skin, and spasm^ of 
 limbs 285 
 
 Difficulty of Breathing * 290 
 
 Broken Wind, Bellows, or Heaves 291 
 
 I Thick Wind, Wheezing, etc 293 
 
 Roaring 293 
 
 V , DISEASES OF THE CHEST AND LUNGS. 
 
 (Page 295—306.) 
 
 Bronchitis. — Swelled throat; increased rapidity of breathing; cough; dis- 
 charge of a purulent mucous character, with clots of blood and plugs of matter 
 from the nose; patient remains standing and motionless ; breath, hot ; pulse, 
 full and rapid, beating 60 or 70 times a minute ; membrane of nose, deep red ; 
 dry, rattling sound heard in throat and chest 296 
 
 9 
 
598 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. ' 
 
 Pnedmonia, or Inflammation of the Lungs — Begins with a chill, succeeded 
 by a fever; this repeated several times;, extremities, always cold; breathing, 
 hurried and distressed; pulse, quick; mouth and breath, very hot; painful 
 cough; fore feet, wide apart; grinding of the teeth; weakness; staggering; 
 struggling; groaning k 298 
 
 Consumption. — Pulse, feeble; nose, ears, legs, and skin cold and clammy; 
 membranes of nose of an ashy color; breath, hot and very offensive; painful 
 cough; discharge from nose of a purulent matter, mixed with blood 301 
 
 Pleurisy. — Inspiration, short and painful; expiration, little or no faster than 
 in health; respiration, 40 or 50 per minute; pulse, accelerated, strong, and 
 wiry; legs, drawn together; head, protruded f. 806 
 
 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS. 
 '^ (Page 307— 327.) 
 Sour Stomach 809 
 
 Colic in the Stomach 310 
 
 The Bot :■ 312 
 
 Tnflammation of the Bowels (Enteritis.) — Spasms of suffering; profuse 
 sweating, especially about the shoulders, sides, neck, and head; shaking and 
 trembling; convulsive Iwitching of the muscles of the body; pawing and 
 stretching ; throwing the head around to the side ; the horse lies down, endeav- 
 oring to roll on to his back, and strikes his fore-legs against his chest, and sud- 
 denly springs up again; throwing back his ears, he swiftly starts off, turns 
 round two or three times, and falls to the ground; switches and jerks his tail; 
 lips and ears, cold; pulse, from 65 to 80 316 
 
 Flatulent Colic 323 
 
 Inflammation and Rupture of the Colon. — Sides and flanks puffed out; 
 high fever; intense suffering 326 
 
 Inilammation and Bleeding of the Rectum »...., 326 
 
 Soreness and Itching of the Anus 326 
 
• 
 
 TABLE or SYMPTOMS. 599 
 
 ♦ 
 DISEASES OF THE LIVER AND URINARY ORGANS. 
 (Page 328—352.) 
 
 Jaundice, or Yellows. — Yellowness of eyes, mouth, and skin ; dung passes 
 in small and dark-colored balls ; urine, highly colored; patient languid; wanting 
 in appetite; at times dull and stupid; lameness in right fore-leg 330 
 
 Enlargement of the Spleen 331 
 
 Nephritis, or Inflammation of the Kidneys. — Feverishness ; patient fre- , « 
 quently looks round at his flanks; stands with legs wide apart; is unwilling to 
 lie down ; straddles as he walks ; expresses pain in turning ; shrinks when the 
 loins are touched; urine voided in small quantities, and with great diflBculty; 
 its color dark and bloody; pulse, quick and hard at first; afterward slow, but 
 still hard 332 
 
 Diabetes 334 
 
 Bloody Urine 335 
 
 Thick Urine 335 
 
 White Urine 336 
 
 Gravel, or Stone in the Bladder. — Symptoms similar to those of colic; 
 difficulty of urinating, accompanied by groans; urine dark and hot; patient 
 perspires profusely, especially in tha region of the flanks and loins 337 
 
 Suppression of Urine , 339 
 
 Inflammation of the Bladder 340 
 
 Foul Sheath 341 
 
 Colt Founder .t 343 
 
 4 
 
 Diseases op young Colts..... 349 
 
 DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD. 
 
 (Page 353—382.) f 
 
 Diseases of the Heart ^^^ 
 
 Thumps. — Violent throbbing of the ^art...... 355 ^ 
 
 • 
 
 • • . • 
 
 #' 
 
600 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 
 
 Fever. — ^Patient is dull, unwilling to move; has a staring coat; cold legs and 
 feet. This is succeeded by warmth of body ; unequal distribution of warmth to 
 the legs; one hot, and the other three cold; or one or more unnaturally warm, 
 and the others unusually cold; pulse, quick, soft, often indistinct; breathing, 
 somewhat laborious; patient without appetite, and very costive 369 
 
 Thick Blood 364 
 
 Thin Blood 365 
 
 THE END. 
 
 
 
 ^4I.» 
 
 V > ' 
 
■^^v » 
 
 m i 
 
 tx 
 
 
 
 >" 
 
 
 ^«^.4 
 
 ?^.i 
 
 ^. ' 
 
 ^' 
 
 ' t. 
 

 =?*•* 
 
<« # 
 
 I - ' 
 

•*. 
 
 * t 
 
 af 
 
 
 .;'#.• 
 
 '*"^-*^ 
 
 i.'U 
 
 JP 
 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ^•> '■ ,«* 
 
 .-♦^ 
 
 v*-':^^*^ 
 
 ••■y ■ ■* 
 
 % *^V- 
 
 iCe^v ,:''«.. ^§ 
 
yv'yw 
 
 Bte/'Vi"^^ 
 
 nmr 
 
 
 VVV , y ^ 
 
 • vvv 
 
 V « ./ ., ' .. y 
 
 x^Mmm 
 
 dm^>^^^^^ 
 
 • ^ 'Pff;,^il||^yyf¥:iyvvy^^*i|i 
 
fflMll^il»iWS^ 
 
 mmm 
 
 
 ■s^^ym 
 
 
 :.m 
 
 We!ek 
 
 ^mmmm 
 
 ^ ' i 
 
 i V 
 
 1 
 
 mm 
 
 
 
 <j\ 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 iPi: 
 
 rj'evi: 
 
 M>l^- 
 
 litti' 
 
 vvv^V^^l 
 
 ^ •#! A £;*>'** W I 
 
 'S(!^ 
 
 !yv!!j^ 
 
 r- *--;'?•■.•: 
 
 iaa'*sia^i?^>8i;t^!|jiMip 
 
 
 
 
 y(iyr^:^V! 
 
 ;:Se»'' 
 
 WM 
 
 ti-ukMMimmmiM)i<Am